Belated Blog Birthday

(I just couldn't resist the alliteration!)

So I completely didn't get around to celebrating my blog's 1 year birthday yesterday because I was too busy celebrating my 25th!

Although the original intent of this blog was to keep me accountable for all 365 days of running (and that has obviously been a FAIL on my part), I have definitely reaped benefits! I have so very much enjoyed discovering all of you lovely people and your blogs. Y'all have definitely kept me accountable for many a run and I've learned so much from you in the fields of running, food, and just life in general!

So thank you for a lovely blog birthday! I'm looking forward to (and will soon let you in on) my goals for this year of my life and blog!

Reorganizing

If you've popped by my blog anytime this week, I apologize if you've encountered a mess. I just discovered "blogger in draft" and feel foolish for going so long without it!

I'm still moving things around and figuring this out, so let me know if you see anything you love or hate. I'm working on my masters in Instructional Technology and have pretty much become a huge tech nerd so I love this kind of thing. Between school, life, and grad school, I'm created a ridiculous amount of websites, blogs, online courses and projects over the past year. I live on my laptop. I'm pretty sure my husband's going to throw it out the window one day.

Tomorrow's my blog's birthday so I better get it together!

I tried to tell y'all....

I can't believe some of y'all were happy to go to the 25-30 age group! There must be a different breed of runners in your areas because I need you to check out the age group results from the 10K I ran on Saturday....

Yay! I came in second! If I had known 1st was less than a minute ahead of me, I could have pulled out a little more push that last mile.


Umm...yeah. I can't compete with people who run almost 7:00 minute miles. Especially when they are able to run 6 consecutive 7:07 miles.

Maybe I'll have some kind of speed epiphany when I turn 25. I doubt it. I'm not really into aiming for specific times right now, but I could see myself really getting into that and training for speed at some point. Especially if I had a competitive running partner.

Any of y'all really get into speedwork and drastically drop your times? What age group are you terrified of or overjoyed about?

Oak Island Lighthouse 10K

I went back and forth about registering for this race since it was over an hour drive and it's been a different kind of week, but in the end, I decided to sign up and I'm so glad I did! There are few running events within driving distance of here, so I hardly ever get to do casual short races unless I'm home visiting family.

One thing that prompted me to sign up the realization that I'm going to be moving up an age group in just one week! Unfortunately, this age-group move, is NOT going to be benefical to me. (Unlike my mom's last age-group move; She was THRILLED to be turning 50. "Now I won't have to compete with those 45-year-olds anymore! I'll be young and spry compared to those 54-year-olds!")

The 19-24 Female Age Group is not that competitive. Really good runners in that age range are on college track and cross country teams and not messing with the weekend races. Many others in that group are still in bed at 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. So the few of us that are out there are pretty likely to snag an age group award!

The 25-30 Female Age Group, however, is a whole 'nother ball game. Those former college cross country stars need somewhere to keep competing and you better watch out for those hardcore new moms with the jogging strollers!

Anyway...back to today's race: the Oak Island Lighthouse 10K. It was a decent sized race with over 400 participants between the 5K and 10K so I was surprised they didn't have chip timing. They trolley-ed us out to the race start, which was at the bottom of the bridge that leads out the island. (I was more than a little nervous about running over this huge bridge on a windy morning. Luckily, though, they had the road blocked and we got to run right up the center of the road, away from the low railings and the potential tumble to the waterway below.) I guess since we were right on the bridge, they couldn't set up a starting line. We were all just milling around in a pile when they called "Start!" without much fanfare or warning.

The bridge was windy, but not so bad, but within that first mile, my legs started doing funny things. My right shin was hurting so badly that I had to stop to stretch twice and I was running on the sand and grass beside the road because the pavement just made it worse. Before mile the halfway point, both calves were cramping and I was just in general, not happy with the way things we're going. It was hot and I had no idea what my pace was since I was stopping to stretch. I was fantasizing about my soon-coming Garmin (which actually arrived later today!!!!) and frustrated because I didn't see any mile markers after Mile 3. Somewhere along the way though, my legs worked themselves out and I started to get myself together. I felt pretty good by the time I reached the end and was pleased and surprised to make it in under 58 minutes!

I didn't feel like sticking around for awards, but my friend that happened to be there for the 5K texted me later to tell me I won 2nd in my age group! Like I said though, this is my last race in the 19-24 group, so I better savor this, because I don't anticipate another award for a good decade or so.

So, all in all, a good run! Have any of y'all experiencing random shin/calf pain out of nowhere like that though? I hope it was just a fluke!

Go hug your grandma!

My husband's grandma (the destination of all those "grandma loop" runs) passed away this week after almost 91 years of excellent health and then a gradual decline over the past months and weeks. I'm very close to my own grandma at home and other the past couple years my husband's grandma has been a kind of a surrogate grandma since we live here instead of near my family.

She was an exceptional, caring, funny lady and will be greatly missed by everyone in my husband's family and the countless people who she loved and welcomed as family. We're so grateful though that we were able to have her so long. All she asked God for was to live long enough to see her three children grow up that they could take care of each other. According to her, after her youngest child (my mother-in-law) graduated from nursing school, anything after that was "borrowed time." She was surprised and felt blessed that she was able to see her grandchildren grow up too and even meet a few great-grandchildren.

Obviously, life as normal take a pause during a time like this, and running has dropped by the wayside. I'm making the time to call my own grandma more often (when I can catch her between tilling her garden, mowing, and watching my little cousins. She is NOT allowed to use the bushhog or climb on top of the garage anymore though!) and want to make sure I don't take her, my other grandparents, or anyone in my life for granted.

Now, you make sure to do the same! Go hug your grandma!

Garmin and Other Ramblings

First of all, let's get this Garmin mess out of the way. I've made up my mind; I'm going to bite the bullet and get the Garmin! I keep wishing I had one (especially planning this race) and I'm tiring of hemming and hawing. Except, actually, this one last time because I want to be sure I'm getting the right one. I've looked and compared online and I think I want the Forerunner 305 and that seems to be what most of y'all have too. My only concern is how big it is! I'm nowhere near a store that carries them, so I'll have to order online. Convince me one last time: if you have a Garmin, let me know what model you have, how much you love it, and that it's worth the money.

So I was going to list my runs and workouts since the last time that I reported them, but then I flipped back a few posts to see when that was. Yep, it's been 11 days. I have no idea how much I ran on each of those 11 days. I just wrote a post on how I can't remember anything.

So you'll just have to take my word for it that I got in a mile or two or three each day for the past 11 days.....except for Friday...in which circumstances did not allow. I'll make up for it with a two-fer one day later this week, but it's not going to be today.

Spring Break has come and is very nearly gone. I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to, but I did see friends and family, get a lot of work done for my race, and get a few things done around the house.

In completely random running news, when I was at my parents' house for a few days this week, I discovered a new toy that my mom won for a door prize at a race. I got extremely excited for a second because I thought it was a fuel belt and I was already scheming how to label it mine. Although it had pouches like a fuel belt, it actually was something much fancier: a running light belt! It actually has an adjustable beam, adjustable brightness bulb attached to battery pack so you can illuminate the road in front of you. It's advertised for "low light running and walking" but obviously that would be too practical and I decided to test it out in the pitch dark running up the side of the road.

I had trouble getting the belt adjusted in the beginning; it wouldn't sit still on my hips and I tried it around my natural waist, but that wasn't comfortable. I eventually did get it situtated on my hips and it stayed in place. The light was really bright...I could easily see where I was going and I'm sure any passing cars could see me a mile away. (Luckily, I didn't encounter any cars on this quick run...only a few startled cows.) I'm sure I actually looked kind of spooky...this bouncing light moving up the side of the road.

