Vegas

Ok - so last week was officialy 18 weeks til the towpath marathon - aka my first attempt at a bq. which means - i have a ton of work to do in the next 18 - scratch that 17 weeks. I know i can do it - if i put the time and work into it - which means going above and beyond just getting enough long runs in to just complete a marathon. So i followed amie's lead and decided to go with a modified version of the FIRST program for "those who have completed their first marathon but want to finish faster" Keep in mind i'm also still toying with the idea of greater cleveland half im - as long as training for that doesn't take away from running. So far it's been ok - and i've been able to squeeze both in.
So last week - was week 18 - official first week of training. Also the week that I was going to Vegas for four days. I should have just waited for today to start. But oh well - between monday and wednesday I was able to get in a couple of runs, two swims and a shortened awful bike ride. Why awful you ask?
Well here was my idea - fleet feet was having a wetsuit demo day out in westlake - so I thought - i'll have steve meet me down near edgewater - we'll ride out to westlake - it's about 13 miles - try on the wetsuits and head back. Good idea in theory - bad idea when played out. First of all Lake road near downtown is in pretty bad shape - which is a problem for two reasons - i don't know about you - but i'm not riding at 18 mph over potholes, manhole covers, potholes and more potholes - so you end up going really slow - in certain stretches which makes the ride take a really long time. Number 2 - you end up riding further into the street to avoid the really rough part - which you know makes cars angry - which in turn makes me quite upset and nervous - and then you add on to it my fear of my new clip shoes still - and it was not a very pleasant experience thus far. Well bad idea number 2 - don't go for a ride if you don't know how to get to the place you are going to. I thought we had gone too far - and we ended up spending a half an hour or so turning around and then turning around the other way. Well we finally stopped to ask directions again and I popped out my left foot and decided to lean to the right instead so i fell flat over on to someone's lawn in bay village. I layed there for awhile - I was upset and the grass was very soft. As steve said - i picked a great place for my first clip related crash!
Well eventually we find our way to the five seasons. Jody tries to give me a small wet suit to try on - and after my last experience i opted for the medium. This went much better than the last time - and it was awesome having that on in the pool - i can't wait to get my suit and try it out in the lake. So Jody says that suit is big on you - you have too much room in it still. So i say fine - i'll try on the small. I think it probably took jody and heather a half an hour to get this suit on me - and quite awhile to get it off - i couldn't even get my hands out of it - let alone my big old feet - so i guess i need a small and a half. which isn't going to happen. Meanwhile while i was wrestling with the wetsuits - steve had tried his on - and was calling his mom to come pick us up. It took us so long to get there and to try on the suits that we didn't have enough day light to get back. So... my mother in law dropped us off at our cars and we went home - it was 10:30 by the time we got home! So we finished packing for vegas and had a couple of beers to celebrate being on vacation. I'll leave my vegas stories for another post - but we were able to get out for one run while we were there - we ran from our hotel to the las vegas sign which was about four miles - we added another mile to that and called it a day - because by that time in the morning it was already pushing 100 degrees -- which is just too hot!!
So where does that leave me? I guess today is my official first week of training (which is good since i'm actually falling a 16 week plan!)

A week's worth of thoughts...

Training Recap:

Swimming and running doing well. Ran my first track workout in forever on tuesday - and my first trail run ever on wednesday. Currently running about 3 days a week with a 8-10 miler on the weekends. Going to keep doing that for a little while here - I think I am 18 weeks out from the Towpath marathon - so i need to decide what program to follow. i've done some research on the phitzinger, first, and hal higdon. Not sure what to follow - phitzinger (however you spell it) seems a bit intense, first seems not quite intense enough - any thoughts and what you guys think has worked best for you? Swimming is getting there - getting in the water 2-3 days a week - yardage is not quite what it should be yet - but i am getting better - i'm anxious to get in the open water - but am having some wetsuit issues...

A thought on wet suits

Per the sizing chart on the wet suits at 128lbs 5'6.5" I should be a medium - or maybe even a small. Well let me tell you - that is not that case - b/c apparently wet suits were not made for bodies shaped like mine! Went to bike authority to try on some of the sales rack wetsuits. I made steve come into the dressing room with me - b/c i knew i was going to need help. didn't really think the small would fit - but for 30% off - who knows it's worth a try. At the point where steve was grabbing the wetsuit to try and pull it up over my butt - but was only succeeding on picking me and the wet suit up off the ground i figured we better get the small off before i got stuck. well - onto the medium - went on much easier - steve zipped me up - and i said i'm choking - and he said no you're alright - well i turned around to look at him - and he was like oh my god - you are choking and unzipped it. I don't know what was wrong with me or the suit - but it was litterally choking me! so we got that off and tried on a large with no sleeves - which wasn't what i really wanted - and seemed like it might be a bit big. So i left the store - a bit defeated - really hot and kind of worn out. I think i can actually say that i've found something worse than trying on bathing suits... wet suits!!!

Race recaps:

I ran the eagle 5 mile race on May 24th and the Aetna Race for the kids 5k on this past sunday. I've had run the eagle run a few years ago - and the course is now in a different place - same sort of course though - winds through some pretty neighborhoods and is flat. They also do a nice job of giving you a wicking hat and long sleve tech tees. Well i knew going into the race that if i ran a decent race (sub 40 - which i've only done once before) I had a good shot at an age group award. And as age group awards are still very new to me - i get very excited at the prospect of winning one. I ran the race with my garmin for once so that i could keep track of my pace a little better - i needed to make sure that i kept my pace under 8:00 at all times. Tried to take it easy on the first two miles. mile one 7:30, mile 2 15:01 - perfect. Mile 3 23: something Mile 4 - don't remember - but i knew it was under 32 - pushed it in for a fnal time of 38:05. I almost threw up in the shute and the guy from hermes was like are you alright? i said oh i'm fine - just have a banana that wants to get out - and said oh ok - can you tear off your own number then? ha! I said it's not a good race unless you almost puke at the end! Got to the end of the shute - and they handed me 2nd place in my age group!!! yeah! It was a star shapped paper weight - one can never have too many of those! I looked up my time from the last time i ran this race - it was a 48:00 - so 10 minutes better!! woo hoo -- oh and I ran back out on the course to go get steve - he had said his legs were hurting and he was hoping to break 50.... well i came around the corner and there he was finishing in 43:59!!! that's his best time ever! So all in all it was a great day.

ok this is the longest post ever -- i'll tell you about sunday's race a day or so... i know i know - you are all very exctied - but contain yourself - you'll be ok...

a blast from the past....

found these pictures on my parents computer of the first duathlon that steve and i did in 2005... i'm not sure if you can tell from the attire, the hybrid bicycle, or the fact that there is no one left in the transition with us - that we had no idea what we were doing!!! It's funny to look back at how far we've come! I bet some of you were out there at hinckley zooming around me on my hybrid!!! and the best part -- i got 1st in my age group! (i was the only one ha ha!!)

