Running and Biking with Annette

2010 - A Maniacal Year

2011-01-13T12:20:00.000-08:00

13 Marathons

1 50K

1 Half Marathon

9 states

Iridium (4 stars) Maniac status

I also ran a handful of 5K's and I think one 10K

January

Mississippi Blues Marathon - Jackson Mississippi. This was my first marathon as a Maniac and the experience fueled our Marathon fever!

It was 9 degrees at the start and a very hilly course but all the maniac love made it bearable and almost enjoyable!! Especially the time spent running with Carol and Larry.

Jeff, Livia and Kylie came back from Brazil after a 5 week Christmas Vacation.

February

Surf City Marathon - Huntington Beach Calif

This was my second year to do Surf City and I was excited to have Arland as my travel/race partner. I was also very excited to meetup with friends Cathy S. and Lynda. We also had the pleasure of meeting Ken and Wendy an awesome couple who are coming to Arkansas in March to run the Little Rock Marathon we are very excited!
Met lot's of Maniacs during the race and were really pumped to meet the President of the Marathon Maniacs Steven Yee at the finish line.
We stayed a couple of extra days and spent one of those days with my dad in Oceanside.

March

Little Rock Marathon - Little Rock Arkansas

I had run the half marathon 3 times but this was to be the first time for the Full. We had spent the fall/winter training with running friends in Cabot. Two of them were doing their first Marathon and it was very exciting to be a part of maiden marathon voyage.

I had a great first half and was feeling strong but just past the halfway point I ran into one of our first timers and she was having a bad day, felt sick and was just ready to quit. I decided to stay with her and help her get to the finish. It wasn't pretty and by the time we finished the finish line area was pretty bare but all our Cruiser friends were still there waiting for us!!

April

Hogeye Marathon- Fayetteville Arkansas

Awful! It was hot I started feeling sick about mile 6 which is way too early to start feeling bad in a Marathon. My friend Judy from Conway was my partner and would not leave me although I begged her to. There were of course positives, we got to celebrate Marla's first marathon and had lot's of friends cheering us on.

Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

This was a very emotional race, the course was lined with banners with the names of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing.
This was also Missie's first half marathon. She was supposed to do St. Jude's but a tendon issue caused her to miss too much training. Micah and I ran with Missie and Kristi until the half split off. I managed to hang onto Micah until about mile 16 and he left me in his dust. Of course port a potty visits don't help!!! and maybe Mexican food the day before didn't help either???? LOL

May

Fargo Marathon - Fargo North Dakota

We signed up for the "Go Far Challenge" and ran a 5K the evening before the Marathon.Fun..Fun...Fun!!!

An old friend from my Maryland days lives in Bismarck ND and she and her husband made the two hour drive to Fargo to see me. I hadn't seen Twila since 1994 but I swear from the first moment we laid eyes on each other it was as if no time at all had passed!

We had several Arkansas friends who also went to Fargo. Most of us were on the same flight which gave us time to hang out.

Cathy S. was also in Fargo for the half marathon. I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I would have liked but we did have a few minutes at the Expo and then again in the Fargo Dome before the race.
Loved this race!! definitely a great course, ton's of crowd support and I got to run a bit with one of my Maniac heroes Larry Macon. We first met Larry in Mississippi and such a nice guy! He had the Guinness World Record for the most marathons in one year 105... he went on to break his own record this year by running 106 marathons in 2010.
To top off a GREAT race experience our friend Leah Thorvilson not only won the women's marathon she also qualified for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials.

June - July

No Marathons ... We had several we wanted to do but this Marathon stuff gets expensive!!
It was Hot Hot Hot summer but we adapted to the heat by running at 5:00am and using a 4-1 run/walk ratio during our long runs.

July

Ding Dong Daddy 5K- Dumas Ark.

Who wouldn't want to run a race with the words Ding Dong Daddy in it. We first found out about the Ding Daddy Days run last year. My friend Missie is from Dumas and she talked a group of girls to go down for the weekend to run the race and just have a girls weekend.

We have decided that we want to make this an annual trip as long as we possibly can. Missie's mom treats us like rock stars and we feel like we are at a 5 start resort!!

August

Leading Ladies Marathon - Spearfish, SD

This was a women's only Marathon. Vic and Joan had this on their schedule for several months and I was able to share a room with them and found a decent priced ticket so Arland couldn't say no! Plus he had just done a 50K in July and was still on that Ultra high when I approached him about going to SD.

This year the race was held during the last weekend of the Sturgis Bike Rally so we got to experience one of the biggest most famous bike rallys in the United States. I have never seen so much leather, boobs and bare bottoms in my whole life!! LOL
Traveling with Vic and Joan was So much fun!! never a dull moment and then when Toni joined us.. well what can I say, we never stopped laughing!!

I met Dana Casanave at this race and got to run the first 9 -10 miles with Carol. The miles I spent with her flew by, and I really think I could have had an awesome race if I could have stayed with her the whole race, but my stomach rebelled and I had to stop 5 times for bathroom breaks, including one trip to the woods!!

Brett came home from Iraq for 15 days. Livia and Kylie came home from Brazil.

September

Tupelo Marathon - Tupelo Mississippi

This race is a cult favorite for many of our Arkansas running friends. We already had it on our calendar because it is close enough to drive, and we needed a September Marathon. The thought of running a marathon in Mississippi the first weekend of September was terrifying but knowing we would be suffering alongside 30-40 running friends made it a little more bearable. It was a great weekend. We participated in the "3-3-3" three races, in three states in three days. We even have t-shirts! LOL

I dreaded this race all summer but it turned out to be one of my best Marathons of the year and then the chick-fil-a 5k the next day in Memphis was one big party! GREAT weekend! And Arland had a big PR!!

Bartlett Parks Trail Ultra - 50K - Memphis TN

This race was the weekend after Tupelo and had been on our radar but we wanted to wait to see how we felt after Tupelo. Well.. we felt great!!

So let me just begin with this warning. It really is not a good idea to make a 50K race your very first trail run!! I had No trail experience and did not realize what I had in store for me!

We started off great, it was HOT but we were in the woods and I was happy, until the first time I fell. It was a shock, I never had that sensation of falling. One second I was running the next I was on the ground. I fell 7 times... yes 7! The first 6 falls were in the first 15 miles. Actually 3 of them were in the first 7 miles! After the 6th fall I decided I was done, I just could not figure out my problem, yes the trail was covered in tree roots and stumps but I swear my eyes were glued to the ground and I could have sworn I was picking my feet up! I told Arland to go on and that the next time we passed the start I was going to turn in my bib. I was upset and when I got to the car I was trying to compose myself enough to take my bib to the race director without being a blubbering mess. I was a Mess, covered in dirt and blood from head to toe, my face had hit the ground during 3 of my falls. I really didn't want to quit but I had told Arland to go on and I didn't feel comfortable in the woods by myself, and then I met Lisa, we had been passing each other back and forth the whole race, she was having problems with her asthma so she was also struggling. She suggested we run the rest of the race together and so I put my gear back on and away we went. Things were going along great, we walked the entire 3rd loop but at a very fast pace which caused some painful blisters, but I was just so happy not to fall. The third loop I was feeling good and getting impatient with the walking so we ran when we could and walked over the worst sections of roots. It was going well and I was feeling confident and then ... yes of course I fell again! It was ugly, dirty, sweaty, bloody but boy did it feel great when I crossed the finish line and could call myself an ultra marathoner!

October

10-10-10

Mother Road Marathon - Joplin, MO

This race starts in Commerce OK, runs through Kansas and ends up in Joplin MO. You never really know what the weather will be like on race day but we thought Missouri in October might be cooler. Well. We were wrong! It was HOT it was miserable... I fell at mile 14, twisted my ankle, banged up my knee and hand.. yeah this was not a great day!!! BUT I did finish and although it took me forever because running was too painful so I mostly had to walk which added blisters to my list of injuries, I did end up helping someone else make it to the finish line so it wasn't a total loss!!

The best part was seeing some friends I had not expected to see at the finish line!!!!

Noah's Ark 10K - Dumas Ark

Last year Missie and I took Kylie and Eliza to Dumas for the weekend, but this year she invited Arland to go along too.

I love this race, it is very flat and well organized! Last year Missie and I ran together and I felt like I was running with a celebrity, everyone was cheering for her! Missie and I won money last year and joined the ranks of "elite" runners ;) the fact that there were only 3 people who ran the race had nothing to do with it!!!

This year I didn't know if we would go since Missie had not been running all summer due to back pain.

It was a much bigger crowd this year, not sure exactly but probably about 15 runners. Most were doing the 5k so Missie and I decided we would sign up under the relay category. I ran the first half by myself and then ran the second half with Missie and we won!!! woo hoo!! Oh, did I mention we were the only relay team?? oh well that's not really important!

Poor Arland.... we just knew he was going to win the men's 10k especially since last year there were no men, but this year a guy who happened to be in Dumas to visit family decided to run the race and he was fast!!!

But we had a great weekend!!!!

November

MidSouth Marathon - Wynne, Arkansas

I swore last year, my second year to run this marathon that I would NEVER do it again!!! but it is just too close to pass up. I was really glad I changed my mind, this year was MUCH better than last!! Last year we had 40mph winds the whole second half, and it was also HOT, just an overall miserable experience!

This year was much better!!! It was COLD at the start and no extreme winds!!!

Route 66 Marathon - Tulsa Oklahoma

When we found out that the Marathon Maniacs and 50 States Club was going to have a perks tent we knew we had to go! Route 66 had been Arlands first Marathon in 2007, I did the half that year and swore I would NEVER go back... yeah I have got to stop saying Never!!!!

This year was awesome. Maniac friend Greg Goebel had organized a pasta dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse and we got to meet a bunch of new Cruisers! This race was Greg's 30th race in his 30th state in 365 days, which translates to Titanium status/10 spinny stars in the Maniacs.

Arland decided he wanted to run with Greg and I agreed to run with Mary from Sarasota. The race started off fine, very hilly but we were having lot's of fun and ran into tons of Maniac friends. During the race you could decided to take a little detour to The Center of The Universe and receive a special medallion, well I'm all about the bling so we decided to take the .3 detour.

Definitely a great race and a great experience!

Brett's deployment from Iraq ended and he returned to Fort Bliss in El Paso Texas. He got a weekend pass and was able to come home for Thanksgiving.

December

Dallas White Rock - Dallas Texas

This was the first year since I started running that I didn't not participate in the St. Jude's Marathon/Half Marathon. I ran the half 3 times and the Full one. A big group of Cabot Cruisers had chosen Dallas White Rock as their first marathon, it was also Joan and Vic's first marathon in a couple of years so we had to go!

It was a blast to coach, run with and support the group of new marathoners!! I spent several Sunday mornings driving all over Cabot acting as a travelling aid station! I loved every minute I got to spend with them and was so excited to run with a couple of
them for their first marathon. Crossing the Marathon finish line with Toni was very special and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything!!!

Run For The Ranch - Springfield Missouri

Start time 1:00pm. The course was 8 loops around and through Southern Missouri University. I was excited for this race, Carol was going to be there and I hadn't seen her in a while, we were also going to get to meet Patrick a fellow Maniac. There were actually a bunch of Maniacs we knew and a bunch of our Little Rock and Cabot running friends.

It was a tough race, 8 loops are hard, there was a lot of concrete, uneven surfaces etc. and the final insult no medals left when I finished!! They ran out somewhere around the 4:40 finish time. The race director said he would mail us one but we haven't received them yet.

Christmas was great. Brett came home for 30 days and Kylie, Livia and Jeff stayed home.

I feel like I have been typing forever and that this will be too long but so much is left out...it was a great year!!

Summer

2010-08-08T15:07:00.000-07:00

It has been an extremely hot summer here in Arkansas this year. Many days in a row of highs over 100 degrees with heat indices of 110+. It has definitely impacted the quality of my running but not the quantity. I had my highest mileage week since I started running in July with 53 miles. To make running more bearable we run at 5:00am for all of our runs except for one evening run. Thursday nights at 7:00 we have a Cabot Cruiser group run and even with miserable conditions we have been having 15-25 people show up to run.
Lot's has been going on since the last time I blogged and there is no way I have the patience or anyone would have the desire to read it all in detail so I will just do a quick rundown.

Marathons this year so far -

Mississippi Blues - Jackson Mississippi

Surf City - Huntington Beach California

Little Rock - Arkansas

Hogeye - Fayettville Arkansas

Oklahoma City Memorial - Oklahoma

Fargo - North Dakota

Cabot Cruisers I became President of the Cabot Cruisers running club in May

Women Can Run Clinic-Another successful year, new friends, new running partners.

Life is good her in Casa de Blanton. Kylie and Livia have been in Brazil for the past 4 weeks but will be home next Sunday. I have missed them like crazy but I am so happy they were able to go and have this time with Livia's family.

Brett has been doing fine in Iraq, a couple of scary things have gone on but he has remained safe. He was home for 15 days and although I had to share him with old and new friends it was great to have him home.

I am blessed to have a lot of awesome friends and we have had lots of fun adventures.

Arland and I have a goal of 12 marathons in 12 months and if we are able to complete all of the races we have planned we will have it in the bag.

Completed-

1-Long Beach

2-Mid South-Wynne

3-Rocket City

4-Mississippi Blues

5-Surf City

6-Little Rock

7-Hogeye

8-Oklahoma City

9-Fargo

Scheduled

10-Leading Ladies SD*

11-Tupelo

12-Mother Road- Joplin

Marathon Streak

2010-04-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

Back in the summer while training for the Long Beach Marathon I got the bright idea to run six marathons in six months. My reasoning was that it would be easier to stay trained and run several marathons in a row versus taking a break in between marathons and then having to start all over for the next one. Arland of course thought I was nuts when I first presented my idea but once he realized I was serious he jumped on the bandwagon. Somewhere along the way, most likely after we became Marathon Maniacs I started obsessing about adding spinny stars, being a Maniac wasn't enough now I wanted more bling so now we have expanded our streak to complete 12 marathons in 12 months.
This Sunday we are running the Hogeye Marathon in Fayetville AR. it will be # 7 for me and # 6 for Arland.

Two years ago we ran the 1/2 marathon and it is a hilly torturous route, and I had a miserable race!! I'm a lot smarter now, well I hope I am a lot smarter!! Of course how smart is it to run a marathon on a course you know is painful???? Oklahoma City Memorial was our original pick for our April Marathon, but this marathon streak thing is starting to get expensive so we chose Hogeye instead. We wouldn't have to take any vacation days and the cost of the race and hotel is much cheaper. WELL, about a week after we signed up for Hogeye, my friends Kristi and Missie decided to run the Oklahoma City 1/2 Marathon. It is going to be Missie's first half and I wanted to be there. As soon as I told Arland I was going to Oklahoma City he decided to come along too. So now we will run two Marathons in April.
On May 21st we will be traveling to North Dakota for the Fargo Marathon. I knew I wanted to do Fargo months ago when it first showed up on my radar, thanks to my friend Cathy. I have an old friend who lives in Bismarck and I had been looking for North Dakota marathons so this just seemed perfect. Arland on the other hand was not so sure, but once Arland met Cathy, David, Wendy and Ken when we were in California they helped me convince him he had to do it too!

We also have a couple of ideas for June and July but nothing is firm yet......

I need to do my race reports for Surf City (Feb) and Little Rock (March). I do plan to write them up eventually...................

So back to Hogeye... it will be Marathon # 13 lifetime.... I hope the#13 won't be unlucky for me.

Mississippi Blues Marathon - January 9th

2010-02-18T12:44:00.001-08:00

I don't know why I have such a hard time getting my race reports written up. I have run two more Marathons since Rocket City. Mississippi Blues in January and Surf City on February 7th.

Marathon # 10 and my first marathon as a Marathon Manic.
The Expo was nice, smallish but the location was great so there was room to move around. Throughout the whole Expo there were television screens showing some of the soliders in Iraq who had participated in the "First Wave" of the Mississippi Blues race. I cannot see a young man in an Army uniform without tearing up so I was very teary eyed walking around!! My son Brett is in the Army and is currently in Iraq. He was not a part of the race but I couldn't help but look for him amongst the sea of faces.
The best part of the Expo was running into our friend and fellow Maniac Carol E. she is such a friendly, fun, bubbly person and gives great hugs!!! We also got to see and say hi to Dane Rauschenberg of "See Dane Run" fame.
Our hotel The Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Jackson was close to the Expo but not quite as close to the start and finish line as I had hoped.
It was freezing cold!!! and since we were downtown we had to valet park at the hotel so it would be a pain to get the car and then we didnt' really know where anything was so we opted to walk a few blocks to a small restaurant that was serving spagehetti and meatballs as a special for the Race participatnts. The restaurant was OLD.. and you could tell that most of the customers other than the other racers had probably been going there every Friday night for YEARS!! but the food and service were very good. Walking back to the Hotel after dinner was Freezing cold and I kept thinking how hard it was going to be to run the Marathon in those temps! actually it was the wind that was so killer!! Once back in our room we laid out all our gear and headed to bed, not as early as I would have liked but then I never get to bed as early as I want to on race eve.

First thing Arland does when his alarm goes off is check the local tempature on his iphone. I really didn't want to know but it was 17 degrees!!! So I piled on the clothes. Tights, skirt, longsleeve tech shirt and finally my Marathon Maniac singlet. Gloves, bondi band and a throwaway jacket and I was ready to go. On the ride down in the elevator I got the first taste of Maniac love.. The Marathon Maniacs are such a fun bunch of people and there were a ton of them at this race. Somehow we managed to run into Carol before the race started, got seperated at the port a potties and then ran into each other again at the start line. Oh the start line what a confusing thing that was, we had come from a side street and there was a huge clump of people, thankfully Carol was one of those people so we just fell in with her. I knew we were too close to the front but didn't realize how close until we started. Before the race started they had a huge screen t.v. thingy going with the troops from Iraq counting down the start for us.. OMG I was bawling!!! The National Athem always gets me but seeing those soliders put me over the edge. I didnt' have much time to wallow in the emotion though because when they said go we were right there crossing the start line just seconds behind the elites! I of course was feeling extremely guilty but the course was really wide at that point and I stayed as far to the right as I could. It was fun but also made us run a little faster than I wanted to start with. By the second or third mile I was ready to shed my jacket, it was a heavy jean jacket and it felt so good to get it off!! I also had my foil blanket from Rocket City but I wasnt' quite ready to throw it away yet so I tied it around my waist. I really thought I would throw it away after a few more miles but I never did and I got many compliments on my "skirt" the whole race. Carol had run on ahead of us at the start but a couple miles later I could see her pontytail bobbing just up ahead. When we caught up with her she introduced us to the man she was running with. Larry Macon who just happens to be in the Guiness book of world records for running the most marathons in a year, 105!!! He has also been Maniac of the year for several years. He is truly a Maniac but also a really, really nice guy!!! We loved talking to him and from that point until the half way point we would do a little hopscotching with each other and whenever he would see us coming he would tell whoever he was running with "here comes Arkansas" :)
I had so much fun running in my Maniac shirt, I got to talk to so many more people than normal, all the Maniacs are just so friendly and many of them would slow down and run and talk with me for a little while. It almost always starts with "hey maniac" "what # is this one" where are you from etc. I LOVED IT!!!!! Combine the maniac shirt with my foil skirt and I got lots of attention!! One supporter commented that I had on a "bubble boy" skirt! and many many more would say "great skirt" the first time someone said that to me I didn't realize what they were talking about, I always wear a skirt so I just thought they meant my regular skirt but after a look down I realized they meant the foil skirt.
I was very impressed with this Marathon. The volunteers were so awesome it was 17 degrees with a feels like 9 degrees wind chill and there were hundred of them everywhere, they had every single intersection and public driveway manned to protect us from traffic. They all thanked us for running in Mississippi and I would always say THANK YOU for being out here in this freezing cold to protect us!!! I felt so bad for them, we were staying warm by running but they had to be freezing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I started getting a weird pain on the top of my right foot around mile 4 I tried to ignore it, but it was not going away!!! it would change in intensity but it constantly hurt. I had also started needing a bathroom about this time but whenever we would pass a port a potty there would be a line and I didn't want to have to wait. Finally it was becoming urgent and of course now there were not port a potties to be found. Luckily we could see a gas station up ahead and decided we would go in there and what a great decision that was!! No line, warm and a place to wash and dry your hands!! It was great! Unfortunately I spent more time in there than I would have liked but I felt much better. When I think about this race I think about the sea of maniac shirts, Arland and HILLS!! Jackson is very hilly especially the last half! We passed Larry for the last time right before the halfway timing mat. He was planning on running another marathon the next day in Mobile so he was slowing down and taking it easy for the last half. Everyone wanted to know if we were doing the double.. one of the reasons there were so many maniacs at this race was because of the close proximity to Mobile making it an easy double. I really want to do a double sometime but I realized after jackson that I am not quite ready for that yet.
Around mile 16 mile stomach started revolting again and I had to stop for a minute and then walk a bit to let things settle. Sometimes that helps and I can resume running and sometimes I can't, luckily this was one of those times where the walking settled things enough that I was able to run a couple of miles until we found a port a pottie. This stop also ate up a lot of time, mostly because my skin was frozen and I was having a hard time removing all of my layers! LOL
Arland was great!!! This was the first time we ran a whole marathon together and he was really supportive and encouraging. I didn't even want to hit him...well ok maybe a couple of times when he was walking some of the hills that I was having to run so that I could catch up with him!!!
The pain on the top of my foot was getting worse and was travelling up my shin, I was really starting to panic thinking of all the upcoming marathons I have planned. Finally around mile 20 I stopped leaned down (not an easy thing to do at mile 20) untied and retied my shoe and it immediately felt better, they damage was done but at least it wasn't the same intense pain it had been for the past 15 miles. Why didn't I think of retying my show sooner???
I kept thinking that eventually the hills would end but they never did!!! I think it was around mile 23 I met Diane Bolton she is a titanium level maniac and ran 31 marathons in 12 months!! she is on a quest to run all 50 states before she turns 50 and she is way ahead of the game, I think she only had 8 or so left to do. She is a much faster runner than me but she was having some knee issues and was taking it easy. I really enjoyed talking to her and since then we have become facebook friends and I am able to keep up with her 50state quest.
Finally although you couldn't really see the finish line I knew it was close, if I could just get up this last hill and then ;yes.. there is was. Arland and I ran through the finish line holding hands and I was sooo happy!!!!!! I had really wanted to do better but with the two bathroom breaks and the hills I was ok with 5:27.
We got our really cool guitar medals and headed to a warming tent for some food. All of the good stuff was gone but they did have some little sandwiches. We spoke to a few more maniacs and then headed out for the long cold walk back to our Hotel. Along the way we struck up a conversation with another marathoner, who although not a Maniac has run a ton of Marathons.. I think he said 100 or more. He was really nice and we talked about different races and the fact that Arland and I might try to do the 50 state thing, he told us that when it came time for us to do Michigan to be sure to do the Grand Rapids Marathon, turns out he is the Race Director! too cool!!!
Jackson really kicked my booty!! I was sore for close to two weeks, I have not been this sore since the summer I was training for my first marathon, but I would recommend this Marathon to all my running friends!!!!! just be prepared for lots of hills!!!

Rocket City Marathon December 12 2009

2010-01-24T08:58:00.001-08:00

Arland, Brenda, Cindy and I all headed to Huntsville Alabama on the Thursday before the marathon. Huntsville is about a 5 hour drive from Cabot and we really wanted to have a day to relax before the marathon. The trip down was fun and with all the chatting the time flew by.

We stayed at the Host hotel which was the Holiday Inn downtown. It was perfect!! Thursday evening we checked in and then headed out to fin an Olive Garden for a yummy dinner.

The Expo was in the hotel so it was great to be able to just get up have breakfast and then walk down to the Expo. It was pretty small as Expo's go but well organized and one of the vendors had a bunch of great stuff where everything was $9.99. Arland got a few things and I found a new pair of capri running pants. The Packet pick-up was organized by age group which seemed weird but I guess it worked. Of course the 45-49 age group had the longest line!!

After the Expo we decided to go find Fleet Feet and drive part of the course. This is the first time I have ever done that and during the Marathon was so glad we had!!!! Huntsville is very hilly but the race directors did a great job of keeping out as many hills as possible, many times we would be be driving along and see a huge hill and think oh great but just before you get to the hill you get to turn, and it was good to know that while running!

For lunch we went to chix filet and had grilled chicken sandwiches with fruit. We also stopped at Dick's Sporting goods but didn't find anything we had to have!

Pasta Dinner

Bart Yasso was scheduled to speak at the Pasta Dinner which was also at the Hotel. We had not bought pasta tickets when registering for the marathon so at the expo they suggested we get there early to buy tickets. We bought the tickets thinking it was going to be another hour before time to eat but they told us to go on in. They had a buffet set up with spaghetti and a choice of meat sauce or marinara, salad, bread etc. It was really nice nothing exciting but actually pretty tasty. We sat at a big round table and met lots of interesting people. the first ones to join us were a young couple who had trained together for the Marathon. The wife suffered an injury and wasn't going to be able to run, she was pretty sad but was there to support her husband. A little later 2 guys joined us. Not sure if they were freinds or a couple but they had also trained together, it was going to be the first marathon for one of them and the other one had been acting as his coach. Several times during dinner the organizers would ask us to go ahead and leave after we finished eating. We thought Bart was going to be speaking during the dinner but turns out he was speaking afterwards, well we didn't want to leave we had a great spot so we ate really slow I also grabbed a desert just to have it sitting in front of me so it would look like we were still eating. We were not the only ones who stayed put so I didn't feel too guilty.

Bart Yasso was great!! He has great stories and also had a slide show presentation! Afterwards Arland and I stayed behind to buy his book and get it autographed.

Several people had suggested we have a glass of wine the night before the marathon so Arland and I stopped at the hotel bar and ordered a glass of red wine. We struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to us at the bar. I don't remember all the details but he has run 50+ marathons in his life but Rocket City was going to be his first Marathon after surviving throat cancer. He was so upbeat and positive and we had a great time talking to him. Af little bit later Bart joined us, he said he had forgotten to eat at the Pasta Dinner! LOL he ordered a veggie burger and joined in our conversation. I really really admire him and am so grateful to have the opportunity to meet and spend time with him.

Race Day

The race had an 8:00am start and the start line was right outside of the hotel so we were able to sleep in a little bit and set our alarms for 6:30. I always get dressed first thing and then I headed down to see what I could find for breakfast. I ended up getting some bagels and taking them upstairs. I ran into a girl from Arkansas Carol, I didn't really know her very well but I see her at all the races and she has always been very friendly. She is a Marathon Maniac and is also working on 50 states. She has been running a marathon every weekend!!!

