Jingle Bell Jog

This was my last organized race being run here in Clarksville. Because it was, I decided I was just going to go out there and have a good time, not worry about my time.

Since this was a Jingle Bell Jog, I put bells on my shoes and on Kaitlyn's shoes. My Tiger cubs had made big jingle bell necklaces with a HUGE bell and a shoelace so I had that on as well. Our race packets, in addition to having a pretty nifty blue sweatshirt with the logo on it, also had even more bells so those got pinned on my shirt.

It was about 46F, gray and cold when we lined up for the start. It was kinda odd since I could clearly see where the front runners were lined up but the majority of the crowd was lined up in FRONT of them. I verified that it was the front and made my way to the back. The gun went off and we took off.

This course followed some of the Queen City course and some of the APSU course but it didn't make much difference. Since we were running in downtown Clarksville, we were running on HILLS! And then some more HILLS!



I was going to follow a group that I knew did a run/walk interval but then just could not do it...even though they finished before me. I just really don't like to walk and then start running again although I did walk up one hill.

Kaitlyn took off right at the beginning and while I could see her in front of me, the stinker stayed in front of me the entire time.

Despite the fact I said I was not going to worry about my time, I just could not put forth some effort so I managed to pull out my second fastest 5K time. I finished in 33:xx ...not sure of the specifics, I think maybe close to 14? Kaitlyn finished in 31:xx. Samantha was out there running with us and finshed in 35:xx

We didn't win any door prizes but I had a fun run. Here are my splits:

1 mile: 9:59 (Entirely too fast!!)
2 mile: 11:14
3 mile: 10:53
.17 mile: 8:20

Boy, I was all over my pace today. According to my Garmin, my time was 33:37 for a 10:35 pace. I know I was off the official clock though.

I will miss running here even though I complain about the hills. This is where I started it and the people who helped me start and stick with it are here. Still, we are only a phone call/email away now and I know that I will meet some totally awesome runners in Virginia.

Still Here!

I am in an odd place right now, not entirely through choice.

I finished my Half and I am planning to run the full marathon at the Flying Pig. Training for that won't start until the first of the year so I am kinda between programs. On top of that, I am a single mom until we make the move to reunite with my husband, which puts a damper on my running. Still, I have managed to go out for a few runs. Last week, it was in the bitter cold of 19F and this week, it was 68F. What a difference.

My marathon goals, as of now are to: finish! First and foremost, I just want to finish. If I can finish around 5:30, that would be great....I may change that time as it gets closer.

So right now, I am torn between three different marathon training programs and would like reader input on them. I think all are good plans, I like parts of each and may end up mixing and matching the various things I like to create my own.

First up is Hal Higdon's Novice training guide. The longest run is a 20 miler, in week 15. It seems kinda light on the weekday milage and there are no speed or tempo runs at all included. Still, I know it is a solid plan and would work.

Second choice is sticking with Hal but using his Intermediate I program. This has the speed/tempo work that is missing in the Novice program, it is heavier on the milage and it has a 20 mile run in both week 13 and week 15. I am leaning more towards this one over novice but would it be too much?

Third choice was using Runner's World Smart Coach I plugged in my time for St Jude's and it gave me a Personalized Training Guide (Ignore the dates) I really like this one...I think perhaps the best. I like that it has some speed/tempo in there, the milage seems to be about right and that it has two 20 milers in there as well.

Soooo....advise me please! I know I will be able to tap into the knowledge locally when I move but I would like to have something in mind so I can maintain until then.

Saturday, I am doing a 5K. For the first time, I am not going to really focus on time. I am planning to wear a Santa hat, bells and just have fun! No, I am not going to totally ignore the clock (sorry, I am anal, I can't) but as long as I am under.....a time to be determined later, I will be fine with that.

St Jude's Half Marathon

Jim, Samantha and I left town about 1:30 pm to head down to Memphis. We made pretty good time until we actually got to Memphis. Then, badly marked roads and blocked exits had us doing some creative driving to find our hotel. Because of streets being worked on, the trolley system and one way streets, we circled our hotel a few times before we could actually make it over to park.

I drove the van, which is a 15 passenger behemoth. It is too large to go into the self parking garage, underground so we were set to go into valet parking. I have an antitheft system on the van and was going to explain it to the valet. Apparently it was too much and he said to just park in the valet lot and not worry about it. Nifty! We didn't have to pay for parking! We did tip the guy though.

After checking in and making sure we got late check out, we went over to the Expo, which was unremarkable, to get our packets. I was not listed so I went to the help desk. They could not find my registration. I had a print out of my confirmation from the race director (since my entry was being comp'd) and we got everything worked out. I didn't get the free socks that early registered folks did...even though I had confirmation of my registration from July.

After picking up our packets, we wandered down Main Street in the bitterly cold weather. In our packets was a list of places that were offering discounts to racers so we opted to try The Majestic Grille. We had short wait and then got seated. It was located in this huge building, an open space like I would imagine a loft type apartment would be although most are not 10,000 square feet. I ordered a four cheese ravioli, topped with sundried tomatoes (scraped to the side...ick!), spinach, goat cheese and pine nuts. I was not too sure on the goat cheese but it was pretty tasty. Samantha and I also had some broccoli cheddar soup. With my runners discount, my meal was under $16! Since it was still bitterly cold out, we opted to take the trolley back to the hotel.

The alarm went off entirely too early at 6:00 am since we needed check our gear and be in our corrals by 7:45. Sam and I lounged for a few and then snapped some pictures from our hotel room. We had a very small breakfast (bagel for her, Clif Bar for me). Brittany, her sister Brooke and two of their cousins were in the room right next to ours. When we went out to meet Jim in the lobby, they were still in PJ's but almost ready.

Even though it was still cold, we made our way over to gear check and put our bags in. We made the plan to meet at gear check after the race since all of us finish at different times. It was about 10 min before we needed to be over in the corrals so we said goodbye to our jackets and braved the 30F weather over to the start.

Once in the corrals, we kinda huddled together like a group of pengiuns. There was an announcer who was whipping up the crowd and it made me choke up to see all the shirts around me that were running for sick kids. I had already decided I was going to dedicate my run to a precious angel, Eliana. Eliana was the daughter of a friend of mine. She was diagnosed with leukemia less than a year after Devin. She was only 5 months old at the time. Eliana fought a very hard battle, she went through a transplant but the day came when her body just could not battle anymore. She was a tiger, a sweet baby girl and she is sorely missed but never forgotten. Eliana left her family a month after her second birthday. So I ran this for Eliana and all those children who, like Eliana, gave it their all but didn't make it.

The race was set to start at 8:00 am and 15 seconds before, the count down started. Each corral would start one minute after the previous one. The elites and sub 7 min milers took off, music blaring. The music got the crowd whipped up and there was a roar as each corral went across the start line. People were hopping and bouncing with the music. It was an overwhelming feeling, feeling the enegry and being a part of it.

Samantha and I were in the corral behind where Jim was so we all wished one another good luck and took out places. I was back in the 5th corral so started about 6-7 minutes after the elites. All along the course, you saw discarded hats, mittens, scarves, shirts, jackets...even tech stuff. I was chilly for about a quarter of a mile and then I was fine the rest of the run. I knew that would be the case so that is why I chose to run in just a t-shirt and capris.

Speaking of elites, I never saw them. I find it amusing that they start before me, run twice as far as me and finish before me. Heh...isn't that incredible?

I had planned to run with the 5:00 pace group and kept them in my sight for most of the race. About mile 10, I lost sight of them and then the 5:15 group was closing in on me but I managed to stay ahead of them. It was helpful to have them even though I had my Garmin to help keep me on pace too.

There was music and crowds at various points along the course, there was a lotta water and powerade as well as Gu as mile 9. I saw several Elvi (more than one Elvis), Uncle Sam, a Giant Panda, a giant Bunny, a giant Green M&M, assorted Fruit and a lot of dogs wearing signs cheering us on. I felt bad because I also saw more than a few chips on the course where a runner had lost them and never noticed it. They only had one zip tie in our stuff to put on the chip, I like to have two just in case. I never even saw the hospital so I missed seeing the kids out front.

We got to about mile 9 and there was some bad mojo there for some reason. I just was really struggling there so I moved in behind a guy and gal running. He was discussing the Battle of Antietam in the Civil War, civil war photography so I listened to that until I felt stronger and not so dragging. It actually was an interesting conversation and after he realized I was listening, he moved over a bit so I could hear him more clearly. After the race, I compared notes with my group and at mile 9 we had: side stitches, puking, sock twisting and possible blister and sudden nausea. All of us have run longer distances so we are blaming it all on bad mojo.

I just passed mile 11 and a supporter on the crowd yelled to me "Two more miles R3!" (I had on an R3 shirt...local running store) She then saw a couple of full marathon guys by me and yelled "You guys look like you could go at least another 15 miles!" The crowd was a lot of fun. I would high 5 the kids and made sure I said hi to wee ones on the side of the course. I was always worried I was going to slip on discarded water cups but luckily, it never happened.

The police support was good but right before the final quarter of a mile, there were cars coming from cross streets and no one there directing them. I was really worried they would make us have to stop for them. There really needed to be someone there.

It is funny, I train in a very hilly area so this course felt wonderfully flat to me. There were a few minor inclines but it was nothing compared to what I normally run. It was amusing to me to hear the griping from other runners as we went up them.

The Hostess factory was right before we went into the stadium...it smelled so good and I was soo hungry at that point. No free samples, darn!