deep thoughts on flag football

I've been playing flag football off and on now for about the last five years. During that time period our team has not gotten any better - well maybe we play a little better - but we still lose most games. When I first started playing - I enjoyed football for the exercise - but as I started training for the marathons I found that I didn't enjoy football as much. It became an obligation that got in the way of my training - playing flag football for 40 minutes is sooo not the same as getting a run in. Then I found that running the short sprints during the game in a pair of spikes was starting to hurt my shins - so i would center the ball and just go out for short passes. Well lately i've decided to make football more of an actual workout - run longer patterns - see who i can beat off the line, oh and volunteer to rush the quaterback on defense. Not a good idea. Especially this week. On monday I had a good 5.5 mile run at lunch followed by 1300 meters in the pool after work followed by some ab and back work in the weight room... followed by football.
Now the only reason i volunteered to rush is b/c the girl who has been rushing - is really short and not any faster than i am - so i thought at least my height could cause some distraction. I find that rushing is sooooo frustrating. In flag football you have to wait a 5 count before you can cross the line of scrimmage - well i know not to run diretly at the qb - to approach him from the side and try to force him to one side, get his flags or block the pass. I also know that if I am running right - he's going to cut left - but there is a clog in the system that runs that message from my brain to my feet - i swear i look like an elephant in slow motion trying to chase this guy down. I did not get his flags ... not once!!! And to make matters worse - my quads hurt so bad still (2 days later) even though i made yesterday a rest day ... that i am sort of picking my legs up and moving them to get out of the car! unbelievable! how can i not be this sore after running 20 miles - but make me run a bunch of little sprints for 40 minutes and I feel like my legs are going to explode!

buckeye 50K????

I've been intrigued for awhile by the buckeye 50k. I've been told a lot of good things about this race. I've been thinking that I would really like to give trail running a try and that I would like to do the buckeye 50k at some point ( i even went and bought trail shoes). But here is my question - how does one train for a 50k? I just completed a marathon 2 weeks ago - so obviously I've got a decent base - but can i go from that to running a 50k in 2.5 months? and what kind of training schedule does one follow for that? Anyone have any advice for me? (besides get out there and start doing some trail runs of course!) Any input would be helpful - can i do this or no?

congratulations

Congratulations to every who ran yesterday in the cleveland marathon! This was the first time in a couple of years that I haven't run one of the events... so it was kind of weird. I must say i was glad to not be running when I was laying in bed at 7:30 and it was pouring rain! I had told brian that I would come and run miles 16-26 with him - and fortunately for me - the sun came out just as I arrived at mile 16. I saw my friend Dave go by at mile 16 - and i ran with him for a bit - turns out - he made a wrong turn and turned with the half marathons - so he ended up running an extra 2 miles - i told him to think of it as training for an ultra marathon. He didn't find that amusing... I saw him after the race - and he had stopped his garmin at 26.2 - if it hadn't been for the extra distance he ran - he would have qualified for boston. Hopefully he won't get frustrated - and he'll qualify in the fall.... we'll see.
So - i picked up Brian and at mile 16 - he had a great race - and looked really good all the way til the end. I just hope that i was more motivating than aggervating -- b/c i know i can be a pain to run with. So I ended up getting a little over 11 miles in yesterday - not too shabby.

Oh - i've started a 1/2 ironman training program. Obviously i'll need to get a couple of sprints and open water swims under my belt before i attempt that - but I like to have a goal and a training schedule. First week was a little short on the swimming and running and waaaay short on the biking - but it was the second week after my marathon - so i can't be too unhappy with my totals. Here they are for last week..

Swim - 2600 meters
Bike - 20 miles
Run - 16.4 miles

Goal for this week

Swim - 4500 meters
Bike - 100 miles
Run - 20 miles

Not sure - if i'll get there this week - but i've got pretty good odds - especially with the holiday weekend and half a day on friday - if the weather holds out - hopefully i can get a nice afternoon ride in!

Oh - went for a run at lunch today and boy is it W-I-N-D-Y!!! i know the run down marginal yesterday was not exactly wind free - -but i am so glad that it wasn't as windy as today - i thought i was going to get blown away today!

no south bend and mom's day 5k

I've been going back and forth on weather or not i should do this marathon in south bend on the 31st. so i finally did the old list of pros and cons - and it looks like the cons have it. Running another marathon now - is not going to make me run a better marathon next fall - and the $3.89 sign on I saw at the gas pump is another reason - not to drive all the way to south bend.
So now what? time to focus on my first triathlon and columbus marathon in the fall.
I ran a 5k on sunday - the first one i've run since december - so i have to say - my body wasn't quite sure how to react to the distance/pace. The race felt a lot faster than it was - my hamstrings were still very tight from the pig - but I finished in 23:39 - which is not the greatest - but is still what i call a "post high school p.r." (high school p.r. is a 20:50 -- i'll get there soon) It was good to get out there and do a 5k again - i look forward to doing more this summer. I warmed up with the serc group - and that was a lot of fun - they are really nice people - and usually I go to races by myself.
I had been toying with running either the zoo race or the 5k in strongsville that weekend instead... but chose the mom's day for it's location...looks like i would have probably been able to get an age group award at one of those races... i didn't realize that the this was the race for the crazy elites! The winning female time was 16:43!!!! that is crazy!!! Well the results are finally posted - and it says i got 4th in my age group. it also says i'm from chester maryland and that some other girl named elizabeth got third - and apprently amie who actually got third - didn't run the race at all - since i can't seem to find her name anywhere on the results! how weird is that?

in other news - i finally got bike shoes and speedplay pedals - haven't gotten to use them on the road yet - i'll be sure and post pictures of the bruises i'll get when i fall the first time out! and it's back to the pool - swam 1300 meters at lunch yesterday and felt like my head was going to explode... i keep telling myself that the swimming will come together eventually if i just keep at... as dori from finding nemo would say "keep on swimming ... keep on swimming" ok i'm done.

Confessions

I don't know how to change a tire. on my car or on my bike. and so far i have gotten through life ok with this secret confession. Thanks to triple A and some good luck... But - it's finally catching up with me. I got my new bike shoes this week. Used them on the trainer last night to try and get a feel for them before i take them on the road and break my neck. Well i decided that maybe it would be nice to get out on sunday (weather depending) and go for a nice ride. well i realize that i always ride with steve - (and he can't ride with me this sunday) which made me realize that I don't know how to change a flat tire... which made me realize that going for a ride on my own would not be a good idea - b/c what do you do if you are alone with a flat and don't know how to change it? I've decided that this situation is ridiculous and I need to learn how to change a tire asap!

going the extra distance

From the flying pig website...


"The Flying Pig Marathon has always prided itself in taking the event one step above the others. This year, unfortunately, due to a race morning fire emergency on the course, we have literally gone beyond 26.2 miles. The last minute re-route added .2514 miles to the original course.