I almost forgot to mention that we had all been stressing out over the weather forecast for several days. The chances for rain, sleet, ice pellets had been all over the map ranging from 20% to 90%. We actually lucked out and although it was really cold low 30's it was not raining or sleeting! When we went downstairs the lobby was full of runners staying warm. I had to make one more trip back to the room to use the bathroom again and when I came down it was time to head to the start line. The announcer was yelling at us to hurry up and line up, he was stressed about starting the race on time.

I really had no real time goals for this race this was my third marathon in 61 days and I have more scheduled so I mostly just wanted to finish healthy. My next goal was to finish under 5:30 hours. I lined up towards the back and was ready to just hopefully find my happy pace and have a good run.

We were barely lined up when the gun went off and so was Arland!

I was content and was just running along when I caught up with a man who had "Tortise" screen printed on the back of his shirt. I really can't remember which of us spoke to the other first but he asked me what my goal was for the race I told him I didn't really have and goal and asked him what his goal was. He informed me he wanted a 5:15 and I said well that sounds good to me I'm going to hang out with you. He was happy to have a running partner! right away though he kept saying he had run the first mile too fast and for the next couple of miles he would stress that we were running too fast. He was very organized, he had on two pace bands, one of them he had marked where all the aid stations and port a potties were he also had his watch set to beep every 12 minutes. We were doing great and were ahead of pace, along the way we picked up another running partner when Todd heard William talking about his 5:15 goal. I was having a blast and was loving running with William. I also met a guy from Little Rock and ran with him for a little bit, he was faster than me so I had to let him go when we got too far ahead of William. Everything was going great, I was following my nutrition plan and so far my stomach was behaving. I guess it was around mile 10 when I started feeling the beginnings of the need to go. One of the only actually probably the only complaint I have about this race was how few and far apart the port a potties were!!! We had passed a couple of them because there was a line outside of them but by mile 12 we both really had to go. When we got to the next port a pottie we lucked out and there was only one person ahead of us. Still with both of us having to use the facilities it took some time and we lost quite a bit of our cushion. I think we lost almost 4 minutes. After the break we were still running strong but William was starting to worry about meeting our 5:15 goal. Around mile 15 or 16 he started to fatigue and slowed down a bit but we were still running, other than the bathroom break we had not stopped or walked at all. Although we were both getting tired it was very encouraging to start catching up with people we had been running with/around before the potty break. Mile 19 we/me finally had to take a walk break. several times William had encouraged me to go on ahead because he knew we weren't going to make his 5:15 goal but I assured him that I didn't care I really just wanted to run with him!!!! Around mile 23 William got ahead of me and I thought maybe I had lost my partner. I took another gel and got a little burst of energy not that it sped me up but it helped me run longer. Mile 24.5 I was closing in on William and he must have sensed I was close because he looked behind him and when he saw me put his hand out and encouraged me to catch up. We stayed side by side the rest of the way and I really wanted us to cross the finish line together but William insisted I go on ahead and have my "special moment" really it would have been much more special crossing with him but he was right behind me so it was all good. The race finishes in the back parking lot of the hotel and immediately you have your own volunteer who wraps you in a foil blanket, gives you your medal, hat, bottle of water and walks with you for a bit to make sure you are ok. The finishing chute leads right into the hotel where it was nice and warm and they had food. William and I found each other he was with his wife I really wanted him to meet Arland but I had no idea where he was. I headed up to the room to shower and change but my key wouldn't work, we had secured late check out so they just gave me a new key but it cost me quite a bit of time. When I got back to the room Arland was there, apparently he was in the shower the first time I came up and didn't hear me.. oh well I took a very quick shower put on warm clothes and we headed down to the lobby to meet the girls. Luckily we ran into William before we left and I was able to introduce him to everyone and get a picture.

I really just can't say enough how special this race was for me. William made this a race to always remember!! William is 65 years old and this was his second marathon, he has only been running for less than 4 years. His first marathon he finished around 5:48 and although he really wanted to finish in 5:15 he still had a huge PR with a 5:23 finish. He talked about his wife and son a lot during the run and I really wish I could have heard the conversation with his son when he told him about his finishing time.

Our other running partner Todd also had a big PR he finished in 5:20.. his previous fastest finish was somewhere around 5:45 so he was also very happy.

I was happy with 5:23 eventually I want to start pushing harder and get back under 5 hours but for now I am really enjoying just being able to run run multiple marathons!!

On the way home we stopped at Red Robin somewhere in Tennesse and we all had big cheeseburgers to celebrate our Marathons!! I was a manager at a Red Robin in Alaska and always loved their burgers and fries so it was an extra special treat for me.

Rocket City was marathon # 9

Marathon Maniacs

2010-01-22T13:21:00.000-08:00

I have two Marathon race reports to write about and they were both great marathons so hopefully I will get that done soon but for now I am going to talk about the Marathon Maniacs!
After Rocket City I qualifed to become a Marathon Maniac, I actually qualifed at the end of 2008 beginning of 2009 but never did anything about it. Since then I have noticed a lot of Maniacs as some of the marathons I have run and then I checked out their website and decided it looked like fun!!!!
Once they verify you qualify you get the key to the Insane Asylum!! LOL and you can order a Marathon Maniac singlet etc. I wore my singlet for the first time in the Mississippi Blues Marathon and it was just the coolest thing ever!!! It really is a whole new experience! I belong to a running club so I am used to being part of a running community but the Maniacs .... well that is just something else altogether! I met so many new and nice people just because I had on the Maniac shirt. Other Maniacs were waving at me from across a huge 4 lane highway. Other Maniacs always would at least acknowledge you as they ran by, but many more actually would slow down or speed up just to hang out and talk for a while.
One of the Maniacs that we met and ran with for a little bit is Larry Macon.. Larry is in the guiness book of world records for running the most marathons in a year - 105 or 109 whatever that is just amazing! and the nicest guy in the world!!!
Arland qualified for Maniac status after running the Mississippi Blues marathon so when we go to Surf City next month we will be running in matching shirts! Fun.. Fun...Fun!

St. Jude- Memphis 1/2 Marathon

2009-12-23T11:58:00.000-08:00

The St. Jude 1/2 marathon is special to me for various reasons but number 1 is the fact it was my very first half marathon!! That first race was so scary and exhilirating all at the same time and I was hooked after that! The second year I ran it with friends Cheryl and Kim. Cheryl had a miserable first 1/2 marathon in Little Rock so Kim and I wanted to run St. Jude with her so she would hopefully have a good experience and want to keep racing!
The third year at St. Jude I did the full marathon and it is still my marathon PR. The first 20 miles of that race were awesome, I ran the first 20 miles without ever taking a walk break....but then at mile 20 a car pulled out in front of me and when I had to "put on the brakes" my calves and quads started seizing and the last 6.2 miles were a very painful walk/run/survive!! I still had a huge PR but when I think of what it could have been it still makes me sad!

So on to this year......
Towards the end of the Women Can Run clinic in the spring a couple of the girls from my group decided they wanted to do the St. Jude-Memphis 1/2 Marathon as their first race. During one of our group runs they were discussing the race and Missie said to me that she didn't know if she could really do it, and I told her I knew she could do it because I was going to run with her. I think we all know how important having a big race planned is in keeping you motivated and the girls ran all summer to keep up their base mileage and then towards late summer we started increasing the mileage. I was so proud of Missie, running is not easy for her but she kept running and it was starting to get a little better. We had 3 good 10 mile runs, two of them were with me and then her last one was on the same day as the Wynne/Midsouth Marathon. Missie and Kristi ran it together and it was a great run for both of them.... and then her foot started hurting, not just hurting but swollen, red and intense pain. She tried the standard ice, elevate, rest but it wasn't getting better so she went to the Dr. for an x-ray. Nothing showed up but the dr. gave her some high dosage nsaids and told her to rest, it didnt get better, next she went in for an MRI and got the diagnosis of torn tendon and put in a boot. So no Memphis 1/2 Marathon for Missie. We were both really sad!!! but have already started making plans for her first half.....
So no Missie but Kristi had also been training very hard for Memphis and was very nervous. Kristi is a natural runner and is naturally fast but when Missie told me how nervous Kristi was I told her I would love to run with her if she wanted me to.

The trip to Memphis was fun. Jackie and Brenda rode with us and I don't think a road trip to Memphis has every flown by so fast!!!!! We were all at the same hotel so we checked in and headed over to the Expo. It was actually much better this year and I found a few goodies.
Our friend Rock was Brenda's roomate for the weekend, she and her mom drove up from Georgia. I hadn't seen her since Memphis last year so it was great to get to see her again!!!! The Marriott downtown has a special buffett pasta dinner for the runners so we all met in the lobby and headed over I think we had about 15 people. I love, love, love when we all do races together!

Kristi and her husband Philip got into Memphis a little late so they didn't eat dinner with us but we did get to harass them a little bit while they had their dinner in the hotel bar. Missie and I had put together a little goodie bag for Kristi's first 1/2 Marathon so she came up to our room later and I gave it to her. We shed a few tears and a few laughs and thenit was time to get ready for bed.

The next morning bright and early I get a text from Kristi... she said do I really want to get up out of this warm bed and go run???? such a silly girl!! I think my response was a simple YES you do!
It was freezing cold race morning and i had already suggested to Kristi that she dress in layers that she wouldn't mind throwing away and boy did she take my advice!! She looked like a big ol football player it was hilarious!
We all gathered in the Lobby and said our good-byes to Jackie, Arland and Brenda. Jackie and Arland did not get signed up in time before the race filled up and Brenda was tapering for the Rocket City Marathon.
We all walked to the start together and then everyone kind of scattered. First stop was bag check and then we were lucky enough to find a restroom that was not filled up so we were able to use real bathrooms before the race!
Heather S. was also doing the race, it would be her first half since having baby Avery in July.. I think it was July. I had forgetten to put my phone in my dry bag and at first was pretty upset since I have ruined too many phones during marathons!! BUT it turned out to be a blessing because Heather texted me wanting to know where we were.... of course I was in the port-a-pottie at the time!!! LOL
We were able to meet up with her and start the race with her!
I threw off my big fuzzy purple sweater while we were still in the Corrall but kept my foil blanket from a previous race. Have you ever run with one of those on??? they make a lot of noise! I was running along thinking sheesh this thing is loud when a guy runs by and tell me I'm making a lot of nosie! LOL
The first few miles were great, it was awesome to be running with Kristi and Phillip. I really felt good the whole run, it didn't take long until I lost the loud foil thingy and then next came my homemade arm warners and then my gloves. We got to see Brenda and Arland about mile3.5 and I gave Brenda my phone, something I would regret later!
About mile 5 the long sleeve tech shirt came off, it is super light so it was not a problem running with it tied around my waist. Kristi, Philip and I were carring small bottles of water so we were able to avoid a lot of the aid stations. I was so thankful to have that little bottle of water! Those aid stations were dangerous! One of the aid stations was on a highway bridge and it was icing up from all the water being spilled, a volunteer was warning runners about the ice so I made sure to steer us away from the worst of it!
Somewhere around 6.5 I lost Kristi and Philip, we were coming up on a long curved incline and I told Kristi was going to slow down. I really wanted to keep running with them but I also had to keep in mind that I would be running a marathon the next weekend and I didn't want to do anything foolish. It was pretty lonely after I said goodbye to my running partners. I had my i-pod with me but I never turned even turned it on. Rocket City has a very strict no i-pod rule so I decided to do withoutit for Memphis as well.
I never had to use the port a pottie during the race!!! I was so happy about that but the last mile I was starting to get that feeling and was just praying that it would hold off until I finished..and it did!!! When we ran by the Wonder bread bakery my stomach was really rolling!!!!
I never looked at my Garmin the whole time I was running so I really had no idea what my time was going to be, I knew it wasn't fast and when I looked down just before runing into Auto zone and saw 2:2x I wasn't surprised. Definately not a great time but I was happy with it and happy to be done and thinking good grief how am I going to run a marathon next week!!! I really didn't do a great job with nutrition and hydration, it was so cold I would forget to drink and the one gel I consumed took me so long to finish that I didn't want to do another one and I definately think that was a bad decision!

Once I crossed the finish line I started feeling a bit off... it was so crowded and I had no idea where anyone was and it was cold and .................I was LONELY!!! I retrieved my warm clothes from the bag check and went into the restroom to put them on. When I went back out it was so crowded but as I was wandering around I heard my name. It was Kevin, Heather's husband. He called Arland for me and I so wish I would have stayed with him and waited for Arland to call back because I ended up spending the next 30 minutes wandering aimlessy around. I did find Joan and her group but no Arland. After a little while I finally saw Krisi and Philip and gave her a big hug.. they did great!!!!!! It turns out that Arland was in that area all along but I just never saw him :(
I knew we all wanted to see Rock finish her marathon so I decided to head over to the Marathon finish line and lucky for me a very nice lady let me use her phone and I finally got to talk to Arland and we finally found each other! I was so relieved and for the first time since i finished the race i was able to relax a little bit! Brenda was sitting right by the finish with Rock's mom so we found her and we all waited anxiously for Rock. In the meantime we got to see some great finish's!! It was so amazing to me to see people sprinting in and in some cases racing each other to the finish! We also saw some people who were obviously in a lot of pain. One man was walking and it was a slow but steady walk, it was obvious it was all he could do but the amazing thing is he still finished under 3:30 hours!!! just amazing. It didn't take long until we saw Rock come into the Stadium and she looked so great!! she had on her serious running face....until she looked up at the time clock and saw the time... she got the biggest grin on her face and you could see her say "YES" and do the little arm pump!! It was priceless!!!! Her offical time was 3:37..... a PR and of course a BQ!!
We wanted to stay until everyone we knew was finished but we had to get back to the Hotel and get checked out.
We met up once again and headed out to find the Mexican restaurant we had eaten at the year before. We had a great lunch but soon it was time to say good-bye. We all really miss Rock so much and it was so hard to say good-bye :(
So once again St. Jude-Memphis was special and I look forward to next year!

Marathon # 8 - The Midsouth Marathon

2009-11-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

Once again I am late getting this race report done. Oh well better late than never.... maybe.

Once again we were headed to Wynne Arkansas during the first weekend of November to run a marathon. It was a different cast of characters this time. Several of my running friends from last year didn't make it. Kelly who has taken a bit of a running hiatus. Michele, last year was miserable enough for her she did not need to do it twice. Bailey who sadly left us to live in Japan. I really missed my girls but this year I had Arland and Jane :) as well as Jackie C, Gabby and a few others.

We had opted to drive up race morning, I guess it's about 1.5 hours from Cabot?? Arland and I met Jane and Jackie at Team 1 and we were off to Wynne.
We had all decided on the early start, it was supposed to get really warm and even the early start didn't help much but THANK GOODNESS we did it!

There were probably about 20-25 people doing the early start so pretty much an anticlimatic start, but it was kind of a relief to not have to weave in and around a huge pack of people!!
I knew I had to run my own pace and not get caught up trying to stay with Arland and Jane. The first 8 miles they were never too far ahead of me and a couple of times I sort of caught up with them at the aid stations. Speaking of aid stations because we opted for the early start we had no course support or aid stations for the first 4 miles. I had planned to take a throw away water bottle but forgot it at the last minute, and believe me I was really wishing I had it. I started to panic a little bit, worried that we wouldn't have water until mile 6. I started speeding up a little bit to catch up with Arland so I could have some of his water when I could see an aid station up ahead. One of the positives about this race is the great aid stations and the port-a-potties at every mile!!!
So mile 1-8 were really good, I was probably running a little too fast but I felt good and just went with it. Mile 9 I started feeling a little tired and was bummed because I knew it was way too early to be feeling like this!!!
It was here in mile 9 that I started to lose sight of Jane and Arland. The course is rolling hills and lots of curves so it was easy to lose sight of the other runners.
One of the really cool things about doing the early start is that the race leaders end up zooming past you, of course you are hoping it's later than sooner but it was mile 12.67 when Ethan went flying by me. Ethan is a fellow Cabot Cruiser so I was really excited to see he was leading the race!!! But not too far behind him was Leah and she would eventually overtake him to win the Marathon.

The turnaround... one of the negatives about this race is it is an out and back which is also positive since it makes it easier for them to have all of those aid stations and port a potties every mile, but this year it was mostly a negative!!
Mile 13.?? finally the turn around I had so been looking forward to it. I had saw Jane shortly after she made the turn around and she was looking good. Arland was a bit behind her and he wasn't looking so good, he said he was hot and tired, which was pretty much exactly how I felt!! The first thing you notice after the turn around is the wind! At first if felt kind of good and refreshing but then once you were on the open road it became painful to run into it! Several people who ran the race looked up the wind speeds and had graphs showing 20mph winds with gusts up to 45 mph. It was miserable, and the sun was beating down, and the road was slanty, and there was traffic and I was just beat.
About mile 16 was when the calf cramps hit... I have had calf cramps in several races but never anything like this, I seriously thought my legs were going to break the cramps were so intense.
Mile 20 was when the wheels finally fell off and the rest of the race was pretty much run to that sign, or that tree or that driveway and then walk and then try to make myself run again. The only consolation was that the majority of other people were going through the exact same thing!!! I saw much stronger runners than I am walking and some even stopped on the side of the road. I felt like I was doing a good job with my nutrition and drinking but i think not having any water until mile 4 and then the intense sun just was too much and I never could catch up.
Finally I am in the home stretch and I take one last walk break so that I can run through the finish line. It was slow and it was painful but I was able to run the last .5 mile. I saw Arland, Jane and Jackie at the car and they cheered for me really hard and I really needed it!! I was just praying that no one would tell me to speed up! LOL

Finally I make it onto the track which was kind of tricky cause it is a big step up and the way my legs were feeling I was afraid they might seize up but although it hurt I didn't have to stop or walk. One neat thing about a small race is you almost always get to hear your name being called and that is always fun!!

As I was getting my chip removed I heard a lady wailing and as i looked over I saw a man laid out on the ground. They were starting CPR and the lady was just inconsolable. I was in shock and couldn't move. I knew everyone was waiting for me but I just couldn't leave. I was so sad, that last mile I just kept thinking about how much this race sucked!! It was awful, it was hot it was windy etc. but as soon as I saw that man laying on the ground it all went out the window and all I could think was how grateful I was that I was still standing!!
I was convinced the man was dead, he had been down for several minutes before I finished and it seemed like an eternity before the paramedics loaded him up into the ambulance. I am happy to be able to report that he did indeed survive. He had a 95% blockage to his heart and it really was a miracle he survived the news report said he had no pulse for 40 minutes!!

After he was taken away I finally let myself head towards my husband and friends. The finish line was on the High School track and we were able to use the showers in the gym which is so great when you have a long ride home!!

Next up Rocket City Marathon!!

Counting down to Wynne

2009-11-05T11:44:00.001-08:00

I will be running Marathon number 8 on Saturday. The Mid South Marathon in Wynne, Arkansas. Last year a group of us did this race as a trainnig run for the St. Jude/Memphis Marathon. With aid stations and port a potties every mile it was the perfect training run. The course is not wonderful, lot's of "slanty" roads and some traffic but I guesss it wasn't too miserable because here I am a year later ready to run it again.
Since it was a training run last year Kelly, Michele, Bailey and I all stayed together the whole race, this year I will be on my own. There are quite a few of us from Cabot running including Jane and Arland but they all have specific goals they want to meet so this is not a "for fun" marathon.
I also have goals but they are not as specific and I have not really been training for a PR. I am really just hoping to be able to run a steady pace and maybe for once stay out of the port-a-potties!!!
I'm feeling a twinge in my left butt cheek, I know that pain very well and I am just praying that it is nothing and won't flare up during the race.
Congrats to Cheryl and Tammy for 'kicking Bass" in Springfield Missouri last weekend!!

Soaring Wings 1/2 Marathon

2009-10-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday Oct-25th was the second annual Soaring Wings 1/2 Marathon. I ran this last year and LOVED it!
This year the race fell exactly two weeks after the Long Beach Marathon and two weeks before the Mid South Marathon, so I went into it just wanting to have a nice steady paced race.
Arland was also running this year, I think he was injured last year otherwise I can't imagine him missing out on a 1/2 marathon especially one so close to home.

We left home about 6:15, the weather called for a cool morning but turning sunny and a bit warmer later in the day. I dressed in a skirt and sleevless tech shirt with a long sleeve tech shirt. The long sleeve shirt is very light, I knew I wouldn't be able to wear it the whole race but it is light enough that it wouldn't bother me too much to have it tied around my waist.
When we got to Conway we ended up having to park about .5 a mile from the Mc Gee center. This actually worked out for warming up but I was a little bit stressed worrying about picking up our packet and then having to take everything back to the car and then back to the start line. We had plenty of time but with my need to use the bathroom at least twice before a race I was a bit worried.
As we were walking/jogging to the Mc Gee center I ran into Voula from Pine Bluff. Missie and I met her at the Noah's Ark 10K at the beginning of October. I need to blog about that race sometime!

So Voula and I chatted and ran together for a bit and then as we turned into the parking lot at the Mc Gee center I saw Cheryl and Tammy. They were Volunteering at the race since they have the Bass Pro Marathon next weekend. I ran up and gave Cheryl a scare as I gave her a bear hug... I really don't get to see her very often anymore and I miss her.
Packet pick-up was pretty quick but the line for the bathroom was already very long, luckily I remembered there was one on the upstairs runnign track. So I ran up there and luckily had no line. I took my time and put my chip on while waiting for things to move along.
When I got back downstairs the gym was PACKED! I ran into Curtis D. who I haven't seen in ages, got a big hug from him and then set out to find Arland and James.
We all headed back to the cars got our bibs pinned on, I had to put Arland's chip on for him and then we were headed back to the start. As we were heading to the start line I realized I probably needed to use the bathroom one more time, luckily they had a row of port a potties about 100 feet or so from the start.
I got to see so many friends at this race!! I swear every couple of feet I was hugging someone and really is there a better way to start a race????

We lined up in the 2:00+ hour corral, I think the third one back. This was really actually a good corral to start in since I spent the rest of the race passing people.
My plan for the race was to start off slow and steady and if I felt good the second half I would pick it up. I watched James and Arland pull away from me immediately at the start and I mentally sent them off hoping that this race would give Arland his 1/2 PR. I had already taken off my long sleeve tech shirt and tied it around my waist, but just after we crossed the start line I saw Cheryl and asked if she would take it for me and of course she did :) I probably would have been ok, but it was such a relief not to have it anymore!! Thank you Cheryl!!!!
I had my i-pod and had it ready for whenever I felt the need for some music. I was kind of lonely, I didn't know any of the people around me so I turned it on within the first mile.
About 1.5 miles into the race I started getting the weirdest foot cramp, it hurt to bend my foot and I was MAD!! LOL I mean really a foot cramp?? I tried to run on it for a little while but finally pulled off the road and took my shoe off stretched, and when I put it back on I tied it a little looser. It took about a mile but by mile 3 I didn't feel anymore pain, but what I did feel was the need to use the bathroom. I had really hoped that my successful trip before the race would be good enough. The sensation kind of came and went but by mile 4 I knew I had to find a bathroom soon. Just before it was about to be an emergency I was relieved to see we were running back past the start and the row of port-a-potties from before. I was really bummed about having to stop and unfortunately had to spend a few minutes inside. When I came out a little bit ahead I saw Caitlyn C. on the sideline cheering everyone and taking pictures and I put on a big smile but on the inside I was sad! BUT this happens to me all of the time so I just had to shake it off and keep running.
The great thing was that other than those two problems early in the race everything else felt good.
I had my raspberry cream accel-gel at mile 5 I took it while running knowing that there had to be a water stop soon. Luckily I was right and soon after I finished my gel I had some water to wash it down. Last year at the Memphis Marathon I finally learned out to grab water at the aid stations and drink while running and I used this method the whole race. Other than the shoe thing and the bathroom break I never walked.
This race has a great course, we run through a lot of really pretty neighborhoods, and while there weren't any really big crowds there were lot's of family's outside to cheer us on. It also has quite a few hills, most of them were just rollers but there were 2 maybe 3 pretty good size ones as well.
Mile 8 I started to feel just a bit tired and was thinking still 5 miles to go, but then I thought to myself at least I dont' still have 18 miles left and that gave me a little bit of extra energy!
The whole race I was passing people and even if I wasn't really running that fast when you are passing people you feel fast!! LOL
Just past mile 10 I saw James up ahead of me walking. His stomach had really been bothering him before the race and he almost didn't start. When I caught up to him I gave him a smack on the butt and he started running with me. He told me he had to make several bathroom stops!! :( he said now he knows what it feels like to be Annette! :( poor baby, believe me it's no fun!!!
He asked me if I thought we would finish in 2 and half hours, I told him that I had calculated a 2:20 finish time. A minute or so later he asked if I knew i was running a 9:40 pace, I looked down at my Garmin and oh yeah I guess I was. I lost James soon after that, I think he had to find the bushes again :(
Mile 11 had another good size hill but once you make it up that one it is a nice long downhill and then flat back to the finish.
I wasn't exactly flying but I was so happy to be feeling so good!!! At about 12.5 I saw Jackie C. and a friend of her's heading back out on the course to find some of their group to cheer/run in with.
Jackie told me later that I looked so happy and I really was!!
Once I got to the last bit I turned on the speed a little bit and could hear my name being announced and I could hear it being screamed on the sidelines. Turns out my friend Missie and her daughter had come to cheer us all in!!
After the race was great, again so many good friends were there and it was just so nice to catch up with a bunch of them and get even more hugs!!!!
My offical finishing time was 2:19xx... not my fastest but with the obstacles I had in the first couple of miles I thought that was pretty respectable!!
One really important thing I came away with in this race was that several times I felt my energy levels drop and had moments when I thought this is going to get hard I need to slow down but each time it happened I would try to just hang on and those feelings would soon pass. Of course a marathon is a whole different animal but I need to learn to not give up so easily! especially mentally!

Long Beach Marathon - Race Day

2009-10-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

We did not get to bed quite as early as I would have liked on Saturday night. I think it was almost 10:00 by the time we settled down and with a 4:00am wake-up time that did not give me as much sleep as I would have liked.
I set my Blackberry for 4:00am, thinking I could get up a little bit before everyone else and hopefully be able to "take care of business" before time for everyone else to get up.
I couldn't believe when the alarm went off, it really didnt feel like we had been in bed for very long!
I woke Michele up about 15 minutes later and then Bailey. Bailey is funny in the morning, well not funny but it is funny because she is such a grouch!!
James was planning on running the 1/2 marathon but he wasn't feeling well and had also been stressed out trying to figure out how he could run the 1/2 and make his way back to Anaheim in time to not miss too much of his conference, so he decided not to go. We were running a few minutes behind, well behind my desired time of departure, but I had given us a little bit of a cushion so I wasn't stressing too much.
We made our way to the car and Bailey was syncing up the tom-tom/Garmin thingy that was in the car. I looked at the clock and it said 2:53...Whaaaat oh OMG it was only 2:53 am. I really thought Bailey and Michele were going to kill me, especially Bailey!!! After we stopped laughing we decided we might as well go ahead on to the Race. For one it was a long walk to the parking garage, and two we didn't want James to know what we had done!!
So we had NO traffic on the way to the race and we had our choice of parking spots. We all got comfy and took a 3 hour nap in the car. Although it really wasn't that comfortable it really worked out great!
I think we woke up about 6 and headed to the port-a-potties it was early enough that the lines werent too long and I was able to have a successful visit.