As I came into the stadium, I didn't see any of my group but knew they were there so I was going to stride out and sprint. A couple of girls were moving like slugs right in front of me so I went around them. I sprinted across and a volunteer draped me in foil like a baked potato and then another put my finishers medal around my neck.

My goal time was 2:27:45, I wanted to be under 2:30 but came in at 2:33:04...I am so not disappointed though, I think it is a great time! Even better, I ran negative splits on the official results!


Mile 1 -10:39
Mile 2 -10:44
Mile 3 -10:53
Mile 4 -10:14
Mile 5 -10:40
Mile 6 -11:19
Mile 7 -11:31
Mile 8 -11:24
Mile 9 -10:53
Mile 10 -11:59 - walked through a water stop
Mile 11 -12:49 - walked through a water stop
Mile 12 -13:03
Mile 13 -11:18
Official time: 2:33:04, pace of 11:42, (split time of 1:14:01, pace 11:57)

I made my way up the stairs to find my buddies. I knew that I was one of the last in my group to come in and sure enough, Jim was up by gear check waiting for me. I got my jacket and we waited for Samantha. I was starving so ate some Clif Blocks. Sam came in about 20 minutes after me and after we got her, we made our way over to FOOD!

There was an area set up for after race eats. You had to have the tag off your bib to get in. The jerk who took my tag ripped my bib!! I know it is not a big deal but now it says St Jude's H Marathon...with a big chunk gone. Grrr!!! There was some yummy hot soup in various flavors (I got potato), huge muffins, bagels, donuts, fruit, cookies, pizza and all kinds of drinks. It was a great spread with plenty for everyone. I got some soup in a cup, which was wonderfully hot. I also juggled a muffin, some cookies (still in my bag), a slice of pizza and about 3 bottles of water. It sounds like we pigged out but it was a drop in the bucket. On the way home, we stopped and had a meal as well.

I did have a problem in the race, totally not running related. I have a nursing baby so no nursing baby for x hours = agony while running. Ouch!!!

It was a great race...now, to start training for the Flying Pig marathon in May!

Easy Peasy Week

Back in June, when I first met with Chuck and my Half training group, this week looked so far away. Now that it is here, it didn't seem to take much time. It seems like we just started yet here we are, about to run the half.

What a long journey, in other ways, this has been. When we started, we did a time trial and based on that, Chuck set our weekly milage and pace. When I look back on it, it is so incredibly slow to me. I remember he wanted me to run my long run at a 13:40 pace (without going to look) and I think I would really have to work at it to slow down to that pace now.

We had an easy 6 mile run over the weekend. Jim stayed with me for the entire run so it went by a lot faster than it normally does.

This week, we have nothing but 3 mile runs today, tomorrow and then on Friday (which I am not sure WHEN on Friday we are supposed to get that in since we are driving to Memphis that day)

I got my target time today....2:27:45 for a 11:17 pace. I ran my 10K at a 10:54 pace so I should be able to make this goal ::gulp::

Still, I need to have faith, right? Chuck has never given me a goal for a race that I have not gotten within 10 seconds of so I CAN do this.

It Worked!

If you recall, last week I had a problem with some running tights that just would slide right off me. I had planned to take them to a tailor shop to get a drawstring put in but then decided to do it myself.

Armed with scissors, drawstring, safety pin and fray check, I bravely made two teeny cuts in the waistband casing. I put fray check on the cuts to prevent fraying (well, duh!) Putting the safety pin on one end of the drawstring, I got it through. Viola! Less than 2 minutes later, my running tights had a drawstring.

Tonight I put them to the test. I did jump around and jog in place in the house first with no slippage. Greg and I went out for a 4 mile run and there was no slippage at all! The drawstring was a success!!

We ran an easy 4 miles in 47:35 for a 11:55 pace. It was darn cold out though.

I had on lower cut socks this evening and the zipper on the leg of the tights rubbed a spot so next time, I will have to be sure to wear higher cut socks.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving tomorrow for all those who celebrate it!

Official Time and Seven Miles

The official Turkey Trot results were posted and it showed me having a time of 52:41, which I am very pleased with. Of course, I don't think it accurate only because Theresa, who was about 2" in front of me at the finish, had a time listed of 52:33. Now, I am not overly technical but I don't think it would take 8 seconds to travel those 2". Also, before anyone thinks I am complaining or even upset, I am not. I find it more amusing than anything and I absolutely will take the 52:41! Chuck asked me to finish in 52:45 so I am thrilled I made it.

This morning was our long run. I have had a pain in my left calf, bad enough to cause a limp when walking. It doesn't bother me while running so Chuck thinks it is just from use.

Samantha was out at the back 40 along with Brittany and Chuck. Samantha and I ran a very easy 7 miles while Brittany hoofed it back as quickly as possible to get warm. Chuck passed us when we had about 1.5 miles left, he had done 10 miles.

1 mile - 11:34
2 mile - 12:20
3 mile - 12:15
4 mile - 12:36
5 mile - 12:42
6 mile - 12:02
7 mile - 11:42
.10 mile - 11:26
Total run time: 1:26 @ 12:10 pace
Total milage: 7.10 miles

8K Turkey Trot

Today was the Turkey Trot here in town. I went upstairs to see if Kaitlyn wanted to run since last night she was somewhat wishy washy about it. She did want to go so she got ready. In the process, Kierynn woke up but was willing to lay in bed and watch TV so she didn't wake anyone else up.

We made it out to the mall and got Kaitlyn registered. There were only XL and XXL Turkey Trot shirts left so Kaity got an R3 shirt instead.

I had seen Chuck setting up the timer but didn't see Brittany anywhere. She found me though so we did our almost mile warm up. Right after our warm up, Samantha found me as well.

Now, whoever said that this was a relatively flat course LIED. Oh sure, there were some flat sections but it was most certainly not flat.

I had talked to Kaity before the race started, she wanted to know if she had to stay with me or she could run at her own pace. I said she could run at her own pace and if she wanted to take off, she could or if she wanted to lag back, she could. I started out entirely too fast but the first hill got me under control and I settled down to a better pace.

This was sorta an out and back course. We went down a road, turned around and came almost back before turning down a different road. After we crossed over the interstate, we turned around again and went back to the start.

Brittany, of course, finished long before I did and came out to run me in. Right as we approached the finish, she told me to stride out so I did. I passed a friend of mine, Teresa. She decided that she would not be passed and she kicked it in. I almost beat her but she pulled ahead of me in the chute.

Brittany was a bit peeved at this. Once I was in the chute ahead of her, she felt that Teresa should have let me go on ahead. I don't think it was that big of a deal although I would have been irked had it been someone I didn't know that did it.

I don't have my official time and I forgot to stop the Garmin when I crossed. When I did stop, it said my time was 53:17.

Brittany and I both went out to run Kaity in. She finished in just over 57 minutes. She was also the youngest runner on the course. There was a team from one of the schools running in her age group so she didn't place. All the girls who placed in her age group where 4-5 years older. Grant made sure she still got a first place ribbon.

Tomorrow I have a 7 mile run scheduled for the back 40 with Chuck, Brittany and Samantha.

Grrr!

It happened again! I got a new set of running tights (could not find capris) and they were a size smaller. I have not worn a 12/14 since about 1993. I tried on the new set and was very pleased at how they fit. I jumped up and down, jogged in place and it seemed fine.

My 9 year old wanted to run with me this evening so we set out on a 5 mile run. 4 houses down and I can feel the insidious slippage begin again. I decided to take some drastic measures, rather than turn around to go change. I stood on the corner and stripped. Yes, you read correctly, I stripped right there in the middle of the street.

Since I always run with spandex shorts under, I took off the running tights, took off the spandex. Balancing on one foot so I didn't get my sock wet from the rain soaked road, I put the tights back on and then put the spandex over it. Yep, I was not going to win any fashion awards but it was dark and it kept the tights from falling around my ankles.

Of course, the tights slipped down and rested below my rear end, inside the spandex, for the run. It was very weird for about a mile before I could ignore it. Darn it, I was not going to cut my run short!

Sooo....tomorrow, I am taking the stinking tights to the tailor shop and having them put a freaking drawstring in them. Why in the world don't they already have one? You know, it is not like I have skinny hips, there is plenty of paddage there that you would think would prevent the slipping. I want to know what "runners" were the ones who tested these tights before they were placed on the market. They are made by Danskin and not really expensive but still.

Kaitlyn did awesome on the run. I gave her plenty of opportunity to cut the run short if she was feeling too tired but she chose the long route each time. We ended up running 5 miles at an 11:30 pace. I think she will do great on the 8K Saturday.

Ran My Pants Off

I recently got several pairs of capris to run in. I put on a pair to run in and headed out the door. A few houses down the road, I noticed an odd sensation. My pants were sliding right off.

I stopped and tried to tuck the waist of the capris into the waist of my shorts (under the capris) That worked for about 3 feet. Since I had shorts on underneath, I just took off the capris and continued my run.

These capris were a size smaller than I normally wear and they were falling off me!! I need to go down yet another size, I am thrilled!

I have an 8K coming up this weekend and Kaity decided that she wants to run it as well. We will see how that works out.

As you can see, some redecorating has taken place. Hopefully everything is working and looks okay.