The time that was recorded at the finish line is your OFFICIAL 2008 Flying Pig Marathon time. To obtain a comparable 26.2 mile time to your 2008 Flying Pig time, please use this online calculator"


So I guess according to the calculator - my actual time would have been 4:22:30. Do you know this is the second time this has happened to me? i ran a half marathon in dc last year - and they told us a few days after the race -that the 1/2 route was really longer than it should be. ha! i think that is funny. well a 4:22:30 looks better than a 4:25:01 - so i'll take it! That's a 25 minute and 40 second p.r!

Piggy Bonk

As brian said in a recent blog - the marathon is a distance that is intimidating and should be resepcted -- well at least he said something to that effect... and he is right. Going into the pig I didn't quite have my head on right. I went in there knowing that I had improved by great strides and that i was capable of doing big things - but i went in there also underestimating the marathon. In the one year and eight months since i completed my second marathon I seemed to gloss over the fact that a marathon is a mental challenge and that you have to be mentally tough. I need to work on my mental toughness - this race was the first race where I bonked and I was alone - i didn't have anyone there to pick me up an take me the rest of the way in. I was spoiled on my other two marathons to have that - but the experience of bonking when alone has taught me much more. I know that i will probably bonk at some point on my next marathon - but I know that i can get through it now - even by myself.
So quick run down....
Got down the race - stood in line for the bathrooms - got done with just enough time to run towards the start to try and find the pace team. The start was so packed and so tight that I sure there was no way we are going to find the pace team. Well the 3:50 and 4:00 pace teams were right at the front. I'm talking my chip time was only a minute off the clock time close to the front - which is ridiculous - but i wanted to make sure i was near the pace team - b/c i knew that was the only way i would maintain even pace. Well I get into the starting line and i can see the 3:50 pace team on the other side of the start - and there is no way i'm getting over there. ok - i'll just find them once i start running. Well the race director gets on the microphone and says we are going to be delayed by about 15 minutes -there is a fire around mile 20 and we are going to have to detour the course. The bad news is the course will be a little long - the good news is it will at least be as long as a marathon. everyone laughed b/c we thought he was joking. Nope - the course was some like a quarter mile too long -- they are apparently going to adjust everyone's times once they figure it out.
Well the gun finally goes off and my friend clare and I are off. It was 39 degrees when we got up that morning - and yet by 6:45 when the race finally started - it was warm enough to ditch my throw away shirt and mismatching pair of one red and one teal gloves. My plan was to follow my pace chart and go with the 3:50 team as they came up on me - b/c i was a little ahead of them at the start. First mile 8:45, perfect. second mile I was about a minute ahead of 3:50 pace, 3rd mile about 1.5 ahead of pace - figured that was ok- i had the hills coming up around mile 5 - so i figured it would be ok to have a little time in the bank. Lost clare around mile 6 in the middle of one of the hills. i have to say i was very happy with my hill training - I barely noticed the hills - and i felt great even as a i reached the top around mile 8.5. I saw my parents and my mother in law right before mile 7 - it was great to see them - and I felt really good - my mother in law took this picture at mile 7 - this is the top of one of the hills.




look pretty good i think. Well kept about a minute ahead of pace through the half. my official 13.1 time was 1:54 -- that's a personal best. Well around mile 14 i had to stop at the port o pot - and things got kind of ugly after that - never got back into my rythem. The 3:50 pace team caught up with me finally at mile 15 - and i was excited to see them - b/c i was needing someone to run with -- but they blew by me like i was standing still. That's when I think i became a head case. My stomach starting getting upset and I felt like i was going to throw up if i put another gatorade or gu in my face - so i started just rinising my mouth with water. Looking back i think I actually started to be dehydrated at that point. Training through the winter - i know i did not train to properly rehydrate myself - and although i felt i was putting too much in me - i wasn't putting in enough. Well around mile 16 i walked for a bit b/c i was tightening up big time - and i was getting upset at how far off pace i was falling. Well funny thing is - up until mile 19 or so I was still on pace to break 4 hrs. But things go worse - my hamstrings tightened up so badly that my back and calves locked up too. Walking hurt worse than running and the only thing i wanted to do was to lay flat on back and make the tightening spasming pain stop... which wasn't an option. I have never hurt that bad while running - ever and I don't know what caused things to tighten up that badly. Well i never saw the four hour group go by - heard the 4:15 group go by - maybe i would have had the energy to go with them - but the pacer was the loudest person i have ever heard in my life. She's is yammering on at the top of her lungs how we only have a 5k left - and although we are hurting and our muscles are in pain and we feel terrible, and we feel like we are not going to finish... it is only a 5k. Then she says i'll tell you my mile 23 pep talk.... when i was 13 my mother died of cancer - and as much as we hurt right now - this doesn't hurt as bad as she hurt when she was dying of cancer.

I couldn't take it anymore -- i was hurting so bad and feeling so sorry for myself that i couldn't speed up to get away from this women - so i started walking again. I made sure to finish my last mile strong - no walking no matter what. Steve literally caught me after i crossed the finish line. I cried. I was so upset at how dumb of a race i had run. how do you go into a race with hopes of breaking four hours - and end up walking as much as i did? but i learned a lot and finished in 4:25 -- well maybe 4:23 depending on how long the course actually was. But - I learned a lot - and even though i bonked bad - it was still over a 20 minute pr! can't beat that right?
So - what's next? I know i have better than a 4:25 in me right now - and i don't want to wait til fall. So - found a marathon in south bend indiana in four weeks. You finish in the notre dame stadium. So I will be yelling "Rudy Rudy Rudy" when i cross the finish line. The course is flat - but it will be hot. But here is the plan - suck it up bridget - it's going to hurt - you are going to probably bonk. I'm going to shoot for a more reasonable goal - like 4:00 - 4:10 - you know another p.r. by twenty minutes. Maybe i'm capable of more right now - but I think i'll ease into. Get a race in under my belt - were i actually pace myself and run smart... - and i'll revamp my training for a fall marathon - need to up my weekly mileage and my speedwork. eventually i'll get there - some things just take more time then you would like!