It was cool temps at the start but not nearly as cold as it had been during Surf city, which was kind of stressing me a little bit.
I was worried about it getting too warm later in the marathon, but all that worry was unnecessary we really lucked out, it did warm up but it stayed cloudy the whole race, well until about mile 24.5 so I never felt too hot. Don't get me wrong I was sweaty but never felt uncomfortable.

The first 5 miles were pretty awful! The roads were very slanty, I know that's not a word but I can't think of the right word, whatever the roads sucked, and there was quite a bit of concrete and the course was so crowded!! I have run enough big races now to expect to have to dodge walkers in the first miles but it never fails to annoy me! Seriously some of these people had to have started in the Corrals ahead of us and it just doesn't make sense to me. Also if you are going to walk don't do it in the middle of the road!!!
I lost Michele and Bailey at the first aid station we had all stopped to get water but about 20 people surged in front of me and I never say Michele again.
Although I didn't love the first 5-6 miles of the course I was happy, I was running in So. California and that just makes me happy!!
I took my first Accel-gel about mile 4.5, I walked while I took it and drank water. It was about this time that I passed a row of port-a-potties and out comes Bailey. I called out to her and she slowed down and ran with me for a little while. I know in her heart she really wanted to run with me but it was so crowded and I was running at such a conservative pace it really was just impossible. She turned back for me once and I told her to go on, I didn't want to worry about her and I didn't want her to worry about me. It was bittersweet to watch her run off without me but it was also a relief.
I think we turned onto the beach path around mile 6, the next 3 miles were my favorite of the whole race, we had a great breeze and duh we were running on the beach!! I wish I could say it was perfect but the path was narrow and concrete and I was constantly dodging people.
The miles in between mile 9 and 18 are kind of a blur.
Oh I do remember one very important detail from mile 10, I had to take a bathroom break, I had been feeling the need for about a mile but was hoping it would pass, finally soon after the 10mile marker I knew I couldn't wait and luckily there was a row of port-a-potties ahead. It was a short line, and I did have to spend a few minutes inside. I was ok after the potty break and was still keeping a steady pace and feeling strong.
I was taking my accel-gels and also had a few almonds. This was the first marathon that I walked whenever I took my gels, normally I just take them while running and sometimes it takes me a mile or more to finish one.
Mile 15 was one more bathroom break, this time took a little longer and I didnt feel very good when I came out I never really regained my former pace, before that bathroom break I only walked to take a gel but after that I had to take a few more walk breaks, luckily since nothing was hurting it was easy to start running again after a short walk break.

this section was an out and back and we could see the faster runners heading back, I think it was about mile 21.5 for them, and I was about mile 16. It was here that I saw Danica from Chicrunner.com
I have been following her blog for close to a year. She is hilarous and a talented runner!
Anyway I saw her and I really wanted to yell out to her but you never know what kind of run someone else is having it was great to see her doing so well and I didnt' want to disturb her rythmn.

My second favorite part of the course was around mile 18 when we ran into the Cal State Long Beach campus and it was a big party!! Lot's of music, dancing and high fives! I loved this section and it gave me a surge of much needed energy.
I really wish I would have written this earlier when I still remembered more details. I remember running along and thinking I have to blog about this.. now I don't remember what "this" was :(
I do remember when I passed mile 20 thinking I had never felt this good this late in a marathon before. Oh I was tired and I had started taking walk breaks but nothing really hurt, no big toe pain no hip pain, I was pretty happy.
I also remember being disappointed in my pace but also telling myself that I had not really trained for a sub-5 marathon, I had trained for endurance and at that point was feeling like my training had been successful.
Bailey had finished her 1/2 and now had Michele's phone and she started sending me encouraging texts's. She reminded me that mile 18 was for Uncle Charlie, unfortunately I was already at 20 so I made that one for Uncle Charlie. I asked her who 21 was for, I was feeling in need of some extra encouragement. Her response... Mile 21 is for Brett and all those who serve with him. Of course I instantly started crying but I also ran that whole mile for Brett and all of service men and women serving overseas!!!

Mile 23 was when things really turned south. I started getting that weird pulsing/cramping thing just above my knee..kind of where the quad muscle connects to the knee, this creates some kind of chain reaction and all of a sudden my left calf was really cramping to the point I had to start walking. I would walk until the pulsing/cramping subsided and then I would run until it got to painful. I was thankful it didn't start until mile 23 but really would have been much happier if it had never happened!!
Around mile 24 or 25 as we are running along a group of people are on a balcony heckling the runners. It was kind of funny but annoying at the same time, I was running so they were actually cheering for me telling me I was doing great but they were giving this one guy a hard time he, was wearing a gray shirt and they were yelling hey grey shirt RUN, quit walking you wuss, RUN... on and on, they only took a break to cheer for me.. the guy in grey did start running and I said to him as I was passing I would like to see them try to run a marathon! That gave him a laugh and seemed to help a little.

The rest really is a blur, I do remember thinking I know Bailey is going to be somewhere near the finish line so I need to finish strong. I picked it up and everything was cramping but I could see the finish line and I really just wanted to be done!!!!!!
Sweet sweet finish line, Bailey was indeed there and I saw her right after I crossed the finish mat, and once I got through the maze of people there were cupcakes provided by a local bakery!! YUM!!
I was anxious to get my California Dreamin medal, and was searching all the tents to find it, finally I saw someone else with the medal and asked where they got it they showed me where the tent was and away I went. I also looking for Bailey and Michele but my priority was that medal!!
The guys at the tent were great they were very enthuastic in their praise on finishing the series!!
I found Bailey and we headed to Michele. I was feeling pretty good, I think it was the cupcake!!

We made our way back to the car...next stop was In-n-Out Burger :)
I can't even thank Bailey enough for being our driver the whole weekend!!
We headed back to Anaheim for much needed showers, I was covered in salt!!! Michele, and Bailey were first and when I came out I could see Bailey was packing up to leave. I was SO sad to see her go, but she really needed to get on the road, she had a long drive back to San Jose ahead of her!!!!!!
After Bailey left it was just me and Michele, we were both exhausted so decided a nap would be a good thing. I put on my compression socks and crawled into bed. We probably slept close to 2 hours, and then James got back from his conference and it was time to go to dinner. He had made reservations at Roys Hawaiin Fusion restaurant. It was very yummy! Afterwards Michele and I walked over to Disney Land. We didn't realize how far the Entrance was, good thing or we probably wouldn't have gone. I was really wishing I had my Garmin on but I would guess it was about a 2 mile walk. We went to the ticket counter only to find out they didn't have any kind of evening/twilight rates and neither one of us wanted to pay $72.00 for just an hour or so. We did some shopping at the gift store outside of the entrance and then headed home. Good thing I had that nap earlier in the day!!
Total miles for the day at least 30! Of course walking is so good for recovery and we had our recovery socks on!

Another great trip to California and Marathon # 7 completed. Next marathon will be the Mid South Marathon in Wynne Arkansas on November 7th. Next trip to California will be in February for the Surf City Marathon, this time Arland is going too!!

Long Beach Marathon - Pre Race

2009-10-20T08:30:00.001-07:00

Sunday October 11ths was the Long Beach Marathon and my third marathon in the California Dreamin race series.
Friday Michele, James and I met at the airport for our flight to LA. James had a Conference to attend in Anaheim on the exact days we were going to be in California for the Marathon, the timing could not have been better!! It saved us the hassle and expense of a rental car and Hotel.
I had even more luck along the way. We had a layover in Las Vegas and so I put $10.00 in the slots for fun and I walked away with $120.00. What a great way to start our trip!!

It was early afternoon when we arrived in California so we had plenty of time to head over to the Expo in Long Beach before heading to our Hotel in Anaheim. It was a nice Expo, not the biggest or best I've been to but big enough!
Since this was my third race in the California Dreamin series I got my jacket at the expo. It is a very nice jacket and I was very excited to get it... I love anything free, well I don't think free is the right word considering the cost of travelling to California for 3 marathons!! LOL
We picked up our packets and walked around for a little bit, James isn't much of an expo person and was ready to go pretty quick. I did get to stop by Dane Rauschenberg's booth and say hello before we left. I planned to buy his book and have him autograph it but James ushered us out before I got the chance. I am FB friends with Dane and I think I am doing a couple of the same races he is in the near future so maybe I will get my autograph copy afterall.

One more stop at Cold Stone Creamery and we were off to Anaheim. The last place I lived in California before moving to Arkansas as a teenager was Santa Ana, so it kind of felt like going home. Of course that was many years ago and everything has changed so much!! It didn't matter, I was just happy being in So. Calif!!

Once we checked into the room Michele headed straight for the bed! James was pretty hungry and I was starting to feel some hunger pangs myself. We tried to get her to go with us but she was too tired. Our plan was to walk over to Cheese Cake Factory but on the way we passed right by Morton's Steakhouse, we couldnt' resist and decided to eat there instead. Of course it was wonderful!!! but my goodness, the prices were a bit steep!!! Oh well when you hang with James you eat, sleep and travel in style :)
Bailey arrived while we were still at dinner, but between the order James placed for Michele and the leftovers there was plenty of food for both of them!!
It was so AWESOME to see Bailey!! She looks great and seems happy! Last spring she seperated from the Air Force and after a summer spent visting family moved to Okinawa Japan to help her brother take care of his little boy. They are lucky to have her!

We were staying at the Marriott and had a huge room, it had a queen size bed and a pull out couch, and seriously that was the most comfortable pull out bed I have ever slept in! actually more comfortable than some regular beds I have slept in!
Bailey and I shared the pull out bed and of course James and Michele shared the queen bed. It was kind of funny to all be in the same room, but it worked out fine. Bailey and I laid in bed and chatted for a while and then it was sleepy time.

Saturday morning we headed back to the Expo, Bailey got her jacket and it was a different style that I liked much better, I asked if I could trade even though I was wearing mine, and she said yes :)
After the Expo we headed to Oceanside to visit my Dad, stepmon, Aunt Leni, and Uncle Charlie. It was a long drive but luckily not too much traffic.
My dad grilled for us and Vanda had fresh salsa's, salad and fruit for us. Everything was yummy but i had to be careful about what I ate because of the Marathon the next day!!
I wish we would of had an extra day just to spend in Oceanside but when we go back in February I plan on staying at least 2 extra days! Arland will also be going and it will be his first trip ever to California! I can't wait!

We had to make a quick stop at Target before heading back to our room, by now James had finished a long day at the conference and was hungry so he and Michele went out in search of food. We were right across from Disneyland so the restaurants were packed! Bailey and I headed back to the room and started getting everything ready for the race. It really makes race morning go so much smoother when you have everything ready the night before!

I have to confess now that I did not exactly follow a "day before a marathon" nutrition plan. I tried a couple of new things at the Expo, we had In N Out Burger for lunch and then at my dad's I had fruit, a couple of slices of bratwurst, salsa etc. I really didn't go into this Marathon looking for a PR. My training runs were all geared towards endurance and not speed...................

Weekly Activities Part 1

2009-07-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

Lower humidity and temps this week has made running so much more pleasant!! Before I get to that I wanted to just talk a little bit about last weekend. Saturday morning I met Brenda early 5:30am to run a couple of miles before the rest of the gang were meeting at South Side for the early Saturday morning run. The run started off great, it was hot and humid but I was enjoying my run with Brenda when all of a sudden the stomach thing hit. Luckily there was a short cut back to the hwy through a church parking lot. I was pretty miserable and not sure if I was going to make it when I look up and there is the big red truck riding up to my rescue!! Arland had been on his way to the school to meet for the 6:00am run. He scooped me up and dropped me off at the gas station while Brenda finished the run. Talk about perfect timing!!!
We had a pretty good size group waiting for us at the school and soon we were all headed out to do the "Cherry Loop" it is a hilly route but I like it. I wish I could say the rest of the run was great but while the bathroom break took care of one problem it left me with another.. concrete legs. I dont' know what it is but sometimes if I have to have a potty break in the middle of the run it seems to give me energy and others it completely takes away my energy. I still ended up with 8 miles for the morning so I was happy.
A frozen chi tea helped make me feel better afterwards.

Saturday afternoon Kelly. Cheryl and I met at the movies in North Little Rock to see "My Sisters Keeper" It was nice to spend some time with the girls, even if it was at a sad movie!

Sunday morning Arland and I met Brenda, Sarah, Lisa and Gabby at the water dept. for the regular Sunday morning Brick. It has been great to be back on the bike and on the way out (we ride out for 30 minutes and then turn around) it was awesome we were really flying, we were so proud of ourselves... well then we turned around and had a pretty stiff head wind to condend with!! I have to say it was tough and we had to work much harder!!
I had planned to run 5 miles but ended up with 3 and there was quite a bit of walking! I haven't had to walk that much in ages especially during a 3 mile run but that head wind really did my legs in!! The good thing about the run was getting to run with Gabby :) I haven't seen her in ages so we got to catch up a little bit.

Arland has chicken on the grill and I need to prepare some pasta... part 2 later :)

Life and Running

2009-06-26T14:29:00.001-07:00

Well good grief I never thought I would be one of "those" bloggers who just stops blogging. I guess sometimes life just gets in the way.
Something else that got in the way... FACEBOOK... yes I am addicted to Facebook! BUT that is no excuse to stop blogging so I am going to try to get back to updating at least once a week or so.

What have I been up to in the past 2 months???
Well in April I ran the Nashville/Country Music 1/2 Marathon. We had a fairly large group and it was a fun weekend. Michele kept us out "honky tonking" till the wee hours of the morning on the Thursday before the Marathon and then on Friday we did ton's of walking at the Expo etc. Needless to say this was not one of our best races, but I got to run the whole thing with Michele and that was great!!

In May our Women Can Run Clinic ended with a graduation 5K the Saturday before Mothers Day. As a Leader I didnt' run the race but Michele and I stationed ourselves about a mile out and ran portions of the end of the race with all of our girls. We had such a great group of beginner runners and in our "C" group we really bonded and a group of us are all still running together at least once a week.
I'm really sad that I didn't blog more about this while it was happening (the clinic) because it really was just the most wonderful experience!!!

Livia and Kylie left for Brazil In May and will not be back until mid August so I've been very sad and missing them a lot!!

Work is VERY STRESSFUL.. somedays on the drive to work I feel nauseous. It has gotten somewhat better, mostly because I have reminded myself over and over to try not take every thing so personally!!

Ok this was just a start... I promise to update more this weekend.

Brett - Pictures

2009-04-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

Brett graduated from Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson South Carolina on Friday. I will hopefully write a proper post about it when we get home. Right now we are passing through Nashville on our way home.
In the mean time here are some pictures of my new Solider.

Little Rocker's Marathon/ Little Rock 1/2 Marathon

2009-03-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday March 14th was the big Little Rocker's Race. I'm pretty sure i mentioned in a previous post that I was asked to run with the kids during the race. I had been looking forward to this race since day one and to be out there with the kids was just the best!!
It was nice to get to sleep in a little bit, the race wasn't until 11:00. Arland and I went to Magness to pick up Kylie and he dropped us both off at the school. We were riding the school bus to the race and then would ride home with family.
You could really feel the excitement in the air.. the kids were just buzzing about!! We all boarded the bus and were soon on our way with a long caravan of cars behind us. I have not been on a school bus in many years, and had forgotten about that school bus smell!! LOL
We parked right in front of the State Capitol, first stop... port-a-potty's!! LOL Hey it wasn't just me! When Michele texted me to see where we were and i told her in a port a potty, Alex sent me a text saying "Of Course"!!
Poor Kylie, I was trying to help her with something and elbowed her in the eye!! OUCH!! she only cried a little bit but it definately put a damper on her pre race spirits. She was worried she would have a black eye.. but luckily that didnt' happen.
We did a lot of picture taking and finally it was time to take our place at the Start line. The older kids went to the front and we (kindergarten) went towards the back. I had a big yellow Cabot sign and we all chanted Cabot.. CAbot.. the kids loved it!!
I was wearing black tights, zebra skirt, bright yellow race shirt, multicolored/pink arm warmers and pink gloves. I was quite the sight but very visible!!!!
They had a wave start and it was a couple of minutes before it was our turn... we started off at a nice little jog but Kylie soon was ready to walk. I was carrying a sign in my right hand and Kylie was tugging on my left so I was jogging/walkign lopsided.
The first part of the race we mostly walked but I was able to talk the girls into at least running on the downhills and we weren't last so it was ok. I told Kylie we would walk and jog easy but when we got closer to the finish we were going to run hard. As soon as I saw the crowd I said ok lets run, and Kylie took off and ran the last .1 like a pro!! After we crossed the finish line she was huffing and puffing but very proud of herself. We got our medals just like at the big marathons and headed to find the rest of the group.
Tracy, Livia and Jeff all came out to the race and Kylie was so proud to show them what a great runner girl she is!!
After the race we all met the Martin's at Crazy Hibachi... Kylie's choice :)

It was a GREAT GREAT GREAT experience and absolutely my favorite race experience of all time!!! I will always cherish the time I had with the Running club and Kylie.

Little Rock 1/2 Marathon.

With all the exctiment of the kid's race the 1/2 Maraton was kind of an after thought... until Saturday night when I really started thinking about my race plan.
I really didn't have any high expectations for this race, after we did the practice run a couple of weeks ago I had decided to just take this one easy and maybe concentrate on Nashville. I did have some goals, my PR for a 1/2 Marathon is 2:13xx.. I set it at Soaring Wings back in October. I really didn't think I could come close to that so I was concentrating on a Little Rock 1/2 Marathon PR... The first year I did LR it was my second 1/2 marathon and I had only been running for 6 1/2 months finish time was 2:24.... last year I had high hopes but started out way too fast and crashed and burned finish time was 2:20ish. I can't remember exactly.
So my goal was to finish in at least 2:20, well that was one of my goals. First goal is always to finish, second goal was 2:30, 3rd. goal was 2:20 and my if I have a really good day 2:15.

We had been in touch with several other Cruisers and everyone was parking in the President Clinton Library parking lot. Luckily we were all able to park in the same area and had a chance to gather up away from the crowds. Michele had met us at Team1, Karen was also supposed to meet us but unfortunately she overselpt and didnt' even wake up until about 5 minutes before our meet time. We never did get to see her before the race. One of the nice things about the race location is access to nice public restrooms! I was able to "relax" and take care of business which is always great!!!
Michele, Jane, Arland and myself were all lining up together... the plan was to start together but each person was going to run their own race. On the way to our Corral we saw Cheryl and Tammy... I had been keeping my eyes peeled for Tammy, this was her first Marathon and I really wanted to see her before the race. After a hug and picture we all went our seperate ways.
We had kind of lined up towards the back of the C corral but then we saw Brenda and Lisa after hugs were exchanged we followed them and moved a little further up.
I felt good pretty much from the start, I was running an easy pace and enjoying the energy of the people around me. It didn't take long for everyone to leave me behind. I kept Jane and Arland in sight but after a few minutes Michele was long gone. As we were going up the Broadway Bridge I caught back up with Arland and Jane and ran along side Jane for a minute or so. I thought about staying with her but I knew she wouldnt' want me to so I just kept going at my "easy" pace. I'm not exactly sure where I lost Arland and honestly I wasn't sure if he was in front of or behind me the rest of the race, I also wasn't sure if Jane passed me so I spent most of the race thinking they were in front of me.
I turned my i-pod on with one ear bud and settled in... I was passing a lot of people but at the same time I was also getting passed a lot!! The big dilema Saturday night had been what to wear, it was in the low 40's at the start and the high temp was supposed to be in the low 60's. After several text messages and reminders by my wonderful friends I decided to wear a skirt (of course) and a short sleeve tech shirt. I had on an old long sleeve t-shirt for the pre race and I tossed it around mile 2. Anway the point of this is I really really wish I would have worn a sleeveless running shirt. Luckily it was cloudy but kind of muggy and I was getting warm!
I saw Cheryl around mile 3.5 she was waiting to see Tammy and Kim.. I yelled at her and she turned around just as I was running by... it was great to see her!! I also saw some of our Conway running friends a couple of times on the course. It really is nice to run close to home and see so many friendly faces!!!
I felt like even though I was comfortable the first couple of miles were a little fast and after last years disaster I was really worried about burning out!! I took my Raspberry Cream Acel-gel at mile 4.5, I can't take one of those things all at once, it takes me pretty close to a mile to finish. I am really loving these gels!!!
When we got to the long incline leading up to the Capitol I kind of just tucked in and told myself you can make it just chop the hill down and swing em and breath... those are both things Coach Dennis used to tell us. As I was running up the hill I was passing a man and he turned to me and asked if I was on steroids?? LOL... I just laughed and said Uh I don't think so!! LOL but it made me feel good, made me think I looked strong. I really don't remember a lot... I did think of Jane and our rainy run from a few weeks before when we got to the Governor's Mansion.. I was also remembering that last year I was walking so I was thankful to still be feeling good.
Mile 11.5 I am keeping pace but starting to feel a little tired when all of a sudden someone crashes into me.. I could tell it was purposeful and when I looked over there was Michele. I was SHOCKED.. where did she come from??? Well turns out she had been lolly gagging the last few miles, I think we had just passed a water stop and although I didn't see her I must have passed her while she was getting water. She fell in beside me and said so do I guess you aren't going to take a walk break.. LOL.. NOPE!!! I had made it that far I wasnt' going to walk now!
It was nice to have her with me for the last part of the race... she let me lead the way until just before the finish line, she still had some kick in her but I wasn't able to speed up as much as her so she led the way across the finish line. When I got close enough to see the time clock it was 2:09xx.. I really wanted to finish under 2:10 since I was so close and really tried to pick up the speed, but just didn't have enough and I crossed in 2:10:02.. I was thrilled!!! that was a 3 minute PR!!! After I got my chip cut off and Medal I found Michele... she asked me what my finish time was and I told her what the time clock had said... she looked at me funny and said well what does your Garmin say. I just shrugged and said 2:08:43 (it took me a couple seconds after the finish to turn it off) and for some reason it didn't even dawn on me that the time on my Garmin was my actual finish time!! LOL I guess it was about 30 minutes later when it hit me!! So you can imagine if I was thrilled at 2:10 how happy I was with 2:08:45. My official chip time was 2:08:39. Honestly I was not expecting that, even though I felt good the whole race. I never looked at the time and only occasionally glanced at my pace so I had no idea it was going to be that fast.
After getting our "goodie" bag full of junk food Michele and I headed straight to the chocolate milk!! Coleman Dairy always gives away chocolate milk after the race and I always look foward to it!!
We both knew we needed to keep moving but we were waiting for everyone else to come in.
Once we had all gathered up we headed to the River Market to find some coffee. Boulevard Bread was closed, they are always closed on Sundays's but in my opinion I think it was crazy of them to be closed on Marathon Sunday, I can only imagine how much money they lost out on by not being open. After much wandering around we finally got some coffee at Andina's. Brenda, Lisa, Vic and the others had already eaten and were getting ready to head back out to the finish line to cheer in our Marathon runners.
I had already been planning on going back out to meet Tammy, but we also had Jackie and Gary. I called Gary and found out he was really struggling, he shouldn't have been running at all but he is a stubborn mule, and he paid for it!!
Jane stayed with Vic and the others and Michele, Arland, Karen and I headed back down the Marathon route. Arland was comfortable with the whole thing so he stopped and too up post at a bridge closer to the fnish line. When we first headed out I saw Bailey and she looked so good and happy!! She finished in 4:24 which is awesome but later I found out that she too had been lolly gagging through out the race. Stopping to visit with the Clinton family etc. she definately has a sub 4 hour marathon in her if she wanted it.
I think it was right around Dillards Hill when I saw Jackie... I had been on the look out for her but she was dressed all in black and I almost didn't see her! She called out my name and I fell in beside her and ran back to the 26 mile marker with her. She was cramping and had some pain but you wouldn't know it by looking at her, she looked strong!! Jackie is the Angel who got me through the last 1.5 - 2 miles of the Memphis marathon so I was so happy to be able to run beside her for the last .75 of her Marathon!! After I let her go, I turned around and headed back to find Gary, on the way Brett called me... could my day get any better??? I was running and I was talking to my son. He sounded so good!! He is doing really well in Basic Training and I could not be prouder!! He didnt' get to talk for very long but just hearing his voice made me so happy!!!
I had caught up with Gary and Michele while talking to Brett and was sad when he had to hang up but the timing worked out perfect.
Poor Gary he was hurting!! He and Michele were walking but I gave his butt a little squeeze and that pepped him up!! We ran him to just past the 26 mile mark and turned around to go back to find Tammy. I had talked to Cheryl a couple of times and knew about where they should be. It was probably right around 25.5 when we saw them coming up the road. Tammy looked GREAT!! very strong and a big smile on her face! I was so happy and relieved to see her looking so good! She was having some pain but just like Jackie you couldn't tell. We ran with her until just before the finish line chutes and we split off. It was an awesome day!! I had an unexpected PR, felt good and I got to run the last bit of the Marathon with some of my friends.
AND we topped it off with pizza and beer at Gusano's!! :)

Weekly recap

2009-03-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

Monday
I drove to Michele's house after work and we ran to the WCR clinic together. We got started a bit later than planned so we ran the most direct route to the clinic. It was cold and windy but we felt good on our run. Once we got to the clinic it was a different story! Michele and I got together and we have been buying a few things to give out to our beginner group at door prizes. We had a couple pairs of gloves and some socks that we threw out to the the group. Michele yelled out you can use the socks as gloves! LOL now I totally would have used them if I didn't have gloves but I bet those ladies thought it was a crazy idea!! The workout for Monday night was 30 second run 3 minute walk. With the cold and wind it was a bit challenging to walk for 3 minutes!!
After the Clinic Michele and I ran back to her house... it seemed everyone wanted to give us a ride! It was cold but once we started running we were very comfortable and had a GREAT run!! We took a different route home and ended up with a 3 mile run and over half a mile walk. I don't count the mileage from the WCR in my weekly total. Maybe when we start running longer I will but for now I am counting it in my walking milage.
Totals for Monday
Run 5 miles
Walk 3 miles

Tuesday
Again no lunch run... I think I wimped out because of the cold.
Jane came over Tuesday night and we ran our "zig zag" route through a nearby neighborhood, we also ran around the Soccer fields. It was chilly but the wind had died down so very comfortable. My evening runs with Jane have just been flying by, my mouth is usually going as fast as my legs and the next thing you know our run is over! Jane on the other hand is having quite a bit of problems with her hip/SI joint so I don't think these runs are quite as easy breezy for her as they have been for me.
Tuesday 5 mile run
.5 mile walk

Wednesday
Arland had to go to Memphis for work and it wasn't looking good for a lunch run. I had the time but did I have the desire... yes I had the desire but I was cold and it was windy. It actually was in the 50's but I had been chilled all day and the way the wind was whipping everything around outside it was hard to think of running.... but I started thinking of how great I would feet when it was over! I told myself you are alone you don't have to run fast, you don't have to keep up with anyone just go and have a nice easy run. I just ran on feel and I was feeling pretty good, I knew I wasn't running slow but it felt very comfortable. I glanced down at my Garmin when I got to where I knew the first mile should be, when I saw the time I thought hmmm a little fast I should slow down, but instead I just kept up the same comfortable pace. I had thoughts of making it 4 miles instead of 3 but when I got to 2 miles and realized I was running close to Lactate threshold and knowing I was running again in the evening with Michele I decided to keep it as 3 miles and pick up the pace for the last mile.
Wednesday evening I met Michele at the Community Center for Buns -N- Abs class. It was a great class, our regular instructor had been out for a few weeks but she was back and making up for lost time!!
Karen met us afterwards to run with us. Michele and I had come up with a route we thought would get us 4 or 5 miles. Poor Karen she has really been upping her mileage and intensity and thought she had signed on for a quick 3 miler, instead we took her on a 6 mile romp through Cabot. I did try to get Michele to shorten our planned route but she was feeling good for the first time in ages and wanted to run!
Total miles for Wed. 9 miles

Thursday
No lunch run, I was feeling a bit tired from my 2 runs on Wednesday. Michele ran to my house and we ran to the Clinic together. We had company this time, Arland needed to run so I talked him into running to the clinic with us and then he ran home on his own. It was very warm on Thursday and sweet Heather who lives around the corner from us said it would be no problem when I asked if she would mind taking taking some stuff to the clinic for us. Namely our reflective vests and some water.
The workout for the beginner group was once again 30 second run, 3 minute walk. Everyone enjoyed the workout much more with the warmer weather!!! The cold and dark have made the first couple of clinic sessions a bit challenging but with the time change and warmer weather around the corner it is going to be easier!! Well actually I like the cool temps but I will be happy for less darkness!!
Jane, Michele and I ran to my house after the Clinic.
Thursday Total
Running 4.5
Walking 3

Friday
REST DAY... woo hoo!! I was definately ready for a break. On the run home Thursday night I was feeling a few little twinges and pains in some new places that were a bit bothersome. I'm used to certain pains but when they pop up in new places I get worried. Luckily a day of rest took care of them.