I had a request for a close up picture of the cows on my long running route. By request:

Ten Miles

This week, same as last week...I had a 10 mile run scheduled. Last week, if you recall, I had to pull up right after starting due to a cough. I rested this week (even though I did run once and it was tempting to go out again)

Normally, I run with my Half group for my long runs. Even though we may not physically be running next to each other for longer than about a mile, they are still on the route with me and that alone spurs me to run faster. No one was going to be out there today so I was on my own for my long run. ::gulp::

I really did not want to do this. I also didn't want to drive on Ft Campbell and run the back 40 solo. Even though I truly hate the route, I decided to run Chapel Hill for my 10 mile run. The last time I ran this route was at the beginning of August and it totally sucked. Still, today was a different day so I was willing to try it out.

My nine year old, Kaitlyn, hopped on her bike to come along with me and be my own personal support crew. She carried my water, my cell phone and my Clif Blocks. She rode normally in front of me, talking to cows, picking flowers and watching for deer.



The route is all in a rural area so I see a bunch of cows

and a lot of fields and trees


The run is still pretty darn hilly but after having run the back 40 and *those* hills, it wasn't so bad today. I think the fact that the temperature was 48 degrees cooler than the last time I ran it also helped. The route was not the bear I remember but a nice, pleasant run up in the Kentucky countryside.

1m- 11:16
2m- 12:00
3m- 11:59
4m- 12:21
5m- 12:27
6m- 12:20
7m- 11:59
8m- 12:59
9m- 12:26
10.10m- 12:04
Total run time - 2:03:19
Total milage - 10.10 miles

Knowing Your Limits

Nothing sucks more than having to come face to face with limitations when you don't want to admit to them.

Before the 5K on Saturday, I had felt the beginnings of a cold coming on. I tanked up on vitamin C, drank fluids and had no problems running. Things went downhill later in the day and by Sunday morning, I was feeling not so great.

Despite the fact that I wasn't feeling 100%, I decided to go out and meet everyone for my LSD. We had an 8 mile scheduled. On the way there, I was having some serious coughing fits but thought that once I started to run, everything would clear up and I would be okay.

Chuck announced we would do a 10 mile instead, which everyone was okay with. We started and I knew I was in trouble right away. I still tried for 1.5 miles before the stop, cough, run cycle was too much. At that point, I waved Jim on ahead of me.

Even though I could not run, I still walked 6 miles. I made it back just a little bit before everyone else did.

I was willing, my body just was not.

Since then, I have not run. I have been taking medicine and taking it as easy as I can. I have a 5 mile run on the schedule today but after talking to Chuck, I am sitting it out.

It just sucks, I would really like to be out there but I know in the long run, it would be better for me to sit it out until I am back to 100%

APSU Homecoming 5K

Today was the APSU Homecoming 5K. As expected, it was a very hilly course. Even though I have run the course before, I have never run the entire thing at one time. We would run part here, run part there so I knew what to expect. Even knowing what to expect doesn't really prepare you for the stinking hills. They are not even big hills, they are just long and constant. If we were not running up a hill, we were running down a hill.

I met up with my running buddies and got checked in. We got a nice long sleeved gray t-shirt, not 100% cotton! Woo hoo! Even though Chuck, our coach, was not there, he was there in spirit so we were good little runners and went out for our mile warm up before the race

This was not a huge race, I think maybe 100 people so we milled around the start line and a guy yelled "Go!" and off we went. In looking around the crowd, my immediate goals were to beat:

-the 8 year old girl (did it!)
-the two pregnant ladies (did it! But I also know they were taking it very easy since they routinely trounce me in training runs)
-the 79 year old lady (did it! She was awesome, I want to be out on courses when I am 79)
-the walkers (did it!)

It was a nice day for a run although a bit chilly at 34F out. People were complaining about running in the shade, I liked the shade since it kept me cooler.

Chuck wanted me, based on last week's 10K time, to run 32:10. I know I thought he was nuts because there was no way that I was going to be able to run that course with hills in that time. The last time I ran a 5K in the downtown area, my time was just over 37 minutes. Of course, this was back in April when I first started running.

As I came to the start line, almost to the finish line, Lucas came out on the course to run me in. He told me that Brittany had come in at 25:xx (Chuck wanted her at 27:xx) and that Jim was still out on the course. Now, Jim normally beats me but he was running with his daughter, Emily (the 8 year old that I beat). I told Lucas that as soon as I turned the corner and came to the 3 mile mark, I would stride out. It really sucks that the final .10 is all uphill. I strode out and managed to squeak in at 32:09 (on the clock, my Garmin said 32:06)!

Reports are that Chuck called to check on Lucas (16:19) after the race and was pretty pleased with our times. Not happy enough to cancel our 8 mile run tomorrow though….

Brittany and I did our cool down run and found three walkers on the course. We let the race people know to stop tearing down the timer since they still had folks out there who probably wanted their time.

I was kinda hopeful I would place when the groups below me all had people placing with times after mine. In my age group, the top three were all under 23 minutes!! No medal for me there or as an alumni….darn. I really wanted the $50 gift certificate to the running store but I lost out on the door prizes as well.

It was a fun race, even though it was hilly. I am glad my race in 2 weeks is pretty well on a flat course.

Triple Digits!

Nothing much going on but I had to post just to say...

I did over 100 miles again this month!!!

Austin Peay Homecoming 5K is this Saturday....in beautiful hilly downtown Clarksville.

Sango Scamper


Chuck, Brittany, Denise and Jim

I am still excited about my 10K today. I ran this same course back in June, in the heat and humidity. It was my first 10K so I was pretty happy with my time of 1:17:53.

Today, it was 43F at the start with wind from the NW. I met up with my Half training group, Chuck told us before we ever got there that he wanted us to do a mile warm up. We passed Chuck coming back in from his warm up as we went out for ours. got us out for our warm up and we were set. The lady who owns the running store, Michelle, was there and asked if I was running with her at the back of the pack. I asked her pace and laughed when she said she ran Peachtree last weekend at 11:15. I told her that was a lot faster than I normally go so I would be behind her at some point. I just knew that I would be lucky to maintain a 12:00 mile for this run.

We walked to the start line and since there were only about 80 runners, the guy just said "On your mark, get set, GO!" The pack started out very fast, I looked and we were running 9:38 so I slowed way down and let everyone pass me. I had to let out a cheer when I realized I was the last runner.

Before we ever hit the first mile, I had pulled ahead of at least 2 runners so I know I didn't finish last.

I knew the first few miles would be kinda hard since it was uphill. What was amazing to me was that it was not nearly as hard as I recall. The temperature difference and running on hills routinely sure made it easier. Actually, the whole course didn't seem nearly as long as it did in June.

At the first water stop, Michelle was right in front me. I stayed on her until about mile 5.75, when she pulled ahead on the final hill. After the race, she told me that she didn't realize it was me until we were past the 4 mile mark. I told her if I had gotten close enough to her, I would have said hello but she was always about 20 feet in front of me.

Asexpected, when I came around a turn and towards a straight patch, Chuck passed me heading towards the finish line. Since he was the lead runner, he had a flashing police escort. His time was 34:xx Michelle and I both hooted and hollered as he passed us.

I was watching my Garmin at various points and was thrilled at my pace. I was running below an 11:00 mile nearly everytime I checked. I do think that mile markings on the road were off and I heard several others complain about it as well.

Of course, there has to be a joker on every course so the police trail car decided to do it. I was just about to mile 5 when he pulled up alongside me and asked if I wanted a ride. Ha, Ha. Put the donut down and join me. I politely smiled and declined.

As we got to the last hill, Chuck was coming out on his cool down run while Lucas (who went on to win the 5K in 16:16) was doing his warm up. There was another guy, can't remember his name but he was 3rd overall in the 10K. They passed me, yelling encouragement. As I was starting up the final hill, they came up behind me. They ran with me, yelling goofy stuff and encouraging me while giving Michelle, now about 50 feet in front of me, a hard time. When Chuck told me to sprint, still almost a mile from the finish, I told him I was not going to sprint until I was closer to the finish.

As I crested the hill, Grant, who was my 5K coach, was standing there. He came out on the course and paced me as well. So here I was, almost dead last (at least 2 behind me though!) and I had all these buff guys running with me and being my own personal support team.

"Get those knees up! Drive it home! You can do it! Come on Denise!" and similar stuff. As soon as I passed the 6 mile mark on the road, I did start to sprint. The crowd, small though it was, cheered and I believe I made it to the official time in just under 1:07. My Garmin said 1:07:02 Michelle finished just ahead of me, she was still in the finish chute when I came in.

I am still waiting for the official times to be posted but I know I bettered my previous PR significantly. My entire half group did so well.

Chuck- 34:xx
Brittany - 57:xx
Jim - 1:00:45 (he really wanted to break 1 hour)

According to the Garmin, I ran 6.31 miles at a 10:38 pace
1 mile - 10:00
2 mile - 10:42
3 mile - 10:43
4 mile - 11:00
5 mile - 10:49
6 mile - 11:09
.31 miles - 8:26

I felt really comfortable for most of the race, I would not have guessed I was running that much faster than I normally do. I really tried to catch Michelle but just didn't quite make it.

It really was a great run. It was a nice, cool day and everyone was fantastic. The official times should be posted later in the week and I will post when I get them.

Giddy

Who would ever guess you could get giddy over getting a new pair of running shoes? I have been alternating between my New Balance 766's and my Reebok's. I really prefer my NB though.

The time has finally come. I keep getting a warning on my log that my New Balance needed to be replaced soon since they have over 300 miles on them.

This evening, after looking at several places online, I ordered a replacement pair of New Balance 766's. I actually would like to try some different brands but since I have the St Judes coming up, I am not about to mess with a winning formula and try new shoes.