It was a fun excursion, but I wouldn't want to go more than a mile or two using that as my only light. I kind of felt like a horse with blinders because all I could see was what was lit right in front of me.

If you are a night runner though, I think this makes a lot more sense than wearing a light on your head. (I saw several different headlamps at the running store I stopped by this week...I didn't know there was such a demand!) The brand was GoMotion which I haven't heard of, but I haven't done much research in this area before.

Anyway, that's that and it's time to get ready to go back to school tomorrow!

Fear of Forgetting

I have this fear of forgetting things. Forgetting memories and events, more specifically. Almost as if they would not exist anymore if I could not remember them.

This fear has grown lately as I move farther and farther away from childhood. I use to remember EVERYTHING. With ridiculous detail. My sisters and I were so baffled and horrified that our mom couldn't remember what roller skating rink we went to for my 8th birthday or the name of my best friend's sister. She said she had enough information to keep in her head that she just had to let go of those details. I thought that was silly.

Fast forward to now...I can't even remember my workouts from 3 days ago if I don't write them down. All of the sudden, when I became a "real adult" and had 20 little students to worry with and plan for and organize, irrelevant information fell by the wayside. Now, my sisters look to me with horror when I have completely forgotten about a trip we took or a conversation we had months ago.

I don't think it's necessarily that I'm busier or have more going on. (In high school, I kept up with classes, sport practices, lessons, my sisters' schedules, etc. One semester in college, I had to get a form reluctantly signed by the dean of my department allowing me to take 23 hours of class instead of the normal maximum 18.) I think it's either because of the weight of responsibility that comes with a classroom of elementary children that rely on you for their every need for 8 hours each day or something to do with brain science and the difference between a child's and adult's memory.

Anyway, all of this is to explain why I'm so driven to put things on paper. I kept a diary all throughout my childhood, but my writing was not very consistent. Sometimes there were would be weeks or months between entries and during middle school I had almost daily detailed reports on the vastly interesting (okay, in retrospect, not quite so much) aspects of life as a pre-teen.

I greatly regret I did not keep a diary during my first year of teaching (or any of the past few years, for that matter.) I had a roller coaster of an experience and it's too easy to just brush that off as the past and forget what it was really like. (I had so many funny teacher stories from that year, too! Sometimes, one of my sisters or friends will ask me about a story about one of those students and I will have completely forgotten until they remind me what happened.)

Obviously, this blog, in a way, is a diary, at least of my running life. So I'm trying to keep things organized so I can look back on my fails and triumphs (and sometimes read between the lines to my life outside of running, too.) I put all my results I could dig up into one post that I can link one the side and add to as needed, and I'm going back through and properly labeling my posts. At least as properly as I can with labels such as "patheticness," "lame excuses" and "interesting runs." Anyway, I'll try not to make things too complicated!

I hope y'all are enjoying this lovely weather. I'm out the door for a quick run before our tax appointment!

Race Results

I'm trying to get all my race results organized in one place...I'll explain later.

October 26, 2002
2002 3-A Midwest Regional Cross-Country at McAlpine Park; Charlotte, NC
23:15
-
April 25, 2004
Angels Race Sprint Triathlon, Lynchburg, VA
1:56:25
-
November 14, 2004
Battleship Half Marathon; Wilmington, NC
2:41:34 (Sarah's and my first half marathon...we were so proud to finish, lol)
-
April 10, 2005
Angels Race Sprint Triathlon; Lynchburg, VA
300 M Swim- 5:37
25K Bike- 1:10:29
5K Run- 33:03
Total Time with Transitions- 1:49:09
-
December 24, 2009
Mooresville Fire Department 5K
25:22
-
April 29, 2006
Owl's Roost Rumble III 5k Run
27:22
-
May 30, 2006
Bare Bones 5K, Salisbury, NC
26:11
-

June 25, 2006

Kure Beach Double Sprint Triathlon

Swim, 375m-13:34 (There was a hurricane in the Pacific...I literally almost drowned.)

Run, 1.5 miles- 17:00

Bike, 12.4 miles- 41:56

Run, 1.5Mi- 16:31

Swim, 375 M- 9:00

Total Time with Transitions: 1:38:01

-

September 17, 2006
Angels Race Sprint Triathlon; Winston-Salem, NC
300 M Swim- 5:04
20K Bike- 48:06
5K Run- 27:52
Total Time with Transitions- 1:25:08

-

May 19, 2007

Mission Run; Salisbury, NC

26:20

-

June 9, 2007

Varmint Half Marathon; Burkes Garden, VA

2:06:36

-

June 22, 2007
5K Main Street Challenge; China Grove, NC
25:27

-

July 8, 2007

Summer Roundup Trail 12K; Colorado Springs, CO

1:27:42

-

July 28, 2007

Salisbury Greenway 5K

26:00

-

August 11, 2007

Rowan Alliance; Salisbury, NC

27:04

-

November 2, 2007

Pumpkin Festival 5K; Stateville, NC

31:05

-

November 11, 2007
Battleship Half Marathon; Wilmington, NC
1:59:55
-
April 26, 2008
Dogwood 10K; Fayetteville, NC
58:37
-
May 17, 2008
Rotary YMCA Triathlon; Statesville, NC
300 meter swim- 5:26

11.6 mile bike- 1:34

5K run- 29:16
Total Time with transitions- 1:39:05

-

February 14, 2009

Myrtle Beach Half Marathon
2:23:27

-

April 11, 2009

Bunny Run 5K; Concord, NC

30:46
-
July 25, 2009
Salisbury Greenway 5K
25:25
-
September 5, 2009
Take the Lake- 15 Miles; Lake Waccamaw, NC
2:57
-
September 12, 2009
Historic Mooresville 5K
25:57
-
October 18, 2009
Des Moines Marathon
4:39:45
-
November 7, 2009
Pecan Festival 8K
Approximately 44 min., 1st Place in Women
-
March 21, 2010
Wrightsville Beach Half Marathon
2:07:58

Spring Summer has Sprung!

All of the sudden, we've gone from freezing to blazing!

Clues that Spring (with temps close to Summer) is here:

• After taking the winter off, my car air conditioner just decided not to show back up to work this spring. It is HOT in that car after school gets out in the afternoon.
• Once again, I'm a sweaty mess after a workout. (Which is a good thing! It feels like evidence.)
• I spent a few hours, laying out reading "Little House on the Prairie" at the lake this afternoon. (I accidentally starting reading it when I was waiting to get my nails done and that was the only book I had in the car. I read all the Laura Ingalls books multiple times when I was little and picked that copy up at a thrift store to add to my classroom library. I felt a little ridiculous reading a children's book at the nail salon, but I got so into it! I forgot how wonderful those books are.)
  
• And most convincingly, it's spring break!!

In other news, I have a horrible confession: I did not run yesterday. We didn't get home until 10 and I didn't want to have the late-night treadmill discussion, so I just let it go. I did get in two runs today...one before supper and then one after The Shred Level 2. (Please ignore the fact that they were each only 1 mile.) I really liked Level 2! I've done Level 1 probably 15 times, but I was scared to go up because I was afraid it would be too hard. There were a few difficult moves, but overall, it was doable and there were some fun new moves!

Have a Happy Easter everyone!

Who would have thought?

Y'all remember my husband, right? Mr. Practical? The one who is constantly trying to convince me to get 6 hours of sleep instead of getting "one more thing" done? Who still doesn't doesn't quite understand the appeal of family trips built around running races?

He's been kind of walk/jogging and has actually been running quite consistently lately, but I was still shocked last week when I caught him packing a bag to take to class. He was super casual about it, like it was not completely out of character for him to "go by the gym after class gets out at 9:30."