Saturday
Chase Race 2 miler race and Paws 1 mile run. The 2 mile race was part of the Grand Prix series but I had decided I wasn't racing, instead I was just going to do the 1 mile fun run. Orginally I thought Kylie was going to go with me but those plans changed.
Saturday morning Arland and I picked Jane up at her house and we headed over to James and Michele's house. Arland, James and Russ planned to bike back to Cabot after the race, so we were all riding together to Conway.
Alex my young racing partner and I discussed running the 2 mile race together but on Saturday morning he wasn't feeling well so we nixed those plans. Once we got to Conway Alex changed his mind and wanted to do the race. I told me that I wasn't going to run with him and he got a little upset.. I felt bad and decided to go ahead and register for the 2 miler, just as I was headed that way they announced registration was closed. Bummer :( BUT then I noticed that Abbie had a red (2 mile) bib so she gave me her bib and I lined up to run with Alex. Normally I wouldn't do something like that but I did pay my $20.00 so I didn't feel too bad. Alex's goal for the race was to break 20 minutes. I didn't think he could do it but I told him we would try. I started us off right around a 10:00 minute pace and he seemed pretty comfortable with it... at the 1/2 mile mark I sped us up just a little. This time we were only running a few minutes when Alex started with the "how far what is our time" stream. We ran with Victoria C. for a little while and then we had a bit of excitement when we got to see the leaders and our fellow Cabot Cruiser Josh was in 3rd place. The course is an out and back with a loop around a residential neighborhood, after we saw Josh we also got to see Gary, Melisha, and Ginny, maybe a couple of others. We yelled for everyone and in the excitement picked up a little speed. They had a water stop and although it was a warm morning Alex decided he didn't need any water so we passed it by. The whole race Alex was constantly asking what is our time how far have we gone!! I think it annoyed some of the people around us, but we were passing them anyway so they didn't have to listen to if more than once!
Once we had about a quarter of a mile left I sped us up even more and then in the last tenth or so of a mile I told Alex to quit thinking and just run as fast as he could!! I didn't run through the finish line. Not only did Alex break 20 minutes he broke it by a lot!! His official finish time was 19:18 :)
Everyone had great races and there were a lot of PR's all around!!
This race always has great food after the race and I decided to be bad and had a Chic-filet chicken biscuit... mmmm that thing was yummy!!!
Aunt Tamera ran the 2 mile race and did a great job!! She hasn't been able to run as much this winter and didn't have as good a time as last year but I am so proud of her!!!!

The bikers changed into their bike clothes and got the bikes ready to ride. Phil C. Arland, Russ and James were soon headed off to ride home. Michele, Jane, the kids and I were planning on going to Sporty Runner before heading home....
Unfortunately James and Russ had a really bad accident on hwy 107 and we were soon rushing off to get them. James was on his new Tri-bike, he's not sure exactly what caused it but his left foot clipped out while he was going about 23 mph in the aero position.. he couldn't get control and crashed, he landed really hard on his chest and head. Russ was right behind him and ended up running over him and crashing. Arland and Phil were somehow able to avoid crashing into them. Arland called 911 right away and they were able to get the guys and the bikes onto the side of the road. By the time we got to the scene the EMT's already had James Wrapped up, and a cardboard sling on Russ.
We loaded Russ and James into the Suburban and headed to the Hospital while Arland and Phil continued on their bikes. They made it to HWY 5 and then Jackie and Bailey scooped them up.

When I first saw James laying on the side of the road the first thing I noticed was the red marks on his head. Scared the crap out of me!! Luckily he had a new helmet that protected his head!!
Both also had quite a bit of road road rash and Russ had a big hole in the hip area of his bike shorts.
Once we got to the hospital Jane stayed out in the Suburban with the kids so they wouldn't have to go in. The ER was packed and unfortunately the guys had quite a wait before they were seen by the doctors.
Jane and I took the kids to Stoby's for lunch, it was a couple of blocks away and the walk was good for all of us!!
Once Arland got home he quickly changed and headed to Conway to pick us up.
We took the kids home with us and their grand parents came to pick them up later on.
James had a broken collar bone and rib. Russ has a broken arm and had to have surgery last night.
Thankfully although they are both in a lot of pain they are OK!!

This morning I met Michlele at 6:00am well it was supposed to be 6:00am but we didn't start runing until almost 6:15. We met Jane at the Community Center, after her very traumatic and tiring day yesterday Michele decided she was not up to a long run and we made the decision to run back to her house. I think she ended up with 7 miles... Jane and I continued on, she was having a lot of hip/SI joint pain so we took a few walk breaks but we were both happy with our run. My total this morning was 12 miles... 4 with Michele and 8 with Jane and Michele for part of it. It started raining as soon as we finished... this made us very happy!! The wind was wicked again this morning and we were very lucky to finish before the rain!! It was a good morning!
This afternoon I am heading to the Track, Vicki and Joan sent out an e-mail to the WCR participants and hopefully some of my Beginners will be there.

Total miles for the week
Running 37.5
Walking 7.5

February Wrap Up

2009-03-02T19:27:00.000-08:00

Ok I know February is a couple days short of a normal month but seriously I feel like I blinked and it was over!
Here are a few highlights.

Surf City
I already blogged about the race but I can't have a February wrap up without mentioning it. It was such a wonderful trip and I can't wait to go back next year!!

Recovery
I took a full week off after Surf City, it was the first time I have taken such a long rest without being injured. I really think it was the best thing I could have done for myself. After Memphis I felt so broken and I had no real down time and my last few weeks of training for Surf City really suffered.

Runners High
Arland and I started running together at lunch a couple of days a week. It has really been great! We have had some really great runs. We only have time for 3 miles so we have made these runs our speed work and we have been running Lactate Threshold pace during almost every run. Some of the runs have been pretty tough but I feel SO GOOD and the runners high helps make the rest of the day so much better. Work has been really stressful and I swear the lunch running has really helped me deal with it.

Running With My Girls
We are still running together and I have had some great runs! Jane has come to my house a few times and we have been running a variation of the route Arland and I run at lunch. A couple of these runs have been perfection! One night as I was saying good bye to Jane after she had come inside to stretch and chat for a few minutes I realized I felt so good I didnt' even feel like I had run. I had the runners high but no fatigue or aches or pains... like I said perfection.
I have also had some good runs with Michele, Karen and Brenda. It has been a little while since we have all been able to run together and I have to admit I miss those runs!!!

Kylie/Kid's Running Club
We are nearing the end of the kid's running club, the Little Rocker's race is in two weeks and after than only a couple more weeks until the end.
Kylie has been struggling a bit with the running. I have been having to use a lot of persuasion to keep her going. Last week she told me she wanted to quit... I told her she really didn't but she was quite emphatic that yes she wanted to "be a quitter".
Week before last we did a "timed mile" for the kids. One of the mom's had made cute foam medals for the kids and their finishing times were recorded on the backside. It was a chilly rainy day but I was really proud of the kids they did a bit of complaining but no more than some adults I know!! LOL It was a struggle to keep Kylie going but she persevered and finished her mile in 15:36. I am really going to miss these kids!!!

River Trail 15K
The first year we did this race in 2007 we had to battle extreme cold and 40 mph winds. This year we just had to deal with rain and lot's of it. It was around 44 degrees and rain the whole time. I didn't really have any great expectations for this race, it was going to be the longest I had run since the Marathon and I still considered myself in recovery so I wasn't pushing it. I had my ipod and I started off at an easy pace and pretty much maintaned that the whole race. I started in the back of the pack so I ended up passing a lot of people, it's kind of nice to be the one passing instead of being passed. One person I never passed was Arland, he had a really good race!
Michele wasn't feeling great and I did eventually catch up with her and we ran together the last few miles.
When Michele and I finished our race we went back out on the course to find some friends. Karen was the first one we saw and we ran in with her. I just about froze to death after we stopped running but it was worth it to see Karen, Judi, and Susan C. finish their races.

Women Run Arkansas/Women Can Run.
This year Michele and I are Leaders in the Beginning Runners group. We have 100 women in the beginners group alone and that doens't include the intermediate/advanced and Walker groups.
I am very excited about the next 10 weeks. I really hope that I can help at least one person discover the love of running! Tonight was our 3rd meeting. The first night was pretty just an introduction and we didn't run/walk. Jane and Vicki are the Co-directors of the Cabot WCR clinic and they asked me to speak the first night. I was very honored but also very nervous!! There were at least 150 women all gathered in a big circle and I stood in the middle and gave my little speech. I looked down at one point and i could see my pant legs moving I was shaking so hard!! LOL
Tonight was our second workout and it was a little tough. It was very cold and windy which made the walk/run program we do very challenging. I really just wanted to run the whole time to stay warm!!
Michele and I ran back to her house after the clinic. It was a great run we ran a comfortable pace and I felt comfortable the whole run. On the way home it my car the chill caught up with me and by the time I got home I was frozen!! Luckily Arland had run on the treadmill here at home so I was able to cuddle up with him to warm up.

Brett
I have received one letter from Brett, it was a great letter and it sounds like Basic Training is making quite the impact on him. He graduates from Basic on April 3rd and Arland and I will be travelling to Columbia South Carolina to celebrate with him. I am very proud of him!!

Farewell to February, it was a good month but I'm looking forward to March and Springtime!

Running Outside of my comfort zone

2009-02-22T16:05:00.000-08:00

I have a race report to write and a recap of some great runs last week but right now I want to write about my run this afternoon.

Brenda had mentioned at the awards ceremony on Saturday that they were planning on running at 1:30 on Sunday. I knew my regular running partners wouldn't be running on Sunday so I told Brenda I would meet them. We discussed a meeting spot and possible routes. I was kind of nervous about meeting them, but Brenda also posted it on the Forum and sent an e-mail so I thought maybe someone else my pace might show up.
When I pulled into a parking spot at the Community Center I see quite a few runners gathered around the front. Holy crap... there is Ginny, her friend Danielle, Natalie, Mark, Cindy, Andrea. Sheesh it was all fast people!! Oh well I had my i-pod in my pocket and I had already decided that I was probably going to be running alone anyway.
While discussing possible routes teh prevailing consensus seemed to be we wanted to run on roads with less traffic. Hmph!
So Mark pipes up with an idea to run to and over a new bypass that hasn't opened yet.... sure no traffic on a closed road. I had my reservations from the beginning but started off with them anyway. We ended up running across a field that led to a stream that had a fallen tree for us to cross over it. As soon as I saw it I said NOPE... I'm running to Michele's house and started to turn around but Lisa wouldn't have it and she grabbed my arm and coaxed me into crossing over the stream. Robert and Mark gave me there hands and I made it across but I wasn't too happy about it!! LOL actually that was probably the funnest part of the run. We end up on a residential street for just a short bit and then we turned onto HWY 38, a VERY busy road. I was still with the group for a little while on this road but with Mark in the lead I knew I wasn't going to be able to hang on. Mark's wife had also joined us and this was just her 4th run.. ever I guess.
As we approached the new bypass all I could think was @#$%..%$#@..!##%#.... It was my least favorite kind of hill... long and curved with a slant in the road. I just trudged along watching the group get farther away. I was a little panicked at that point, I had not idea where the bypass was going to end. I was afraid I was going to be lost! Mark's wife was a little behind so I circled back for her, she is from Cabot so I was hoping she would know where we were going. I also don't like leaving people behind, especially new runners! Once we got over the bypass I was very relieved because I knew where I was. I wasn't thrilled that we were now on one of the busier roads in Cabot, but hey at least I knew where I was! I circled back again for Rachel a couple of times and then soon enough we were turning onto the road that would take us back to the Community Center. I got a rock or something in my shoe normally I probably would have just left it but were had run through quite a bit of glass and I didn't want to take the chance that it was glass! I stopped to take my shoe off and get it out.. Rachel kept running but it didn't take long for me to catch backup with her. Once we got close to the Community center I could see the main pack running down the side walk in front of the High School. Rachel was done once we got to the Community Center, we had 3 miles but I wanted 5 so I decided to run to Michele's house. I didn't walk but I slowed down quite a bit so I could call Michele to make sure she was going to be home. After I talked to her briefly I plugged in my i-pod and enjoyed the rest of the run. I saw Cindy running in the opposite direction I think her foot was bothering her. I also saw Danielle, her stomach was bothering her.
I really did enjoy my last couple of miles, having the ipod really made a difference I think!!
I had 5.25 miles when I got to Michele's... I walked the cul-d-sac to cool off, the last mile there was no wind and full sunshine so I got a bit hot. It was a beautiful day.. sunny about 46 degrees and pretty breezy.

This was not a comfortable run for me but I am so proud of myself that I stepped out of my comfort zone and met up and ran with (sort of) a different group of people. I rarely ever run alone and it was really good for me...I really did enjoy it.

Valentines Day 5K recap

2009-02-15T09:37:00.000-08:00

I had been dreading this 5K for a couple of weeks. I haven't really done speed work in months and I have been pretty slow since Memphis! That was until last week when Arland and I used our lunch runs as tempo runs. I was feeling a little more confident and ready to take on the 5K. Friday morning as I was having coffee with Michele I found out that her son Alex (7) was going to be running the 5K too. He was going with his dad, Michele and Abby had a birthday party to go to so were not going to be going to the race with us. I thought about Alex all day and in the afternoon decided to call him and see if he would like me to run with him in the race. He seemed pretty excited about it and we discussed what his goals were and what our stragegy would be. I WAS very excited! The pressure was off for me to run a certain time and I could just go and have fun. Russellville is about an hour and a half drive from Cabot but since the race wasn't starting until 9:00 we didn't have to get up at 4:00am! I made myself a bowl of oatmeal but only ate maybe a quarter of it. Jane came over about 6:30 and after one last trip to the bathroom we were off. Having Jane with us made the time just fly by and before I knew it we were in Russellville. It was chilly and pretty windy, I was wearing a skirt and a long sleeve tech shirt with my Cabot Cruiser singlet on top. As we were walking to the packet pick up table I hear a young voice call out "miss Annette" I turned and there was my buddy Harry C. actually it was the whole C. family. We chatted for a few minutes and I got some hugs and then we were off to get our race numbers. There was quite a big turnout for this race and a lot of people were doing race day registration, so many in fact they had to move the race start to 9:15. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal but it was pretty chilly so an extra 15 minutes of standing around kind of sucked!
Alex and I headed towards the back of the pack but realized we were with a group of walkers so we moved up a bit.
Alex had a very ambitious goal in mind for this race, his fastest 5K was a 32:59 and he wanted 29 minutes. His dad told him that probably wasn't realistic and I also talked to him about it a bit.
I had to really hold him back the first mile but I have run with Alex before and I know he goes out really fast and then when he gets tired he gets cranky and can sometimes shut down so my goal was just to keep him going.
First mile was an 11:06... perfect right where I wanted us to be. There was a group of people running with us most of the race, it looked like a mom and three or four kids, they were older than Alex but he made them his competition. They would run fast and then have to stop and walk, so we did the leap frog thing but eventually we passed them and they never caught up.
Second mile was 10:39. We were passing lots of people and I know that made Alex feel good, he was holding up really well, I would check on him, how are you feeling etc. Every now and then I would have to make him slow down a little bit.
Alex was constantly asking "how far-how long" so I was constantly looking at my Garmin. When we were at 17 minutes he said Josh is fnished now, and then at 18:30 he said Gary is finished now. When we were around 25 minutes he said my dad should be finished now. He knew everyone's goal times... he is a numbers kid!
We had steadily been picking up the pace, not pushing too hard but just a gradual build up. I could tell Alex was getting tired but he never complained. He had started asking about time and distance every few seconds... finally just before we hit the three mile mark I said lets just run. I was really pushing him but he was tired, he kept running and was running a good pace but just didn't have that last sprint to the finish I was hoping for. We finished in 32:56 a PR and a good race. He seemed pretty happy with it. I was very proud of him, he ran every step no walk breaks. The third mile was 10:04, I don't know what the last .1 was because I forgot to turn my Garmin off until we were out of the shute.
I really really really loved every minute of this race. It was such a joy to run with Alex and help him run a good steady pace.
They also had a kids 1 mile race so it was quite a bit before they got to the awards ceremony and then they had some glitches with placement. I was VERY dissapointed because instead of having the 5-9 age group they lumped 1-14 all together so Alex did win an award. On the online results listing they have it broken out and he should have gotten a third place trophy. Alex and James didn't get to stay for the awrds ceremony, Alex had a basketball game at 12:00 so they had to rush back to Cabot.
Quite a few of our Cruiser's won trophys :) Jane 2nd place grandmasters, Gary 1st place grandmasters, Bailey 2nd 25-29, there was a problem with the 35-39 female results, Gabby was announced as the second place but might actually have been third or fourth and Jackie was right behind her. Josh won his age group and Russ was third in his age group. I don't think I left anyone out???
It was a great race and I think everyone was really happy with their results. Oh I almost left out Caitlyn C. she won 1st in her age group! All the C. kids won trophys in the the one mile run.

After the race We met Jackie, Phil and the kids at I-hop, Judy and Steve also joined us. Breakfast afterwards is always my favorite part of any race!!!!

Arland and I spent a quite day at home yesterday... it was nice not to have to fight the Valentines day crowds!!

Back in the Groove

2009-02-13T17:04:00.000-08:00

I promised myself before Surf City that I would take a week off of running after the Marathon. It was really hard but I stayed true to my promise and I did not run for an entire week. The first few days it was easy not to run but by Thursday I was starting to feel the itch and by Saturday it was almost killing me!
Although I didn't run I still worked out... Run club with the kids, Buns n Abs and Jane's class. I did do a little bit of jogging with the kids but Kylie fell and scraped her hands within the first few minutes and it was almost all I could do to keep her walking for the alloted time. It was a struggle but we did manage to get our mile completed.

Friday night Kylie spent the night and on Saturday morning she went with us to meet the runners at the Diner for Breakfast. It was good to see everyone and Kylie showed off my super cool surf board medal.
Saturday afternoon Michele and I went to the Sporty Runner in Conway and I finally got a new pair of running shoes. Well actually I just bought a pair a couple of weeks ago, but those didn't work for me. I got the new Asics Kenyano 15's... I LOVED the 13's but can no longer find them in my size. I tried the 14's but did not like them, they actually really hurt the top of my foot.
I have heard good things about the 15's and they felt good when I ran in them at the running store.

Finally Monday rolled around and it was time to run! Arland and I had decided to run at lunch.
The weathermen were calling for rain later in the day but at lunch it was perfect. It was actually very warm but I am not going to complain about warmth in the middle of February!!!
I was so excited to put on my running clothes and new running shoes. It was a good run, my left leg calf/ankle area felt pretty tight and at first I thought oh great these shoes suck, but then I remembered this was my first run in a week and my last run had been a marathon. By mile 2 everything started loosening up and I was enjoing the run and then... my stomach :( the last mile ended up being a combination of stopping, walking, and running. It didn't matter I was just so happy to be running and I was kind of expecting stomach problems, especially since I was still drinking coffee at 10:00am.

Monday evening I went to Pilates at the Community Center, the instructor is great and I am so glad I have included it in my workout schedule. In just a few weeks of going back to buns and abs and adding the Pilates I can feel myself getting stronger, especially my core!

Tuesday the weathermen were calling for rain through out the day and storms in the evening. Jane and I were texting Monday night and she said she was going to run on the treadmill the next morning or at least she was hoping to. Jane and I are a lot alike and I knew the chances of her going were probably slim, so I offered to meet her. As usual the treadmill was torture and I only managed 2.25 miles. Still it felt good to be working out and jane and I always manage to make the best out of any situation. Running on the treadmill wouldn't be so unbearable if it weren't so stinking hot and they only have one fan for five treadmills. We usually walk on the indoor running track afterwards so we can cool off enough to put or jackets on and go outside into the cold.
The kids running club was moved inside because of the rain. The kids were split up into 3 seperate groups, one group would walk through the halls, one group played Wii, and another group was in the cafeteria where Jackie was giving a nutrition seminar. My group the kindergartners and first graders were walking the hallway first. It is quite the challenge to keep the kids motivated, they start off gung ho but after about five minutes they were getting very whiney... when can we stop, I'm hot, I'm tired, my side hurts, when can we stop, I'm tired, when can we stop, when can we stop!!!!!!!! Kylie was whining just as loud as the others and then you add in the fact that several of the kids were fighting over who got to hold hands with me well let me just say she was not a happy camper!! They were all very happy when they "finally" got to go to the cafeteria. Jackie asked the kids "where do you get most of your vitamins" one little boy quickly blurted out Wal-mart. I thought that was pretty funny but I bet a lot of adults might have answered the same way! The right answer was of course bright/dark color veggies and fruits.
By the time the time my group got back to the gym parents were there ready to pick kids up so they didn't get to play with the Wii. The rain had stopped by the time we finished run club and the sun was actually breaking through a little bit, so I called Jane and we decided to try to get a run in around 6:30. Karen also met us and we ran a very easy 3 miles, it felt so great to be running outside, actually I think Jane and I ended up with 3.25 miles. As we were stretching it started sprinkling, it almost felt like we were meant to run since the rain held off until we were done.

Wednesday the rain finally cleared out but the wind, oh the wind! Arland and I wanted to run at lunch but the wind was pretty intimidating, a couple of times at work the wind would blow open the front door and cause all the ceiling tiles to do a little dance! We had almost talked ourselves out of running but I knew I would be sorry if we didn't so I said, let's just do it, if it is awful we will just cut it short.
I think it was in the mid 60's but with the wind it felt cooler. I suggested a zig zag route so that we wouldn't be running into the wind for 1.5 miles. One of the advantages of this route is very little traffic, but it is kind of tedious running up and down lot's of dead end streets, it is also pretty "incliny". I guess we were both feeling pretty good because we ended up with a pretty speedy run and it felt especially good since we had to deal with the heavy wind! 3 miles 9:25 avg. pace.
Wednesday evening was Bun's and Ab's and Jane's cardio/strength interval class. Kelly our regular insructor was not there and I guess they had to scramble to find a substitue instructor, one girl started the class and about five minutes later someone else came in, well you could tell she wasn't too happy about having to teach the class... it was so bad that Michele left in the middle of class to run home. I stuck it out and it did get better but by the end I was in a bad mood and almost didn't stay for Jane's class. As soon as I saw Jane I knew i would stay and by the end of her class I felt ton's better!

Thursday... although I had plans to run with the girls Thursday evening when Arland mentioned running at lunch I was all in!! It was another beautiful day, 64 mostly sunny and breezy but not too windy. I didn't think I could run as fast as I had the day before but decided to just run however I felt and not worry about pace. We started off fast right away I didn't think I would be able to maintain that pace for the whole 3 miles but decided to just run it as long as I could. The last .75 of the run was the hardest, it is a long incline and the breeze was at our back so it got hot!! I really thought any second now I'm going to fall apart but I held it together and we ran 3.1 miles with a 9:19 avg. pace. I was very happy!! We have a 5K on Saturday and I had been thinking I would be happy if I could finish in 30 minutes. After two days in a row of speedy (for me) runs I knew I wouldn't be setting any PR's but at least I could probably finish under 30 minutes. Thursday evening I met Jane and Karen at Michele's house, I was wearing a skirt and short sleeve shirt but had thrown on a jacket before I left the house. When I got out of my car at Michele's it felt pretty chilly so I decided to leave the jacket on. It didn't take too long for me to warm up and I was starting to get uncomfortable, luckily we were running back by Michele's house so I threw my jacket off... not a moment too soon!! It had been decided early on that we were only going to run 3 or 4 miles, I had orginally wanted 5 miles but since I got to run at lunch I was fine with the shorter distance. When I was leaving the house Arland told me not to run as fast as I had at lunch, my response... ha ha don't worry, I don't think I could even if I wanted to. Well I was running with Jane and Michele and those girls are fast and next thing you know we were speeding along. I did slow down a couple of times and whined about them trying to kill me! but it was great and we finished 3 miles with a 9:28 avg. pace. I don't remember the splits exactly but the first mile was a 9:40 and the third was 9:14... the middle mile was a 9:20 something but I don't remember the exact number and I'm too lazy to go get the Garmin to check!! LOL
We ran one more mile at a cool down pace and ended up with 4 miles. It was great to run with the girls, and I was very happy that Michele was able to run with us!!

