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 :(
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Finally wrapping up 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Toast
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.
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.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Cruiser Christmas Party
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!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Exhilirating
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!
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!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
A fun run with the girl's
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!!
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!!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Correction
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!
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