My brand, spanking new 766's should be here in about a week and my current pair will be retired to lawn mowing and general wear duty.

Oh, speaking of shoes (which led me to think of socks) my socks have seemed to cured my blister problem. Since I got the ClimaLites, I have not had a single blister. Woo hoo!!

BTN ...or so I thought

I was just not feeling the run this morning and knew it was going to be a tough start. Jim and Chuck pulled ahead almost from the start and I know I slowed down.

The first mile is usually my most difficult, more so on this course since it is all uphill the first mile. I was still shocked and dismayed to see my Garmin flast at me 13:59 WTH? A fourteen minute mile??!! I knew I was slower than normal but I didn't think I was going that much slower.

The second mile was still over 13 minutes and it was really tempting to just throw my hands up in disgust, chalk this up as a BTN (better than nothing) run and go back to my truck. I didn't do that, I didn't drop to a walk. I knew that this run was going to be a mental challenge more than a physical one so I kept on going.

Samantha had said she would meet us out there to run but she wasn't there so once more I was running solo. There was a lot of military traffic on the roads this morning so I had nominal company. As I was approaching the 3.5 mile mark, Chuck and Jim were on the way back. They gave me thumbs up, shouted encouragement and kept going. We were doing 8 miles so I didn't have that much longer to go.

It took at least 20 minutes, so it seemed, for me to run that half mile to the turn around point. I turned around and started back. As I got near the 3.5 mile mark, I could see a runner coming towards me. It was Samantha! She took a wrong turn getting there but set out anyway. She passed the guys so she knew I was out there still. It was great to have her out on the course with me.

When I got back to starting point, the Garmin said 8.18 miles, 1:43:03 I have no idea how I managed to get an additional .18 miles on an out and back but whatever.

Now, when I downloaded the info from the Garmin, it gets even stranger. It says I ran 8.5 miles total. Remember the shocking (to me) almost 14 minute mile? Well, the reason is that it didn't actually mark it at a mile, it was 1.24 miles! My pace was faster than I thought it would be. I was not nearly as slow as I thought I was, I actually ran faster than I thought.

1.24 miles - 13:59 (11.17)
2.28 miles - 27:35 (13.06)
3.28 miles - 40:22 (12.43)
4.28 miles - 53:03 (12.38)
5.29 miles - 1:05:14 (12.08)
6.29 miles - 1:17:48 (12.32)
7.29 miles - 1:29:59 (12.08)
8.29 miles - 1:41:25 (11.26)
8.5 miles - 1:44:03 (7:55)

Lesson learned out of all this? Stop looking at the stinking Garmin! I was really good about not looking and have recently started peeking. After the second horrifying mile today, I actually switched the Garmin where I could not see any of the info. I was getting depressed about the info I was seeing, despite the fact that I didn't feel I was doing as badly as it was showing me I was.

Yay!

I had Monday off, which is always nice following a long run. It was even more nice after 13.1 miles.

Monday I decided to go out on my sock quest. I had planned to go to Kohls and R3. R3 is closed on Mondays...whooops. As it was, I found what I was looking for at Kohls. They did have the Adidas ClimaLite performance socks.

So far, I have run a 4 mile run, a track workout (5 miles) and an easy 5K in these socks, in two different pairs of shoes with no repeat blisters. I think I have found the perfect thickness I was looking for. Of course, I will know better after my 8 mile LSD this week.

Yesterday, I met Chuck, Lucas, Brittany and Jim at the track for the weekly track workout. We ran around campus for our mile warm up (10:40!) and then headed into the track.

We did strides first, 4x100. Since Brittany runs significantly faster than both me and Jim, Chuck had Lucas pacing Brittany for the rest of the workout while he paced us slower folks. We were doing 3x400/800/400.

Now, if you read this blog on a fairly regular basis...you know that I always doubt Chuck when he gives me a time to run. I don't doubt Chuck really, I doubt my ability and his faith in it. You would think I would learn but when he said he wanted me to do 400m in 2:00, I could not control the snort. He sighed and said I could do it since I did 2:15 last time in wind. Can you guess what happened? Yes, I did my first 400m in 2:07. Did I mention it was pretty hot? Seriously, we were close to 80F after being below freezing over the weekend.

400m-2:07
800m-4:41
400m-2:13

400m- I am not sure of my time here. I twisted my ankle off the inside of the track right after we started. Naturally, I stopped, we checked it out and after Chuck made sure I was not in pain, I continued the lap. I am guessing it was maybe 2:15
800m-4:58
400m- 2:23

After this set, I could feel where something was not right so Chuck had me just do a very easy 1.5 mile cool down (17:37). Based on where I was feeling not right, Chuck thinks I rolled my ankle and pulled a muscle. Once I got home, I iced and then alternated ice/heat.

This evening, I was scheduled for 4 miles. We had discussed this last night when I bobbled off the track. If I felt any pain or anything at all, I was to skip my run and just walk 2 miles. If I felt okay, I could do an easy 3 miles and it felt okay, do an additional mile.

I set out and towards the 3 mile mark, I could feel the same muscle so I called it a night at 3.15 miles (36:51) I am currently icing again. I will reevaluate again tomorrow before I go out for a 5 mile run.

I am not going to risk injuring myself so if there is any tenderness or feeling of not right, I am going to skip the 5 miles and walk 2. Of course, before my 8 miles, I will do the same.

On a non injury related note, on Runners World Forums, someone gave a link to Running Funky This place has the coolest running tights, shorts, shirts, capris...stuff! I really want to get a pair of tights. I can't decide on pattern though....too many to choose from. I am thinking a pair for Christmas!

Half Marathon Run



While it was not a race today, I still ran the entire distance for a Half Marathon! When I first started training for it, my goal was to finish. After I had been with the group for a bit, I revised my goal to finish in 3 hours or less. I then revised my goal yet again to finish in 2:45:00 or less. As you can see in the chart above, I finished today in 2:44:01

I know the Memphis course is not as hilly as where we have been running so I *think* I should be able to finish in well under 2:45:00 but I am going to keep my goal the same.

Today was the coldest morning we have been out running. It was 31F when we started. I felt seriously over dressed next to Brittany and Jim, in long sleeves, hats and gloves. I knew I would be tossing that stuff in short order so I didn't bother to wear it. I ran in shorts and a t-shirt...cotton at that! My thumbs were cold for about a mile and then I was fine.

Brittany wanted to get done so she took off and left Jim and I in the dust. She ended up running an extra mile since she was not sure of where the turn around was. I had put water there but it was in a tree line. Jim stayed with me until almost the 8.5 mile mark and then he had to go on ahead to make a soccer game. You can see my time take a nosedive once I was solo.

I have not had a chance to get new socks so I decided to try wearing double of my thin socks. It did the trick! I got no new blisters on this run. Woo hoo!!

Today was our last long run. We won't run any more long runs this far, our long runs from now will be under 10 miles.

Oct 21 - LSD
Oct 28 - 10K Sango Scamper
Nov 4 - APSU Homecoming 5K
Nov 11 - LSD
Nov 18 - Turkey Trot 8K
Nov 25 - one week before the Half
Dec 2 - The Half!
Dec 16 - Jingle Bell Jog

In Search of Socks

If you recall a few weeks back, after my long 10 mile run, I had developed a spectacular blister on the bottom of my right foot.

I switched out shoes, changed socks and it healed. Fast forward to my 12 mile run this past week. My blister had healed, I was wearing thicker socks that prevented the blister from reforming and everything seemed okay. Except that I developed blisters on the ends of my toes.

Last night, we did a hill workout (6.26 miles total, 1:29:37) and the blisters were back with a vengeance and under toenails. Bye bye toenails.... I spoke to Chuck about these stupid blisters and how to prevent them. I didn't get blisters until I went over 8 miles at a shot. Basically, the thicker socks do prevent blisters on the bottom of my feet but they also make my shoes fit tighter, causing the blisters on the end of my toes. If it isn't one thing, it is another!

So right now my options are to stick with the thicker socks and get my next set of shoes a half size larger OR continue to find socks that are thicker than my previous socks but not as thick as my current socks. I really like the socks I am wearing, even if they do cost over $10 a pair. I can't recall the name of them, I got them from the local running store and I know Michelle (the owner) would be able to tell me the name.

adidas ClimaLite® No-Show Socks have been recommended by a lot of different people as have Balega Enduros. If it matters, my shoes are New Balance 766. I plan to get a new pair and am undecided if I will try out the 767. So, if you have any recommendation for a medium weight good running sock, feel free to leave me a comment.

Just a short run

As I was getting on my blinkie lights, strapping on the Garmin and hunting down some shoes this evening, my five year old son watched me. He is used to seeing either me or his dad get ready to go run. He is fascinated with it and always asks how far we are going.

Iain: So how far are you going tonight Mom?
Me: I am going 3 miles.
Iain: Just a short run, huh, Mom?

3.1 miles, 38:31....a nice, easy run this evening.

Now, not that long ago, 3 miles was most certainly NOT a short run for me, it was my long run of the week. What a difference time and builing up a running base will do to you.

My week coming up. Normally I do my Friday workout with Chuck but since kids are out of school this week, I am doing the Wednesday evening session. Jim and Brittany should be there as well. That will be different since it is normally just me and Chuck on the track.

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: Track
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 4 miles
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 13 miles

Something Different

So I got up at the crack of dawn this morning...well, not exactly the crack but before 6:30 am. I made my sleepy way out to the back 40 to meet for a 12 mile run. I knew that Chuck would probably not be there but everyone else should be.