My legs were very happy to have a rest day today!!
Tomorrow we are headed to Russellville for the Valentine's day 5K. Although my runs this week gave me more confidence about the 5K I have decided that I am going to run with my young buddy Alex (Michele's son) I called him today and asked what his goal was for the race. He said 29 minutes but I think his fastest 5K was 34 minutes. I told him I didn't know if we could do 29 minutes but I would help him get as close as possible. His main challenge is pacing himself so I'm going to try to reign him in the first half so he will have the energy to run the whole thing. I'm pretty excited to be running with Alex hopefully we will have fun.

Surf City Marathon - Race Report

2009-02-08T08:07:00.000-08:00

This time last week I was running the Surf City Marathon.......

We had no clock in our hotel room so Bailey and I both set the alarms on our cell phones. I set my to give me a 5 min snooze. I slept a little better Saturday night with my new pillow but still now as well as I would have liked. I kept waking up wondering what time it was, does anyone else think it is weird there was no clock in our room?? The alarm finally went off and I just hit the button, fell asleep and woke up about 15 mins later in a bit of a panic. I jumped out of bed and put my contact in and brushed my teeth. I was starting to get my breakfast together when Bailey started making waking up noises. I asked her if she knew what time it was and then informed her it was 4:35 and time to GET UP!! Bailey is not a mornning person and she was grumbling and moaning a bit but she was getting up. As we were talking about why my snooze didn't work she said well i wonder why my alarm didn't go off. I plugged in the coffee maker and had just poured the water in when Bailey said to me IT IS 2:48am. At first it didn't register in my brain what she was saying, and then I was like ummm no my phone says it is 4:whateveram. WELL.... For some reason Blackberry's don't change time when you change time zones so all weekend I would just subtract 2 hours whenever I looked at the time on my phone, but when I set my alarm on Sat. night I completely forgot about the time difference. We both started cracking up and I immediately turned off the lights and got back in bed. I laid there and laughing for a long time before I finally was able to fall back asleep.

It was just as hard waking up at 4:30 as it was at 2:30 but we got up and started the pre race preparations. I had brought oatmeal with me to have for breakfast but with all the shopping at Target and Trader Joe's that we did on Saturday I never thought about the fact that a bowl and spoon might come in handy for preparing and consuming my oatmeal. Bailey suggested using the coffee carafe so that solved one problem... now what to eat it with. We had bought some kind of corn chips for after the marathon. So I used the coffee stirstiks to mix up my oatmeal and I used a tortilla chip as my spoon.

I haven't had oatmeal as pre run nutrition in a very long time. I ate about 1/2 of it and I can happily report that it didn't cause me any stomach distress and I really think it helped with my energy levels during the race.

We gave ourselves plenty of time to get to the race and it was a good thing too because we had to make a few u-turns, but we made it in plenty of time. We parked in the Beach parking lot and had about a mile walk to the start. I actually didn't realize we were that far away until after the Marathon! I like walking at least a mile before a race, it seems to help things loosen up and I'm usually able to have a successful port a potty trip.
It was pretty chilly at the start, luckily I had accidentally brought a pair of throw away gloves and I bought a throw away shirt at Target on Saturday. We wandered around and then went into the expo tent for a few minutes to stay warm.
When we got back to the start it was packed!! We headed towards the back of the lineup we were right next to the tape dividing the full and half marathoners so we thought we were at the back but turns out they didn't give us enough room and there were still a ton of people behind us.
The announcer kept saying if you don't have a bib on get off my course and yes if you didn't have a big/tag you shouldn't be on the course but he kept looking out in the crowd and saying he saw people with no bibs... well I don't think he realized that a lot of people had warm up clothes on and there bibs were underneath.. like me!!

Finally the race starts, and within the first 100 yards or so there is a very large lady with walking sticks and a friend. I was tryng to get around her and on the ground is a large water bottle so I'm trying to dodge the lady and the water bottle when this young guy just about tackles me trying to get around all of us! Not the best way to start a race, but we settled down and into a comfortable pace pretty quick. The first miles were on the Pacific Coast Highway and although it was cloudy and grey I could see the beach and smell the ocean air so I was happy!!
The first 6 miles really passed pretty quickly, I think it took that long for Bailey to warm up, she had brought a short sleeve t-shirt as a warm up and it wasn't doing a very good job of keeping her warm. I warmed up within the first 3 miles and had thrown my gloves away about mile 2. I felt terrible that I threw them away instead of giving them to Bailey but I wasn't thinking luckily I was using my brain and when it was time to take off my shirt I gave it to Bailey.
After the PCH we ran through some park and around a lake. This section was FULL of kids cheering us on! It was great having them out there! We also had a little bit of trail running while in this section, it was just a short stretch but the hard dirt felt good, not so much the sandy section on the little uphill.
When we got back out on the PCH the sun had come out in full force and I was very thankful I had bought my new sunglasses on Saturday!! and very very glad I had brought along a visor!
The miles on the PCH are kind of a blur, Bailey took pictures every mile and most of them had me in them.

You can see I was feeling pretty sassy at mile 3
And what is up with that guy still wearing his trashbag at mile 5?? LOL

Oh and I was right not to trust the course description. This was not a hilly race at all BUT there were more than the one hill that was mentioned in the race course description!!

We did a good job with our nutrition, we did get started on our gels a little later than planned. We were going to start at mile 4 or 5 but next thing you know it it mile 6. I brought 5 gels 4 Accel-gels and 1 orange vanilla Roctane GU. The first time I had the Roctane I hated it so I'm not sure why I brought it but I liked it better this time so I will keep it in the lineup. I had a new flavor of AccelGel, Raspberry Cream, I took half of one early in the morning right after my oatmeal just to see if I could handle the flavor. It wasn't bad, but of course none of the gels taste good to me, it is more a matter of what isn't just flat out disgusting! I really like the Accel-Gels because they have the 4 to 1 ration of protein to carbs and I can tell the difference.

So I never did get new shoes before the marathon, I think I might have blogged about they New Balance 1224's that I bought a few weeks ago? They suck!! They are probably great shoes but they just don't work for me. I ended up wearing my Kenyano 13's, they have been through a lot of miles, 2 marthons and a big part of the training for 3 marathons. I put in my new Berry Super Feet insoles and hoped for the best. Well I know the insolses probably helped a lot but by mile 13 my feet were hurting, specifically my big toe on my right foot. I get that pain a lot during longer runs but usually it doesn't start that early and the pain was worse than I have ever felt before!

The Marathoner's started about an hour earlier than the 1/2 marathoners and at about mile 9 we all met up we came from opposite directions and turned onto another road, well at first I was kind of excited to see them, but once we turned it was awful... there were thousands of them and they were at mile 3 of their 1/2 marathon so they were all running a lot faster than we were and they just overtook us and were coming at me from all sides and I actually had a little bit of a panic attack!! I couldn't breath and just felt really out of sorts! I also was running faster than I needed to be trying to stay out of there way. I can imagine it must have pretty frustrating for them having to dodge the slower marathoners!!

Eventually it calmed down and I was able to get back into a rythmn for a while, but the pain in my toe and the little panic attack were taking their toll and I was having to take some walk breaks. I really just wanted to get on the beach!! and then finally we are turning onto the beach path and it is just the Marathoners again. This race course was full of out and back loops so we were constantly seeing other runners and it was the same on the beach path.
We had taken a Gel just before turning onto the beach and within the first little bit there was an aid station and they had "uncrustables" PB&J sandwiches. We were thrilled... we were on the beach and we had PB&J sandwiches!!!! We walked we ate our sandwiches, we giggled we were just in runners heaven! BUT Hell was waiting for us a little ways down the path. My calves had been cramping for several miles already but it was really starting to slow us down and I was having to take more walk breaks which actually made it worse i think.
Bailey was GREAT!! we lauged and talked the whole time and As much pain as I was in it never erased the good feelings I had. Heck we were together, we were in California and we were running on the Beach!!!
We saw lot's of interesting people in the race!! The barefoot runner, Forrest Gump, the lady hacking up a lung! The lady in the interesting leopard print outfit!
During one of the out and backs we got to see the Marathon Leaders... that was pretty exciting especially seeing the Female leader. She had the biggest smile on her face!!! I hope she won!

Finally we were getting down to the last few miles... but I swear mile 17 lasted forever and had to have been at least 5 miles long! Mile 18 I finally had to use the port a potty, I think it was the combination of the GU and PB&J.

Bathroom Break
Bailey took so many pictures!!

We finally get back to where we first entered the beach path and are now headed in the opposite direction, DAMN it is another out and back and a guy running beside us, or maybe walking at that point just lets loose with a few angry cuss words!! Of course I start laughing because I am feeling the same way on the inside, but then I feel back because maybe he is hurting or something.
We talked to a girl in this section who had run the Barcelona Marathon and she said it was very hard because you passed the finish line several times before you really got to finish! plus it was really hot... it definately made me want to NEVER run that marathon!!
Finally the last miles....

I had called Brenda at about 19.5 miles. I was really in pain and was starting to hit the wall and needed to hear a Brenda pep talk and she didn't dissapoint!! After a few minutes with her I felt much better...still hurting physically but uplifted mentally! I also called Jane a little later, she didn't answer so I left a voice messge and she called me back.

Although it was just Bailey and I who made the trip to Huntington Beach we were not out there alone!! We got so many text messages and phone calls the whole weekend!! When you are a Cabot Cruiser you are never alone!!!

Finally we are back on The Pacific Coast Highway with about a mile left. I was still in pain but I was getting excited! My Dad, Stepmom Vonda and Aunt Leni were are going to be at the finish line and I couldn't wait!! I also couldn't wait to get that cool surfboard medal around my neck!!!

Bailey and I crossed the finish line together with hands held high above our heads!! We both got to hear our names announced, that was cool!!

I love the D-tag system they use in the California they don't have to be turned back in so no having the hassle of getting your chip cut off!! I hope everyone starts using them soon!

I called my dad and unfortunately they were just arriving so they didn't get to see us finish. My Aunt Leni was somewhere around the finish line but I don't think she saw us either. Oh well they were there and all had traveled at least an hour just to see us!!!
We chatted a bit and then made plans to go to my Aunt's house in Menifee to watch the Superbowl.

The mile walk back to the car felt like 10!! I honestly didn't know if we were going to make it! Once we got back to the car we headed to the beach for our Pacific ocean ice bath!! The walk across the parking lot barefoot was excruiating but once I got to the sand it was great!!! The water was soooo cold and we were squealing like little girls the whole time!! At first it was just the feet but little by little we went further and further out until our legs were also in the water. It hurt but we knew it was going to make us feel better later so we endured!!
We saw a few other people doing the same thing but they were a lot quieter about it than we were!! LOL

After we left the beach we headed to find an In-N-Out burger... it took a little while, a few u-turns a little frustration but it was SO worth it! We took our burgers back to our room, somehow made it up the 2 flights of stairs and then devoured our food!!

More about the rest of the day later....this post has taken me over an hour to write!!

It was Fun.Fun.Fun!

2009-02-05T19:34:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where to start with my Surf City race report. Do I start with the pre-race fun or just skip to the race???
I actually started a post last night and then I accidentally deleted it.

The weekend seemed to be one adventure after the other. We started the trip by holding up a whole plane full of people as we were dilly dallying. The great thing is we had no clue until we got to our gate and were informed we had 30 seconds before they closed the door so there was no stress. I am usually very concious of time so it still surprises me that we cut it so close. We giggled the whole time we were running to the plane.
Once we got to L.A. we were the U-turn girls... the wrong exit girls... the just plain wrong way girls. It might sound bad but really we laughed through it all and had fun, well almost all of it!

I had been nervous about our Hotel ever since I booked it back in November. The host hotel was sold out and thankfully so since it was pretty expensive. We paid for 3 nights what it would have cost 1 night at the Hitlton. You know the old saying "you get what you get pay for" well it could have been much worse but we definately weren't living it up in high style. The good news it was clean and no bugs. The bad news our pillows weighed 10 pounds each and were as hard as bricks, no elevator, etc.
It was late by the time we checked in Friday night and got settled in our room. Midnight in California but 2:00am Arkansas time. We pretty much fell into bed, normally when I'm that exhausted I don't have a problem falling asleep but with the brick pillows I could never get comfortable and did not sleep well.
Saturday morning we didn't set our alarms and just woke up when we were ready. We were both anxious to explore our surroundings and go to the Expo so we were awake by 8:00am.

I was pretty impressed with the Surf City Expo I would compare it to San Francisco maybe just a bit bigger,definately better than Memphis or Little Rock!! We got our race packets and made sure our "D" Tags were working and then it was off to explore.
I didn't really find anything I couldn't live without, except for a new pair of sun glasses. I also got Michele some cute Marathon Girl running pants, oh and I almost forgot I did buy myself a long sleeve t-shirt.
SCAM ALERT... Maybe scam is too strong of a word for this but I don't know what else you could call it.
I wish I could remember the name of the running skirt booth.. Jazzy skirts or something like that, I picked up a skirt to look at it, and the sales person came over when I questioned where the pockets were. She was very perky and told us the skirts had some kind of special energy/balance thingy sewn in. She asked if I wanted a demonstration. She had me stand on one leg and put my arms out sideways, she then proceeded to push down on on arm until I lost my balance, she then grabbed a skirt and had me hold it in my hand and once again raise my arms our to the sides and stand on one leg, once again she pushed on my arm and lo and behold I didn't topple over. I was so impressed I had her do it again and it was then that i realized she was a shyster. I guess I was so nervous about having a strange person manhandle me while balancing on one leg that I didn't noticed that when she put the skirt in my hand she pushed down on both arms not just one. Well of course equal pressure you aren't going to lose your balance. I just smiled and walked away...I wonder how many people fell for that???

After the Expo we headed out to find Target so I could get a new pillow! We were also starving since we hadn't had breakfast. Normally a burger would be the last thing I would eat the day before a marathon!! I told Bailey since we are just here to have fun and our only time goal for Sunday was to finish before the cut off and there would be plenty of port a potties we decided to live dangerously and have what our hearts desired and that was In N Out Burgers! We were in California we had to have In N out!! AND it was so worth it!!
After our burgers we made a trip to Trader Joe's and bought some water and banana's ... along with a few other goodies for after the marathon.

After several hours spent driving and shopping we finally made it to the beach!!! Bailey and I both have strong ties to California and we were in heaven the whole weekend!!

Saturday night we went to main street and had dinner at ???? darn I am drawing a blank :( Anyway it was a pretty long wait out in the cold...We had bruschetta for an appetizer and then I had salmon with rice. The best part of the meal was the bruschetta! After dinner we went to a chocolte store and bought some fudge for after the marathon. Bailey got a caramel apple and we shared it on the way back to the hotel... something else I would usually never do the day/night before a big race!!

Ok... my eyes can't take anymore. I will have to finish this later!

On my way

2009-01-30T14:05:00.001-08:00

Damn I wanted to post about our fun run last night but I have run out of time.

Thank you all for the good wishes...

Counting down and Catching up

2009-01-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

Where oh where does the time go??? I know it is cliche but seriously time is just flying by and sometimes I really don't know where it went?
This past weekend on Saturday I spent the entire day in a flurry of activity starting with an 8 mile run and breakfast with the girls. In a blink of an eye the day was over. Sunday I slept in a little ran 3 miles with Michele had coffee and then spent the rest of the day doing NOTHING, until about 6:30 when we went back to Michele's for homemade pizza and a few games of Dominos. It really doesn't seem to matter if my days are full or empty they go by just as quickly!!

I haven't been posting much about my running. It has been going pretty good other than this constant pain in my butt!! I have had issues with my SI joint for over a year but ever since the Memphis Marathon it has really been bothering me. Michele (she is a PT) showed me an exercise to "adjust" it and that helped quite a bit, but a couple of my longer runs it has come back and caused a lot of pain!! One thing that is aggravating it is hills so since Surf City is supposed to be flat maybe I won't have any problems during the marathon. Of course I rarely trust course descriptions! LOL Can anyone who has run it give me the true scoop... P.O.M??? Anyone???

I have got to thank my dear friend Jane, if not for Jane I would have been in big trouble during this marathon training!! She is a great running partner and friend and I don't know what I would do without her!! I have said it many times the best thing about running has been all the friends I've made!!

So day after tomorrow and I'll be on an airplane headed to sunny (i hope) California. I grew up in S. California so this is a little bit like going home. I just wish we were staying longer.

Suprise

2009-01-25T11:12:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a suprise party for Arland's 50th birthday. I say we because I had a lot of help, well truthfully I did very little. Jackie and family did the hard stuff.... they opened their home and hosted the party. Brenda and Tony shuttled people to the clubhouse so there wouldn't be a ton of cars when we pulled up. All of our friends brought food... it was really just so great!!! Yesterday afternoon Brenda and I picked out the cake and went over to drop off the cake and do a little decorating. The cake was a little pink and that got a chuckle out of Jackie, but hey it was me and Brenda the girls with the pink bikes, what do you expect???? LOL

Everything was carefully planned and I really didn't think Arland had a clue, but something he said just before we left the house made me think he was on to the suprise and then when we got to Jackie's house I knew. Jackie lives in a Cul de sac and wouldn't you know it her neighbors were also having a party. I told Arland "Jackie said the neighbors are having a party so park in the driveway" and he said Yeah right. I knew by the tone of his voice he knew something was up. It really didn't matter though because even if he suspected what was going on he had no clue how many people would be there so that at least was a suprise.

I can't thank everyone enough for coming out and celebrating with us!!

Fun Stuff

2009-01-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am going to the Brad Paisley concert with Michele, James and Karen. We are going to a new Mexican restaurant in Little Rock first and will indulge in a margarita or two. It should be fun!!
Because of the possibility of indulging in too many margaritas I have moved my long run for this week to Sunday morning. I do however plan to meet the runners for Breakfast on Saturday morning. I will probably just roll out of bed with enough time to meet them.. heck they will have just run 13 miles on the trails so they will be dirty and possibly stinky so I will blend right in!

So you guys know how much I love being a part of the Magness Creek kid's running club. Well Coach O and Jackie have asked me to run with the kids during the Little Rocker's Marathon.

WHAT IS THE LITTLE ROCKERS KIDS MARATHON? The Little Rockers Kids Marathon encourages children (ages 7 to 12) to become more active by following a fun, simple running and/or walking program. The goal for each child is to complete at least 25.2 miles before race day. A marathon is 26.2 miles.

Then, on race day, children who are properly registered and have reached their mileage goal will complete their final mile on the official Little Rock Marathon course in front of family, friends and thousands of spectators. The Final Mile is a one mile, non-competitive, untimed fun run/walk. As the children cross the finish line, each will be presented with their finisher’s medal and finish line refreshments like the adult marathon finishers.

I consider this quite an honor since only 2 adults are allowed to run with the kids (for each school group). You know I am probably going to have tears streaming down my face the whole race!! I started this whole thing off as a way to spend more time with Kylie and to keep her running and in the process I have become part of something much bigger! Thank you Jackie!!!

I'm out of here... headed to North Little Rock to have lunch with Brenda :)

Have a great day!!

# 6 And the last one for awhile...

2009-01-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

I have mentioned I am training for a marathon but I don't think I ever told you guys which one I'm running.

Marathon # 6 will be Surf City USA in Huntington Beach California.

Back in August when I was still riding the SFM high I started looked for a destination Marathon that Arland and I could do together to celebrate his milestone birthday in January. While surfing the internet I found a link to the Calfornia Dreamin race series. Perfect I had just run the first eligible race in the series and I love California and this would definately be a special race for Arland's birthday. When I asked him about it he seemed receptive but it was too late for me I was hooked and after one e-mail to Bailey so was she and by the next day we were both registered. Arland on the other hand was suffering one set back after another and back in November let me know he would not be joining us on this adventure.

Bailey has been injured for the past month and has not been able to get in any long runs... you already know how much my running has suffered since Memphis so we are quite the pair! We have decided though not to let it get us down and we are going to California and we are going to have a good time and by good time i mean fun! We are not worried about finishing time for the marathon at all!!! Our only goal is to make it in by the 6 hour cutoff.

So I am both looking forward to a fun filled weekend in Sunny California and the end of my Marathon season. I never thought I would run more than one or two marathons a year but I got caught up in all the training momentum and the next thing you know I have run 3 marathons in 4 months with # 4 right around the corner. I have loved training for all my marathons and I would do exactly the same thing over again if given the opportunity but I am ready for a break from Marathons.
Gabby and Susan both commented a few posts back that it sounded like I was suffering from running burnout... well they were both partially right. I have been suffering from marathon training burnout and I look forward to going on runs because I love running not because I have to get a specific mileage done. I will be doing a bunch of 1/2 marathons though and I look forward to training with Michele for the Country Music Marathon.

My next Marathon will be Long Beach in October.

Hot and Cold

2009-01-14T17:13:00.000-08:00

One day it's in the upper 60's and then two days later it is in the 30's. One day running feels effortless the next 10 my legs feel like they are made of lead. Hot and Cold.. that pretty much describes my life lately!

Last Wednesday night I went back to Buns n Abs class after not going for almost 3 months. It has taken me a full week to recover. From Wednesday until Sunday I was just absolutely miserable and the pain definately had an impact on my Saturday long run.
Saturday morning Cheryl, Tammy and I went to Maumelle to run with the Little Rock Marathon training group. This was my first time back since the week before the Little Rock Marathon last year.
Cheryl got us signed in and got the printout for the 16 mile route. We were a little late and it was from a distance but I still got to hear the infamous "good morning crackheads" from Tom the leader of the LRMTG.
When I was driving to Cheryl's house it was 65 degrees, by the time we got to Maumelle it was in the lower 50's and by the time we finished it was in the lower 40's with 20 mph winds.
Michele had overselpt but drove to Maumelle anyway and met us about 3 miles into our run. It actually worked out great because she did not need to be running 16 miles and there was a perfect place for her to park.
It was great to run with Cheryl again and also Tammy. We all had our issues and after the first few miles we were kind of strung out so we didnt' actually run together the whole time but we were never too far apart.
My legs were absolutely screaming at me the entire run and then the last couple of miles my feet joined in. I still feel like it was a pretty good run although painful I felt like my endurance was ok.
After the run we took Michele back to her car and then we all met up at Starbucks.. the very best part of the run!!!
After we said goodbye to Cheryl and Tammy Michele and I headed to Sporty Runner in Conway. Love that place and love the owner Linda!! The only thing I don't love are the new shoes I bought :( Ever since Asics changed the Kenyano 13's I have been struggling to find a new shoe. Saturday probably wasnt' the best day for shoe shopping considering how sore my legs and feet were but you know how it is hindsight is 20/20.... so I tried on several pairs of shoes and chose the New Balance 1224, they felt really good on my feet and they were so cute in all their pinkness.

Bailey and I were meeting Sunday morning at my house to run and I could not wait to wear my new shoes. I was still really sore, I know i sound like a broken record, and it was freezing cold about 26 degrees, it was a pretty good run until my stomach acted up at mile 4 but still over all a good run. Bailey had to get to the gym so I went into the house used the bathroom and then Arland and I went out for part 2. I ran 5.25 miles with Bailey and Arland and I ran 2.75.
After our run I made us a nice breakfast and we just chilled out until time to get ready for Cruiser Trash Pickup. Trash pick up was great, we had 25 Cruisers so that really makes it go by quickly. Brenda, Debbie B. and I were on the same side of the road so we got to chat quite a bit. Afterwards I went to Michele's house and she made us coffee and I stayed and chatted while Arland and James were off on their bike ride.

Sunday night or maybe early Monday morning as I was stretching in the bed I felt a little bit of tenderness in my left shin. I don't normally feel shin pain so I was a bit perplexed and then the next day my shin felt tender to the touch. I was telling Michele about it and she thought maybe it was from Trash Pickup and that sounded reasonable so I didn't worry about it too much... until I read Tammy's blog (she bought the exact same pair of shoes on Saturday) and saw that she was having some shin pain after trying out her new shoes.

Monday night Brenda, Jane, Michele, Karen and I met for a run. It was a very nice night I think in the middle 50's and just a light wind. I wore my new shoes and right from the start my shin was hurting so Michele and I ran back to her house and I borrowed her shin brace. The brace helped but I was pretty miserable the whole run, my shin hurt my quads still hurt etc. BUT although it was painful it was a pretty speedy run... well speedy for me. WE had a 9:40 avg pace for 6 miles and that included having to walk a few times because of my stomach :(

Tuesday I wore the shin brace all day and it helped a lot! Tuesday afternoon was the kid's running club. It was cold again, I guess the mid 30's but sunny so Jackie split the kids into 2 groups and 1/2 went outside while the other half played with hula hoops inside. When it was our turn to go outside Kylie did NOT want to go but I didn't give her a choice. I told her we would just walk but luckily I was able to talk her into some running. I was supposed to run with Jane Tuesday evening but poor thing she has been having sinus issues for a week or so now and last night they had travelled down into her throat so no running for her. It worked out good though I was at Kylie's house and she had been begging me not to leave and Vonda and Livia were cooking something that smelled delicious so I was happy to not run. I also think I probably needed a rest day anyway. OH I almost forgot Jane and I met at 5:00am Tuesday morning at the Community Center and did a great upper body workout! So funny that even though I'm sore from the workout I forget about it and think I didn't do anything on Tuesday just because I didnt' run.

I was planning on going back to Buns n Abs tonight but Jane felt up to running so I decided to run instead another deciding factor was the weather... it was warm again, mid 50's although a little windy but we have another cold front coming in and tomorrow I think the temps are going to be in the 20's. It was a good run.. poor Jane she sounded terrible and a couple of times she would need to slow down to catch her breath but she did really great! She really wasn't feeling good though so we cut our route short and headed back to our cars.. we had a little over 3 miles in and then we walked the cul d sac and ended up with 3.5 miles. At first I was going to be good with that but then decided I would go ahead and at least get 4 miles. I took off on our .5 mile route but instead of turning left back to the car I kept going straight and decided I would get 5 miles. I actually ended up with 5.5 and they were great!! It was good for me to run by myself, I am a little too dependant on all of my running partners and I was happy to see that my last 2 miles were a 9:24 avg pace :)

Tonight I ran in my Asics's and I am convinced it is the New Balance 1224's that are causing my shin pain :(
That is a $100+ dollars down the drain :(

Finally wrapping up 2008

2009-01-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

Running Miles - 1702.57
Biking Miles - 741
23 Races
4-Marathons
3-1/2 Marathons
2- 15K's
3-10K's
8 -5K's
2- 2 miler's
1 Duathalon

Organized Bike Rides
1 50 mile bike ride - The Big Damn Bridge 100
1 35 mile bike ride - The Tour De Rock
1 32 mile bike ride - Miss Vic's 100 miler

2008 was the year of the Marathon and my introduction to Road Biking.
I started off the year training with Cheryl for the Little Rock Marathon, I was only running the half but I wanted to support Cheryl in her marathon training so I commited to doing all of her long runs with her. Along the way I recruited Kelly, Michele and Bailey to run with us on quite a few of the training runs. Together we conquered Rahling Road, Kavanaugh, HillCrest,Mamumele Blvd Martin Luther King Blvd. the list goes on and on. A lot of those runs were pretty darn tough but we always persevered and finished every run with coffee and conversation.It was only fitting that since we had all run with Cheryl at one time or another during her training that we were there for the last few miles of her Marathon. I will never ever forget seeing the smile on her face when she saw us!