Going out of my mind

I am going out of my mind. It doesn't help that everyday the pig sends an email telling you exactly how many days are left til the race -- like i'm not already aware!! Things are really quiet at work - which isn't exactly helping the days fly by... I think i'm more excited than nervous - but sheesh this is the longest taper ever!! i just want to get there and run that race! It's been so long since i've run a marathon it will be so nice to see where i'm actually at. ugh 4 days to go...

starting a business...

having finished with all of the preparations for my wedding and several of our friends weddings and baby shoewers - my sister and I are at a bit of a loss with what to do with our craftier sides.... so we're starting a little home side business. We'll probably never make any money at it - but at least it is something we'll enjoy doing. So what is this business you may ask? Well - my family really enjoys planning parties and showers. We like to make the invitations and favors and figure out unique ways to carry the theme throughout.
So - if any of you are tasked with planning a shower or party of some sort and need help with the details - let me know!
I'm having some difficulties with getting our website up and running - so in the meantime i've created a blog for the company....
http://scatteredshowersonline.blogspot.com/

check it out! Hopefully i'll get some pictures of our work up there soon!

mind tricks

Do you think that our minds play tricks on us when it gets close to a significant event? By this I mean - how much is our brain able to control what is physically going on with our bodies? For example - 18 days before my wedding I came down with a horrible stomach flu... Would I have gotten sick even if I had not been getting married in 18 days? Did the stress of planning the wedding weaken my immune system? Did the worry of the possibility of getting sick actually make me sick?
Ok now - 5 days before the pig... i have been coughing non-stop and my head is killing me. But the weird thing is - it's a dry cough - a tickle in the back of my throat - there isn't any signs of chest congestion.... So what is it? I wonder - am i fighting off some sort of bug? or is my nervousness making me sick? or... is my brain creating a safety net - something i can fall back on.... well you know i didn't make my goal - but i was coughing the entire week before the race... so considering that -- i did really well... guess it just amazes me how much of a mental sport this really is? So my plan for now -- positive think my goofy cough away before race day! and if it doesn't go away - consider it a good luck charm! ha! I really should seek therapy i think...

6 days til pigs fly!!!!

I can't believe it's almost here. There is such a huge amount of time that passes between "i'm going to run a spring marathon" to actually signing up for said marathon - to actually arriving at the week before the marathon. And.. I am actually for the first time ever - more excited than nervous. Nervous yes - don't get me wrong. But when you are going into a race - knowing that even if you have a lousy lousy walk up the hills kind of day - you're going to have a p.r. - it makes things easier. Ok - so here is the strategy for race day. Going to head out with the 3:50 pace group - if around mile 5 or so I feel this is too fast - i'll slow it down. My goal is to break 4 hrs - but i'm not going to start crying if I don't . This is the first marathon i have done in almost two years - and the first one where i have trained with a goal that was more lofty than just finish. I know i can go out there and run the distance no problem. i just need to make sure i stick with the pace team.
I am just so excited to be running a marathon again - it just seems like it has been so long since my last one - and i am such a ham - i can't wait for the expo and finisher's medal and the feeling of accomplishment. Even if I don't break 4 hrs - it's still an awesome feeling everytime you can cross that finish line! Wish me luck! I can't wait!

pacingly challenged

If i do not learn to pace myself during my runs - i am either going to make it to the olympics -- or more realistically - hurt myself. Ok - race is less than two weeks away - so yes i am in taper mode. I decide this morning to run for an easy 40 minutes. figure i'll go about 4.5 miles. Well i get to work today and map out the route i ran - yeah 5.3 miles at a 7:46 pace. For me - a 7:46 pace is not an easy pace - tempo run maybe - but not easy! how do i have no idea that i am running that much off the pace? I keep doing this - why do I keep trying to run faster than I am suppose? i know that really isn't a bad problem - but i'm afraid i'm going to burn out or something... or am i just capable of more than i think? ugh. i don't know.
Oh - i wanted to run the hermes 10 miler this weekend as a supported training run where you get a nice wicking t-shirt. Now i'm thinking there is no way I should do it - b/c i'll end up racing it - unknowingly and that would not be a good thing to do a week before the marathon!!! help me! how do i learn to reign myself back in?

20 miles, mr. hero and an early bed time

so i did my last (and actually only 20 miler since my first one was a bit of a fiasco) on Sunday. Forcast called for rain/snow mix - which did not help add to my apprehension. I was up most the night worrying that I would over sleep and that the 20 miles would be awful. Well I met Brian and Boris at 7 a.m. for our run. It rained on us lightly - but no snow - and was overall pretty nice conditions to run in. The run went really well.. thank goodness brian was there to reign me in. he kept us at a 9:30 pace - b/c as he kept saying "if your goal is to break for hours - we don't need to be running at an 8 something pace on a training run!" I have a tendancy to run like a puppy ... i get all excited and run way faster than I should. By the end of the run i couldn't wait to see the parking lot again - but i didn't feel horrible - i even joked that maybe we should have just done the whole 26. So that was good. My lower back and my shins seem to be the only items that are not happy with me. Oh - I ran into a girl while we were running that I went to college with. She is trying to break 3hrs in her next marathon - so i'm trying to get her to come out and join some of the running groups. It was good to see her again!

After the run I was STARVING - so i knew i was going to go through a drive through of some sort to get something in me quickly - also knew that this was the last day i could really splurge on my diet since i'm going into taper mode (I can not gain ten pounds during my taper again!!) Anyway I wanted to make my splurdge really worth it - didn't want to waste it on a crappy cheeseburger - so I got on the highway and headed straight towards mr hero for my all time favorite - mushroom cheesesteak! I know most people think that is gross - but i drool over their billboards that have pictures of cheesesteaks. I honestly shoveled half of the sandwhich into my mouth as I was pulling out of the parking lot. Overall felt pretty good - tried to take a nap and couldn't fall asleep - so come around 9:30 I went to bed and slept like a baby straight thru the night! Thanks brian for running with me and keeping me on pace!

big baby

I am such a big baby sometimes!!! Especially in the morning. If you were to see me in the mornings (especially on the days the alarms goes off for me to get down to the gym) - you would be embarrassed for me. I spend more time whining and moaning and trying to rationalize why I shouldn't actually get out of bed. I probably waste a good half an hour of exerecise time because i'm laying there feeling sorry for myself. And then the best is when i get up to swim - you would think someone is asking me to take a dip in arctic waters filled with man eating sharks. If I don't get so whiney that i actually change out of my swimsuit once i'm at the gym and do something else - I walk so slowly out to the pool and then sit on the edge of the pool like i'm walking the plank. I am seriously ridiculous. And everytime after I am done with my workout I say "oh i'm so glad i got up and went to the gym today - i think i'll do it again tomorrow" then comes tomorrow morning - and i'm back to walking the plank! new goal: stop being so whiney and dramatic in the mornings!!! (see that loophole allowes me to be whiney and dramatic at other points during the day!)

hill research

I went for a very nice 10.5 mile run on saturday. Kept a very even overall pace of 8:39 - with the last mile being an 8:25... Got to wear shorts and get some sun on my face. Well when i got home I decided to take a look at the elevation changes that I run around my house. The 10.5 mile run I had just completed included a hill that was about 350 or more over about 2.5 miles. I run that hill all the time - it's a good workout - but it doesn't intimidate me - i just run up and over the darn thing. Well...
After doing some research - I learned that the largest hill on the pig is 280 feet over a 2.5-3 mile stretch. I can do that. Everyone keeps telling me how hilly cincinatti is - and looking at the elevation chart - it is indeed hilly - but I realize now - that it is nothing i can't do - or haven't done before. Will i be prepared for the hills - i think so - could I have prepared more or better?? sure - i'm sure I could have. But I guess what i've learned is - why am I spending some much time worrying about these infamous hills with out finding out what i was really up against? moral of the story - don't freak out about something - with out doing your research first!! 26 more days til the pig - and one more 20+ mile run!!!