At 7:00 am, there was no one there. At 7:05 am, no one was there (there was an older lady walking a poodle..) At 7:10 am, no one was there.

Now, at this point, I have Angel Denise arguing with Devil Denise about just doing the run solo versus going home and attempting a 12 mile run from the house. Angel Denise won. I knew if I went home, I would not get the run in. I really was not happy about running 12 miles solo because I knew I would be slower than I could be and the chances of me walking were much greater. I put the cheese and whine down and started out on the 12 mile run.

.17 miles into the run, a blue PT cruise came whipping down the road...with Brittany! Brittany had been putting water out on the course with her sister, Brooke! Yay!! I turned around and walked back to the start so I could start again with company.

The run went very well despite my toes blistering. It was just below 50F when we started, just below 60F when we finished. Brittany and Brooke stayed with me up until about the 7-8 mile mark. I could see them the rest of the run, they finished maybe .25 miles in front of me. Below is the elevation graph and my mile times for the run. I didn't factor in the .17 miles/2 minutes I ran solo.

Mwahahahaha

The truth was revealed this morning when I met Chuck for our friday run. He could laugh evilly since he was not running! He has a 10 mile race tomorrow so he came out to coach me.

You get so used to seeing people in shorts/shirts...running stuff. I didn't even recognize him at first since he was wearing pants, shirt, jacket, hat and had a dog with him. I actually asked if I could pet the dog, Dash, before I realized it was Chuck!

Today was a track workout. It was under 60F but I still had on no sleeves.. There was also a fierce wind blowing that felt like it was trying to push me backwards for half of the track.

After a 1/2 mile warm up (5:00), Chuck had me do 4x100m strides. The first one, I was actually leaning forward and it felt like I was going to fall flat on my face. The wind was also making me feel like I was going to tip over to one side. I didn't time my strides but did take a 15-20 second break between each one. It was just weird how he wanted me to do these, pumping my arms and lifting my knees almost in a pardody of what I normally do. He was happy with what I did though.

Then Chuck had me doing 3x1200m. He said he wanted me to run a lap in 2:30. I just raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed at me. Usually, when we do these, Chuck runs with me and I start out way too fast. Today, I was all by my lonesome from the get go so found my stride much easier.

My first 1200m was 7:17 (9:42 pace!!) with a HR of 160 at the end.
Second 1200m was 7:28 (9:57 pace!!) with a HR of 164 at the end
Third 1200m was 7:35 (10:06 pace!!) with a HR of 156 at the end.

I had 1/2 mile cool down at 5:22

We have never done heart rate before but he said he wanted to see it in 160-189 and that it was good that it was consistant for all of them. I think he had planned to do one more 1200m but my shins started to hurt. I need to ice again.

I am just really stunned at those pace times because it didn't feel like I was going that fast. Chuck thinks I would have been faster if not for the wind. He said he could see me slow down in the wind.

Next up is a 12 mile run on Sunday. Chuck is not sure he is going to be back so Mr. Garmin will be our coach and tell us where to turn around. He said he would like to see us complete it in 2:15:00, I am thinking over 2:30:00 is more likely.

This Week

Here is the week at a glance for me. I get an email from Chuck that tells me what he wants me to do for the week. I meet him on Fridays.

Denise
Mon - Off
Tues - 3 Miles
Wed - 5 Miles
Thu - 3 Miles
Fri - Track @ 8:15 AM Muhaahhahahahhaha
Sat - Off
Sun - 12 Miles (Back 40)

I noticed only 2 of us out of the group got the evil laugh next to a workout with him. Is this a good thing or should I be worried??

I really like the fact that we have kind of an easy week here...at least until Friday and the long run.

We are having really warm weather too, feels more like late Spring than Fall here. I am still running in shorts and no sleeves. Of course, I run in shorts almost year round, it really has to be darn cold for me to not wear shorts.

Century City!

Can you believe it? I was actually kinda stunned when I saw my numbers creeping up for the month of September but I closed out the month having run 115.28 miles!! Compare that to the less than 24 miles I ran in March, when I first started all this. I am so excited about this, I hope I am always this excited about my running.

As expected, Chuck gave us an easy run this morning. Rather than the 11/12 on the schedule, he had us run a slow, easy 6 miles. Of course, Chuck took off at the 3 mile mark and ran 16 miles to our 6. It was just Jim and I out there running. Since Jim and Chuck were in front of me after about a mile, I pretty much ran this 6 miles solo...even if I could see Jim most of the time.

Where we run has such interesting road names. We run along a road called Jordan Springs Road....with no spring that I know of. We have roads called Boiling Trough, Hell Cat Trail and Ghost Corps Trail. Today, we ran just past Ghost Corps Trail and turned around.

I think I may bring my mp3 player on the next long run. I don't mind running like that but maybe music would make the miles go by faster. As it is, on longer runs, I think about all kinds of things. I plan my day, I decide what to do for dinner and in the case of today, I started planning for a Pack Meeting.

I am not sure if I ever mentioned this but I am Cubmaster for a pack of Cub Scouts. I have almost 50 boys from 1st grade to 5th grade. I also am the Webelos Den Leader and just because, I also am on District Roundtable Staff (Tigers Breakout Leader) My friend, Angie, is the District Popcorn Co-Chair with me. Shhh...don't tell but we are also working on District Cub Bowling and Day Camp/Twilight Camp staff. Can you tell I love scouting? They are getting used to me saying "Yeah, I can be there but not until after 10 because that morning I have a 10K race" I was more than a little irritated that Council Pow Wow was moved from its normal date in January to December...on the day of my Half! This will be the first time in several years that I missed Pow Wow (a load of fun)

It was a gorgeous day out, it was sunny and in the low 50's. I actually wore a regular cotton shirt and didn't get too hot. Of course, had I been running 12, I would have had a no sleeves running shirt on (and I did have one in my truck...just in case)

12:02 - 1 mile
12:01 - 2 mile
11:58 - 3 mile
12:13 - 4 mile
11:50 - 5 mile
11:00 - 6 mile
Total running time: 1:11:09
Average Pace: 11:52

Running with Chuck

Doesn't that sound like a title to a book? It does to me. Anyway, it is Friday so that means that I meet Chuck for a run. We have been meeting at 7 am but circumstances changed a bit so I met him at 8:15 this morning. On the schedule was fartleks.

My shins have started to feel tender, which I think is the beginning of shin splints. After describing it to Chuck, he agreed that it was the beginning of shin splints. I have been icing so he wants me to ice twice a day if possible. It is not full blown pain but it is tender..more so after I run.

Chuck also said in looking at the schedule that he had not factored in a rest run so instead of doing fartleks, we were going to do an easy 4 miles on the track. He also said he just realized that we still have more than 2 months left to the Half so we are going to not add more milage to our long run for a few weeks. He is considering doing just a very easy 6-7 miles this week rather than the 11-12 we were going to. Yay! Don't get me wrong, I would do the 11-12 but boy, that 6-7 sounds so nice.

I don't like track running, it is just repetitive and boring. Running the track with Chuck makes it go by a lot faster. We have all kinds of interesting conversations as we run.

This morning, some of the topics we covered were (not in this order): elite runners, garmins, interracial dating, the "newbies ruining marathons" article, stupid games that runners come up with, streetlights going out, a coaching conference he went to recently, the descrepency between how mens pants are sized vs how women's are sized, the History Channel, MSN on the internet, solo running and flogging (this was after we talked about the movie Passion of the Christ) Yeah, it is a big mix but when we talked, it really did have logical ways we went from one topic to another. You just never know what we are going to discuss. We spent a warm up run once talking about George and Martha Washington!

It was a nice, easy run today. We did 4.31 miles in 47:49. This means I averaged an 11:05 pace..how in the world did I do that? I thought we ran a very relaxed, easy pace. Wait, we did. That just means that I am getting a wee bit faster.

Something Found

You hear about the infamous "runner's high" when you are first running, you read up and find where people experience it but if you are like me, it is as impossible to find as the rare Western Jackalope. No matter how you search for it, you just have never seen one. You have to wonder if it really exists.

This evening, I had a 4 mile run up. I had unexpectedly spent the day in Nashville, complete with an unhappy 1 year old making that known at the top of his lungs for 30+ miles before conking out. When one of the kids gets in a mood, the others seem to feed off it and so by the time they were in bed, I was ready to reach for Calgon rather than my running stuff.

I found a set of blinking lights tonight so I clipped one to my ponytail. I had a nice green blinking light on my head, blinking yellow lights on my arms, reflective stuff on my shoes and a reflective belt. I do run in a well lit neighborhood but you can never be too careful. It was about 65F out, crisp but not too warm or cold. I did learn though and wore...no sleeves. I strapped on the Garmin and headed out the door, intending to go do my 4 miles and be done with it.

I slogged through the first 2 miles...nothing to write home about. I was running, I was out there, I was logging my miles.

At one point in my run, I come around the back of the elementary school where there is a big field next to an EMT station. Usually there are deer there but there were none there tonight. I am not sure what happened but that is when it happened. The run started to become magic.

I was not running faster, I was not doing anything different but something changed. I wasn't just running anymore, I wasn't just logging miles...I was running!