And today, I thought he was about to rush out the door to his next scheduled activity, but instead he wanted to know where the iPod was because he was "going for a quick jog."

Um, hello? I'm thrilled but I'm trying to be low key about it. We're actually running at about the same speeds right now so I just may have a running partner. (I obviously just think everyone should be a runner, so this is a success close to home!)

Maybe I should get some inspiration from him because I need to kick it up a level. As promised, I have been running daily (Do you see my daily running old friends- 1 mile and treadmill?) and I'm finally going to graduate to Shred Level 2 tomorrow!

Thursday, March 25- 1 mile, courthouse loop; Shred Level 1
Friday, March 26- 2 miles, downtown and back; Shred Level 1
Saturday, March 27- 2 miles, neighborhood loop with Mr. Practical; Shred Level 1
Sunday, March 28-1 mile, I think. It might have been 2...I can't even remember where I ran and that was just 3 days ago. That's really bad, right?
Monday, March 29- 1 mile, to Grandma's
Tuesday, March 30- 1 mile, treadmill
Wednesday, March 31- Yoga; 1 mile, courthouse loop

Next week is Spring Break though and I'm looking forward to free time to actually get some decent workouts!

31 Days, Hopefully?

If I had continued my 365 consecutive days of running, I'd be in the short rows now. Obviously, that's not the case though. It doesn't look like I'm going to be starting over anytime this year either. If you observed my repeated attempts and fails from April to September of last year, you'd probably agree. It's just not feasible when I'm teaching, in grad school, and have a rinky-dink treadmill that shakes the whole house and prevents others from sleeping.

I think 31 days is pretty feasible though, so I'm going to end the rest of my running (not calendar) year with a few last meager goals. It's less than a month until my birthday and I'm celebrating the last days by running each day and finally finishing Jillian's 30 Day Shred! It's my birthday present to myself and hopefully I'll enter this next year in a little better shape.

I'm only 3 days, 5 miles, and 3 Shreds in, but I feel so much better having that commitment each day and not being able to talk myself out of it!

Confessions, Lessons, Blessings Race Report

Confessions:

• This was my first anti-social race. I chatted it up with some nice people waiting for the shuttle, in route, and before the gun, but once the race started, I was iPod-on, eyes-ahead. Part of me kind of felt like I missed a little of the race experience, but part of me didn't want to muster up the energy to make small talk while running. I did pop out one ear bud at mile 6 to ask this nice couple for the time (57 minutes in) and then when they passed me at mile 12, they offered the time again. They were so sweet.
• I didn't study the course map well enough and I couldn't remember where the water stations were. It screwed up my GU schedule and I skipped one water station that I really shouldn't have.
  

Lessons:

• Even though I've been taught this lesson before, I definitely learned it again today: I can finish a race without training properly, but I cannot enjoy the whole race without training properly. I was pretty miserable the last 3 miles or so.
• It's time to buy a fuel belt, for real. It's not cool to have my GUs stuffed in my waist band and I could have used water between some of the water stations.
• I think it might be time to go for the Garmin. Or at least a new sports watch, but even as I type that, a watch seems really lame and I think I need to bite the Garmin bullet.

Blessings:

• I don't know why I ever doubted that chocolate would be the choice for me in energy gels. It's my first choice in any other realm of life, why would running me different? I thoroughly enjoyed both my Chocolate Outrage GUs...it's kind of like dark chocolate syrup, right smack in the middle of a workout. How could that be wrong?
• Despite my right knee going berserk the last 2 miles, I was able to finish the race in 2:07:58, which is not fabulous, but I think is pretty decent for the amount of training I put in.

Overall, my experience with the Wrightsville Beach Half Marathon was good and I think I definitely earned my hardcore badge by getting up at 4:30, driving by myself to the beach, running 13.1 miles, and making it home, showered, and dressed in time to be in the church choir at 11:00. I iced my knee for a while and took a nap (which I hardly ever do) this afternoon and I don't think I'll be too sore. I do plan to take it easy on the knee the next few days to see what's up, but I think it's just an symptom of undertraining and not anything major.

Give me some tips on fuel belts and Garmins...I think my birthday list will be mostly running gear this year!

Here, There, and Everywhere

Even though it's the weekend and I should be relaxed, my mind is going in a million different directions this morning. I had to get out of bed earlier than I wanted because I was dreaming about my students and strategies to bring up their EOG scores. (Is that not the lamest, saddest thing you've ever heard?)

A few other things that are bouncing around my head this morning...

• My love for the google brand grows daily. I, like many people, suffer from forgot-to-attach-the-email-attachment-itis. Yesterday I typed up an email and when I hit "send," this message popped up:
  

Gmail's got my back. Isn't that a great feature?

• I'm running my fifth half marathon TOMORROW! (I had said earlier this would be my fourth, but after some phone conferencing and past race reflecting with my mom, we have determined it is indeed number five.) Y'all, I haven't trained right for this thing. Life's been crazy, but I'm really sick of using that as an excuse. I have run up to 10 miles though and still felt great, with no soreness, so hopefully I won't embarrass myself. It's definitely not going to be the PR I dreamed of when I signed up for this race though.
  

• I am very excited about earning the next feather in my runner's cap, though: going solo to a big race! My husband and I are driving out there today to get the race packet, but he wasn't that jazzed up and going back Sunday morning for 6:30 race start. So, I've decided to go solo! My inspiration: On her 50th birthday, my mom got up, drove an hour, ran her first 1/2 marathon, and drove back all my herself. Obviously, my mom is hardcore and obviously, I want to be in the club.
• Weight loss for this race= FAIL
  
• We're getting down to the short rows in school now....only 8 days with the kids until spring break and I'm desperate for some teacher workdays! I have a wonderful class this year; they are not perfect and they definitely have their quirks and challenges, but I just love this group of babies. It's not really the kids that I need a break from, I just need a chance to catch up.
• I think I fixed our dryer! It hasn't been drying all the way, so I unplugged it and removed the exhausted tube and vacuumed the tube and instead the lint trap. After removing copious amounts of lint, it seems to be working again!
  
• It's time to go round up more sponsors for my 5K that I'm planning and I hate asking people for money. This is something I really believe in though, so maybe it won't be so bad.

Okay, at y'all's expense, I feel a little bit better after dumping my brain on blogspot. I think I need to get out into this gorgeous weather now! Have a great weekend! I'll update you about my race tomorrow.

We're going to run!

My let's-start-running-because-we're-the-least-healthy-county-in-the-state plan is coming together! I'm so excited!

If you know me in real life, find the link to the website on my facebook!

The Look

In the city near where I grew up, there was this crazy running man that roamed the streets. He was an older man and painfully thin. His normal garb was only red short shorts and running shoes. You'd see him at all corners of the city, running through yards, over bridges, and across busy intersections. Sidewalks were of no concern to him. He seemed completely oblivious of everything going on around him. I don't know anyone that actually knew him, but everyone knew of him and he was basically just known as "that crazy running man." (There was even a rumor that his wife died of some horrific cancer and that on the day she died, he just stopped running and never stopped. I'm pretty sure someone just made that up though.)

Well, I haven't thought much about the crazy running man in a long time. Not until a few months ago, when I was running across a busy intersection on the far end of town and caught a woman idling at the stoplight give me a sideways look from her car window. Her face displayed bafflement, surprise, and just a little bit of disgust.

Her look told me very clearly: I was the crazy running lady.

I quickly scanned over the course of my run in my mind...I had just ran through the parking lots of two car dealerships and McDonalds, literally leapt over a ditch by the car wash, crossed a 4 lane highway, and left the sidewalk behind a looong time ago. Hmm...I might give myself a sideways look, too.

