Running Blog Friends Rock

I got a great response to my Short is Not Bad post from Kristina over at Marathon Mama. She let me know that not only were my short runs necessary for my overall half marathon training, but very good for me indeed with respect to injury avoidance and just plain getting stronger. Here is the thing: I know that. I've read that. I've read no less than 150 times that, at a minimum, I should run two shorter runs during the week and one long run on the weekend. I'd read it, read it again, and yet again on a website or in a magazine and I'd process it and I'd say "Okay, that's what I'm going to do! Starting next week, I will run 4 miles on Monday, 4 miles on Wednesday maybe throw in one more shorty somewhere then go all out on Saturday for a long run that I will slowly increase every other week."

Yeah. That was the plan. By total luck, I ended up getting my long run up to 11 miles way back when the weather was nice, but I was not consistent with my training. I had no real schedule. I had a mom with two kids schedule which I know sounds like a total cop out, but as much as I wanted to run and loved to run, it took a back seat because I'm doing this without a running partner which, as you can imagine, makes it easy to put off. There is no running partner waiting at the corner for me so I'd push the run off until I got to a point where I was in panic mode because I hadn't run in 4 days. Then I'd get out and push my poor body until I had at least 7 miles. I'd do this 2 and 3 days in a row then nothing. No running for another 4 days. And the cycle would continue. Kristina is right. And for some reason, probably because even though I've never met her, I know she is a mom fighting for running time just like me and I know she loves to run, getting that advice from her seems to work for me. She is a bit more real to me than the running websites and magazines with the perfect schedule outlined next to the perfect half marathon woman who had a finish time of 1 hour and 30 minutes or something totally out of my reach. So cheers to you, Marathon Mama! You are right and you are not a magazine! Short is not bad! And starting now, I am going to somehow develop a training schedule! This half marathon is 70-some days away and it's time to get serious! Besides the fact that I have this nagging pain in my left knee that I've been ignoring which is telling me that I'm going about this all wrong. I have to say though, this would be a lot easier if you would come down to Virginia 3 days a week and run with me!

Arrogant Teenage Boys Still Irritate Me

Warning: The following post is proof (yet again) that I can be (a) too competitive, and (b) totally immature.

I'm at the county rec center today, running along minding my own business when a pack of high school boys rolled in (Ok, 'pack' may be an overstatement, but there were 5 of them!) They all had a sheet of paper in their hand and proceeded to jump on the cardio equipment next to me - ellipticals and treadmills. I'm assuming that it was a gym class for kids that are home-schooled because there were a lot of other kids milling around in other areas of the center.
Anyway, at this point, I was about 50 minutes into an hour run so I was all sweaty and had the speed up to get it done. The biggest, most arrogant one, gets on the treadmill one machine over, (there was an elliptical between us) turns it on and proceeds to eat a candy bar while walking (!!!). He had his big, dumb "I'm way cool, yo." attitude on and ate his little snickers and talked all loud and just generally irritated me...yes, I had issues with those kinds of boys in high school...blah. Anyway, I keep running and after a couple of minutes, one of his pin-headed fellow jocks gets on the elliptical next to me. I bump up the speed again because I was trying to get 7 miles finished before my hour was up. Boy 2 leans way over to look at my screen (uh, hello ass-face, rude much?) and says to boy 1 "Dude, she is going way faster than you man." They share some chest beating and grunting and boy 1 ups the speed on his treadmill to what I'm assuming mine was set at and says "dude, seriously?" and boy 1 says "Yeah man! haha, you suck dude!" Ok, now I'm (a) irritated that I am the point of their banter, and (b) decided I'd like to kick both of their asses so what did I do? Oh yes my friends, jacked that puppy up! Ha! So now boy wonder 2 says "Oh man dude, now she is going 8 miles per hour man!" So dip-shit 1 laughs and pushes his buttons. He looked like he was going to throw up. Seriously puke. And as much as I hate puke, I actually would have had some joy in that. Anyway, after about 3 minutes of this, I bump it up again. Yes, yes, I know, I obviously have major issues with respect to, big, pretty, arrogant, high school boys but I figured I could sprint for the last 3 minutes of my run. Boy 1 slows his way down and walks for about 30 seconds which causes boys 2, 3, 4, and 5 to rip him majorly. I was having a hard time pretending I had no idea what all the fuss was about and not passing out. I absolutely refused to stop. So I up it again to 8.3 and sprint until the 59:59 mark when, oh rats, the machine automatically goes into 'cool down' mode. Darn. Sure would have loved to keep up that crazy speed boys! I walk for about 2 minutes, acting like a total fitness bad ass, then get off the treadmill. It was fantastic. They were all rolling. "She kicked your ass, dude!" Yes boys. A woman who is a month shy of her 38th birthday with 2 kids at home kicked his ass. That is what I call payback.