I was nearing the point in my route where I slow down because it is just past the half way mark, it is uphill and I am tired. Tonight, I just seemed to glide up the hill. I know by looking at my time, I really didn't glide though ;)

As I was coming down to my final mile, things were just so perfect tonight. It was a beautiful evening, the air was crisp, fresh and just a hint of coolness. The street was bathed in a gentle light from street lights and the stars were putting on a show, just for me, in the clear sky. The frogs and crickets were chirping and occasionally you could hear a baby cry or a dog bark. I could hear my breathing and my shoes hitting the pavement and that is when it hit me.

*This* was the infamous runners high! This is why people go out and run. The perfect feeling of being one with everything around you and just running. I wasn't running for miles, I wasn't running for time...I was running because that is what I wanted to do right then.

I could see a bobbing reflective stripe coming closer to me in the dim light. Another night runner came whizzing by me. A kindred soul, we shared a head nod, an uplifted hand, an almost breathless "Hey" and a look that said "I know why you are out here, that is why I am too." In a split second, he was gone and I was gone but for that split second, I knew him for what we both were right then: runners

The final quarter mile of my run, as I turned a corner, I could see my mailbox...my finish line. I lengthened my stride because I could! I had it in me to finish strong. No one is out there to see me do this, no one cares if I do but because I am able to do this, I do. I lengthened my stride and picked up speed for the final two elevation changes. I crested the last one and sped up for the sprint to the mailbox. Whee! I am done.

When I checked my time, I was not surprised to find it was not a signficant time (49:56). It was not a fast time, it was not a slow time...it was just a time. Tonight, my miles, my splits, my time...none of it mattered, I found my runner's high.

Isn't it great when things turn up in unexpected ways? I wish I had the words to really describe how this run was but it will have to do for me to say it was just an incredible run. It was the kind of run you wish you could bottle up and share with others so you could say "See? THIS is why I run!"

Sleeves

Today was my long, slow run. If you recall, I got a pretty spiffy blister last week during my 10 mile run. I was hopeful that changing shoes would mean no repeat. I thought it maybe would work since I ran all week with no repeats.

Ha! My hopes were dashed early in the run when I could feel the squish start. Not only did I blister on the blister, it spread too. I am going to try some thicker socks to see if that will help. For now, I am just squishing around with a blister.

Since the GarminForerunner 201 made its way to the house, it was only right that I take it along on the run this morning. It is pretty nifty too!

When I got out at the parking lot, the first thing Brittany said to me was: What is with the sleeves? Obviously, my preference for no sleeves has become well know. It was supposed to be overcast so I wore my Clarksville Running Club shirt. Naturally, it decided to NOT be overcast and I ended up running in a hot shirt and got a sunburn as well.

We pretty much duplicated our route from last week but went an additional half mile for a total of 11 miles. The Garmin showed that the milage from last week was off by .05 miles....which is not too bad and certainly not going back to change markings for.

The run out was not too bad. Chuck and Lucas stayed with us for the first mile and then took off since they were going to 15. Brittany came back and ran with me until about the 6 mile mark.

As we got to the turn around, we came upon what we thought was a log next to the road. It turned out to be an injured barn owl...sitting next to the road in full sunlight. It just looked at us so I marked the milage on the Garmin in my head so I could phone the game warden when we got back to phones.

It was pretty darn hot on the way back. We were running right into the sun and while it was a moderate temperature (62F), I still got a sunburn on my face.

I tried a different Luna bar, the Peppermint Chocolate, and it was not too bad. During the run, I downed some Clif Bloks and then tried Carbboom. Good grief, that stuff is SWEET! I don't know it did any good but I can see why you have to chase it with water...to get the sugar feel out of your mouth.

11:51 - 1m
12:09 - 2m
11:56 - 3m
11:46 - 4m
12:45 - 5m
13:11 - 6m
15:26 - 7m hills...sun..hot!
13:01 - 8m
13:14 - 9m
13:22 - 10m
12:03 - 11m
.34 - 320.5 ft

Total run time: 2:21:28
Total milage: 11.06

4:39

Naw, that is not the current time and I didn't manage to run a half mile in that time. So, why is that significant?

My alarm went off entirely too early this morning but I dragged myself out of bed. I looked at the temperature, it was 60F, and debated my R3 shirt, with sleeves, or a sleeveless shirt. I ended up deciding to wear my R3 shirt.

Opening the garage door, I was greeted by dark skies and rain. Since the weather can be vastly different between my house and the fairgrounds, I went down there. When I got there, you could see it had rained but it was not currently raining...just a bit windy.

Chuck showed up and since he is all about a warm up, we did 1.15 mile warm up (11:04)

Based on my last 5K time, he wanted me to run 4 miles at about an 11:20-11:40 pace. Since it was windy, he said as long as I was under 12:00, it was good. The fairgrounds is a large sorta oval shaped loop that we run. Chuck ran the first mile with me, to make sure I was okay with my pace and then he did his own workout, meeting me at each mile marker to give encouragement, my time and tell me to either pick it up a bit or not to push it. The he would shoot off until my next mile came up.

Right after I went pass the 2 mile mark, the skies opened up. I don't mind running in rain, much, and I much prefer that if I am going to run in the rain that it starts to rain AFTER I start. It is just tough to go out and begin a run while it is already raining.

Remember my shirt quandary earlier? Oh, how I regret not wearing my other shirt. The R3 shirt is a wicking shirt but it is white. That meant that the second it got wet, it became see through. Now, I am not a bikini model and normally, you would never catch me wearing something that revealing in public but there was no option this morning. I know, no one is going to see anything they have not seen before but still...not something that I feel comfortable sharing with the world. Good thing the fairgrounds were pretty well empty this morning.

My overall run time for my 4 miles was 43:28....4:39 OFF my previous best 4 mile time!!

1 mile - 10:46
2 mile - 10:55
3 mile - 11:15
4 mile - 10:32

After a short walk, we did a very easy half mile back to where we were parked. (6:23)

I am not going to be able to make our Friday morning runs after today so Chuck was nice enough to rearrange his schedule so we can run on Thursday evenings instead.

Sunday, I think we are doing 11 miles. Since my Reeboks gave me a blister, I am going to do my long run this week in my New Balance. We shall see if that helps.

Oh, I got a new toy in the mail too! My friend Andrea, who lives in San Antonio, sent me her Garmin 201. She upgraded to a different model. This is one nifty device and she only used it a few times. I hope to have it figured out so I can try it out on Sunday for my long run.

You will have noticed a slightly different look to the blog. I added a countdown to the St Jude's Half, added some running related blogs I read and changed a few links (took out some dead ones as well) I added my milage for the year as well.

Geeky Detail

There is a really nifty site out there, RunningAHEAD that allows you to map your run and you can even see the elevation changes. Cool...so, here is the elevation changes on my 10 mile run.



Now, it is deceptive looking because that makes it look like I ran on a roller coaster road. While you can see the hills, it is all gently rolling hills except between mile 4 and 6. Even then, it is only tough from 4.5 mile to 5 miles and then from 5.5 miles to 6 miles. The rest of the time, you are aware of these changes but it is not really significant to your run.

I put some body glide on my foot, where a blister had developed on my long run. I did 4 miles this morning with no problems. Normally, when I run by myself, I listen to my mp3 player. I didn't this morning and I think my run went faster. Of course, that could be because it was below 60F and beautiful weather. My run time was 49:55

Vic, who wrote a fantastic blog about Perspective (I recommend you go read it, September 19 and mark his blog, I read it daily), asked in my comment section how I keep track of my splits. Here is what I said:

I have a Garmin 205 in the mail on it's way to me but I just use a regular ole Timex watch. It is an Ironman version with a 30 lap function. Anytime I record splits, it is because I am running somewhere that the course is marked. I just hit the lap button when I pass a marker. If no markers, I just have my total time recorded.

This week, I am alernating between 4 and 5 mile runs. Chuck wants me at the fairgrounds on Friday so we can do a 4 mile time trial. We do them at the fairgrounds because it is level, where the downtown running route is hilly.

Double Digits and a Blister

Today I joined the double digit club...we went for a 10 mile run for our long, slow day. It was a gorgeous day out, just over 60F, sunny and beautiful.

Chuck had a coaching seminar today so we were on our own. Jim had emailed he would be out in the back 40 so I said I would come out. Brittany and Samantha also planned to be there. When I got down there, Anita was also there so 5 of us planned to run 10 miles.

Brittany drove out on the course before we started and put some water at the 2.5 mile and the 5 mile mark.

We were out running on the back 40 of Ft Campbell. It is just the training area for the Army units, there are paintball ranges and today was also the first day of some kind of deer hunting season. Great! I wore pink and we were running on the road so it was okay.

The course we ran was a 5 mile out and back. Since it is in Tennessee, it is rolling hills. Since it is the back 40, there are large shady areas and equally large sunny areas. The course was not too bad until we got just past the 4.5 mile mark...then there was the butt kicking hill, the top of the hill was the 5 mile mark.

We stopped for some water for a moment. I brought some Clif Blocks and tried them out, they are like a concentrated gummy bear in square form. I tried the strawberry, they were nothing to write home about.

Going back, at the 5.5 mile mark was the second butt kicking hill. It was not as steep or long as the other one but still, a workout at that point in our run.

The last maybe 1.5 miles of the run went really well. We started to go downhill, we got a breeze and we had a lovely shaded area to finish the run in.

About half a mile from the finish, I told Jim that I had something in my shoe. I could feel something under the pad of my foot...like lint or something collected there. Since we were close enough to the finish, I just ignored it and kept running. After I got home, when I took my sock off I discovered it was not lint or anything in my shoe but a blister! I have never gotten a blister from running. I was wearing cool max socks, my shoes were properly fitted so I am not sure why I got one. In any event, it is not painful, it just feels weird.