I don't think I'd have to be the crazy running lady if this small town was a little bit more runner friendly. There is about a one mile stretch of sidewalk from downtown to the courthouse where people like to walk and jog when it's sunny, but it's pretty rare to see people veer beyond those confines. I like to do a little more exploration than that though and you can only run the same loops through neighborhoods for a few miles before it's time to go somewhere more interesting.

So, I've decided I'm okay with getting gawks from people picking up Mexican food at 3:30 in the afternoon. I'll even give a little wave if I'm not too wrapped up in whatever's on my iPod. Maybe I'll inspire another crazy runner!

Update! We have the running man's actual picture and story! I knew this had to be covered somewhere, but google did not find it for me. Thanks, Taylor!

I'm absolutely sure I'm not the only one. When did you first realize that you were the crazy running lady/man?

The Big Ten!

Today was a FULL day at school. Not necessarily a bad day, but just one of those days that really illustrates what it's like to have 21 little (okay, actually, most of them have BIG) personalities from ages 8-11 in one little mobile unit for a full day of learning two different grade level curriculums. Near the end of the school day, I was worn out. The idea of my Wednesday long run seemed a little doubtful.

Something happened though in that magical moment when I saw all my little babies out to the buses. It was warm and pretty, and I had that mushy they-might-drive-me-crazy-but-I-love-these-children feeling I get a chance to breathe for a second. I collected my goodbye hugs and the unexpected look back and wave from a student who really needs and cherishes that last little bit of attention.

And suddenly, I got my second wind! Going home to run 10 miles seemed not only practical, but undeniably tempting! So, after a brief meeting, I was free to rush home, lace up, don my running skirt for the first time since autumn and I hit the road.

10 miles: done. It was a lovely, uneventful run.

Half-marathon in 11 days: suddenly realistic. I'm excited!

Running Toys

Obviously, I haven't been a real consistent blogger lately...things have been busy lately (hmm...don't I always use that as an excuse? Don't let me pull that mess during spring break and summer!) but I have been doing my normal poking around on your blogs over my cereal or between schoolwork.

And as per usual, other bloggies are thinking of and/or writing things before I do! D.A.R. at Midwest Paradise just posted a really good review of some of her favorite running gear. I would love to do one of my own (and I'm putting on it on my someday-blog list), but I really need to get back to my grading pile.

So, I'll ask you, what are your favorite running or workout items? If you have a Garmin, give me your opinion on that too! I have never been big on timing and watches and all that and kind of thought a Garmin would drive me crazy. (I have to cover the dash on the treadmill with a magazine, but I keep peeking and it seems like the miles go sooooo slooow. I wonder if the Garmin would be the same?) Lately though, especially hear other people sing their praises, I'm starting to comtemplate. Especially with my birthday coming up! : )

Confession

I have not been back to the yoga studio since my "incidence." Even though I paid for a 5-class package and realized (a week later) that I also left my yoga mat there.

At first, I was just too embarrassed to go back. And then, I got over it. Then I was too busy to go back. And now, I'm embarrassed because it's been over 2 months and I still haven't been back.

It's time to bite the bullet though. So I'm going to get in my "long" run (it's an easy week, only 4-5 miles) and then go to Pilates.

I'm going to feel pretty lame if I don't make it through this class with flying colors, so wish me luck!

5K Planning Update

Things are really coming together in my 5K planning! Lack of fitness-related events might be a weakness for this town, but getting support is not. The advantages of small town life really shine when you have to gather contacts and help.

My main partner in this race is the local Farmers Market. The race will be held on May 8th, on the market's opening day. They are really excited about this event and it really ties in with their message of healthful living. I've already got a few sponsors and have a few others I'll be contacting this week.

I've been working on the race website (using Weebly.com, by the way, which turns out to be a really easy way to make a professional looking website) and I may or may not be totally obsessed. There's basic information; registrations forms for participants, volunteers, and sponsors; training plans; first time racer tips; and race day information.

(Since the motivation for this event was the announcement of our county's poor health ranking, this race is really geared at beginners and I'm trying very hard to make it as appealing as possible to new runners and walkers. We've left "5K" out of the title, opting for "Fun Run and Walk" instead. It's kind of a cop-out, but I really don't want to scare people away with terminology that might be intimidating. You have to remember, they don't even have cross-country teams here. This is all very new.)

I've also pulled together a committee with a representative from the city, the health department, and a few other organizations. We're meeting on Monday to make final decisions before we really go public and start advertising and promoting. I'll also start hitting up local businesses for prize donations next week.

There's a lot to get done NOW rather than later, since the race is less than 11 weeks away. Depending upon interest, I might try to get together a few training runs for beginners leading up to the race, so I really want to get the word out soon.

In this planning process so far, I have done a lot of web research. There are many good planning resources out there, but the best I have found, by far, is a resource posted by Adin Lykken at www.woofinhoofin.org called "Organizing a 5K Race: an insider's guide." It is a very comprehensive guide to planning, advertising, staffing, timing, and every-thing-else-ing a 5K and has been immensely helpful to me. The guide is available at www.woofinhoofin.org under the tab, "Organizing a 5K Race."



Thanks for y'all's suggestions and advice and please keep them coming!

Another Wednesday Long Run!

I don't know how I've gotten into this schedule, but my long runs keep migrating from Sunday to Wednesday...which turns out to be fine because I had a FANTASTIC run today!

I'm sorry to go all capitalized on you, but it was a really, really good run. The best and longest one I've had since the marathon. I explored a new area (scoping out a course for the 5K...I'll update you on that soon), had a Chocolate Outrage GU and water at mile 5, and finished the last three miles in the rain and the last two in the dark. (I almost ate the sidewalk once about a half mile from home on a particularly unlit block.)

I just felt great, though. I had energy all the way through and my legs didn't get sore at all. Maybe I've actually been building some muscles with all this Jillian Michaels Shredding!

Help me Plan a 5K

Okay, I need y'all's help. (And not just the normal motivation to get my lazy self in my running shoes and out the door.)

This week, my county was ranked the least healthy county in the state. Out of 100 counties. This was not exactly a shocker to me. (Have you ever heard me whine about being desperate for a YMCA, indoor pool, road races, or long distance running partners?) The official ranking, however, is initiative enough though to jolt me into action.

Running is not a big sport here. There is one 5K and 8K in the fall, but there were only about 20 participants. I won the 8K, for crying out loud! Obviously, there are not that many people running here. (We did have a larger, informal running, biking, and swimming event over Labor Day weekend, but the scale of Take the Lake doesn't really appeal to beginner fitness participants. And it wasn't timed.)

So, I am going to organize a 5K. I'd love for it to be an certified, age-group awarded, online registration event, but even more so than that I just want a lot of local participants. And I think that will mean a no registration fee, no t-shirt (although I REALLY want to have a t-shirt), fairly casual run/walk event. (It WILL be timed though and I want to have some awards.)

I've talked to a local organization about pairing it with an event in May, but it will about a week before I hear back from them. If it doesn't work out with that organization, I'm just "going rogue" and going to plan it myself. We spoke about a short (half mile or so) kids run too.

I know I'll need (in no particiular order)...

• volunteers
  
• sponsors (because pretty much everything that follows on this list depends on their support, especially without a registration fee)
• advertising (including a web presence, even if it's just a facebook event)
• a permit for a possible lane closure on one road without a sidewalk
• a water station at the halfway point (maybe another...we'll need all the help we can get)
• registrations forms (I need to have a waiver on there, right?)
• race bibs and safety pins
• water and snacks at the finish line
• timers and recorders (I've seen this done many different ways at small races, suggestions on best method, anyone?)
• registration table
• signs and volunteers along the route
• some kind of loud speaker for the race start
• prizes for top 3 male and female finishers in the 5K (just overall, not age-group) and some kind of little award for all the kids participating

That's just off the top of my head and definitely not an all-inclusive list, but what other things can you think of and what advice do you have to offer? I need your expertise! : )

Between Now and March 21st

(I wish they had a logo for the Half-Marathon, because I'm definitely going for 13.2 this time, just to make that clear.)