time to stop and smell the flowers

Last week - i thought about/worried about my 20 miler all week long - to the point on making myself sick. So - i figured it wasn't going to go very well. In retrospect - there is a reason why people do runs in the morning. Waiting until after noon to do a 20 mile run on half a ham sandwhich is not go a good idea. Nor is picking a 20 mile route through cities with names such as "seven hills" or broadview "heights." ugh -- let me just tell you - if i am not ready for the hills in cinci after this workout... i will never be ready!!! so the run was not my best 20 mile run - especially mentally. Around mile 14 - i wanted to just quit - i was so stinking hungry that i was going to be sick. Well i went on to mile 17 - where i decided there is a point where you need to push yourself - and there is a point where you need to listen to your body. So - i stopped - called steve to pick me up - we headed directly to the arby's drive thru where i proceeded to cram a large sandwhich into my face. i wanted to go finish the run after that but steve wouldn't let me. It was a really tough run - and more valuable than had I done the full 20 on a flat course. Still i was a little disappointed and on monday morning decided i need to shake out some of my running demons. I only had about 30 minutes to get a run in- so i booked it - ran a little over 2 miles out and then booked it uphill for a negative split and about 4.25 miles in 33 minutes! nice. I guess a bad run is just that - a bad run - it is not necessarily some evil omen that is dooming you to run poorly for the rest of your life. it's just a bad run. I'm going to go run cinci - it will be my first marathon in a year and seven months - hopefully i'll break four hours - but if i don't - who cares - anything will be faster than my first two marathons! I need to stop pressuring myself - and remember i do this for enjoyment. Sometimes we get so bogged down with times and schedules and paces and workouts - that i think we forgot the most important measurement -- enjoyment. I need to set a new goal of truly enjoying each time i am able to get out there and pound the pavement!
oh - in non running news - i finally got all of my wedding proofs!! woo hoo!!

random thoughts for the day

One random thought and really one random question...

1.) i promise promise promise that if/when i have kids that i will make them take swim lessons and I will not let them quit in 3rd grade because they don't like it - but mostly because they are afraid of the 180 year old swim instructor - who use to scream at kids "I don't swim in your toilet - so you better not pee in my pool." I promise this so that my children will not be as lowsey of a swimmer as i am... let's hope they get their father's genes when it comes to swimming...

2.) If you could quit your job and do anything in the world and get paid for it - what would you do?

A glimpse of Summer, new shoes and another smack in the face of winter

Ok the glimpse of summer - was in Cincinnati for work on Thursday and Friday. I was able to meet up with a friend of mine who lives there for a nice 6 mile run and a fun dinner out. Did I mention I was wearing shorts? shorts! it was beautiful out - shorts and a long sleeve t. that's it. no gloves, no tights, no hats -- I felt like I was running naked - it was wonderful. it was the perfect run - put me in a good mood for days. Well until Saturday that is.

That's when the smack of winter part comes in. Saturday was one of those snowy days when I just did not want to leave the house - or the couch for that matter. Well I promised myself I would sleep in on Saturday - so I did. Then spent the day cleaning the house for the in laws who were coming over for dinner that night. Still no desire to run. I put my brand new running shoes on display in the middle of the dining room table as motiviation - still no desire to run.

So... finally 3 o'clock rolls around. The inlaws are coming at 6. - so if i'm going to do a 12-15 mile run I better get my butt out the door. Steve didn't have to push me this time - i knew I had to go - but I didn't want to. .. I was so angry with the fact that it was cold and too snowy to run on the sidewalks. Well I get outside and my garmin is not working. It won't turn off it won't reset and it won't find a signal. Great. Now i have to run 12-15 miles in circles around the neighborhood and I'll have no idea how far I've gone. So that made me even crabbier.
I started off doing what Elizabeth refers to as a "comb" run on the streets behind my house - since that would not require running through any snow -and I figured I would run for 2 hrs since it was 3:30 by the time I actually got out the door. I went up and down the one street twice and I got even angrier - and decided to explore for awhile. Long story short I was able to get a little further from home b/c some cities actually plow their sidewalks - unlike the fine city I live in. Well it seemed like forever before an hour went by - and I some how managed to run for 1 hr and 54 minutes. I did not have the heart to back track for 6 more minutes. Sometimes when you don't want to go out there - you need to push yourself - other times you should listen and just stay in. I felt like I was running through a wet paper bag that entire time. I can't remember ever enjoying a run so little. I think it's just a sign that I'm done with winter. I quit winter.
But on the positive side - the neighborhoods I ran in are really hilly - so I got some great hill work in... especially the last three miles uphill home. I got home and mapped out what i had run. 13 miles - that's about an 8:45 pace. So good to know - that although the run felt horrible - it was still a good run - and worth getting out there after all.

Now - next week is my 20 miler. Any one know where I can run 20 miles on Saturday at an 8:30- 8:45 pace - not by myself? (We're celebrating steve's b-day on saturday night - so i'm not going to be stupid and try to plan the 20 miler on sunday!) Thinking about running the "just a short race 30k" that monica is running - but just don't know if i can get moving that early to drive that far...

Perceived Exeretion Levels

Steve and I took advantage of our passes for one free spinning class yesterday. This was a first for both of us - and so we weren't sure what to expect. Overall it was a great work out - followed it up with an easy four mile (cramp filled run - note to self do not drink so much water during spin class)
Here is my problem with the whole spinning class. All you have is a red knob and in the instructor would say "turn your knob to add more road" ok - well how much road is enough road? i have no idea. On the wall is a chart of perceived exertion levels. It reminded me of the 1-10 pain chart they have in emergency rooms (another concept i think is silly) So she says ok - you should put on enough road so that you are at a "5" or "ok you should be at an 8 now" Now i was pretty tired - especially since i kept cranking up the road - but having trained for several marathons (i can't even imagine had i done an ultra or an ironman) I feel I've had my moments were I was in a high 8 range. Level 10 is "So tired i can't go on" Maybe i was there after my first marathon?? maybe? so how do you translate that to a one hour spinning class. There is nothing i can do in one hour that is going to make me feel like i did after that first marathon. So - I just kept cranking up the "road" and tried to not sweat on anyone. Think i'll give it another shot - just think the whole thing is a funny concept. Anybody out there have an opinion on spinning classes -- and their value or lack of value?

what a running weekend!

