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!