...I want to:

• Get in my all "long" runs. (I think I might only train up to 10 miles this time so it shouldn't be all that ridiculous to get these in.)
• Run at least 2 other times during school week. (Hey, it's an improvement from nothing.)
• Drink more water!
• Work through all three levels of The Shred. I've done Level 1 at least 5 times now and it doesn't feel much easier. I'm not really sore, however, so I know I'm getting stronger.
  
• Drop a few pounds. I lost about 7 pounds in the marathon training and then gained it all back. I'm down a few now, but not where I need to be.
  

I think that's pretty reasonable. Then it will be time to choose the next race!

7 Miles: Check!

Thanks for the encouragement and accountability! I literally would not have done it without you.

I got a late start, so I was only able to get in 4 miles outside. The last one was definitely in the dark, but I really wanted to get more than half my run finished before I submitted to the dreadmill.

When I came in, I only had 3 miles left, but that was daunting enough on the treadmill. I HATE the treadmill. I haven't used it in months and today was kind of ugly (there was walking involved), but I finished it!

(By the way, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" turns out not to be such a great treadmill movie. It's been on my list of "movies everyone in the world has seen but me because I didn't grow up with a TV and it's causing me to miss pop culture references" for a while now, but it just moved up the Netflix Queue. I had run half a mile before the opening credits were even finished. I'm pretty sure I missed half the jokes because I couldn't hear them over the rickety mess that is our treadmill. I think I'll pick it up another time though.)

Convince me.

So, things have been a little hectic lately, in school, grad school, and outside of school. And until today, my workouts have been zero to nil. I went through periods like this during the marathon training, but I knew I had to get in those long runs.

Even the long runs have been falling by the wayside lately. I could blame it on many factors, but the reality is, I gotta get in these runs. I kinda skipped over the whole training process last February when I ran the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon and I was able to finish, but barely. I was practically limping by the end.

I want to actually finish the Wrightsville Half Marathon with a little pride in tact. And the very next step in that process is the 7 mile run that was supposed to happen Sunday. And didn't.

Even though after school on Wednesday is traditionally not a ideal time for a long run for me, it's gotta happen. Unless emergency or injury strikes, the iPod and I are hitting the road for approximately 70 minutes tomorrow.

Convince me I can do it.

Cheating through The Shred

So I had to take 2 days off of The Shred before my muscles felt recovered enough to run without giving out. I put off this week's "long run," which was only 4 miles until today after school.

(Please don't judge me for using a Beginner's Half Marathon Plan even though this is my fourth 13.1...and for choosing the minimum mileages on each day.)

I had a really good run though and (due to heading out too late and trying to get back before it was completely pitch dark) it felt pretty speedy for me. I even decided to go ahead and forge through with Day 4 of The Shred afterwards.

Confession: I completely cheated and fast-forwarded through the warm-up (I figured I was plenty warm already), cardio (since I just got in about 40 minutes of running, I didn't feel that guilty skipping those 6 minutes), and cool-down (I'm on the floor now in a v-sit stretching out my arms to reach my laptop).

I doubt Jillian would approve. : )

Ouch.

The Shred is already working. You know I can tell? I hurt. As in, barely being able to pick up the groceries sore. As in, walking sideways down the porch steps sore. As in, feeling pain when I laugh sore.

I was a little surprised to realize all of the sudden that the last time I was this sore was after the marathon. (Okay, two days after the marathon. That first day after the race, I could barely get out of bed. I was sore in my bones.)

So, kudos, Jillian. In 2 twenty minute workouts, you've produced almost the same pain results as almost 5 hours of running.

I decided to take today off because I want to actually be able to run tomorrow. Next week, the two plans (half marathon and The Shred) will merge!

I thought I loved you then...

No, this isn't an early Valentine's Day post. It's something much more pathetic.

For years (really, wow...it has been 4 years), I have been watching the Biggest Loser and knew Jillian Michaels was my kind of trainer. I bought one of her books and I have been poking around with some of her workouts for months. I already thought she was pretty much tops.

Tonight though, I finally got around to my first day of "The Shred." My first video workout led by Jillian. And it was fantastic. I've got a whole new respect for her.

I know it's really weird to wax poetic about a DVD workout, but I'd dabbled in many over the years and this one is the first that I'm really wild over. Most of the leaders in these videos encourage you "not to push it," "take a break anytime you need it," and "follow Jessica if you're not quite ready for the full workout." (Jessica being the girl in the back of the video who is just kinda scooting around with 1 pound weights.)

With most of these DVDs, I either get bored about 5 minutes in or just kinda wimp out on the hard parts (read: lunges, push-ups, etc) and bounce through the cardio. Jillian kept me going through the whole workout though. Every time my arms started feeling wimpy and I thought about putting down the weights, Jillian would start going on about "change hurts" or "don't wimp out now...the pain means it's working."

So, I'm really excited about keeping it up through the 3 levels! Oh, and I guess it's about time to run again...

The Shred!

I just put Jillian Michael's "The Shred" on my Netflix queue and I'm very excited about its impending arrival! I've had the "Making the Cut" book for months, but if you've been reading for a while, you know I don't have an exactly stellar track record with strength training. I'm pretty sure my record is making it to Day 6 of the 30 day book.

So, how about another approach? I've heard about many others having success with "The Shred" so I'm thinking the video might be a little more structured than flipping back and forth through a book to look up exercises.

So we'll see!

Timed Tuesday

So, now that I'm running again, I'm actually having blogging ideas again. (Who knew that running could inspire ideas for a running blog?!) In fact, I have even been struck by alliteration!
In high school, I had a love/hate relationship with track workouts. I have a little bit of a competitive streak, so it's kind of fun to sprint around for some kind of goal, but...y'all, running fast is hard work.

So, I have never really been good about incorporating speedwork into my training. Even when I'm following a plan, I just kind of skim over the speed days and get in the mileage at a just-whatever pace. This approach is fine for building endurance and getting through races, but it doesn't make you any faster.

Now, I don't plan on becoming obsessed with any certain time or pace (Boston qualifier, I am not.), but it would nice to drop my PRs a little. With Tuesday already being the speed day on my plan (and I think on many others as well), I've decided to start, "Timed Tuesdays," in which I commit to reporting my speed progress.

This week, I'm just easing in to it and I got my speed workout in a very accidental way. My husband ran with me to visit with his grandma, but warned me he wanted to get back in time for the six o'clock news. (If you know him, you already know how big a deal The News is him.) Well, the grandma visit took a little longer than anticipated and when we left, we were pushing news time. I have never seen my husband run like that. I was really, really pushing to keep up with him. (In my defense, his legs are about a foot longer than mine.)

So, my speed work for today was an accelerated 1 and half miles keeping up with my husband's long legs racing to get home to watch the news!

What was your speed work or best time for this Timed Tuesday? You can claim a time from any day this week...Tuesday's just got that whole alliteration thing going on. : )

Virtual Motivation via Virtual 10K

I was wandering around in blogland this afternoon, putting off my first "long run" of this training plan and I came across Casey's Virtual 10K, scheduled for today. It was obvious that this was the kick that I needed to get out the door and moving.

I've never participated in a virtual race before, but the general gist is just that you run the distance and then send in your time to the organizer. Casey has taken this even one step further and is offering knitted prizes! I don't think I'll be getting one of the fastest time prizes, but maybe I'll get one of the "random" finisher's knitted wrist warmers. I would be pretty jazzed about that.