I had one of the best weekends for running in a long time. Started off on Friday morning with a good solid paced run with elizabeth in the morning. Woke up on Saturday morning - and felt just terrible. I don't know if it was nerves or what. I use to get really nervous before races - and lately I've learned just to go out there and whatever happens happens - you are going to have good days and you are going to have bad days. But now that I am seriously working towards getting fast enough to run boston in the next couple of years - i find myself faced with the old pre-race nerves again. I guess it's becuase I've put it out there for people to see - I WANT TO QUALIFY FOR BOSTON. there i've put it out there again.... so what happens if I go out there and run and i'm back to my old 10:30 pace again. What if one day I stop getting faster and just start getting slower again? Will i be the slow fool who thought she could ever be fastest enough for Boston? I know i have issues. Anywho - I got my nerves under control enough to stop my stomach from hurting and to stop gagging - and we set off to St. Malachi.

Steve and I started at the back of the pack - so fortunately I had my watch on - b/c we were about a minute behind gun time. I tried to take it easy on the first mile - didn't want to burn myself out like I usually do - but at the same time that race is so packed in those first couple of turns that I tried my best just to keep trying to get around people. Mile 1 7:33 - nice! especially since i felt like i had not gone out too hard. Mile 2 - just under an 8 minute mile - some where around there I saw Elizabeth while I trying to strip off a layer of clothing - that's what the picture is from. I always seem to over dress! Do you like the sweet all black spandex outfit I was wearing underneath? I need to learn to dress in layers that are more flattering when you lose the outer lays. Mile 3 was uphill - but i was watching all the faster runners fly down the hill in the opposite directions - so i knew if i could keep mile 3 under 8 minutes I would be good. I was starting to believe that i could make the goal i set at the turkey trot of breaking 40 on my next 5 mile race. Got to mile 3 23:48 or something like that - I was so excited to still be under 8 minute miles that I flew down the mile hill 4. Hit mile 4 somwhere around 30-31 something so i knew I really could break 40. I started to uphill finish and was pushing as hard as i could - almost threw up like i do every year on that hill - and i could see the clock about to hit 40. Fortunately i had my watch so I knew I was ok. Final chip time 39:16! 8th in my age group out of 93. I was so excited you would think i had just won the chicago marathon or something! Oh and steve also ran his best race ever - it was a good day all around!

So next day met with SERC to do 15 miles. There were six of us that ran the first 12 together. My goal was to keep my pace under 9 minutes the whole time. We ran the first 12 loop - and then four of us set out again to do another 6 miles. I felt really good til about mile 17 - at which point my feet and back were just done. but the good news - according to elizabeth - we ran at about an 8:50 pace overall!! whoo hoo!! What a great 18 mile run - now if i can just keep this up for the rest of my long runs - I'll be in great shape!!!

friday morning runs

Decided yesterday that I needed a day off - was beginning to feel a little burned out. So the hubby and I made dinner and drank some wine while watching tv - with ...get this... our windows open - yes it was actually that warm that we had the windows open for most of the early evening...woo hoo.

For the 2nd friday in a row i've run with espeed before work. I think it is clear that i am not a morning person - however I love running on friday mornings for some reason. It just seems like a great start to the weekend. Maybe it's because when I leave work - I can just relax - and not try and squeeze a run in. Plus I just like running with espeed on her easier days b/c they really push me - and I think running with someone who pushes me is the only way I seem to get out of my pace rut. I just always hope i don't slow her down too much!
Anway last week - we had a minor injury to report during the run - a parking lot sign reached out and bit me in the arm last week - scared me more than hurt me - still I learned to watch out for those darn signs (especially when it is windy out!) However today was a more significant injury report - poor espeed found a nice piece of ice and took a nasty spill. Being the trooper that she is - she brushed herself off and kept going. It wasn't til we got a few miles further down the road that she discovered the real damage she did to her hip... Do you remember the scene in the movie A League of Their Own where the girl's hip is all bruised and scrapped from sliding on the bases? I think e speed might have a bruise to rival this! Anyway that's all for now - happy weekend to all of you!

shamrock 15k

It doesn't take much to make me happy. Have a race where you give out long sleeve tech shirts and have bobbleheads for the age group awards and I am as happy as a clam!

Well as the day started off I wasn't certain what to expect at the shamrock 15k - as we headed out that morning i expected to see a snow covered mess - and was expecting to just have a fun run. Well when we got there I was suprised to see the roads down to bare pavement. I had originally planned on getting an 18 miler in - by running the course twice. But that morning I assumed that would be a bit ambitious on a snow covered hilly course - so I didn't bring my water belt or ipod or garmin - or any of the things I deem esential for an 18 mile jaunt. So I decided to just go for the 9.3.

The race started off downhill for about 3 miles or so and then took a steep steep turn up hill. (it was more of a staircase than a hill) I ran the first couple of miles with Monica and then ended up running with a very nice man for a few miles. He was running a bit faster than I could handle on all those hills - so I lost him eventually. But between the two of them - it made the run fly by quicker. Well as I was running I was amazed at how much longer we spent coming up the hill then we did going down - didn't seem quite right. I was invisioning us having to jump down off a cliff to get back to the finish. Anyway - once i realized that the uphills weren't going to stop anytime soon - I realized that this was a great training run for the pig. So i tried to pass a few more old men before the end of the race - and I ended up finishing in 1:20:27 - about a 8:36 pace I believe. I was pretty excited about that - and I ended up 3rd in my age group. Oh and as a special bonus - steve got an age group award in the 5k - so our m antel now has a his and hers matching set of running bobbleheads! gotta love it!

what a weekend!

Here's some snowy pictures from the blizzard of 08!

too much too soon and brand new towels.

why do I always do this? i start something and I go waaay overboard. This going to the gym in the morning thing. good idea right? well for a person that does not easily fall asleep before midnight most nights - this is a tough transition - so one would think this would be something said person would kind of ease into. I don't know - start off with a couple times a week -- not every morning since you joined the gym. I couldn't fall asleep last night and so slept through the alarm. Was suppose to meet espeed for a swim - and didn't make it -- and i don't want to be that person. that person that says they'll be somewhere and doesn't show. sorry espeed. but i guess i learned my lesson. maybe for now i'll focus on going to the gym in the morning 2-3 mornings a week - not 5. that will certainly make it easier to guarantee that i will be there on the days i plan. on an upside though - since i got to shower at home this morning - i finally got to use the brand new towels we got as wedding gifts... it was like showering at a spa!

put your money where your mouth is.

Alright i finally bit the bullet and registered for the pig. I know i know - i've been saying for months now that i was going to run the pig - so I should have been signed up by now. I don't know - i guess there was a small part of me that was afraid I wouldn't actually be able to do it - training in the winter is hard enough - let alone with everything else i had going on. But - i realized last night enough is enough - stop making excuses - and put your money where your mouth is. I guess i'm just afraid that all the progress i've made in the last year is going to be for nothing - and i'm going to go out there and run a 4:45 marathon again. I know i am capable of a 4 hr marathon - i think the only thing that is standing in my way is my brain. ugh. so positive thoughts only.