#1 Country Music Marathon
The Country Music Marathon was next this was the race we had chosen as a group to run. The timing was great part of the long run training with Cheryl was also our CMM training, we were just a little ahead on the mileage.
The most memorable training run with Nashville was our wet and soggy 20miler out on Lewisburg rd. It was a pretty miserable experience but it definately prepared us for anything that marathon day could throw at us...well almost everything.
Marathon weekend was awesome!! Brenda, Michele, Kelly, Robert, Gary, Arland and myself all stayed at the same Hotel and we had so much fun!!

#2 San Francisco Marathon
In Januaruary over Apple Pie and coffee at Daily Grind Bailey told me about her plans to run the San Francisco Marathon in August. Oh that sounds like fun I probably said and the next thing you know I have commited to running it with her. How could I turn down a chance to run over the Golden Gate Bridge??? I was able to talk Michele and Cheryl into going with us. Brenda was also going go with us but after developing PF she decided not to.
So after the CMM I took a brief rest actually I had to take a rest I had been struggling with knee pain since before the marathon and it increased during and after the marathon.
Bailey, Michele and I ran most of long runs for San Francisco at the River Trail... not really the best training ground for a very hilly marathon but we had some awesome experiences and how many people can say they bathed in the President Clinton Library fountains after a 20 miler?????
The San Francisco Marathon was such a great experience not just the race but the whole week. While I was still under the influence of the "Marathon High "I decided to run the St. Jude/Memphis Marathon in December. A large group of Cabot Cruisers were running it and I was planning on the 1/2 anyway so why not just do the full????

In June Arland bought me my first road bike and in addition to the marathon training I had also started training for the Big Damn Bridge 100.. well 50 for me. Within two weeks of getting my bike I did my first Duathalon in Hot Springs and I was hooked. Biking opened up a whole new avenue of fitness for me and I loved every minute of it even when Brenda and I were yelling out bad words while climbing the hills between Maulmele and Conway. I loved the hard kick my ass rides that Arland and the Davis brothers took me on and I loved the less intense more social rides with Brenda and Michele. Biking is such a complement to running and I felt like it made me a better runner.

#3 Mid South Marathon
While training for Memphis a couple of us got a crazy idea to use the Wynne/Midsouth Marathon as a training run. We had to run a 20 miler that weekend anyway so why not?????? So that's how marathon # 3 came about. The Midsouth Marathon is also part of the Arkansas Grand Prix so we got in a long training run and grand prix points all at the same time.

#4 Memphis
I had a great time training for this marathon with the girls, and it was a great Marathon.

So I started off 2008 training for a marathon and I ended it training for a marathon not a bad way to spend a year.

Toast

2009-01-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

I need to do a wrap up of 2008 and I will soon... but first I have to post about this weekend.

I haven't really posted much lately. I am still running but ever since the Memphis Marathon I have felt broken. My endurance and what little speed I had has really suffered, almost every run feels like a chore. Normally this time of year that would not be so bad but I have another Marathon on Feb. 1st. More on that Marathon later.....

Saturday I had 15 miles on my training plan and we have all gotten pretty tired of running the same routes over and over in Cabot so we decided to head to the River Trail. Jane, Michele and I were running and Bailey was on the bike.
We parked in the River Market and headed over to the public restroom, one of the advantages of starting later meant the restroom was open, which also meant the Boulevard Bread Co. was open so while I used the facilities Michele was in Boulevard bread ordering toast. I'm not sure what she was thinking but she got three orders which is 6 pieces of bread! Jane and I each had one piece but Bailey didn't want any so Michele ate 4 pieces of toast. We started of walking while we were eating the toast but if we had had waited for Michele to finish hers we would have been walking a long time so we started running while she was still eating. I think it took her almost a full mile to finish!
It was a great way to start the run but Michele made the comment that normally we would have already been done with our run and here we were just starting. In the summer we would usually start at 5:30 and it was almost 8:00 when we started on Saturday.
Just thinking that we should already be done made the first few miles a little tough and then the fact that it was really warm about 63 at the start and very very humid which made breathing pretty hard just made it worse. I had worn an old cotton t-shirt to start the run with the intention of throwing it away when I didn't need it anymore. My thought was maybe someone who needed it more than I did would find it. Well it didn't take me long before I got rid of it.. of course later Bailey went back and picked it up!
There were a ton of people on the trail, quite a few were part of the "Winter Running Series" but you could tell a lot of them were people who had probably made new years resolutions to lose weight and exercise not that there is anything wrong with that quite the opposite I loved seeing so many people out but you could really tell the difference just by the way they were dressed!!

Michele really was not "feeling the run" this morning and begged for a walk break at 4 miles and then when we got to the first port-a-pottie she had to stop. Jane and I made the decision to keep going, knowing I would need to stop about 1.5 mile up the trail and that Michele and Bailey would catch up. I was right just before we got to the dog park my stomach did it's thing and I needed to stop. After Jane and I both finished with the port-a-pottie we saw Michele and Bailey were just a little ways behind us. Jane and I started walking thinking they would catch up soon but soon we were running again. I could hear Michele and Bailey behind us laughing and talking and I kept waiting for them to catch up but they never did. A little bit later Bailey comes flying up tires sqealing to let us know that Michele has decided to turn around and go back. My first thought was you are kidding me but then I asked if Michele was ok. Bailey said she was fine she just didn't really want to run anymore. Bailey said she was going to go back with her, I said ok but you are coming back ... right? Bailey said oh sure.......
Well Jane and I carried on we were having a decent run but when we got to the Big Dam Bridge I said let's just walk up it.
When we got to Murray Park I needed another bathroom break and I took the time to send Michele a text message, it said... CHEATER!!. A little bit later she texted back asking where we were. Whenever we would take a walk break I would text her and I let her know we were near the Golf Course. A few minutes later who drove by, yes Michele and Bailey and they are having a grand old time. They asked if we needed anything... crackers.. water... A RIDE??? Ha yes we did but no we weren't going to quit. They drove on turned around came back and started taunting us somemore. We told them to go to Boulevard Bread and tell them to put out the Strawberry jam and to have our coffee waiting for us. Well they were looking at us kind of crazy and then finally they said ummm we're not going to Boulevard we are going HOME!!! I swear that thought never crossed my mind! I just assumed they would go back to Boulevard and wait for us... but no those brats went home and left poor Annette and Jane out in the wilds of Little Rock all by ourselves!!!! Hmmmph!!! BRATS!!

The rest of the run was uneventful... we ran, we talked, we took walk breaks and just really tried to have a no pressure run... just like Bailey and I have decided we are going to have a fun no pressure Marathon.

After the run we went back to Boulevard for our second helping of toast that morning... and of course coffee!
We stopped by Cheryl's house on the way home and I picked up some Avon she ordered for me, it was a nice visit but Jane and I were both covered in salt and felt bad sitting on her furniture!

After a shower I called Kylie to say hi, she asked if I could go to her house and I told her I really needed to clean house so she suggested that I come and pick her up and she would help me clean and then we could play.... how could I resist such an offer??? I did go pick her up but instead of going straight to my house we went to the Community center to watch Alex's basketball game and then did a little shopping. Once we got to my house we did a little bit of organizing but mostly we played. When it was time for me to take her home she said but NaNa all we did was play... LOL!

This morning I was meeting Gabby at the Community Center and she was following me to Dude's Place to meet with Brenda and the girls. Jane was going to run with us but she has been having sinus issues and was not feeling well at all this morning so she texted me to let me know she wouldn't be running.
One good thing I can say about the route this morning was it was new and a change of scenery. It was very warm when we started the run... about 63 degrees and once again very humid! I had on a skirt and short sleeve running shirt and I was really wishing I had worn a sleeveless tank. Gabby ran the first mile with us but since she was doing a longer run she needed to catch up with Brenda and Lisa and soon left us in her dust... she is quite the speedy runner!
Along the route we ran past a grocery store, Michele felt the need to use the restroom so we went in but the lady said they didn't have a bathroom... yeah right, but whatever, so we headed back out. Before we stopped I didn't feel the need to use the bathroom at all but as soon as that lady said no bathroom I knew it was going to happen soon. Luckily a little bit up the road we saw a Church and there were no cars in the parking lot. Michele ran across the grass to check the door.. it was open.. woo hoo!!! We really lucked out no one was around and the bathrooms were very clean!! I did wish I had a couple of dollars so I could leave a donation but unfortunately my pockets were empty.
Thank goodness I was running with Michele and she knew the area really well because when we got to one of our turns there was no street sign but Michele was pretty sure it was the right street and it was because just a few minutes later we saw the girls behind us. They had passed the road and at the time we thought maybe they did it on purpose to add on but I think they just missed the turn. There were a bunch of loose dogs on this road so Michele stopped and picked us up two huge sticks, actually they were more like tree trunks but those dogs stayed away from us! I could tell how far the girls were behind us by how long it took us to hear them yelling at the dogs.
It started raining during the last two miles of the run and I was really wishing I had windshield wipers.. or better yet a hat! The girls were gaining on us and I told Michele I wish they would hurry up and pass us so we could take a walk break!! Michele looked at me and said really? we can walk?? LOL When we hit 5 miles we decided we had had enough running and walked the rest of the way back.
When we got back to the parking lot I could see someone running and realized it was Karen.. I felt so bad, she had come to run with us but had gotten there late and missed us, but I am very proud of her because she ran on her own, luckily we all got back to the parking lot at the same time!!

I hope I get my running self back soon!! I'm tired of every run feeling like a struggle.

Cruiser Christmas Party

2008-12-22T05:42:00.000-08:00

Arland wrote about the party on his blog so I will just post a couple of pictures. Unfortunately I didn't take very many just a few of Kylie singing. There were so many people to talk to that I completely forgot about taking pictures. I do know that Jackie had her proffesional camera so hopefully she will send us a link to the party pictures soon and I will post some more on here.
But for now I have mostly Kylie with a small supporting cast.
Last year at the Cruiser Christmas Party Kylie would not leave my side for one moment... Friday night she wanted to sing multiple times in front of the whole crowd! Kindergarten has really been good for her!

Exhilirating

2008-12-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

I had a great run this morning with the girls out at Lake Pickthorn. I knew it was going to be cold this morning and there were times during the night and when I first got up this morning that I was doubting our sanity for running this morning but wow it turned out great!!!!
It was 24 degrees with a windchill of about 19 when we headed out to run this morning. Jane and I met Brenda and Cindy at McDonald's and then we all piled into Brenda's car and she drove us out to lake pickthorn.
I had on two pair of tights and two long sleeve tech shirts. I also wore my new wind vest I got at the Spa 10K, it is big but it was perfect this morning. Hmmm let's see I also had a neck gaitor and two head/ear bands oh and of course gloves.

The trail/path around the lake is dirt for about a mile and then a little over a mile and a half of gravel and grass. I really liked the packed dirt a lot it felt good to run on a softer surface, I didn't love the gravel/rock as well but it was still softer and it was a nice change. The four of us started out together but it didn't take long for Cindy and Brenda to get ahead of us. The wind was pretty fierce when we first started out and thank goodness for all the head bands I had on because I was able to cover half of my face which made it easier to deal with the wind. Whenever the gaitor would fall down the cold air would sting the inside of my nose! LOL The path is about 2.5 miles out and then turn around and come back. When we met up with Cindy and Brenda they told us they touched the gate so of course we did the same thing. On the way back I actually started getting really warm, the sun was in our eyes and I guess the wind was at our backs not that it felt any easier to run!! but I had to take off my gloves and one of my head bands. I was really glad I wore the vest because it has pockets so I was able to stash everything because once we got back onto the packed dirt and curved around we were right back in the wind and it was HOWLING so I needed to put everything back on. Jane and I just kept laughing because it was getting harder to run it felt like we were being pushed around a bit and the cold was just stinging our faces. Luckily we only had about .75 of a mile of that and then we rounded one more curve and we were back at the car. Brenda said if we ran around the parking lot we would get 5.5... I originally didn't care but once she said it I realized I wanted that even number!

It was such a beautiful morning.. the sun was shining bright, the wind was causing the lake water to crash against the shore so we had the sound of the water while running but as always the best part was the company. Jane and I chatted the whole time and we always had Brenda and Cindy just up ahead.
Brenda will get a kick out of this... Like I said the whole run we had Brenda and Cindy in our sight that is until the last bit and we went around a turn ... well when we got back to the road I couldn't tell which way we should go and I had a split moment of panic!!!! Luckily once I looked to the right I could see the parking lot but I'm serious for a second there I thought Jane and I were going to get lost!!!! LOL

During the run Jane and I were talking about how great it was to be out enjoying the beautiful morning and how most people would think we were idiots or crazy to be running in 20 degree temps... but I said we are going to have the biggest runners high when we get done with this run and I was right!! We were all so happy and chatty the whole way back to MC Donald's!

A fun run with the girl's

2008-12-14T16:23:00.000-08:00

I have to say I was pretty sore after the Marathon and had decided to take the week off. Monday and Tuesday I don't think I could have run even if I wanted to, Wednesday was a little better but still had no desire to run. By Thursday I was itching to run.. just something short and easy so after a few e-mails and text messages I had arranged to meet Brenda, Jane, Michele and Karen for a run. It was pretty cold and windy all day Thursday but I kept reminding myself that it had actually been colder during the Marathon. It was probably about 6:15 when we finally got started, one of the great things about our little group is there is no pressure to start exactly on time.
I was so happy to be running and nothing was hurting. We were running a nice easy pace and we were having a great time!! We chatted and laughed a LOT... it just felt so great to all be together again. The week before the marathon I ran one night with Michele and Kelly but had not run with Jane and Brenda since the weekend before the marathon... and of course we all ran the marathon alone so we were all a little giddy being together again. I think all of the Christmas lights also helped contribute to the festive feeling.
We were just planning on 3 miles but with Michele in the lead we ended up running 4 instead. I was really pleasantly suprised when I looked down at my Garmin at the end to see that we had a 10:15 avg. pace.. I know that's not fast but it really felt like a very easy pace so I was expecting it to be closer to 11:00.
I had the biggest smile the whole time we were running and I don't think it went away until I fell asleep that night!!

Correction

2008-12-12T18:19:00.001-08:00

Jane finished in 4:44!! I fixed it now but on the previous post I accidently wrote that she finished in 5:44.. sorry Jane! Thanks Arland for noticing!

Memphis Race Report Continued....

2008-12-12T11:16:00.000-08:00

Where did I leave off.... Oh yeah the Krispy Kreme donuts! Yes they were delicious and Kelly and I both got three of them. We headed back to the group and when Michele saw all my donuts she took one of them away and threw it in the trash!! She said you only want those donuts because you are upset about your time... which probably wasn't entirely wrong but seriously those were some good donuts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so proud of all my girls... despite the freezing temp's we all had Marathon PR's. Michele finished in 4:38 and would have finished in under 4:30 if not for a long port a potty break. Jane finished in 4:44 and looked great coming across the finish line or so I heard since I wasn't there! LOL
Kelly finished in 5:03 and I finished in 4:57. I think I already mentioned that Bailey finished in 4:33 and she also had a port a potty break. So weird that both Michele and Bailey who have iron stomach's and NEVER have to use the bathroom while running both had to stop and me who ALWAYS has to use the bathroom while running didn't.
Josh, Brenda and Andrea also had very impressive finishes!!! Josh in his first marathon finished in 3:01 and qualified for Boston.
Brenda trained so hard for this race but it wasn't meant to be her day. I think everyone thought she was going to be so devestated when she didn't meet her goal but she knew by mile 19 it wasnt' going to happen and was ok with it. Actually she said she was relieved because then she was able to settle into a more comfortable pace. I think the extreme cold and the constant inclines are what took her BQ away on Saturday but it doesnt' matter becasue she is fine and learned many lessons and she is such a strong runner..The BQ will be hers sooner than later I would guess... maybe next October possibly in California???? :)
This was also Andrea's first Marathon and she too didn't finish in her goal time but geez I think a 4:17 is amazing for a first marathon!!

I thought we were all going to go back to the Hotel and then find a Mexican place to eat lunch but the plan was actually we were going to the restaurant now! I am so glad I did the bag check thing otherwise I would have frozeen to death on the way to the restaurant. It was only a couple of blocks away but we were all moving pretty slow. My cramps had calmed down but now my legs were just plain sore!!
I don't even know how many people went to the restaurant with us but it was a huge group.. on the way I was walking with Vicki when I realized I didn't have any money!! Vic put her arm around me and said "I'll take care of you" I know I say it all the time but seriously... how lucky am I!!!!!!!!
Arland, Jane, Blake and Dillon eventually made it to the restaurant and I finally got to give Jane a big hug!! She has been such a great training partner and friend.

After lunch Brenda, Vicki and her group were all heading back to Cabot. Kelly, Robert, Jane and the boys were also heading back to Cabot but needed to go back to the Hotel first. I was really starting to fade but when we got to the Hotel Kelly bought me a coffee from the gift shop and wow I sure wish I could drink coffee while running!!!! It definately perked me up!!
A little while after they all left I talked to Michele on the phone... she had gone back to her room and taken a warm bath. Normally I would never take a bath in a hotel bathtub but I was really starting to hurt again so I followed her advice and soaked for about 20 minutes and then took a nice long shower... wow I felt so much better afterwards!!!

After a lot of texting back and forth we all made plans for dinner and Beale street. Lisa & Bob were already on Beale street with their son and the rest of us took the Trolley to meet them. Phil & Jackie, Jame's & Michele, Arland and myself. When we first got on the Trolley which by the way those steps are about 10 feet high!! it was empty but pretty soon it filled up with a large group of rowdy runners.. they had all run the half marathon so they were feeling pretty spunky.
Bob & Lisa were at "Alfred's world famous --- ? something or other. I had a cheese burger and a bloody mary... best bloody mary I think I have ever had as a matter of fact it was so good I had a second one!

Once we were done with dinner we wandered up and down Beale street before we finally decided on BB King's Blue's club. I had spoken to Ken B. Debbie's husband while we were at the restaurant and before long they found us at BB Kings. Those two Ken and Debbie are so nice and so much fun!!!! BB King's was fun we had a couple more drinks.. I slow danced with James and then several of us got up for a few up tempo songs. It felt good to dance kind of helped work out some of the soreness.
One by one the other couples left us... Michele wasn't feeling herself... Jackie was getting tired etc. Ken, Debbie, Arland and I were the last one's standing. We headed over to Jillians to see if anyone was still there watching the fight but when we got there we realized the fight was long over and everyone was gone. Ken and Debbie had driven over and were parked right across from Jillian's and it was so nice not to have to walk back to the Hotel in the freezing cold.
We got back to the Hotel about midnight and I think I fell into bed and was fast asleep within seconds!! It was a long day!

Sunday morning we had breakfast with James & Michele and then headed home about 10:45... we got home around 12:45 , I helped unpack the car and then talked Brett into going to the grocery store with me, came home made Enchilada's and Mexican chicken... the family came over to have dinner with us. I think they left around 6:30 and I finally sat down and relaxed for the first time that day. Good thing I took that little nap on the way home.

I have to give a big shout out to our cheerleaders... Cindy C. Phil, Arland, Bob, James, Ken. It was so nice seeing you guys and knowing I was going to get to see you guys at the end helped me in those last 6 miles!!
Phil... wow you were awesome I saw you a couple of times and I apparently also missed you a couple of times. I know that took a lot of foot work to be in so many places!! Thank you!

I ran with my i-pod for the first time during a Marathon and while I loved having the music I know I missed a lot too.

Nutrition... I think I finally got it right, not just the before the marathon but during. I never really crashed and although I was really tired and sore at the end I didn't get "sick" like I have many other times.
I know the port a potty thing was more than luck... I prayed a lot too... but I don't know that I can say I will be having pumpkin pie and chocolate cake the night before every marathon!

I took a few days off from running... was planning a full week but by Thursday I just couldn't stand it anymore and had to run... I'll tell you about it in the next post, hopefully that won't be a week from now!

Memphis Marathon Race Report

2008-12-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning I finally decided to wear my running pants, they are very comfortable and have big pockets that come in very handy when running in the cold. The pockets are great but not very flattering!!
I also had on my black tank with the pockets in the back and pretty much all my pockets were packed! I had a small baggie of pretzels, 1/2 a pbj sandwich, a small baggie with 5 honey stingers and 5 gels. I also had a ton of kleenex.
I wore my I run like a girl bondi band and my cheetah ear warmer around my neck. Jane also gave me a bandana to wear for the first few miles.
We had arranged the night before to meet in the lobby at 6:50am. There sure was a lot of complaining about the time but by the time everyone came down and we gathered for pictures and hugs it was probably 7:15 before we left if not later. We thought we might take the Trolley to the start but they were jam packed with runners so we decided to just walk... I think it was about a mile and luckily it was through downtown so all the buildings helped block some of the wind. Everyone was bundled up, I had on a throw away sweat shirt and my foil blanket from the Soaring Wings 1/2 marathon, Brenda had on her tradtional trash bag... I am sure we were all a pretty funny sight!
Jane had given me some hand warmers to stick in my gloves and wow those things are awesome!!! I am going to have to stock up.
We kind of got split up at the Bag check.. but Michele, Jane, Kelly, Gary and I all managed somehow to stay together. Next stop was the port - o - potty line... Don't let me choose which line to get into.. ever! I picked a line that unfortunately only had 2 port o potty's and it took a long time. Fortunately Michele Gary and I were all huddled up and kept each other warm. I moved one of my hand warmers to the little pocket in the back of my running pants and that really helped keep us warm! Gary decided to go behind the port o potty instead of in and I tried to encourage all the men in our line to do the same thing!
Finally it was my turn and I took my time and let everything have a chance to exit my body!! I knew the people outside were probably getting antsy and I was a little embasrassed to be in there for so long BUT I am very glad I just let things flow naturally!!
Finally I'm done we meet back up with Jane and Kelly give big hugs to Gary and head to our Corral. I think we ended up in Corral 10 or 11... kind of at the end of the 4:30 pace group. I found us an empty spot and we huddled up. There was a lady standing there all by herself shivering away so of course we surrounded her and gathered her into our warm little group. We did ask if she minded before we invaded her personal space, I just couldnt' let her stand there all by herself! Her name was Terri and this was going to be her first marathon so she was kind of nervous. We gave her a little advice.. I told her just not to go out too fast in the beginning which we all know I rarely follow my own advice!!
I was sad to part with her when we started running but she was following my advice and running her own pace.

It was awesome to start the race with my partners and friends but once we got settled in I decided to follow my own advice and tried to keep a comfortable pace. My plan was to try to maintain a 10:45 avg. pace for at least the first 20 and then either try to maintain that pace or even speed up a little the last six. Of course nothing goes as planned on Marathon day!! We did stay together for the first couple of miles or at least I kept them in sight for the first few... at one point I saw Michele turn around and look for me I gave her a smile and a wave, she smiled back and went on to run her own race. This had been our plan all along, we would start together but after that we were on our own.
Beale Street is always a highlight of the race this is where the biggest fan support is. You have to run up a steep incline to get there so your heart is really pumping and then you hear all the screaming and the music and it is just really cool! Arland had sent me a text before the race started that the support crew would be somewhere between 3.5 and 4 miles so I was keeping my eyes peeled for them.
My hip flexor/inner thigh area really started hurting before I even made it to 4 miles.. I was very upset but i'm used to pain in those areas so I knew I could run through it.. I also thought maybe it would go away after I warmed up but no it stayed with me for the whole race.
I saw Arland and the gang... Bob, Phil, Cindy, Ken and James just before the 4 mile mark and I was so excited I started yelling at them and I ran by and got some high fives :) The best part was Arland's face when he saw me :)

After the excitment of Beale street and seeing the gang things quieted down I was feeling really good other than the pain in my hip flexor/thigh. I decided now would be a good time to turn on the i-pod and the music really did help.
I had brought along an 8oz bottle of water to carry for the first couple of miles so that I could skip the aid stations. Normally I cannot stand to have anything in my hands but the water bottle really came in handy and I was able to pass every aid station until about mile 15. I started my fist Acel-gel at mile 4.5 and it took about a mile to finish it. I also had maybe 2 pretzels. I lost my pbj sandwich sometime in the first couple of miles, I knew I felt like something had fallen out of one of my pockets but I didnt' realize what it was until later on.
I caught up with Kelly around mile 5 .. well she was just ahead of me and she turned around to check on me. She asked if I was eating and drinking. We would kind of leap frog each other most of the race until about mile 17 or 18.
I took a couple of ibuprofren sometime after my first gel the pain wasn't getting any better but it also wasn't getting any worse it had kind of settled into a dull ache.
I had on a 4:45 pace band that I had gotten in Nashville and around the 10K point I checked it and was really excited to see that I was way ahead of pace.
It was fun to run past the aid stations and not need to stop even better was running past the port o potties and not needing to stop!! The last couple of Marathon's I have had to stop within the first 2 miles but I am so happy to say that I did not have to stop at at port a potty the whole race for the first time ever!!

Just before the 1/2 turn off I felt somebody in my personal space and I turned to see Bailey ... what.. how in the world was she behind me??? Silly girl in Typical Bailey style she had started farther back and was lolly gagging for the first 1/2 of the marathon but you know what even with the lolly gagging she still finished in 4:33 and was hopping the orange cones around mile 24. It was a big boost to see her, especially at this point in the race. I knew the 1/2 marathon split was going to be a challenge for me mentally because the past two years when we would turn off for the 1/2 marathon finish I would think THANK HEAVENS I AM NOT RUNNING THE FULL!! I did have a few moments where I was wishing I could turn too especially thinking of all the people I knew who were running the 1/2 and were either already done or would be soon. BUT I did not let myself dwell on it and instead of thinking geez I still have over 2 hours left of running I thought wow I love running and how lucky am I that I get to keep doing what i love for a few more hours. This frame of mind worked until about mile 21! LOL

When I crossed over the1/2 way mat I had not had to stop once.. no bathroom breaks, no aid station breaks no walking breaks for any reason.. I had been running the whole time and I was thrilled, I think before this race the longest I had run without taking a walk break was 10 miles. Now not only did I have a time goal which i was ahead of by about 3 minutes at the 1/2 but I had a new goal to see how far I could run without taking a walk break.

I can't remember exactly what mile we were at but at one point Kelly and I had met up again and when she asked how I was doing I told her about the hip pain and she asked if I wanted some tylenol.. I had already taken some ibuprofen but I was still hurting so I decided to take it... she also asked me about my pb&J sandwich and i told her I had lost it so she offered to give me one of hers.