Short is Not Bad

I've been trying to embrace the shorter run. Instead of choosing not to run because I don't have at least an hour plus to spare, I've been simply grabbing whatever time I do have to get any kind of run in. So that means I got 5 in last night and another 5 this morning. I've got to stop thinking that it's either a long run or nothing. I'm sure these short, fast runs are helping me too! And I have the Nike + Challenge to thank for my motivation. Yes, I'm back in another challenge. A double or nothing after my massively humiliating loss a few weeks ago. Nothing like a virtual challenge to motivate you! Better get a long run in soon or I'm going to get crushed again!

I Wish I Lived in California

Not that I consider myself a stalker or anything, but how fun would this run be???

Running from the Paparazzi:

Put on Your Shades, and Get Going With Off ‘N Running Tours to experience an exciting 4-mile run from Wilshire Boulevard to glamorous Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, through Hollywood and past eclectic shops on Robertson Boulevard. Grace the streets of Beverly Hills in record time, doing some quick window shopping and Celeb watching, while avoiding the forever-flashing paparazzi! This popular tour is becoming famous, so book your time and date. Don't be left out of the headlines! Extras: All participants receive technical "Running from the Paparazzi" tee shirt, and a snack of fresh fruit, water and specialty cupcake.

Another Fake Snow Day

We had yet another snow day which forced the county to cancel school. Let me back up...we were supposed to have a snow day. What we had was rain. Rain. No school, again, because of rain. When will the powers that be stop listening to the weather man and start looking out the window?? So, what to do on a day where we are having more togetherness than needed? Bake. I made Outrageous Chocolate Cookies from Everyday Food. Oh. My. Gosh. I am telling you, do not make these if you have any concerns about the size of your ass because I guarantee you that you will not be able to stop at just one cookie. I refuse to admit how many I had, lets just say it wasn't pretty. These cookies are incredible. I used really good ghirardelli chocolate for both the batter and the 'chocolate chunks' which just added to the yumminess....and calorie count I'm sure. The day was filled with baking, painting, coloring, fighting, block building, legos, drawing, fighting, pillow fights, tv, fighting, separating boys, cars, computer time not being shared, more fighting.....well, you get the picture. By the time my husband was done with work, I was in bad shape. What to do when totally stressed out and awfully close to 'the edge'? Run! Get cookie ass to a treadmill asap! I hopped on, chose playlist: Green Day (nothing like screaming along with a dude wearing eyeliner to make you forget your day!), turned it up loud enough to do long term hearing damage and ran until I could feel the stress of the day melt away. And just to be on the safe side, ran some more. 8.5 miles later, I was feeling ready to be a productive member of the family again. A corona and a few slices of Amy's Pesto Pizza (which extra broccoli of course!) and I was happy as can be! Cheers to that!

Cross Training Can Hurt

Why does the seat on the rower and the bike have to be so damn hard? I rowed for 25 minutes then immediately biked for another 25 and I swear, my ass will never be the same. How much of a freak will I look like if I show up with a pillow next time?

Flu Be Gone!

On Monday, we had an incredible spring-like day with temperatures in the upper 60s and bright sunshine. I decided weather trumps illness and made an attempt at a short run. What a huge disappointment it turned out to be! I managed to get a very slow 4 miles in with 2 walk breaks thrown in. I felt horrible. It was like the first time I ever ran. I couldn't catch my breath, felt nauseous and if I had a phone, would have called my husband to have him come pick me up. Blah. I came home, got back on the couch and pouted (I have fully admitted on this blog my tendency to revert to my 7-year-old self so leave me alone about the pouting!).
I ate some decent food, got a good night sleep, and woke up on Tuesday feeling better. I decided to test things out on the treadmill promising myself I'd give it 20 minutes and take it nice and slow. The slow part happened but 20 minutes stretched into 30 then eventually 53 and 6.1 miles. Ahh. That's better! Slow, not pretty, a bit of coughing but I think I'm on my way back!
Today is going to be a cross training day so I'm headed to the gym to bike and row. And cross my fingers that our house stays healthy for the rest of the winter!