Total run time - 2:01:26 (12:09 pace)
1 mile -11:17
2 mile-12:06
3 mile-12:11
4 mile-11:45
5 mile-13:02 (here be the butt kicking hill!)
6 mile-12:35
7 mile-12:13
8 mile-12:47
9 mile-12:33
10 mile-10:54

Ladders

I woke up bright and early to meet Chuck down at APSU for our regular friday morning run. On the schedule for today was a mile warm up, 3 x 1 mile intervals, 1 mile cool down.

Chuck has too much time on his hands. He must lay awake at night, thinking of ways to make us work since he decided to change the schedule so that we were doing ladders today.

Since I had no clue what ladders were, other than a household item used to replace lightbulbs, I was not sure exactly what we would be doing but based on his grin, he was going to have fun with me.

We did an easy mile warm up through the foggy campus and then a lap around the track for a time of 12:10.

Chuck explained that ladders were just progressive distances, each one bit longer to a certain distnance and then a reverse back down to the starting point. It is not nearly as complicated as it sounds. We would run 800m, 1200m, 1600m, 1200m and 800m.

Now, based on last time we did intervals, I knew better than to say anything when Chuck told me what time he wanted me to run 800 meters in. My eyebrows did shoot up but I refrained from comment. Obviously Chuck saw the eyebrows though.

Once again, I shot out way too fast (really gotta work on that) so was having a problem breathing before a lap was finished. I did manage to slow down and catch my breath so I could run at a fairly comfortable pace. As we passed the start line, I heard Chuck give a snort and look over at me, smiling. I just told him to hush...I was well under the time he asked for.

After each rung of the ladder, we would walk about 400 meters to give me a break and get ready for the next set.

800 meters (.5 miles) - 4:25 - 8:53 pace!!
1200 meters (.75 miles) - 7:32 - 10:06 pace
1600 meters (1 mile) - 10:10 - 10:10 pace..duh :)
1200 meters (.75 miles) - 7:41 - 10:18 pace
800 meters (.5 miles) 4:45 - 9:33 pace
800 meter (.5 miles) cool down - 5:30 - 11:00 pace

Now, before the end of this workout, an 11:00 pace would have felt blazing fast to me. Our cool down lap felt really, really slow and comfortable to me.

It was a really good work out. I can see where it will benefit me. I really need to feel my pace so that during a race, I can tell when I am going too fast and need to slow down. Right now, I can't maintain these paces but I will get there. He did say that I am very consistant once I find my pace, I was under his target each time.

Tomorrow is a rest day and then on Sunday we are doing a 10 mile long run out on the back fourty. Jim, Samantha and Brittany should be there as well.

Inspired and an Inspiration

Funny, I never really thought that I would ever be both inspired and used to inspire someone else in the same day.

Since I will be camping out at the Nashville Zoo this evening with 23 Cub Scouts and family, I will not be making my long, slow run tomorrow out in the back 40.

My neighborhood is good for maybe up to a 7 mile route....if I really, really get creative and do some massive zig zagging to avoid running on two major hills and in front of my house before I am finished. I didn't want to run down the Barkers Mill/Chapel Hill route because as I have said before, I really dislike it.

I did attempt to bribe a kid to ride with me down Barkers Mill (where I would go down Carter Road rather than all the way down Chapel Hill) but every one of them backed out when I mentioned I wanted to go at 7 am. I don't like the idea of running on isolated country roads alone, no matter how safe I think it is. I also didn't want to drive to the fairgrounds and run solo. As I was pondering this sad state of my running route last night, I got an email from Candi. She wanted to run this morning. Yay! That means I will not be solo.

I was down at the fairgrounds about 7 am and I brought my mp3 player...just in case Candi was not there. As it turned out, she didn't make it but Samantha was there so my mp3 player stayed in my van.

We decided to duplicate our route from last week...run to the 4 mile mark and then turn and do the 4 miles backwards so we finish at the start line.

It was a bit warmer than last week and I was still a bit sore from the running I had done during the week. Samantha has been working nights (she is a nurse) and had not been running in a few days so we wanted to take it easy. Famous last words...we always want to take it easy!

We were just past 4 miles when we saw Grant and Michelle pull up. We had totally forgot that today was the day for the new Couch to 5K group to begin. As we passed by, Grant told us to stop by and say hello so he could introduce us. When we lapped by again, he asked us to stop.

Now, this was almost 5 miles into the run and neither of us really wanted to break our momentum by stopping but since Grant was our coach/trainer/running buddy...of course we did. He introduced us to the new group, said we had been in the spring group, asked us how far we were running today and then asked if we would say something. Nothing like being put on the spot! Sam and I looked at one another and kinda shrugged.

We just said that we were in the same boat in February, if we had been told we would be runnning 8 miles, we would have laughed. We also said that they would improve and to stick with it.

We only stopped for a few minutes and then we continued our run. It was kinda fun to be out on the 10K course with the new group because we could so relate to them. We also had to laugh (quietly, at ourselves) at how we had been so sure Grant was making us run longer and further than the schedule called for. When we first started, those 90 seconds of running seemed to go on forever.

We got to the 8 mile mark and decided we were just not feeling the nine miles today. We did grab our water and do a half mile cool down walk.

1 mile - 11:35
2 mile - 12:35
3 mile - 12:35
4 mile - 12:16
5 mile - 12:14
6 mile - 12:38 (this was the lap we stopped to talk, we just stopped our time and restarted)
7 mile - 12:59
8 mile - 12:05
Total running time: 1:38:57
Pace: 12:22

I was darn happy since for the last two days, I have been running closer to a 13:30 mile. Incredible how having someone there will just give you that added oomph to go.

Miles and Miles

How insane is this? In just 7 days, I have run more than half of what I ran the entire month of July. That just blows me away since I thought I was putting in some serious milage then.

Yesterday, I so did not want to go out and run. I knew I would have to run solo so I brought along my mp3 player. Before anyone lectures about safety, I not only keep the volume down at 6 (normally I listen at about 20) I also offset one of the earpieces so I can not only hear the music but I also have at least one ear totally unblocked by anything. I can hear grass rustling so I can certainly hear cars, bikers, dogs and the ice cream truck.

After my last 5 mile run in the neighborhood, I decided to change routes. I originally was out on a major road, which is paved. The only thing I did not factor in was road work had the shoulder down to a narrow little strip. It *looks* fine but after running it and then looking at it from a drivers point of view, I decided it was not nearly wide enough. I redid my route to avoid that road and it worked out fine.

My legs were still pretty sore from the hill workout so I knew I would be slower. I also know my body is adjusting to the increased milage so I am going to be slower. Doesn't mean I have to like it but I do realize I will adjust and my speed (ha!) will return. I finished my 5 miles at a 13:28 pace....not too awful.

This morning, the thought of doing it again had me vowing to never run again. Not a good sign so I just didn't even think about it and waited. Actually, it turned out better that I waited until the evening to run since it was significantly cooler.

This evening, I managed to convince two kids to ride along with me on bikes. (Again, I am safety girl. We all wear reflective belts and have blinking lights on..in addition to the reflectors on the bikes) The 13 year old peeled off just shy of 4 miles to head home while the 9 year old stayed with me.

This run felt so much better than yesterday and I am not just talking the difference in temperature. My legs still hurt but the run just seemed to go faster and seemed to flow better. My time was just under 3 minutes faster so really, I would not count it as a *better* workout as far as time goes but for overall feel...a much better workout. My pace this evening was 13:05

I normally eat Clif bars before longer runs or early morning runs, I am partial to the chocolate chip kind. I have to hide them from my 12 year old, he swipes them. I went to get them and saw Luna bars right near them. They had some interesting flavors, including a lemon. I am such a sucker for lemon that I decided to try it. I also got a chocolate peppermint to try.

Since I have always heard horror stories of energy bars wrecking havoc on people, I test these out before I try them on runs. I don't want a bad reaction while out on a run. No, thanks!

I decided to try the Lemon Zest one first. They are awful!! Even the yummy lemon flavor can't hide the fact that they are foul. I am so disappointed in them because they have some really nifty flavors. I can't believe that they are made by the same company as my beloved Clif Bars. After looking at the Clif bar website, I see I need to find a place that sells the Lemon Poppyseed and the Cool Mint Chocolate kind. Ooohhh...they have seasonal flavors too!

Tomorrow I have up an 8-9 mile run, we will see how I feel at 8 miles. I will be shunning the Luna bar though and sticking with Clif in the morning.

Its Always Hard

Last night, I was running through my neighborhood and my 9 year old was on her bike. I was rounding a corner to go up a short hill so it is not that surprising that I slowed down. She turned and asked me...

"When was running 4 miles hard for you?"

I was running 4 miles last night but it made me wonder what has changed to make her think it is any easier for me to run 4 miles now as opposed to several months ago. I did answer her, honestly.

"Honey, running 4 miles is always hard for me. Running 2 miles is hard. Running is hard. Just some days, it is harder than others."

I thought about that since my last 3 mile run was much harder to complete than my 8 mile run was. You would think it should be the other way around.

Today was the dreaded hill work out. I don't like hills, they make me work harder than I want to. Since I live in Tennessee, it is nearly impossible to avoid hills. Even my "easy" neighborhood route has hills. These neighborhood hills pale in comaparion to ....Commerce Street.