The miles were becoming a blur.. the hills and inclines were really starting to wear me down but I was determined not to walk. My water bottle was starting to get a low so I started taking water from the aid stations... The first time the water went up my nose but I did manage to swallow a little bit of it... the second time I got it all over my shirt but once again did manage to drink a little bit. Finally by the third time I was able to get a good drink without any mishaps. I still had my bottle ... it had become my security blanket and I didn't want to get rid of it but by about mile 17 it was empty and I finally threw it away.
I took my second gu around mile 11 this one was a Roctane orange vanilla gu and it was GROSS!!! I could only stomach about 1/4 of it and threw the rest away... unfortunaely while trying to fish it out of my pocket I had lost one of my accel-gel's.

Mile 14 they were giving out gu's...one girl tried to give me one but it was espresso so I said no thanks.. next up a guy said he had strawberry so I took it.. I didn't really need it yet so I was just going to put it in my pocket for later/backup. I shoved it in my pocket and felt something sticky... yep they had opened it which was really nice but i wish I had known. I fished it out of my pocket and went ahead and ate it and it wasn't bad much better than the Roctane orange vanilla!!

Mile's 17 and 18 were hard it was uphill and I was really starting to get a little tired... I almost took a walk break up one of the hills at mile 17 but I just couldn't do it... I had made 20 miles with no walking my goal.
Earlier Kelly had given me one of her 1/4 pbj sandwiches..she said she wanted to give it to me then because she didn't think she could catch up with me again... Ha!! It was me catching up with her!! She would get ahead of me and then at the aid stations she would walk and I would get ahead of her and then she would catch up... we kept this up until mile 18. Kelly asked if I had eaten my sandwich yet and I said no mile 20 about a minute later she took a walk break and I never did see her again until after the race.
Just before mile 20 we were approaching a large intersection and i could see the policeman was letting cars through but I really thought he would stop them as I/we got closer but no he let a car pull out in front of me and I had to put on the breaks so I wouldn't hit the car. I didn't come to a complete stop but I guess I went up on my toes or something because all of a sudden my calves seized up and the pain made me shout out something not very nice.. I heard the policeman yell back but i'm not sure if he was yelling at me or the car. Regardless the damage was done I was in intense pain BUT I kept on running. I had to make it to mile 20!! Finally just past mile 20 my claves were cramping and now something crazy was going on in my knee. I could almost deal with the calf pain but this knee thing was freaking me out so I took a walk break. My knee was spasming but after a minute or so of walking it calmed down and I started running again... and then my knee and calves started throbbing again so the next 6 miles were a mix of walking and running. I was so dissapointed but I knew if I didnt' give up completely I could still come in under 5:00 hours which was my primary goal for the race. 4:45 was more of a pie in the sky kind of goal... but i was so close!

All through the course there were so many signs with pictures of children who were or had been patients at St. Jude. For miles I had been following the Run for Jake signs... they had pictures of a smiling happy little blonde boy. Many times I would think I hope you are doing well Jake and in those last miles when I was really hurting I thought of Jake and Elijah Talley and all the other kids and how much pain they have to endure every day of their little lives.... I'm not sure exactly what mile I saw the sign but maybe 22 or 23 there was a big yellow sign that said "SMILE Jake always did" and I LOST it.. I started crying I was just devestated to know that this little boy who I had been following for over 20 miles had not made it.

Just before mile 24 I called Arland to let him know where I was and that I was really struggling... he told me to take some endurolytes and keep drinking water.

It was getting harder and harder the running sections were getting shorter... finally I was almost at mile 25 I was running and had just thanked a policeman when I heard my name.. I looked behind me and there was Jackie, she was a glowing vision in pink. She ran up to me and asked how I was feeling I told her about the cramping and she said ok we are going to to a "1 and 1" run 1 minute walk 1 minute. I was so happy and honored that she was going to stay with me and help me. She talked to me the whole rest of the way, constantly telling me how awesome I was and reminding me that yes this was hard but that's why we do it!! Just before the 26 mile mark we are running along and I see people running up this steep incline and I said oh no do we have to run up that thing... Yes we did. It is really cruel to put such a steep incline/hill that close to the end... but we ran up it, Jackie asked if I wanted to walk but I said no I just want this over!! LOL

In the past once you entered Auto Zone stadium the 1/2 and full marathoner's split off and the marathoner's had to run almost 3/4 around the track while the 1/2 was maybe 1/4. As we were approaching the stadium I was really just done and all I could think of was I still had to make it around that track.... so as we were running through the parking lot I had fallen a little behind Jackie when she turned her head to me and saw I was behind her she kind of turned sideways and held her hand out to me and said "come on Annette.. you can do this" I will never ever forget that... I was hurting but there she was holding out hope! Finally we turned into the stadium and there was the finish line just ahead, they had changed the course and we all had the same finish line.
I knew that Arland and the Cruisers would be somewhere at the finish and sure enough I heard my name and looked over and could see Arland and friends cheering me on. What a great finish... Jackie with me and my family cheering me on!!!
Jackie had been telling me we were going to make it under five hours and sure enough I could see the clock and it was going to be udner 5.. I wasn't sure exactly becasue I didn't know exactly how long it took us to cross the start line.. I knew it was at least 14 minutes.

Jackie gave me the biggest hug at the finish and then we went through the process of getting our medal, chips cut off... which by the way I could barely lift my let up onto that milk crate!!!

Arland gave me a big hug when I finally made it up the stairs but he had to leave so I went on to find the gang and some food.

I was really pretty emotional and kind of cranky by this point so when I got to the food. There were two men taking the food stubs from our bibs... the first man took mine and I was walking towards the soup when the second man said where is your ticket.. I said that guy took it and he said you can't go through twice..oh that was IT!!!! I said in a kind of raised voice I JUST GAVE IT TO HIM!!! I swear the second man didn't believe me but he finally let me go. The soup didn't look very appealing they only had one kind and so I passed. Next stop Krispy Kreme doughnuts... Normally I don't really care that much for Krispy Kreme but at that moment I was in heaven.. I dont' think anything has ever tasted that good!!!!

OK... speaking of food it is lunch time and Arland has been asking me for 30 minutes when we were going to eat... I will finish this later. I hope! ;)

St.Jude/Memphis Pre Race

2008-12-10T09:12:00.001-08:00

Friday morning we met a large group of Cruiser's at Brenda's house for the trip to Memphis. Bailey hoped in the car with us and off we were with Joan in the lead while Brenda and Arland tried to keep up. We made one pit stop in Brinkley and thank goodness I know I woudln't have made it all the way to Memphis.

The Hotel we stayed in was across the street from the Expo and with the cold and wind we decided to go through the Hotel instead of around it. This turned out to be a very good thing since we were actually able to check into our rooms early. After checking in we went back out to the cars got our luggage and then we all headed to the Expo. The Memphis expo is pretty small but well organized and we were able to pick up our packets pretty quickly. I really wasn't much in the mood for shopping but I did get myself a new long sleeve running shirt and one for Kylie from the "I run like a girl" booth. I was in such a non shopping mood that I didn't even buy any Bondi Bands.. heck I barely even stopped by for more than a few seconds.

It seemed like everytime I turned a corner I was running into someone I know... we had a huge Cabot Cruiser turnout in Memphis and it was just so cool to have so many familiar faces around.
After the Expo we went back to the room and relaxed for a little while before dinner... I think I might have taken a 15 minute cat nap.
As a group we had decided to just stay at the Hotel Restaurant for a Pasta buffet. It turned out to be really good and we pretty much took over the front portion of the restaurant. I had a little penne pasta with red sauce and a little farfalle pasta with a white sauce... I also had a baked potato which was really good!! They also had some desserts so I had a small slice of pumpkin pie. It was fun to sit with Rick and Russ and hear them make plans for their race they were both running the 1/2.

Rock was running the 1/2 marathon and had driven up from Georgia with her mom... I have missed her so much and it was so good to see her and meet her mom. Her mom was just so NICE!!!!! and I bet she is a lot of fun to hang out with... maybe another time!

We had finished dinner and were headed back to the Expo when James and Michele finally made it to the Hotel so Arland and I turned around and went back to the restaurant.to hang out with them while they had dinner.

Tammy and Don were celebrating their 25th anniversry on Saturday and had invited everyone to have cake and water Friday night. Believe it or not I had a piece of cake... It was delicious but i was thinking what the heck and I doing to myself!!

Finally we were back in our room.... but no rest for the weary! I got everything ready for the next morning.. I laid out pants and skirt because I just couldnt' make up my mind what to wear. Kelly brought up some bread and we made peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. I made a couple for Michele... made one for my breakfast and one for the Marathon. Well not a whole sandwich a "fold over". By the time I finished getting everything ready it was almost 10:00 and I was a little freaked out about how late it was!!
I placed one of my PB&J foldovers on the nightstand by my side of the bed and asked Arland to set the alarm for 4:50......

Memphis - Maratnon # 5 Under 5

2008-12-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

Just a quickie.....

I finished in 4:57-58 not sure what the offical time will be..I forgot to turn my Garmin off at the finish.

I had a big PR 17 or 18 minutes but I was still dissapointed for a little while at the end. I am over it now because seriously a 17 min. PR is pretty awesome. I also had another PR...I ran without taking one step walking for 20 miles!!! I also learned how to drink from a cup while still running.

I will post the whole report soon....lot's to tell. I will leave you with this teaser the traffic control or lack thereof is the reason I had to walk at 20 and then it all fell apart after that until about mile 25.5 when an angel in pink found me and helped pull me in.

Thank you everyone for your texts, comments etc... you were all with me during the race!!

Good Luck to Aron from Runners Rambles who is running the CIM Marathon tomorrow.

Preparing for Memphis

2008-12-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

Tuesday activities:
Kid's Running Club
Massage
Dinner with/for Dennis

My massage was great! Christy really was able to get in there and work out a lot of knots and all though it was painful at the time I have felt great ever since... well except for the fact that most of yesterday I felt like I had done 100 squats on Tuesday! BUT everything feels great today and I feel much better going into the marathon knowing she worked out all those knot's and tension. When she started working on my glutes and hamstrings she started talking to me about Ghost Whisperer and Grey's Anatomy to help distract me from the pain. We usually don't talk during the massage so I knew what she was doing... but it did help!
Jane was waiting in the lobby for her appointment and she saw me come limping out.. I told her I have either worn her out or just gotten her warmed up for you!! LOL

I had to run home so I could prepare my veggies to take to Andrea's house for Dinner. We were having a "thank you" dinner for Coach Dennis. I haven't been going to the clinic much since about August but he has worked really hard with Andrea, Brenda and Josh to help them prepare for their marathon goals. I love Dennis so I wanted to be a part of it even though I haven't been a faithful clinic participant lately. We gave him a really nice Nike Live Strong pull over with Coach on the front and The Flyer's on the back. He really did seem to like it and I can't wait to see him wear it.

Wednesday was a stressful day, I got so upset at work that I was shaking for almost two hours and on the verge of tears almost that whole time.. All I could think was this cannot be good for my body and I really don't need this 2 days before my Marathon!! Arland took me to lunch and by the time I got back to work I was calmed down but today I have decided is a no stress day!!! I knew that hormones were also playing a role, I knew I must be PMSing but I was praying that mother nature would hold off until late on Saturday or Sunday...BUT NO she decided to grace me with her presence today. SO of course that means I am going to be on my period during the marathon and I am bummed but I'm trying not to freak out about it too much. I've been on my period during 20 milers and I think maybe I was for the San Francisco Marathon. The thing that really bugs me is I had some pretty aggressive goals for this race and now I'm afraid I'm going to have to lower my expectations.

My Mantra for today and tomorrow is No Stress No Stress.. LIFE IS GOOD!!

Running with Jupiter, Venus and Mr. Moon

2008-12-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful night the clouds finally blew away and we had a perfect view of the alignment of The Crescent Moon, Jupiter & Venus.
It was also FREEZING last night!! well ok maybe not freezing but cold enough that I had on two long sleeve tech shirts for our run. I also had a bondi band neck gaitor in addition to my head/ear band and gloves.

The run didn't start off so great!! I don't think I mentioned that after our run on Saturday my left knee was hurting a bit the rest of the day. I doubled up on my "triple flex" and fish oil since I hadn't taken any at all Thursday and Friday and thought maybe that was part of the problem but then the more I thought about it I came to the conclusion it might be my shoes. My Mizuno's have around 250 miles on them and I have read they don't usually last as long as some of the other brands... so anyway I decided it was the shoes and on my Sunday run I wore my Kenyano 13's and had no knee pain.
Ok back to last night I wore my Mizuno's... I thought it's just a short run 3 or 4 miles I'm sure they will be ok. Well as soon as we started running my left knee and right ankle both buckled and I came very close to falling down. It kind of scared me and we stopped and walked for a few seconds and when I started running again I was fine... just a strange fluke????
Abby was home so we decided to just run close by and we ended up running a 1/2 mile loop over and over with just a few side roads thrown in. Well we made it around the block one time and were headed back around when Kelly said she had to pee so we turned around and headed back to Michele's house... turned out we all needed to use the restroom!! LOL
We were at .82 of a mile when we stopped and seriously I was thinking can't we just be done now.. after all we are tapering!! We had just started to warm up when we had to stop so now we had to go through that all over again.... but it was a great run!! We just ran hard and enjoyed the view of the planets, we did some talking but during mile 2 & 3 we were all kind of strung out and not really within talking distance. We had been running pretty hard and at 2.6 I told Michele when we hit 3 miles I am slowing down but in the mean time I am going to push it as much as I can. I was doing great but we were running up one long incline and all of a sudden I felt a twinge in my left glute and hamstring I slowed down and although I could still feel something it didn't hurt anymore but I didn't want to take any chances so I backed off on the pace.
Once we got to 3 miles we slowed way down and we all started running together for the last mile. It didn't take long until I noticed we weren't running so easy anymore it wasn't hard but it wasnt' quite as slow and then when we got to the cul de sac with .2 left we all kind of just turned it on so we could get finished!!
Kelly had to leave as soon as we finished running but I went into to Michele's house and we did some stretching. Everything feels fine today but I'm very happy I have a massage appointment this afternoon!!

4 miles 37:26
9:22 avg. pace

1-9:53 (stumble & walk)
2-9:11
3-9:06
4-9:18 I was shocked when I saw this because that mile felt so easy! LOL

Contemplating running 3 miles at lunch today but I don't have anyone to run with so I don't see it happening!!

Single Digits

2008-11-30T08:48:00.000-08:00

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!!!!

Lot's to blog about.....

2008-11-29T15:20:00.000-08:00

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.

The last 20-miler with a few other runs sprinkled in

2008-11-19T12:21:00.001-08:00

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.......

Lunch Run

2008-11-12T14:19:00.000-08:00

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

The Hill's are alive with the sound of gunshot's

2008-11-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

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.

Recovery

2008-11-05T19:04:00.001-08:00

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 :)

A few pictures

2008-11-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

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.

Mid-South Marathon

2008-11-03T13:49:00.000-08:00

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....

Soaring Wings 1/2 Marathon Race Report

2008-10-31T13:59:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-10-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

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....

2008-10-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

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!

Sometimes less is more...I hope

2008-09-26T07:37:00.000-07:00

So this week's running hasn't gone exactly as scheduled. I had a really good run with Heather on Monday night it was just the two of us and since we live in the same neighborhood it only made sense that we just run from home. I love Heather and it was great to get to spend some running time with her, I had an idea for a new route, thanks to all my miles with Michele I have really learned a lot of new steets to run on and I was able to string us together a pretty nice route. We did have to cross hwy 89 twice and that always slows us down waiting on traffic and then right around mile 5 the dreaded stomach thing came up... first I slowed down then I had to walk and then I had to stop and cross my legs!! luckily after I let it calm down it did allow me to continue the run and we had exactly 6.5 when we got back to our neighborhood. We were in trouble though... Heather's husband was waiting for us at the entrance to the neighborhood and we got busted for running in the dark with no lights or reflective gear :( and then when I got home I got in trouble for running without my phone!!
We had a 10:20 avg pace which is pretty good considering the stomach thing and the traffic crossings!

I already blogged about my change in plans and great day on Tuesday.

Wednesday was a pretty full day. Jane and I ran 5 miles on Wednesday morning from her neighborhood, it was really humid and warm but we had a good run. I did have to make an emergency pit stop at the waffle house!!! I was wearing my pink skirtsports visor with a clip on light and when I got into the bathrrom I looked in the mirror and I looked hilarious!! because of the humidty and and sweat my hair was "huge" I wish I could get that much volume on a normal day!! my face was red and I had sweat everywhere... no wonder everyone gave me such strange looks when I walked in the door!! LOL
we had a 10:18 avg pace and this also included a little leg crossing and stomach calming time!! LOL also I'm really bummed because my stomach started up again towards the end, Jane asked if I needed to walk and at first I said no but I thought we still had a ways to go so I said yes I better walk so we walked for a bit and a little later my garmin beeped 5 miles... well darn if I had known we were that close I would have kept running!!
I don't put my contact in for my early morning runs so I usually can't see my garmin very well :(

Wednesday afternoon I met Michele at the Community Center and we went to Bun's & Ab's class, walked for about 15 minutes afterwards and then at 7:00 I met Kelly for a short run. She had minor surgery last week and she wanted to test out her legs so we just planned a short 2 mile run. I thought she did great!!! it was really warm and humid and I was huffing and puffing and felt really slow but we ended up with a 10:37 avg pace. So Wednesday was a great work out day!!

Thursday morning Michele Jane and I were meeting at the Community center at 5:00am for a run... about 4:35 Michele texted wanting to know if Jane was running, when she found out that Jane was for sure running she opted out.. she has really over extended herself lately and decided to just get some rest. No problem... well 10 minutes later Jane texted and she was not feeling well and wouldn't be running either. I did not want to run by myself in the dark so I took my running shoes off and got back in bed!! I ended up oversleeping and didn't get up until 7:30. The good news was I felt GREAT!!!
Last night I ran almost 2 miles with Michele and the kids but it was a tough run, Alex wasn't having it!!! He started out full of energy and in a great mood and then suddenly he was done and in a bad mood. When we got back to the house we waited on James to get home and then Michele and I set out to add on a few more miles. We started off walking... and we ended up walking and the middle was all walking. Oh well it was a good walk we definetly still burned some calories! Mentally it was just what Michele needed and I think me too!!

We have a big weekend planned. The Big Dam Bridge 100 miler is on Saturday, Arland will ride the whole 100 but Brenda and I along with several other's Bailey :) are riding 50 miles. It is a pretty hilly route so 50 is still a challenge!!
Sunday we have a 16 mile run on the schedule. I'm hoping that by having a lighter week I will have a great weekend!

Good luck to all the racer's and rider's this weekend!!

Time to Recharge my Batteries....

2008-09-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning I woke up feeling like I had been run over by a truck during the night. My stomach hurt, I was bloated, I just felt tired and blah. I always eat breakfast every morning sometimes it is a protein shake but I always have something but yesterday morning I couldn't even bear the thought of ingesting anything!! I didn't eat unil about 12:30 and I still wasn't even that hungry then.
I made the decision that I was going to skip the Tuesday Night Flyer's run clinic and instead go home with Kylie after the kid's running program and spend the evening with her

I can not think of a better way to recharge..refresh..reenergize..renew.... revive re- anything than spend some quality time with my girls Livia and Kylie.

The kid's running program was great, Jackie has always been very organized but each week improves as she see's what needs to be tweaked... she also had more help this week. Coach O was there and another Coach a young guy whose name I do not know... anyway their participation really helped Jackie

I stayed behind in the gym for a few minutes when the kids first went outside and I was very happy to find Kylie running on the track when I got outside, I could tell she was looking for me but at least she was running!!

The obstacle course is probably Kylie's favorite activity and i like it too but yesterday it was the "food group" activity I liked the best

They seperated the boys from the girls and had them form two lines, the coach or a parent would call out a food and if it was a good food the kids would run to the soccer goals ( in opposite directions!) and if it was a bad food they stayed put. The girls did better than the boys but they all did a pretty good job of recognizing good and bad foods.... all the kids started to run when the coach called out pizza!! that was funny and one little girl wouldn't run when they called out cheese... she said that's not a good food so later I had to explain to Kylie why cheese is indeed a good food. When the coach asked me to call out a food spur of the moment the first thing that came to my head was asparagus.. LOL... luckily Grace C. knew what it was and started running so the rest of the kids did too... several kids told me they had never even heard of asparagus!

After the clinic was over and Kylie got to play on the Merry go round for a little while we headed to her house where our activities included the following.

Barbies

Drawing

Bike Ride - Run

Dancing

"Spying"

The list goes on but suffice it to say we had a blast and after a delicious brazilian dinner I went home feeling much better than when I arrived!

I think my time with Kylie did more for my physical and mental health than any speedwork could have!!!

A little of this and a little of that...

2008-09-23T10:43:00.001-07:00

Sunday was quite a mix of events! I started the morning with a run, Michele, Jackie and I met Jane at SSE to help her with her long run. My plan was to run at least 8 miles with her but unfortunately the 17 miler from the day before just wouldn't let it happen. I did manage 5.5 miles and then Michele and I left Jane in Jackie's hands and we took a short cut back to the school via Michele's house (bathroom). We ended up walking most of the way back we were both pretty beat but we did get in 7.2 total miles.

We met Jackie and Jane back at the school...both Jackie and Michele had to leave to take care of family but I had brought Francesca along and I got her ready to ride along with Jane. She only had 4 miles left by the time they made it back to the school and Francesca and I kept her company.

It was VERY foggy Sunday morning and during the run I had on one of those hat lights clipped to my visor, for the bike ride I also clipped a couple of blinky lights on the back of it.... it didn't even occur to me until we were back at the school..I had been riding without a helmet!!!!! DUH that was dumb!! :( Actually I was all ready for our next bike ride and Phil was waiting and when I saw him helmet I thought OMG I am an idiot!!!

Brenda, Phil and I left a little later for our 36 mile bike ride... we were taking our 28 mile loop and then Brenda and I were adding on at the end with a trip to Mt. Mudd. Phil stuck with us for the most part during the first part of the ride, he is about 10 feet tall and I swear Brenda and I have to pedal about 5 times to his 1 pedal stroke... not fair!

It was a pretty uneventful ride, Brenda and I were both really tired from the 17 miler on Saturday and although we didn't run together on Sunday morning we had both run over 6 miles,so we were a little whiney! lol or at least I was!

OH.... I guess you can file this under DUH moments too....

When I first loaded Francesca up in my car she felt kind of slippery, at first I thought hmmm maybe Arland cleaned her and lubed her up and accidentaly got some on the handlebars, and then when I started the ride with Jane I thought maybe it was the humidity. Finally a couple of miles in I remembered that I had used Armour All clean wipes to clean the tape after my ride last Sunday. That's not the end of my DUH episode, as we are riding my butt is slipping all over the seat, I had on new shorts and I thought geez these things suck and it was a pretty uncomfortable ride!! I guess we were about mile 25 when it dawned on me that I had also cleaned the seat with Armour all clean wipes and THAT was what was causing the slipping and sliding!!! DUH..DUH..DUH!!!! LOL

Towards the end of the ride I was really starting to fade and it dawned on me (another DUH??) that I had not taken in very many calories. After the run I had eaten a couple of pretzels left over in my fuel belt from Saturday and 1/2 of a Blueberry almond bar. It helped but was not enough I guess so we decided to stop by Knight's grocery store so I could grab something... well I didnt' want to walk all through the store so I just headed to the check out stand and was looking for a payday candy bar, they didn't have any, but I saw Almond Snickers got that instead... very yummy!!! and I could eat it almost guilt free :) I think a 7.2 mile mostly run some walking and a 36 mile bike ride burned off those caloreis!

After we got our iced coffee's and got back on our bikes we both were like whoa what happened to our legs??? we still had about 6 miles left and it was tough but we did it and finished up with 36 miles

I went home showered made myself a sandwich and relaxed for about an hour and then I headed over to Michele's house for some fun!!

We baked cookies, we went on a leisurely 5 mile bike ride and then when we got back we decorated cookies for Abbie's class.

It was somewhat of a miracle that the bike ride even happened!! Michele had invited Karen to come ride with us, Karen doesnt' have a bike so Michele told her she could ride her old Mt. Bike... well Karen is quite tall and Michele is kind of short and it didnt' dawn on her that the bike would need to be adjusted. Normally changing the seat height shouldn't be a problem but this is a really old bike and the seat did not want to budge!! Michele brought out 2 tool boxes and between Michele, Shauna and Karen I think they got the seat to move up a fraction of an inch not nearly enough for Karen to be ablet to ride it comfortably. Shauna's bike was a little bigger and she is inbetween Michele and Karen in height so they switched bikes. There were 7 of us all together, 4 adults and 3 kids we had a good time, except for Claire she crashed :( it was pretty dramatic but in the end she got back up on the bike and finished the ride.

The destination for this ride was once again Mt. Mudd apparently after last weekends bike ride Alex was looking forward to going back all week!

The girl at Mt. Mudd is starting to get used to seeing me ride up on my bike but she was a little shocked to see how many of us there were!

The fun part of the day was when we got back to the house and started decorating the sugar cookies! It was fun and I was very impressed with everyone's creativity!!

Oh I almost forgot when I very first got to Michele's house Alex and I played with the wei..how do you spell it??

Anyway first we played the boxing game... Alex knocked me out 4 times and finally I said enough!!! Next we played Tennis, now this was more like it I was actually pretty good!! Now I want one!

Another fun Sunday spent with the Martin Clan...and in case you are wondering where poor Arland is while I am off having fun???? He was with James on a 65 mile bike ride!! We both got home about the same time.

Thankful....

2008-09-20T18:15:00.001-07:00

I have many things to be thankful for but for right now I am going to talk about just two of them.

1. Laundry Fairies.
The dryer is still broken despite Arland's best efforts but never fear we have clean laundry thanks to Livia and Michele.
Livia came to the house on Thursday and I didn't notice until Friday morning that she had taken an overflowing basket of towels home with her.
Friday morning Michele called and said she really needed some Mt. Mudd and for me to load up my dirty clothes and bring her some coffee and she would do my laundry for me. I told her I would gladly bring her coffee but I didn't feel right about bringing laundry! She insisted and well we were starting to get low on a few things so I gathered jeans, t-shirts and towels. I started looking around hmmmm where did that basket of towels go???? I knew right away Livia must have taken them for me.
This morning Michele brought me my clean laundry and took more dirty clothes home with her.
So although I have no dryer I have plenty of clean clothes and I am very THANKFUL!!!