Down and Out

A couple of wonderful things happened on Saturday. My 4-year-old's fever finally broke and it seemed that we were finally going to be rid of the flu. I've been feeling it a bit but have been desperately trying to push it aside. The other great thing was that the sun came up and the temperature was up to 45ish outside. I figured the timing of both was a gift from somewhere and decided to go for a run. It's been forever since I've attempted a long run outside. The last time I ran outside, I lasted for all of 3 miles and felt like I was going to die. I was sure all the inside running I've been doing had totally ruined my outside runs. Fortunately, I was wrong about that. I decided to try for 6 miles and just see how I felt. Aside from the cold symptoms, I felt good. I stayed out and turned my 6 mile run into an 8.5 mile run so I felt really good about that.
Then came the bad news. Apparently, pretending I didn't have what my son had wasn't a good idea. My immune system got pissed and I've been in bed every since. I'm a coughing, stuffy head mess and don't get me started on my stomach issues because that would just be too much information.
But tomorrow is another day! I'm determined to kick this thing and get back outside! Just as soon as I take a few more Advil Cold and Sinus pills.

Big Fat Loser

So I just lost my first Nike+ Challenge. The challenge was first person to 100 miles and I got killed! My fierce competitor is at 96.81 miles and I'm eating his dust back at 62.84. Yikes. I have decided not to throw out the mom card and blame my sick kid and traveling husband and just take the beating. The good news? That challenge stuff on Nike is awesome! Talk about a motivator! While I've been sitting here with a sick kid, I've been checking it daily and watching his miles creep further and further away from mine and I have never wanted to get out and run more in my life! The competitor in me thrives for this crap. So, what did I do? Did I put a note on there saying "Way to go! You win! You are awesome!" Nope. Of course not. In the heat of the moment when I saw that 96.81, I let my inner 7 year old out and said "Oh yeah? So! Double or nothing hot shot!" or something to that effect. I'm sure he is laughing at me all the way to the virtual medal stand.

Valentine's Day is for Parties....

....and not running which is most unfortunate.
I have 2 kid parties to go to today. I've loaded up on Tylenol (I know, totally cheating on my Advil and on Valentine's day no less!) and I think I'm ready for the noise. They boys are really excited which is fun.
Unfortunately for me, unless I can squeeze in a trip to the gym tonight, looks like I'm having yet another non-running day. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous! I've logged 5.1 miles this week! I need a treadmill in my house. That is my only solution. Anyone got one laying around? Maybe I should get a TreadDesk so I can run while I blog.....

Running For My Sanity

I have been stuck on the couch with a sick 4-year-old glued to me for 3 days now. Fortunately for me, my husband works out of the house so today, I begged him to take a long lunch so I could hit the gym for a quick run. I haven't run since Friday and was feeling the stress of a having a sick kid and being stuck in the house and seriously was ready to explode. Either he felt sorry for me or was terrified at my look of desperation (and it's also possible that I've been a bit of a bitch due to the stress....but I seriously doubt it!) because he happily took my spot on the couch at noon and off I went. I had 1 hour. One glorious hour out of the house! Allowing for the drive up and back, I decided to run for 45 minutes. I jumped on, cranked up the speed, put my head down and just ran. Within 5 minutes, I had forgotten about the fever, the snot, the coughing and the couch and was feeling so much better. Before I knew it, 46 minutes had gone by and it was time to go. But now that I'm back home and have 5 strong miles in, I'm in a much better place to hang out with Quinn. My patience is back and I'm no longer growling. Thank goodness I found running otherwise I'd be a total nut case.

9 on the 9th Results!

Well, I didn't get to run yesterday because general family stuff got in the way so I'm going to post my 9 miles from the 8th as my official race results!
It was a pretty uneventful run because it took place on the treadmill (yawn) at my neighborhood gym so not much to report. Around mile 4, Thumper made an appearance on the treadmill next to me. I know the drill now so I tried to turn off my peripheral vision and turned up my iPod until she left (she is beyond distracting though). A woman showed up and got on the elliptical machine on the other side of me and I could tell she was looking at me so I looked over at her and smiled. She had a look of pure disgust on her face, got off the machine and got on a different one, further away. This was around mile 7.5. When I finished, I stopped in the bathroom and when I saw myself in the mirror, I understood why she did that. I looked awful. Completely soaking wet, (that gym is unbelievably hot!) hair all wacked out, face bright red. I looked like a nut. I still think it's pretty funny though that she wouldn't work out next to me. She was that type that wears the pretty matching sweat suit, hair in a perfect pony tail and she even had her sunglasses up on her head. Oh, and nice makeup too. I wear the same old running shorts every time, throw on whatever t-shirt is next in the pile and my hair is too short for a pony tail so I wear this funny band thing that keeps it out of my face but typically what ends up happening is that it starts puffing out in the back and standing up every which way on the sides. Oh yeah, I'm hot like that. So that's about it. Nothing exciting, just a nice run.
Thanks again to Nancy for organizing this event!! These virtual races are such good motivation!!

Look at that Counter!

See that?? It's in the double digits!! 99 days until the Marine Corps Half Marathon!!! 99 days!!!!!!! Is it too early to carb load?

9 on the 9th!!