Anyway, I had an amazing run! I have only run about 5 times since October and was a little concerned that it might be a stretch to run 6 miles.

Since this was a race, I had to locate my sports watch, which I haven't used in years. (You can tell I have a real dedication to speedwork, right? When I studied abroad in Spain, I forgot to pack my watch and was too cheap to buy a new one. So I ran for 3 months without one and learned to really love just listening to my body and gauging my own speed. I usually glance at a clock before and after a run to get a general time, but I get distracted looking at my time if I wear a watch and my run seems to take FOREVER. Same thing with the treadmill clock.) Even though I've moved approximately 7 times since I last wore this watch, because I remembered seeing it in a bag mentally labeled "Things I don't really know where to put" when I was looking for something else a few months ago of my extreme organization skills, I knew right where it was. Unfortunately, it was dead and even after several resuscitation attempts (I ended up taking apart the watch trying to change the battery...), I just gave up.

Luckily, I remembered the stopwatch feature on my Blackberry and just hit it on the way out, leaving it by the door. I just had a nice steady run around town and am just overjoyed that I can still pound out 6 miles without event. I really credit the Virtual 10K with my pace though...if I didn't have that motivation, I probably would have gotten lazy and walked some.As, it was, I was very pleased with my time and am starting to feel like a runner again!

Ready to Run

For the first time in a long time, I got a real urge to run today! We had a teacher workday today and I was still piddling around in my classroom at 4:30 when I just got the feeling that I just had to get out there and run! I even left a pile of unsorted mess on the floor beside my desk and just flew out the door to get home and change before dark.

The weather is GORGEOUS right now and perfect for running. We had a streak for about a month where it was uncharacteristically cold for coastal North Carolina and I dreaded going outside for weeks. Against fashion advice, I had taken to wearing my ski jacket (rather than my lovely, long wool coat) everywhere I went.

So, it seemed ridiculous and wonderful to go for a jog in shorts and t-shirt today! I went on a route that I thought was 3 miles, but upon gmap-ing it...I fell short. Which is kinda pathetic. There are more runs to be completed this week though!

My Next Half Marathon

So, after months of piddling around without a plan...looking at races, but not registering...thinking about training, but not running, but yesterday, I finally decided to make a commitment!

I registered for the inaugural Wrightsville Beach Half Marathon on March 21st and I'm very excited about a busy 9 weeks of training ahead!

It wasn't until after I already paid my non-refundable fee that I actually calculated and realized there are only 9 weeks until race day. That fact startled me for just a minute, but I immediately knew it was possible.

Before my first cross-country season in high school, 3 miles seemed like an impossible distance. Then I did it. I still got a little nervous about those 5Ks, until my first triathlon. Suddenly, 3 miles was not that big a deal. Those triathlons kinda stressed me out though, until my first 1/2 marathon. Then they were old hat.

Until last October though, 13.1 was my biggest feat. Training for each 1/2 marathon felt like a test of my limits and I went into each race fearful that I would not finish.

Now, even though I've only ran twice this month, even though I haven't done more than 5 miles in months, I can look that upcoming 1/2 marathon in the eye with no fear. I am a marathoner, gosh darnit, and I can handle anything less than 26.2 with confidence.*

(*Pending, of course, unforeseen illness or injury. I don't want to forget to knock on wood.)

So, if you're intimidated by that first mile, or race, or distance...just run it. If I can work my way up, so can you. Who knows? Maybe a few years and marathons down the road, maybe I can approach even 26.2 with a steady hand. We'll see. : )

A Little Bit

Thanks for your facts on my 100th post! (I counted 52, which is over half of 100, which is good enough for me.) I have really enjoyed running around the internet "meeting" new people and getting my little daily dose of all of your lives.

So, as far as my new year goes, obviously, I've not been very good at keeping up with blogging, but that's a direct reflection of my (lack of) fitness plan right now. I know that should be really concerning to me, but I've been embarrassingly okay with being a total couch potato lately. Until the past few days, it has just been too cold for me to fathom running outside. (Which is kind of silly because I used to live in Boone and would run in the snow...it just seems REALLY cold out.)

In all other areas of my life, however, I'm doing really well with my "little bit" resolution. Everyday I'm doing the little things that are consistently keeping my home, classroom, and life clean and organized. I've always LOVED cleaning and organizing (Instead of playing, I used to sort the toys into bins at day care.) but I'm really bad about letting things pile up and then tackling them and then letting them pile up and then tackling over and over again.

Which kind of reminds me of my athletic life...training really hard for a race and then just letting those pounds pile back on and my endurance dissolve. Eventually, I'm going to learn how to take the "little bit" approach with running too, but, until then... I've got a new race in mind!

Tomorrow, (I can't just not blog for 2 weeks and then use up all my news in one post!) I'll let you know my next race and training plan. I'm excited!

100th Post! And I don't have a 100 list...

I wanted to do something really cute and obvious for my 100th post like list 100 things I want to do or 100 random facts, or just 100 of something, but really, 100 is a lot. And I have papers-to-grade/laundry-to-fold/Biggest-Loser-to-watch/etc.

So, I'm going to pass the buck. To you. I want to learn 100 things about the web wanderers who have ended up here. So, if you would please, leave a comment with a few things about yourself. List as many as you like because I'd like to learn 100 new pieces of information and I don't anticipate 100 comments. Or even 10, so mathematically, you should consider posting at least 10 facts. But I would be tickled with even just one. : )

In other news...

I have been planning to finalize and post my 2010 resolutions. It's only January 5th, right?

I like big scale resolutions/goals. (365 runs? cough, cough) I think impracticalness is part of the charm for me. Impracticalness, however, does not charm my husband and he kind of has to live with me. And, (listen up, because I'll probably only say this once), maybe he's right. For right now, at least. Teaching two grade levels, taking grad school classes, and just acknowledging that there is life outside of school does not provide a great platform for additional crazy goals.

I don't see myself starting over my 365 this year. So, what are the goals for 2010? I've been thinking about this for a while now and I had a lot of big scale plans that I wanted to start January 1st.

Which I didn't.

At least, not all the way. Which has led me to my main resolution/theme of 2010: Small Steps. There are so many areas in which I want to make improvements, but what I really need to concentrate on is the daily small steps that will lead me where I want to go. I'm not going to morph overnight into the person I want to be: physically, emotionally, professionally, or domestically. But, every day, I can get do a little bit better.

Which reminds me of one of my past students. (Bear with me if you know me in real life, because you've definitely heard this story.) I moved down here last year and learned that one of the charming quirks of this region is an affinity for nicknames. So, on the first day of school, I asked one of my little fourth graders if he had a nickname. He was very excited to tell me, "Well, I gots two nicknames. My first one is "Hammer." That's what my friends call me. But, my real nickname, my special name, what my family calls me is "Little Bit." 'Cause when I was baby, every day I grew, a little bit."

It's really just nothing with the natural accent, timing, and gesturing of this child, but you have to trust me that it was one of the most precious and ridiculous things I've heard as a teacher. And I guess it was inspiring too because that's what'll I'll be working on this year: every day, I'll improve, a little bit.

I'll keep you updated!