I hit snooze one time too many on sunday and didn't make the to catch a leprechaun race - guess i'm glad i didn't pre-register. So instead i did my 12 miles by myself that afternoon. Overall pace 8:35 -- not too shabby! especially since I picked up my pace on the second half of the run. So - schedule says 18 miles next week. Can't stand to do that one alone. I found a 15k race - the Shamrock run in cuyahoga falls that is at noon on sunday (I wish all races started at noon!) I might just run that course twice. We'll see though. Oh - and I swam a mile this morning... i stopped every 50 yards - but I swam a mile - baby steps here people... baby steps!

back to the pool!

I joined a new rec center last night - so no more excuses for not getting in the pool anymore! I took it slowly last night and just swam 550 yards. Just wanted to get the feel of being in the pool again. I think it has been almost a year since the pool at our rec center was shut down and I haven't swam anywhere else. So needless to say that wasn't helping any of my triathlon plans! But now i have no excuses - My plan for tomorrow a.m. is to swim 1000 yards. We'll see how that goes -- oh and did you notice i said a.m.? And... I actually mean that. Me - the night owl actually went to the gym this morning to run and lift. And.... I have to go tomorrow -b/c the hubby is going to go there to swim and he is my ride to work tomorrow! So that will be two days in one week!! go me! miracles never cease.

sticking to the schedule

The last month has been really hard to stick to my pig training schedule. With everything that was going on - I was lucky to get in what i could get in - - but for the most part - i stuck with my scheduled weekend long run - which is good.

Now that I'm back to reality - it's still tough to get the runs in - even though I don't have the time - my winter motivation is pretty low. I have to tell you - if it wasn't for Steve almost literally pushing me out the door most nights - I don't know that I would get my runs in at all - especially the long ones!

Yesterday I was due for a 16 miler. I have not run anything longer than 13.1 miles since a year ago october (that's what happens when you stop training for a specific race!) So - needless to say the mileage seemed a little daunting. So good old steve - shoved me out the door to cover a portion of the neighborhood that was an eight mile route. He said "can you do 8 today?" I said yes - so he shoved me out the door - and told me to come back in after 8 and reassess. So that's exactly what i did - came back in the house - switched into some dry clothes had some gatorade grabbed my now charged garmon and ran in random circles around the neighborhood til I got 8 more miles in. The run was slower than what I have been doing - about a 9:20 pace. I would like to run the pig at a 9:10 pace - so this worries me a bit - but then again it is the middle of winter - and I was taking it easy -- so maybe i'll be ok. Now i'm debating about whether to do the 15k or the 30k at the to catch a leprechaun race on sunday... hmmm decisions decisions...

survey

ok - so i have the hardest time in the world getting morning workouts in. So my question - is am i just lazy/too unmotivated to face the cold darkness of a pre-dawn winter run - or am i just going to bed too late? or what is it? how do other people do it? I don't have children - just me - and I still can't seem to get it done. So here is my survey for those of you who do morning workouts.

1.) what time do you go to bed at night?

2.) what time do you need to leave to go to work?

3.) what time do you get up to get your workout in?

4.) where do you work out - gym, around house, by work?

Just curious - what your routines are - maybe i can get some advice/motivation from you motivating early birds!

Back to life

So - i'm back - back to so called normal life. Don't think it's really set in just yet- i'm still a little jet-lagged to realize that i'm back at my old desk again and not in Hawaii. I am excited that although work is still going to be crazy - my evenings are no longer filled with wedding appointments - so that is a nice feeling. Now all i have to do is unearth our house from all the wedding/honeymoon piles that have taken over.

The trip to Hawaii was amazing - it's hard to believe that such a beautiful place exists - and that the whole world doesn't just pick up and move there! I got a couple of nice runs in while i was there - my body is definately not ready for running in 85 degrees in sun through lava fields - but I did all right. Oh - i have to tell you about the half marathon. Well - it was described as a scenic rolling hills course with timing chips. Well - not quite - don't get me wrong - I'm so glad i did it - but it was a rough a course - and it was a small field of about 100 runners - . Well since i wasn't planning on running a race - i didn't bring a watch with me - but i thought that's ok - i'll just get my times at the mile markers - or at the very least i'll get my chip times afterwards. ha! there were no chips to speak of - and i thought ok - there will be someone somewhere with a stop watch. Well i passed the first mile, then the second, then the third, then the fourth - -still no stop watch. so i thought - alright just go with - you're on your honeymoon - just run to run in this beautiful place. Well i made friends with a surgeon from british columbia around the 7 mile mark. We ran together for about a mile - and he had a watch - so i learned that i was on pace to pretty easily run about a 1:55 - sweet - a random half marathon and I would finally break two hours. Well - as i mentioned - for a pale girl from ohio - 85 degrees can be a bit of a shock. I very quickly started feeling really bad. I just tried to keep going to the next water stop where i was hoping there would be gatorade. no such luck - no gatorade on the course. I started to walk and was really worried about even finishing. I took a gu which helped for awhile - but i found myself on the last few miles just hoping to finish. by the time i got near the end - i saw steve waiting for me - and i said this in my worst race ever - how long has it been? 3 hrs? he's like what are you talking about? so i finished and guess what - no clocks! steve was pretty sure it was just over two hours - but I didn't know for sure. It took me til yesterday to track down the results on the internet. my 'official time' 2:04:16. It was a rough race - but that is actually still a personal best. I should have broken 2 hrs that day - but oh well - there is always the next race right?

save the whales

ok - so Steve and I are on our honeymoon - and i know that i shouldn't even be looking at my blog... but steve and I just got online real quick to send some photos home from hawaii - and I thought I'd take a second to share with you running geeks some exciting news... so steve and i decided to go on a whale watching tour while we are in Maui - well when we went to check out the details of the trip - i noticed a flyer for the "Save the whales" 1/2 marathon and 5k. So... steve and I signed up -- who does a half marathon on their honeymoon?? I do I'm so excited - i'll let you guys know how it goes -it's a pretty small race - only about 100 people did the half last year - but it should be fun-- and hopefully i'll get a t-shirt with a whale on it!

11 miles and i'm down for the count...