Nancy over at Notes of a Non-Runner has done it again! She has successfully gotten me off my ass and motivated to run! Remember when she organized the 8 on the 8th back in December? Same deal...I was in a bit of a funk but knowing I had that virtual race coming up, I was able to keep moving and get ready for it. This time, as the name suggests, the challenge is to run 9 miles on the 9th of February (or anytime between the 7th and the 10th). That is tomorrow people!! This is a virtual race for all running bloggers and it is a ton of fun to participate in. She posts all the results over on her site and it's really fun to read everyones race reports.
I ran 9 miles today just in case I didn't get it in on Saturday, but I'm waiting to post those results because I'd like to try and do it again tomorrow.
So head over to Nancy's blog and sign up!!

Oh Perfect, As if I Don't Curse the Wind Enough

Those clowns over at Nike thought it would be hilarious to have runners put on a parachute while running. The parachute captures wind as you run adding much needed resistance! Thanks!! I always thought while pushing myself through those tough long runs, "Now, if only I had more resistance!" But wait! There's more!! It comes with a carry bag! And not only that, but they talked to runners (I'm sure runners just like me!) who gave them this handy tip: "The easy step-in belt was added based on athlete feedback, allowing you to get right to your workout without having to mess with buckles or adjustments." I do hate having to fuss with buckles before a run.

Hitting the Wall

My 4-year-old came home from preschool today with a nice little 'bonk' on his nose. I asked what happened and he said "I had a fight with the wall but I think the wall mighta won." so I said "Were you not looking where you were going?" and he says "I was lookin' really good but I was running super fast and I just hit it. Then I had to stop." Ah. I know exactly what you mean little man.

Thumper Was at My Gym Today!

Today I went to the gym and was running along, everything going fine, when this woman gets on the treadmill next to me and starts walking. Ok, fine. Then she turns it up and starts...um...running? I have never heard anything so loud in my life. Thump thump thump!!! And I had my iPod on! I looked over and she had it set at that speed that is right in between running and speed walking. She was holding on to the handle right in front of her for dear life and was leaning way back and her feet were just slamming on the belt. Now, I'm not making fun of her, I mean, good for her for getting out and getting some exercise! But I'm thinking that she should stick to walking for a while longer.

Back to Basics

Today I went back to the lake where I first started running last April. I've been having a hard time staying motivated and have been feeling a wee bit sluggish and I thought I could use a fresh perspective on this running thing.
I only did a few laps around so it wasn't a long run by any means, but it was good for the brain. It was just a nice relaxing run. For the first time in a very long time, I wasn't looking at the clock or the mileage or thinking about the half marathon. I just decided to run for the fun of it and stop whenever I felt like it and most importantly, not to stress about how little miles I had run. I've been spending so much time beating myself up over the mileage. I know I've got to log those miles in order to be prepared for May but sometimes, it seems to do more harm than good to constantly say to yourself "I can't believe you only ran 7 miles today! You'll never be ready!!" Seriously. Chill out woman and try to remind yourself that you started running because you enjoy it!

In other news, I have to give a big thank you shout out to Old School Runner and Paul for letting me know about the Timex Ironman watch! I picked one up yesterday....now I just need to figure out how to use it. Yes, I am technologically challenged. Thanks guys!!

Watch for Splits

Does anyone know of a good (but not $200!) watch that I can keep track of my split times with? I'd love to have one that keeps them in memory so that I can keep track of my progress. I can do this with my Nano and Nike + but I'm assuming I wont be able to use it during the half marathon in May!

Monday Bitch Session

Things that are totally killing me today:

1. It is 51 degrees out with no wind yet I cannot run because there is no preschool on Monday's and Mr. 13.1 is out of town.
2. I must have had 25 wings yesterday instead of running.
3. And melted velvetta dip.
4. With refried beans mixed in.
5. And an obscene amount of chips.
6. Then there were those damn peanut M&M's that were jumping out of the bowl at me.
7. I am a total slug today. Despite the fact that it's 51 degrees and I'm dying to run.

Holy Crap! I Ran Outside!!

Yesterday the sun was shining, the winds were down and the thermometer read 54 degrees...finally! A perfect day for a non-treadmill running day!
I got out there and felt slow and awkward and like my form was totally different. I kept waiting for the sidewalk to move under me. It was very strange. And all the things I had totally forgotten about were still out there waiting for my return - hills! rocks! cars! curbs! goose poop! Finally, others things to focus on other than little red numbers slowly ticking by.
I ran 8 miles yesterday and felt every single one of them last night. I knew the first miles back outside would be hard after being in the gym for so long but I wasn't fully prepared for the sore legs I had last night.
It's supposed to be up to 57 today so I'm hoping to get another 5 in before the big game. We'll see how my legs feel about that!