We met at APSU and jogged over to Commerce Street. Of course, we had to go UP some hills to get over there and I freely admit it...I walked the hill. I knew I was going to every bit of everything I had to do Commerce Street.

As we were standing on the corner of Riverside and Commerce, looking up (and up and up), I knew that Chuck had lost his mind. The route we were doing is about 1/3 of a mile. We would run up Commerce to 2nd street, turn right up the hill and continue to the top of Madison Street. Sounds easy, right? Yeah. Let me see you run it.

Chuck and Lucas took off like the show off gazelle's that they are (I am teasing, I like Chuck and Lucas and they are great to work with). Brittany started with me but before we were half way up the hill, she pulled ahead. She would always turn at the top of Madison and come back down to meet me and go the final push up to the top of the hill.

up 1- 4.25/ down 4.15
up 2 - 4.39/ down 4.27
up 3 - 4.47/ down 4.19
up 4 - 4.46/ down 4.47
up 5 - 4.52 1

Chuck was willing to let 4 be our workout tonight but Brittany and I said we could do another run up. After we finished, we did a very easy 1 mile back to where the cars were parked.

My legs are like jello. On the way back, we were crossing a busy road and the light was about to change. I sprinted (or attempted to) a short distance to beat the light. It was then my legs decided to get my attention, the tops of my thighs specifically. "Uhm hello, what in the world do you think you are doing? Stop it!"

I know I am going to be sore some but I have a few days off before I go back out for a run. For all that I felt like I wanted to keel over, it was a good work out.

Eight Miles

I was sore after my track work out on Friday. Sore to the point that I really didn't want to run yesterday but I did. I was a good little runner and went out for my 3 miles. Let me tell you, it was one of my tougher three miles. Normally, three miles is not that major of a deal but when you are just not in the running mode, it is a looooooooooong three miles. I had to resort to the standby of "Okay, I will run to the white mailbox. Now, to the red truck." method of running. Even running with my mp3 player was not helping me yesterday.

Based on my run last night and the fact that my darling one year old decided to wake up at 4:30 am, I was less than enthused about running 8 miles this morning. Last week was a rough 7 miles. It was hot, it was humid and it was seven freaking miles!!

It was a beautiful morning for a run. It was about 65F, the sun was behind clouds and there was a slight breeze coming from the east. Jim and Samantha were there and ready to go as well.

After a brief discussion, we planned to run to the 4 mile mark and then turn back around. This would put us finishing right near the parking rather than almost a mile walk back.

This was an awesome run. The three of us running set a nice, easy pace and were able to converse after the first mile. All of us are new runners so it takes us about a mile to warm up and get moving well.

Last week, Samantha made it 5.5 miles, Jim a little more before dropping to a short walk. This week, I don't know what got into but it felt like we just sailed through these 8 miles. I love it when runs come together like this, when you feel great, when your body cooperates and it just clicks

1 mile: 12:23
2 mile: 12:58
3 mile: 12:54
4 mile: 12:54
5 mile: 12:59
6 mile: 12:57
7 mile: 13:04
8 mile: 12:47
Total time: 1:42:58
Average pace: 12:52

We had to laugh at how we managed to stay pretty darn consistant through the entire run. Let me tell you, we were all thrilled that we finished the 8 miles with no walking. I had wanted to finish in 1:45 and we did! We grabbed our water and then did a half mile cool down walk as well.

I actually felt better after my 8 miles this morning than I did after 3 miles yesterday.

Intervals and August Averages

This week, in a change of pace, I have just been running in the neighborhood rather than driving down to the fairgrounds to meet Samantha or Candi. I did my 5 miles on Wednesday morning in a respectable 49:23. It wasn't too bad, it was cooler than it has been but definately I could feel I was working for my time.

For the month of August, I ran 79.52 miles (52.86 for July) at an average pace of 12:21. I imagine that my milage for September will be going up too.

Today I met Chuck down at APSU for some interval work outs. First though, we did an easy 1 mile jog through campus. It felt easy even though it was a 10:59 mile.

We got out on the track and did...I dunno what you call it. It was not a sprint, just faster than normal where you lengthen your stride. We did a couple of those in front of the bleachers but stopped because my thigh muscles were feeling it.

He asked what my last 5K time was and said based on that (11:18 pace) that he wanted me to do a 3 x 1 mile intervals at 11:00 pace. Hello? Me? Sustain an 11:00 pace for three miles? I told him that I didn't think I could do that but I would try.

Let me tell you, Chuck never will let me live this down. After each mile interval, he would throw his hands up and say in a silly voice "Oh, I don't think I can do an 11:00 mile" Why was he doing this?

1 mile - 10:25
2 mile - 10:36
3 mile - 10:45

After each mile, we would reverse directions and walk 200, then jog an easy 200 back to the start line.

When we finished the 3 x 1 mile, we did another half mile through the campus. He thinks that I still have a whole lot in me at the end of a 5K so I should be looking to hit a sub 30 minute time. I told him that I was aiming for a 10 minute mile and he said based on what I am doing now, I should be looking for a 9 minute mile!

I have to share part of an email he sent to our group today, after our workout this morning.

I just thought you might all want to know. I am disappointed. You guys are progressing to quickly. I had to change the running plan.

I assumed we wouldn't break your mental barrier until at least October. Now I have to go back and rethink this whole workout thing.

Just kidding.

You guys are awesome. The thing I see the most important that you have done so far is the consistancy. That is very crucial. I am so excited to see you guys put your mileage up there and oh by the way. I looked back at the beginning of the season and everyone's paces are increasing and the comments on some do not seem so overwhelmed by the mileage.

I know some of you are sore. That is ok. Muscle soreness is expected. These next couple of weeks we will stay consistant on the easy days and only the long run on Sunday will be increased. This will be somewhat of a plateau in mileage for a couple of weeks so your legs can get used to this high mileage.

Keep up the mileage this weekend and have a great one. Everyone get 3 miles on Monday. Tuesday is going to be the dreaded hill workout and I want you to be rested.

Have a great weekend and I will see you guys next week.

Again you guys are kicking butt.

Isn't it funny how your inner lose always speaks up and convinces you that you are doing poorly, to the point that the loser words come out of your mouth? I know I would have BET on the fact that I could NOT do an 11:00 mile for 3 miles (even with a short break). After today, I think I actually will be able to break a 10:00 mile and get close to 9:00. I don't think I could sustain it for more than 5K but that is a goal I have now that I didn't have this morning.

Long Slow Day and 85/85

I ran my longest run to date yesterday, 7 miles. We have been flirting with this run for a few weeks but it has been postponed a few times.

Five us met for the run. The course we run is marked for 10K. We decided to run to the 6 mile mark, turn around and then run back to the 5 mile mark rather than try to guess where the 7 mile mark would be.

I didn't start my stopwatch so I had to ask someone for the first mile time. I started my watch then. The pack is pretty much together still at the first mile but then we start to spread out.

By the third mile, I fell to the back of the pack, the gazelle was out front and then everyone else fell between me and the gazelle. The sun came out so we had to deal with that as well as the humidity.

Two people dropped to a walk about the 4.5 mile mark so I passed them. Another person decided to only run 5.5 miles but she did walk the full 7 miles. The gazelle finished and then joined me for my slow sprint to the 7 mile mark. My time was 1:28:03

1 mile: 11:43
2 mile: 12:37
3 mile: 12:11
4 mile: 12:51
5 mile: 12:57
6 mile: 12:44
7 mile: 13:17

Tonight, I had 4 miles on my schedule. This is where the 85/85 comes to play. Even though it was 8:00 PM out, it was 85F with 85% humidity. Yuck!

I came up on about the 1 mile mark (not sure since I don't have my neighborhood running routes marked), I felt drops on my arm. I knew I was hot and sweaty and was impressed that I was hot and sweaty enough to be dripping. Heh, it turned out to be a very light sprinkle.

When I got back from the run, Greg asked if it was raining. I said it sprinkled occasionally, not even enough to wet the sidewalk. The reason my shirt was soaking wet was SWEAT, not rain.

I did an easy run this evening.....49:23

Slow and Slower...Perhaps not

So Monday, we met out at the fairgrounds for a 4 mile run. It was Samantha, Candi and I. Right before we got there, a small rain shower came through so it was humid. Ick!

We decided to run the route backwards for a change. Rather than start at the start line (this is a 10K marked course we run on), we walked over to the 4 mile mark and started there.

As soon as we started, Candi and I could tell that the miles we had run in the past few days were catching up with us. We took our four miles pretty slow, our time was 49:49. Samantha, on the other hand, took off like a rocket. I think by the end of the run, she was at least 1/5 mile ahead of us. Go Samantha!

We met out again tonight. Well, Candi and I met LaVonne out there since Samantha was working. Before we ever started, I told Candi that I was going to take it easy and slower than the night before. She said that was fine, she was going to do the same thing.

The night was much cooler, not as humid and we had a nice breeze for portions of the run.

During the final mile, Candi started to pull away and get out in front. I let her. Then LaVonne got ahead of me. See ya!

As is my custom, I always try to sprint the last .10 mile (or longer if I feel up to it) I felt I had a nice, slow run...which is what I wanted. I almost passed LaVonne but she took my sprinting as a challenge and sprinted ahead too.

Color me shocked when I looked at my watch and my time was 47:31!! I won't bore you with splits but we even managed to run negative splits again. Now, how did that happen? It felt like a nice, slow run but it was faster. I am chalking it up to the cooler weather.

I am off until Friday, when I meet Chuck for a 5 mile run. See ya then!