2. A GREAT long run at the River Trail
Michele and I met Brenda and Andrea at the River Market this morning around 5:40, we were going to do the River Trail Loop. It was not as cool as it had been all week, no we couldn't be that lucky, but we were still lucky because it was about 15 degrees cooler than last week!! It was still 90% humidity but with 67 degrees instead of 82-85 like last week. There was also a very light mist which we really enjoyed.
We all stayed together for about the first mile and a half and then Bren and Andrea sped on ahead of us.
I was wearing my new Mizuno Wave Nirvana and as of today I have to give them a big thumbs up, although I probably should have worn them on a couple of shorter runs first. The bottom of my big toe never hurt! :)
We had a great run I never had any stomach issues and only stopped at the port a potty one time and that was just a quick trip. I should mention though that I did run into the Marriot Hotel just before we started and I did have some business to take care of!! I am so thankful I was able to take care of that before we even started running!!
The Little Rock Marathon training group was also meeting at the RiverMarket and I looked for Kim and Cheryl as we ran by but didn't see them. They start at 6:00 and we started about 5:45ish.
From the very beginning I felt good but I kept waiting for something to go wrong but it never did!
Michele and I stopped at the port a potty by the golf course/boat launch and as I came out and Michele went in two young guys came running up, at first I thought they wanted to use the port a potty too, but instead they asked me if I knew where we were.. I kind of chuckled and said yes we are near Burns Park. Poor guys they were only supposed to run 5 miles total for the day and were already at 4.5 and were very sad to learn that they had to turn around and go back the way they had come.. I guess they were hoping for some kind of short cut. They said they were really tired so I hope they made it back o.k.! they were young so I am sure they did :)
Lot's of unfriendly runners out this morning I can't tell you how many female runners that we said good morning to that did not acknowledge us... one girl even looked right at us but would not say anything back.. oh well the Bikers were pretty friendly today! LOL

Karen drove in and parked at Rebsamen Golf Course in Little Rock and ran the last six miles with us.
We slowed down quite a bit those last six miles... Karen is still building endurance which is more important for her right now than speed. I would sometimes have to run on ahead a little bit but for the most part we stayed pretty close together.
Our times really slowed down once we got onto Markham and closer to the River Market. I think we had to stop at every traffic light!!
To get 16 we had to pass by the River Market and on down to the President Clinton Library and and around the block a couple of times. Michele and I picked up the pace quite a bit at about 15.5 and raced the last 1/2 mile... it felt good but I just can't keep up with her!!
When I hit 16 I was done I started walking but Karen wasn't quite at 6 yet so Michele went back for her. I was just going to walk back to the car but then changed my mind and started running again. We were at 16.7 when Karen hit her 6 and you know I have a hard time stopping at an odd number so we ran on until we got 17 miles.
17 miles
3:10
11:14 avg. pace
1-10:51
2-10:11
3-10:12
4-10:21
5-10:29
6-9:53
7-10:11
8-12:06 Big Dam Bridge we took a nutrtion break
9-10:45
10-10:47 We met Karen at 10.5
11-12:17
12-11:38
13-12:04
14-13:42 It was right around here we started hitting all the traffic lights
15-13:29
16-9:50
17-12:01
We were feeling really good and I think we would have continued our pace from the first 10 miles easily but right now we really want Karen to have good runs!!

As soon as we stopped my calves started killing me!! We grabbed long sleeves to put on and headed over to the Market to meet Brenda. We all went to Andina's and had egg and cheese bagels and coffee.. YUM YUM!!!! I stretched a little bit and eventually the pain in my calves went away but my hip flexors have been sore all day!
After going home and taking a shower I was restless so I decided to head back to North Little Rock for shopping, luckily Brenda was in the area and we met at Target and spent some quality time together shopping and chatting!!

Escape from Cabot....

2008-09-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

Wednesday ended up being a day off off running. By the time we finished the Bun's & Ab's class and then Jane's Latin Dance class we ran out of time for a run. I think it was probably a good thing! I am sore from Bun's & Ab's but I think doing Jane's class afterwards kind of helped and I'm not as sore as usual.. all the hip shaking and then the great stretches afterwards were just what I needed :)

Thursday started with a nice run with Jane & Michele. It was really cool probably around 57 degrees which is PERFECT running weather to me!! Cindy, Rock and Gary were at the CC when we arrived so it was nice to get to say hi to them and get a hug from Gary :)

When we first started running it took me a few minutes to realize that Jane and I were running ahead of Michele, not something we usually see!! I told Jane hey we better take adavantage of this while we can so we slowed down a little bit and all ran together. Of course by the time we made it to our first really long incline Michele found her second gear and we had to speed up to keep up with her. Michele asked if we wanted to go the same way we did last Thursday and go over the concrete bridge that caused Jane's bloody knees.. or another alternative, I stayed quiet and let Jane decide..she of course didnt' want to go over the "bridge of bloody knees" can't say that I blame her.
This run was a little quieter than normal a couple times I would have to say ok time for someone to tell a story!! LOL

My stomach started doing it's thing around mile 4 on one of the hills but luckily just by slowing down a little bit it subsided.... usually I have to either walk or completely stop for it to calm down. I was pretty excited and just hoped it would stay calm. Just before mile five it started again I would speed up, slow down over and over but somehow my stomach behaved. Finally at 5.8 it decided it started revolting again, I had to stop for a little while and then was able to walk and then back to a run I just prayed it would hold out... and it did. This was definately a much easier run than Sunday & Monday!!

6 miles 1:00:40

10:06 avg pace

1-10:37

2-10:07

3-9:38

4-10:00

5-9:38

6-10:35

I was home by 6:15 and got a lot of tidying up done before I had to go to work. I had a hair appointment at 10:00 so I actually got to work a little early to the shock of the guys in the office. I think it scares them a little if I show up before 8:30!! LOL

The gray roots had started getting pretty bad so I was excited to be getting that taken care of and excited to get out of Cabot for a few hours.

I was also playing delivery person for Team 1 and needed to go to our shop in West Little Rock.. well on the way is a speciality running shoe store and I just couldn't pass it up. I told the guy all my feet issues, pain under my big toe, and Plantar Facscitis in the past. I also told him how the Saucony's didn't work for me and that I had been running in Asic Keyano 13's for a couple of years and really loved them but of course now they don't make them anymore, I also told him that I had tried the Kenyano 14's but didnt' love them so based on all of that he brought me out several pairs tof shoes to try on and then would watch me run in them. First up were a pair of Asic's 3000 they only had size 7.5 and they just didn't feel right. Next were a pair of Nike Structure Air Triax 11.. I had just retired a pair of 10's well I don't know if they need to be retired they probably didnt' have that many miles but they just weren't feeling as good anymore... anyway I LOVED the way the 11's felt!! Next... Mizuno wave nirvana 4's, LOVED them!! It was between the Structure and the Mizuno... the Mizuno's were more expensive, quite a bit more, but since my Nike's didnt' seem to last very long I decided on the Mizuno's, hopefully they will last longer and end up being the better bargain in the long run. I really liked the guy at the shoe store, we talked a lot about long distance running etc.

I am wearing my new shoes at work today to help break them in, I really want to wear them for the long run tomorrow morning.

After the successful shoe shopping trip I headed over to Team 1 West, dropped off some stuff, went out into the shop and visited Jonathon for a little while. By that time I was STARVING!! I had a "Andrea" banana muffin at about 6:30 in the morning after the run and then I had run through Starbucks on the way to my hair appointment but both had worn off by noon. Luckily as I was talking to Jonathon where I was moaning about being hungry Arland texted me to tell me they were at a near by restaurant... actually the restaurant was right next door to the shoe place. They were all almost done eating but insisted I order something anyway so I ordered a turkey sandwich and it came out really quick.

The they I am talking about were some of Arland's business partner's and our new accountant.

After saying goodbye to the guys I headed to Target. I wanted some new picture frames... 30 minutes later as I was getting back in my car with my purchases I remembered them. I left with a new sports bra, new panties, and some vitamins... no frames :(

While I was in Target Jane called to let me know she was back in her office, we had discussed during our run the fact that I was going to be in the area and maybe it would workout that I could stop by.

Jane is a Trust Bank Vice president... I am used to seeing her all hot and sweating in running shorts and skirts. It was really cool too see her all dressed up in her proffesional attire :) She is beautiful.. inside and out!!

The Cabot Cruisers won the Team Spirit Award during the Tour D' Rock back in .. well whenever it was June or July???

It is a traveling trophy and Jane had picked it up and has had it in her office for a little while, now it is Team 1's turn to display it for a little while... I have to tell you though it was a little tough getting Jane to hand it over!!!!

Next I headed to our North Little Rock Team 1 to drop off there checks... I stayed and chatted with Neal for a while, I used to work at the NLR shop and although I don't miss the commute I really miss Neal!!!

It was almost 3:00 by the time I made it back to Cabot and I was beyond the point of being able to do anything productive. I did sort through some bills etc. but it was hard to keep my eyes open the last hour!!

We had dinner plans with "the guys" at Bennihanna's in Little Rock, I really did not want to have to drive home after dinner so I called Neal and persuaded him to drive to Cabot to pick me up and that way I got to ride home with Arland. It was really nice of him, he had to drive 16 miles north to get me and Little Rock is to the South!! :) I'm a lucky girl to have such good friends!

We met at the bar in the lobby of the Wyndham Hotel and I had a margarita... oh that was yummy!!! I haven't had a margarita in ages well since after the San Francisco Marathon. This one was really good and I sucked it down way too fast so of course I had to have another one. I really hope I don't regret those margarita's tomorrow morning during our long run!!

Dinner was great I ate too much, but really I don't know if I ate too much or if it was the margaritas because we took home a pretty big to go box filled with our left overs.

OHHHHH I forgot to mention that Michele made Arland Mexican Chicken the other night and brought it over!! So now between the Bennihanna left overs and Michele's mexican chicken I don't have to feel guilty about not cooking for the next couple of days :) LOL
When we got home I kicked off my shoes and looked down at my feet and they were swollen!! yikes not a pretty sight.. luckily they are back to normal this morning.

It was so nice to get to spend some time outside of Cabot for a change!!! especially on a workday ;)

It is a rest day today and then tomorrow a few of us are going to the RiverMarket and running the "River Trail Loop" for our 16 miler.

Run Fast... Run for Fun

2008-09-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

My week has felt off... the run on Sunday night has thrown my timing off. We normally run on Sunday mornings and by doing it on Sunday night it now feels like that was Monday so I have been thinking it was later in the week than it is. Silly I know but it is funny how just one little thing out of the normal routine can throw you off.

The usual gang got together for a run on Monday night. Jane, Kelly, Michele and myself met at 6:30 for a run, and Michele had picked out a fun new route, NOT. We started out in her neighborhood and then she took us out to the Campground Hill. It is a pretty decent size hill but what makes it even more challenging is the fact that it is on a busy road with NO shoulders! I guess one good thing about that is it makes you run harder up the hill just so you can get off of Campground. Next we went down Stagecoach all the way to East Main, on the way to East Main we had some rolling hills and a nice downhill.... problem with that downhill was that the whole way down I knew we had to climb it coming back!! The whole time we are just running our little hearts out and our wind up toy Michele is as usual leading the pack.
The first 2 miles were kind of painful, my whole left side was kind of twingy and tight (from the hip down) but once we got to about mile 3 I guess I warmed up enough and didn't feel the pain anymore. After we made it back UP Stagecoach we hit Linda Lane and winded around all the normal neighborhoods. We had several more long inclines but nothing compared to Campground and Stagecoach.
We were once again running a really good pace and it wasn't easy but it wasn't killing me... my thought process was to just keep focusing on each mile.
I knew we were on pace to be as fast as if not faster than Sunday night and that also helped keep me going. We hit five miles just a little bit before Michele's house but we called the Scarlata rule and we walked when we got to five.

5 miles
47:20
Avg. pace 9:28
1-10:06
2-9:43
3-9:15
4-9:15
5-8:59 :)

We did a cool down walk with Jane and then Karen arrived and Kelly and I ran 2.6 more miles with Karen and Michele. I think they ran 4 miles and I really felt like I could have run all night but it was getting late and I needed to get home to my sick husband.

Tuesday with the kids at Magness Creek is quickly becoming the thing I look forward to most all week!!
First I get to pick up Harry from School and we have a nice chat all the way to Magness. He is quite the conversationist!!!
We headed to the Gym and I found Kylie lined up with the rest of the kindergarten kids. We quickly headed to the little girls room so Kylie could change into her running clothes. Most of the kids just run in whatever they wore to school which is fine but some of then looked pretty hot yesterday!
We didn't get to hang out with Madison yesterday since they broke the kids up by grade. It really makes sense and helps with the orgnization but we were bummed not to run with her.
There were several stations set up, an obstacle course to help with agility, and another area where they practiced high knees, speedwork, slow&low's and lunges.
The kids rotated through these stations as well as running on the track. There are a108 kids signed up for the program this year and having the stations really helps with the congestion on the track!!
After we ran our first lap we headed over to the water station and there was mass confusion.. the kids were all fighting over the coolers so I made them all line up behind me and I started filling cups for them. I did this until the crowd thinned out and then it was time for Kylie to change stations.
After the fun was over Kylie and I stayed and helped clean up the cups, and help pick up all the cones etc. that were used to set up the stations.
I absolutely love being a part of this program.. I LOVE seeing the kids outside playing and running and of course I love being able to share my love of running with Kylie and all the kids.
My Runner girl Kylie

When Kylie and I got to her house no one was home yet so we hung out in the car and blasted Hannah Montanna as loud as we could.. or as loud as my eardrums would allow!!
It was hard to leave Kylie but next on the agenda was the Tuesday Night Flyers.......

On the way Arland called and he sounded TERRIBLE... it kind of scared me and I told him I would come home and skip the track, but he said he was fine and for me to go on. I will admit there was a small part of me that wanted him to tell me to come home!! I wasn't really looking forward to speedwoork... but I always look forward to seeing everyone!!
Kelly and I decided that since our Monday night run could have been considered a tempo run especially the last 3 miles, we would do the intermediate workout.
We ran our warm up with Rick and then when we got back to the Track Jane had showed up :)
Kelly, Jane and I were doing the same workout so we started off together. First up we did 1x800 at LT pace, it was hard and I felt slow. Second was 1x1200 at LT pace this was really hard and I really felt slow!!!
I don't know if the Football team had practiced before we arrived or what but someone left behind a not so nice present on the track. Right in the first turn was a huge pile of throw-up... it was nasty, smelly, and gross. It got to the point where we were counting our laps by saying only 3 more times by the throw up... 2 more times etc.
Next we had 2x200 at interval pace..
It was a short workout but the way my hip felt after our last 200 I don't think I could have done much more. All the left turns on the track really do a number on my left sciatic nerve or whatever that is bothering me. We decided we would go off the track for our cool down so we ran around the highschool & CC for a mile as a cooldown.
I was really feeling bummed by how slow I felt and how hard it seemed to just run as fast as I did.... and then I got home and looked at my Garmin.
First 800 or .54 was in 4:24 which was a 8:12 avg pace my LT pace is 9:20 ....
The 1200 or .8 was in 6:42 which worked out to a 8:23 avg pace
The 2x200 were done in 53 seconds and 51 seconds....
Sooooo I guess I wasn't as slow as I felt.

Tonight is Bun's & Ab's and Jane's Latin Dance class... and maybe a short run afterwards???

How to recover from a terrible long run.....

2008-09-15T07:52:00.001-07:00

I truly am Blessed!!! I have wonderful friends who care about me and make sure I know it!! I received phone call's, text messages and e-mails throughout the day on Saturday from these wonderful people checking on me to make sure I was ok and cheer me up.

I really didn't do much on Saturday after I blogged about the terrible run... I went to wal-mart to pick up a few things and bought a new book. I used to be a voracious reader I never went more than a couple of days in between books, but since I started running I either don't have the time or if I get still and quiet enough to read I fall asleep.

Tropical storm Ike was pushing his way to Arkansas throughout the day on Saturday and the weathermen had predicted severe weather well into Sunday afternoon. I thought a book would be the perfect way to ride out the storm.

Oh and by the way Ike spawned a tornado about a mile from my house!!! Too scary!

I spent Saturday evening reading with HGTV on in the background... very relaxing and just what I needed.

Sunday morning for the first time in ages I slept in until almost 8:30!! that was a 4.5 hour difference from Saturday morning.

When I got up I looked around and thought good grief I really need to spend the day around the house. Our dryer has been broken so laundry was piling up etc. My plan was to go to the laundra-mat, I HATE the laundra-mat!!! but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Luckily I was saved from laundry hell by my friend Michele. She texted wanting to know if I wanted to go on a fun bike ride with her and Alex. When I responded with a no and told her the reason she INSISTED I bring my laundry to her house. It is hard to say no to Michele and knowing her she would have come to my house and loaded up my laundry herself!!

I didnt' take ALL of the laundry but I got together some stuff , loaded Francesca in the CRV and we were off to Krooked Kreek.

I arrived just in time for breakfast :) homemade biscuits and gravy with eggs and bacon.. yummy!! Michele is a very good cook.

Arland also came over for breakfast and we all had a nice time chatting and eating and doing laundry. Michele even made me match all of Arland's socks for him!! LOL

After breakfast Arland left, James retired to the living room to work on taxes and Michele, Alex and I headed out on our bike ride.
I think I might have forgotten to mention that the weathermen got it wrong for Sunday morning!! When I woke up it was SUNNY and beautiful... still pretty windy but not the tropical force winds that had been predicted. I guess Ike moved through the state a lot quicker than they orginally thought.

We rode our bikes at a very leisurely pace all over Cabot... we went to Mt. Mudd and had iced coffee's and a frozen non coffee drink for Alex (he doesn't need the extra stimulants!!) we rode over to Michele's grandmother's house and had a short visit... we went to a grade school and Alex climbed a tree and we just plain ol had FUN!!!

We went back to the house worked on laundry for a few minutes, gathered our bathing suits and stuff and got back on our bikes and headed to the Community Center to swim for a little while... on the way we stopped at the high school track and ran/walked a couple of laps so that Alex could have a mixed up triathalon.

The pool was great, the water temp was cool but not too cold we grabbed boogie boards and kicked back and forth across the pool while Alex alternated between swimming and splashing us. I really didn't want to get out of the pool but it was almost 3:30 by this time and we still had the bike ride home.

Our total mileage for the day was 15 miles.... 15 fun, relaxing miles!!!

James had helped me with my laundry so when we got back to the house we just had to hang some stuff up put my stuff in the dryer for just a little bit and all that left was towels.

While we were waiting for my things to dry we looked at Michele's pictures from San Francisco... she and Cheryl both have really nice digital cameras and got some great pictures!! I need to go back over sometime and e-mail them to myself and Cheryl.

It was about 5:00 when I got home, Arland had a meeting to go to at 6:30 so I cooked him some dinner ate a littel myself and then got ready for my 7:00 run with Kelly, Jane and Michele.

I was a little nervous about the run I wasn't sure how my legs were going to feel etc. We started off at the CC and did our little CC loop before we headed off into the neighborhoods. Right away we were running at a pretty good pace, I was running along thinking oh this is going to be tough!! Michele was full of energy and as usualy she was pulling us along. I wasn't struggling but I was definately feeling the pace I told myself just suck it up it is a short run so just run as hard as long as you can, luckily I wasn't the only one feeling that way and Kelly said hey are we running a race or something??? LOL I was relieved to know it wasn't just me. When my Garmn beeped at the first mile I looked down and saw our first lap was 9:54... hmmm not as fast as I thought it would be... sure felt like we were going faster BUT either way a great pace for the first mile!

Michele was like a wind up toy, she had a string on her running top and she was just twisting away at it and I swear it made her faster and faster!! There is one road that we run on that is a long incline and most of the time this is where we will take a water break. Jane called a break but I couldn't walk... just like on Monday night I was afraid to walk because I was afraid I might not be able to start running again... so I just slowed way down to a jog that wasn't really much faster than there walk, it helps to get my heart rate down but then I don't have the stress on my hips of starting the run again.

We went through a few new neighborhoods which introduced a few new hills/inclines. Every now and then someone would say good grief why are we running so fast and we would all laugh and slow down a little bit but without even knowing it we would be back up to speed within a few seconds probably because our wind up toy Michele never slowed down!!

About 3 miles in we saw some other runners in the distance... actually they were running so fast that at first Michele thought they were bikers!

They were actually a couple of guys and a girl from the High School track team... Michele knew one of them and turned around to run/talk with them for a minutes. When she turned around I said oh good NOW we can slow down and we did for a little bit but then we had a hill to get up and we turned up the speed and just kept up the pace. We werent' worried about Michele I knew she would catch up with us and she did just that, we were running along when all of a sudden we could hear the pounding of her feet as she approached. It was dark so we couldn't really see her but we could definately hear her coming!! LOL

She of course was yelling at us for making her have to work so hard to catch up with us! ha ha

Kelly mentioned that we were almost at 4 miles in 37:xxxx .. we were just about to approach our last hill and I really wanted to see how fast we could finish the 4 miles so we all charged up and we hit 4 miles in 38:13 :)

I was thrilled... but that last charge up the hill didn't thrill my stomach and I had to come to an abrupt stop right after 4 miles. The girls didn't realize I had stopped and kept going, I could see the CC in the distance and just prayed i would make it. Luckily once i let it calm down for a few seconds I was able to run again and when I caught back up with the girls I even suggested we add on at the tennis courts so we could get 5 miles. I only needed 4.3 miles on this run this hit my weekly mileage goal but 4.3 is just too weird of a number to stop at!! LOL

We also claimed that we would make it our cool down....

5.01 miles

47:44 9:32 avg pace

1-9:54

2-9:26

3-9:38

4-9:15

5-9:28

Seriously I haven't had such a fast run in ages!! It felt great!!

But wow how do you go from barely being able to run at all to running faster than normal??? I guess I shed that other persons body I was running with on Saturday... and the lower humidity made a huge difference too!!

After the run Kelly and I headed to Jacksonville for our weekly Starbuck's visit. We had the choco-banana vivatno protein drinks and kicked back and relaxed and chatted for over an hour! I looked down at my phone and it was 9:30!!!!

The trip to Starbucks with Kelly was the perfect end to a perfect day :) It was a perfect recovery day!!

Long Run Hell

2008-09-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

FCUK!!!!

This was a Terrible,Terrible,Terrible run!! It has to be the worst since last summer when I was training for the Chicago Marathon and pretty much every long run sucked back then.

To start with it was HOT and HUMID at 5:00am!!!!! I checked the hour by hour weather forcast and it said that it was 77 but felt like 82.
We were running in Magness Creek for a few miles and then heading across Hwy 5 to Lila Loop. The run started off fine, just hot and sticky but I felt great!! Until a little over a mile when my stomach twisted up.. I was on the prowl for a port a potty, there is a lot of new Construction on the north side of Magness Creek and I had notice some construction port a potty's when I took Kylie home the other day. I had to walk and then I had to stop cross my legs let everything calm down etc. Jane and I are both keeping an eagle eye out for a PP but in the back of my head I thought if we get to Kylie's house first I will try and see if anyone is up. Of course no one was and the door was locked, as it should be!!
Luckily it wasn't much further when I saw a PP.. ran over used it, and we continued on. We had finally lost sight of Brenda, Michele and Cindy when the problems first started but we were doing an out and back so I knew we would pick them back up.
Next we were headed back to Andrea's house. Andrea, Dennis and Ginny were going to run 9 miles with us.. well not me but.. whatever. LOL
I ask Andrea to use her bathroom, mostly to wash my hands but I decided to take a seat and see what happens... NOTHING happened but I could feel pressure and I sat for a few minute hoping something would happen.. NOPE. O.K. I can't stay in here forever so I grab a couple of paper towels and off we go. Pretty much from the start I felt off... it wasn't too bad but just didn't feel right.
After we crossed hwy 5 we started the hills.. hill after hill after hill. I guess we were at about 7 or 8 miles and I just felt like I couldn't breathe.. our plan was to keep running on Ballard Rd. until our Garmin's said 5 miles and that would give us 15 when we got back to Andrea's house. I kept plugging away but it was getting harder and harder. I couldn't really understand what was going on, I felt like I had put on someone else's body everything felt foreign, my leg's didn't feel like my own and my breathing.. good grief why can't I breathe???????? Finally we turned around a little short of the 10 miles, because there was a pack of about 10 dogs coming after us!!! Sheesh this run was just getting worse and worse!! LOL

It really did all fall apart after that... I started taking walk breaks and soon I was doing more walking than running. Jane and Michele had been running slightly ahead of me and at one point didn't know I had started walking, but once they saw how far back I was they came back for me. They walked with me, ran with me when I could and I was feeling so guilty for ruining their runs... especially Jane. Michele was just running to keep up her long runs, although she isn't officially training for Disney yet but Jane is training for the Memphis Marathon.
I kept telling them to go on but they wouldn't, eventually my stomach started acting crazy again and this time nausea decided to come along as well. I told Michele why don't you guys just go on and you can get the car and come get me!!!!!!!!
So off they went and here I was on some back road all alone without my phone... it wasn't until they were out of sight that I remembered I hadn't brought my phone along. It ended up being ok, but still not very smart!
After they were gone my stomach calmed down and I thought darn I shouldn't have told Michele to come get me in the car. Luckily I had yelled out to her while she was still visible that I would wait for her at the entrance to Magness Creek.. I didn't want her driving aimlessly around looking for me.
When I got to the meeting spot I stretched a little bit but I was feeling really dizzy so I sat down on the curb to wait for Michele.
Just as I see her turning into Magness Creek two girls come running by and ask if I'm o.k... I can just imagine how I looked all laid back on the sign!! LOL Well actually I know how I looked because Michele took a picture! and now you all know how I looked too... LIKE HELL!!!!!

Michele dropped me off at Daily Grind and on the way I started to get a little emotional... I felt like a huge failure and I knew everyone was worried about me... I really dreaded walking into the coffee shop!!
I think my blood sugar must have plummeted because I was standing in line to order and I started feeling really dizzy and I still just couldn't breathe right... finally I go outside to sit down and Brenda is sitting there and I'm trying to tell her about my run when I start crying... no not just crying, I am hyperventilating!! It almost felt like a panic attack but I didn't have heart palpatations.
I don't know what happened to me today but it really really sucked and at times it scared the crap out of me!!
I sat in the pool for a little while when I got home, the water is colder now and I thought it might help my legs... not sure if I mentioned earlier that not only could I not breathe but my legs were really heavy and sometimes just felt kind of dead... must have been the lack of oxygen????

OH well I'm fine now, I've showered, and have just been taking it easy this afternoon.

I don't really want to post my splits or avg pace because it is so awful but part of the reason for this blog is to record my runs even when they suck!!

13.7 miles 12:40 avg pace
1-10:06
2-11:10
3-12:07
4-10:11
5-10:43
6-10:34
7-12:09
8-11:21
9-12:49
10-13:10
11-16:30
12-13:59
13-16:52
.7-11:45