9 Events in my 99th Post on the Last Day of 2009

Even though I haven't been blogging much lately (and not because I've been passed out in yoga since then...luckily, that was a one time occurrence and I appreciate y'all's concern), I still have been keeping up with some of my blog reading and I'm really enjoying everyone's end-of-the-year-reflection-looking-forward posts. Everyone is more creative than me. Look at how lovely these are:

I don't know how Chic Runner did this, but I think it's adorable. There is even a little pop up caption for each one.
Natalie compiled a list of her stats this year which include, but are not limited to, having a baby, running the Boston Marathon, and logging 1,645.5 miles. All of the sudden, I feel like I've been incredibly lazy. : )
L. has her resolutions ready, including the goal of Michelle Obama arms. A worthy goal, indeed!
Mrs. Everlasting recorded her year at a glance, which I definitely should do because I like to remember what happened (I think L. has a good idea directly above.) but I'm way too lazy to do right now.
I thought Meredith had a really cute idea for her last post of 2009, so I totally just copied hers. I'm pretty sure I've completely copied other ideas from Meredith's blog before, too. : )
I like the idea of narrowing it down to 9 events and it just happened to be my 99th post. 2008 was a really busy year (moving 3 times, getting married, getting a new job, buying a house, etc.) so comparatively I thought I hadn't done that much in 2009, but looking back, I think it's been pretty okay for 365 days.

9 in 2009

1. I ran a marathon. Sorry, I'm still just really happy about that.
2. I started work on my masters in Instructional Technology and am becoming a huge tech geek.
3. We got our first pet, a lovely little cat named Gayle.
4. I have run 360+ miles this year. (Ironically when I added up my monthly totals plus an estimate of the few measly miles I've run in December it was 364 miles...which is pretty darn close to 365, which be ironic because it's not really 365 runs, but still. I'm still keeping that goal in the back of my mind.)
5. With a group from my church, I read the entire Bible, cover to cover, in 90 days.
6. I starting blogging, obviously.
7. My husband and I have settled in here, setting up our house, meeting new people, having a mostly failed attempt at a garden, etc.
8. I was awarded my first grant and my students have been working on their reading fluency with iPods.
9. I've gotten a little bit better at this whole balancing act of life, work, family, etc. I'm still busy and I'm still working on doing even better in 2010, but 2009 was this first year that I've really loved being a teacher and not let it take over my whole life.

So, anyway, that was 2009. Tomorrow's a new decade!

It's a Simple Equation.

Giving blood + developing a cold later that day + reduced sleep due to cold + cold medicine = Passing out and throwing up in yoga class the next day.

Yes, at my very first yoga class at the one and only studio in the county.

They were really nice about it though. I think the repeated phrase was, "Listen to your body next time."

Lesson learned.

Milestones that Shouldn't be Milestones

Today, on my first weekday of Christmas break, I decided it was time to check a few things off my list. I decided to get in a workout, any workout, even if I didn't go outside. I popped in a Dancing with the Stars DVD and it had the desired effect: Four minutes in, I got bored and felt like I was getting a "real workout" so I dug out my running shoes and then realized my iPod was dead and spent 15 minutes recharging it and buying new songs for my running playlist and hit the road.

It's amazing, but not surprising, how quickly I've gone from 26.2 miles to phhhhhmmmpt. ("phhhhmmmpt" meaning that I'm not even continuously running a mile right now.) You would think I would feel guilty for letting my endurance go without a fight, but I really just needed a break after the marathon. This was my first run since Thanksgiving and really represents how much I need to sign up for a race and get motivated!

(Does anybody else have problems with sore teeth when they run in the cold? That bothered me even when I was little and ran around playing in the yard in the winter. And, come on, this is North Carolina we're talking about...it's not even that cold.)

In other milestone news, I finally went and signed up for a library card after living here for 1.5 years. I already was a little embarrassed about this and while I was filling out the new card application, who should walk up but my husband's primary school librarian who goes to our church! A librarian found out that I hadn't even entered the public library in over 14 months! (In my defense, I did spend most of the summer finishing the Bible in 90 days with my church, so I hope she remembers I was reading something.)

This got me thinking about all the things that I loved doing as a child...reading, playing the piano, tennis, exploring outside, swimming...and how much we encourage children to do these things, but then when you grow up you're supposed to be too busy to worry with such frivolous things. One of my 2010 resolutions will be to prioritize these types of "enrichment" activities. (Except swimming, because there is not an indoor pool within a 45 minute radius of here...)

And lastly, I decided, on a whim, to stop a blood drive today and give blood for the first time in 5 years. I usually make up all these halfway valid excuses like, "I'm running 8 miles tomorrow," or "All I've eaten today is a pile of brownies and Diet Coke," but since I jogged a grand total of 2 miles this morning and think yoga class is the most strenuous exercise I'll get tomorrow, I really didn't have an excuse.

I was kind of worked up and nervous, but I thought of how I tell my 3rd and 4th grade babies that it's not that bad to be stung by a bee (since there is an infestation between our mobile unit and the bathroom, I'm sending at least one bee stung child to the office a month) so it shouldn't be that bad to be stung by a needle. It really was fine, but I asked the nurse to cover my arm with a paper towel because I really don't like to see the blood exit my body.

So, all in all, it was a pretty productive day. Let's see if this can be the new pattern.

Great excuse, right?

I know it appears that I've dropped off the edge of the blogosphere, but I'm still poking around reading other blogs, just completely neglecting mine. Things have been hectic, but last weekend I wrapped up my grad school classes for the semester and now there are only 4.5 more school days with my babies before Christmas break!

Then...back to running. And blogging (which equals accountability for me). I'm researching races right now, but too occupied with cooking and eating Christmas treats to run now!

Great excuse, right?

Is there a pattern here?

I know I have fallen off the side of the earth lately, but don't be offended, it's not just blogging I've neglected but fitness/nutrition in general. It was Thanksgiving...I wasn't the only one off track, right?

I've always wanted to run a holiday morning race. I would feel like a member of a secret society: getting up while everyone else is sleeping in, sneaking out to meet with my fellow runners, getting in a good workout, and then being home and showered in time to cook and celebrate. Although the closest Thanksgiving race was a little too far away, for the past few years my mom and I have created our own little Thankgiving morning long run tradition. It makes you feel just a little teensy bit justified in that extra (or extra 4) sourdough roll when you put in a good 5 miler in the morning.

We stayed here with my husband's family this year, so I couldn't get in my run with my mom, butI did, however, get out for my own personal "Turkey Trot." It felt really good to get out, but it's amazing how slow and lazy I've become in a matter of a few weeks! Something about this particular run made me reflective though and I started thinking about past and new goals.

When I got home, I broke out my little "Workout Log" that I recieved for Christmas four years ago. I was in great shape then; I just got home from studying abroad in Spain and had been running to explore the town I lived in and joined a gym in one of many failed attempts to "immerse myself in the native language." (I learned a lot of really crucial aerobics and dance class lingo, like "squat" and "stomp your right foot," but I didn't have many other interactions with the Spanish women who were working out. Their approach to exercise is a little different and I never quite understood the appeal of working out in heels. I think most of them thought I was a little goofy, too, because I was the only one who ran to the gym.)

In my workout log, I was surprised to see that I'm not that far off from where I was then. I've got some more pounds and inches to lose, but not as many as I thought. Glancing through the "Goals" page, I recognize many of the same things I'm working on now: "less Diet Coke, more fruit and vegetables," "consistent strength training," faster 5K times.

(I found a race time in the log that I couldn't find when I posted my previous race results. I remembered this race because it was on Christmas Eve, but could not find my time anywhere. I have it now and it's actually a post-high school PR! It's only 3 seconds different from my 5K from a few months ago...further evidence that things don't change much!

Mooresville Fire Department 5K
December 24, 2009
25:22

I'm remembering now also that I ran 14 miles the day before that, stayed out late with my friends in Charlotte and then met my mom at that race early that morning...I wonder if I would have had a better PR with a little rest.)

There is one goal from that page, however, that I have achieved: Complete a Marathon. So, at least I've made a little progress. Between now and the end of the year, I want to tune up so I can set my sights on my goals for 2010. I've got some ideas, but none are set yet.

What about y'all? Am I the one that sets goals for the end of the year, in preparation for new goals for the new year?

Exercise, nice to meet you again!

Whether I wanted it or not, I think my body was just bound and determined to have a month off after the marathon...at least that's what I'm saying to make myself feel better about how lazy I've been the past three weeks.

I've been really surprised, that despite a plethora of poor fitness and nutritional decisions, I haven't gained back any weight since the marathon. That puts me in a scary place though because I've had this feeling before and it's always right before the weight sneaks back up and attacks me!

I got back on the Jillian Michaels/running train today. I need a race though. Both my old college roommates are planning marathons in 2010; one will run the Nashville marathon in April with her husband and the other is contemplating a June marathon in Minnesota with her mom. I need a plan, too, but I need some more local options.

Anybody know any can't-miss races (from 5Ks to marathon) in the Carolinas?

Rained In

A few weeks ago, we were working on data analysis in my class. My third and four graders made circle graphs to show how they would use 24 hours in an ideal day. Many of their first drafts looked kind of like this:After some work on fractional pieces, time, daily needs (i.e. sleep, food, etc.), and keys, they were much improved, but many of them still had some pretty quirky days planned. One of my darling students scheduled 4 hours for "washing my hair", and 2 hours for "eating pie."

That was funny and all, until today, which put me in mind of that graph. Except I haven't washed my hair.

I had a very long list of things I wanted to accomplish on my Wednesday off today, but as per usual, I've only crossed off a few. It has been raining non-stop all day and I just decided I would be not going out into it. So I've stayed in and looking back it would make a pretty sad circle graph. I would need wedges for:

• watching multiple documentaries on NetFlix on demand
• cooking
  
• grading papers
• eating pie
• eating other food of approximately the same nutritional value of pie
• laundry

...and that's pretty much it. I've opened the door to let the cat in and out, but otherwise have not been into the world.

Maybe I should dust off the treadmill...

The advantage to living in a fitness-backward community is...

winning the one and only race of the year!

This weekend was our small town's big yearly festival and one of the annual events is a 5K/8K run. (I had thought it was a 10K before, but I was mistaken.) To my knowledge, this is the only 5K or 8K race in the county. All. year. long.

Are we a little fitness-backwards here? Anyway....

I was thrilled to come out and participate in this event and was very curious to see who else would be there. There are a few other people I know in town who run occasionally, but I wasn't sure who would come to race.

There were approximately three people milling about a half hour before the race started, including the woman taking registrations. When I filled out my form, I asked her how many people had signed up for the 8K and she said I was the thirteenth. As in there were only 13 people in the race, 30 minutes prior to start time.

I didn't know whether to be sad that there were so few participants for our town's singular running event or thrilled that I might have a chance at winning this thing. As the rest of the runners arrived over the next 20 minutes, I scoped them out to decide how fast they looked and which race they'd be in. There were two women who looked like they might be contenders, but I was pretty sure they were in the 5K. It was so bizarre to actually thinking about not just finishing a race, but possibly winning. And not just an age group, but the whole event! I tried to channel my little sister who at age 17, has won dozens of races, including a women's 5K of nearly 2000 participants. (We didn't exactly get the same running genes...) Everybody looked pretty casual, except two serious-runner men types with little belts for their race numbers. (I assumed they were from out of town.)

At 8:00, they herded our small group to the start line and very uncermoniously started a stop watch and told us to, "Go on." I went out fast and was only behind a few high schoolers (who I was pretty sure were only 5Kers) and one of the serious racing men. The other serious-runner caught up to me in just a moment. He and I talked briefly and it turned out he was local, too and lives near the school where I teach!

Of course, if you remember, he was a serious running type though, and while being very nice about it, left me in the dust very quickly. The course went through all the same little neighborhoods I normally run through and I was just by myself the rest of the race. They had little arrows at the corners where we were supposed to turn, but that was it. I could see the orange jersey of the serious runner ahead of me (looking back every so often to make sure I made the right turn), but didn't see anybody else until a little loop about mile 3. When I saw the next runner was a good bit behind me, but not completely out of distance, it gave me some motivation to keep up the pace!

I picked up the pace a little on the last mile and sprinted the last tenth where there were about 10 spectators cheering. People were smiling and the guy wrote down my time at the end, but I was instantly disappointed because I knew I must not have won. The high school girl must have run the 8K because surely they would have congratulated me on winning if I was first, I thought.

I thought I'd have a decent time if nothing else so I asked for my time and for what place I came in and honestly the stopwatch guy looked a little perplexed that I'd ask for either. He told me, "Oh it was somewhere around 44 minutes and you were second after that guy in the orange."

Well, that was good enough for me! I was so ridiculously excited and ran over and high-fived the orange jerseyed runner. It was the one and only race I will probably ever win! I thought it was pretty darn exciting! I think I'm supposed to even get a trophy.

So, bask in the glory, becuase this is only post I'll ever write about winning a race! Thanks, small town of non-runners! : )

Confession

Okay, I've got to get this off my chest:

I have not run, not even once, since the marathon.

I've done two minute sprints in my Jillian Michaels plan, and I've almost ran (like when I went two blocks last week) a couple of times, but that's it.

And I have fallen off the Jillian Michaels wagon all week long. It has been a very long, not-get-home-until-well-after-dark week and it just hasn't happened.

I did receive my very first grant for my classroom today, though! I was ridiculously giddy when I opened the enevelope in the copy room and almost hugged the custodian who was innocently standing by. Then, I busted in on my principal while she was observing another teacher because I was too excited to wait to show her.

So, it's definitely been an exercise FAIL week, but at least it's not a complete FAIL. Tomorrow's the beginning of the weekend and fresh starts!

Really, half a year?

Since I haven't really been running at all for the past few weeks, I forgot about posting my October mileage. Putting it together now, I realized I've been blogging and keeping up with my running (mostly) for 6 months now...which seems to have flown by.

October 1
5 miles, Lowes and back, fartlek

October 4
13 miles, around town...sick of long runs loops by myself

October 7
2 miles, downtown
(Am I really running a marathon in less than 2 weeks?)

October 11
10 miles, Lowes and back, courthouse loop, McDonald's and back

October 15
2 miles, around UNC-W campus

October 16
2 miles, Grinnell, Iowa

October 18
26.2 miles!!!!! Des Moines Marathon

May Total: 43.5 miles

June Total: 50.5 miles

July Total: 76 miles

August Total: 49 miles

September Total: 75 miles

October Total: 60 miles

6 Month Total: 354 miles

(Relatively) Guilt Free Weekends

I've been through 2 weekends now since the big race and I'm pretty spoiled already. It feels like such a luxury to not worry about staying hyper-hydrated and rested! I woke up yesterday morning and for a moment felt a little twinge pre-long-run worry...How would I squeeze in a 2+ hour run?...would I be able to complete it?...what is the weather like?...and then I remembered: No long run today!

As much as I love running, it's been a relief to have to worry about where I am in a training schedule. I feel completely maxed out with work and school right now and it feels like one less thing to worry about right now.

HOWEVER....

I know this is a very bad complacent place for me to be. I took off for a short jog on Thursday and, literally, two blocks in, said, "Oh forget about it...I have too much else to do." I'm obviously not maintaining marathon endurance...or even 5K endurance, at this rate. I'm keeping up with my Jillian Michaels, but I need to get back out on the road, too.

I'm running a local 10K this weekend and then I think it might be time to set my sights on a new running goal, whether it be another race or something for me personally. It's not the right time to start over my 365, but I need something to tide me over until then.

Obviously, just a healthy routine of regular exercise would make sense and all, but I've found, for me, a goal is necessary.

What running/exercise/life goals are y'all working on? Am I the only one that needs a moving target?