I've been trying really hard to make sure that with all the craziness that is my life and the wedding and work right now - that i make sure that i make time to get my long runs in on the weekends. The weekly mileage isn't quite where i want - but at least i've been able to keep building my long runs. I even went as far as to take a half day vacation the friday of my bachlorette party so i could get my long run in! So this past saturday I set out to do my 11 mile run - hoping to maintain an overall 8:35 pace. Well I started off really well - running closer to 8:10's. It was a great day for running and I was happy with my run. Well on my way out I saw a girl running towards me - i gave her the runner nod hello and kept going in oppposite directions. Well I went about 1.5 miles more out before turning around. Well not too long after i turned around i caught up to this girl. I'm no speed demon - but it was clear to me that i was running faster than this girl since I caught up with her fairly easily. Well as i'm running next to her i realize that she is holding her cell phone in her hand and running while talking on speaker phone. I couldn't handle being by that for more than a few moments so i passed her and moved on. Well as luck would have it i get stopped at the next light - and here comes old cell phone talker. well that's fine i'll just speed up -- well as i speed up - she speeds up - like she's trying to race me - well she starts huffing and puffing b/c she's talking on the phone - and i pick it up a little more and I get away from her. Well i look down and notice my shoe is untied. Stop to tie my shoe and the next light and here she comes again! She tries to stay with me again - so i just kicked it in and got the hell away from her. why would you want to try and stay next to someone and make them listen to your phone conversation about people at work?
So the rest of the run went well til about mile 9. I started to get a little dizzy - but realized that i could really slow down the last two miles and get the time i wanted. well i got to the point where i was barely picking up my feet - and yes the last half mile was straight up hill - but still. Well i got in the car and was happy with my time 1hr 36 min for a little over 11 miles -
Well i rushed home shoved a little food in me even though i was starving during the run. long story short - met my friends at the mall to help me pick out an outfit for the rehearsal dinner. we didn't eat dinner til 9 o'clock - by that time i was so sick i had to go home - i couldn't stay out to help my friend celebrate her birthday. Well by the time i got home - things got way worse - i spent the next three days throwing up with a fever and all sorts of body aches. Ended up going to the doctor. stomach flu. just what a girl needs 2 and half weeks before her wedding! i ended up missing two days of work - i don't think i've ever missed two days of work in a row for being sick! Anyway finally feeling better today - don't think my body is quite ready for a run yet though - so i may not reach my goal of keeping with my long runs.

dreams

I was going to write about some of the runs i have done lately, or the fact that we are now at 24 days from the wedding, or perhaps share some stories about my bachlorette ski trip last weekend. Instead I let you all into the weird world of my dream land.
Well i woke up this morning in a cold sweat - well apparently my dream i was having was very upsetting to me. In my dream i was running a marathon - and things were going well - except for the fact that we had to keep stopping at detours and stopping to complete different tasks. Well at a certain point in the race a man came out and was handing out yellow pieces of paper that said a number on it. He was shouting out that we were on pace to finish in four hours sixteen minutes and two seconds (why two seconds i'm not sure) well steve got one and I grabbed the last paper - because anyone who didn't grab a paper wasn't allowed to finish the race. Well it turns out that steve's good friend jeff who hates running - and will never run a marathon - was up ahead of us and he came back to check on us and didn't get a yellow paper. Well in my dream i started sobbing b/c it was my dream to finish a race in 4 hours 16 minutes and 2 seconds - and although i knew jeff should have my yellow paper instead of me - i knew he hadn't even trained for the race. So we decided to say screw the system and we all kept running. Well at this point the race turned into a version of tackle the tower and I was leading all of the people at the back of the pack up these stairs and ladders only to find when we go to the top that it was a dead end. So we all had to climb back down and go into this big room where we discovered that to make it to the next part of the race we had to do some sort of science experiment. Well other groups were finishing up their task - and steve and jeff would not tell me what we were suppose to do -- all i knew was that it involved sottering something - but that was it - well in the meantime steve was telling stories about his old cell phone at his job ten years ago - and not working the task. So i started sobbing again b/c now there was no way we were going to finish in 4 hours 16 minutes and 2 seconds. Then i woke up drenched in sweat. Not sure what that means -- maybe that i should see a doctor! ok - that's the end of your secret special glimpse into my scary world!

first annual xmas run

so - i've been waiting to blog til steve uploaded the pictures from our first annual christmas day fun run! Well - he hasn't done it, hasn't done it - well today i checked his blog -- not sure why since he hasn't updated it since september... well the little stinker uploaded the picture on his blog!!! check out steve's link - http://irontri-steve.blogspot.com/ to see the picture. I wore a santa hat and steve wore an elf hat - I think we made at least a few people in the neighborhood smile that morning. My plan is to keep doing the same 3 mile route every year til we get people to start joinging us. It will probably not happen - but i'll keep running it - just in case! hope you all had a great christmas and new year's.

rest day!

just woke up from an hour and a half long nap!! it's the perfect day outside to curl up and take a nice long cat nap! I had two good runs these last couple of days bringing my weekly mileage up to 23 miles - not quite where i want it - but higher than it has been - so that's good. Friday night I set out for a nice 5-6 mile run around the nieghborhood. Lesson learned - although the portion of the street you are living on has clean sidewalks - does not mean all of the neighboring streets have clean sidewalks! I ran down my street and turned down a street that doesn't have sidewalks - first mile eight minutes flat - nice! then i hit the slush ... my next miles drop down to nine minutes flat b/c i couldn't get up the hills with the snowy slushish mess under my feet! I decided to name this run the "first annual bridget's five mile snowcone fun run and snowbank steeple chase"! (I'm working on the t-shirts now!) No i seriuosly got back some of my old high school hurdling form jumping over all the snowbanks the plows made at the end of people's driveways. Well it ended up being a decent run - i found a new neighborhood to explore - and some good christmas lights. i went back the next day to take a picture of this one house that has lights that are fake tulips in their flower bed - they're kind of hard to see in this picture.

So yesterday I DID NOT want to run. As i've told a lot of you - for months now i've been running 5-6 miles pretty much everytime I run. I haven't done a long run for months. However, now that i have decided to do the pig - i have no excuse to not start ramping up the long miles. So - i decided start off small - just do an eight miler on saturday - not exactly a long run - but bumping up the mileag a bit. all i can say - is thank god for steve - who literally forced me to go running. he said "just go - i'll see you when you are happy when you get back" i yelled that it was windy and cold and I was tired and he couldn't make me run. Well i got out there and quickly realized that one part of my tantrum was completely wrong - i twas not cold - windy yes - but not cold so i was a bit overdressed. but short of taking of my tights and running in my drawers there wasn't much i could do about it - and if i went back home i knew i was going out again. Well as i was still grumbling to myself about running and how heavy my legs felt when i stepped in not one but two puddles and got sprayed by a bus driving by. During my run i saw a huge hawk - i took a picture of that too. i'll have to get a phone with a better camera to document my runs. Well i ended up running a little over eight miles at a 8:35 pace. I'm really happy with that.

On a sad note - as i was writing this steve just got a call that a good friend from his work passed away yesterday. This guy battled leukemia, graph versus host disease and whole bunch of other things that i don't know if i would be strong enough to battle. In the end his body couldn't take anymore. Please say a prayer for him - he will be missed.

Pig 2008

Wow - i can not believe it is December 20th already!!! I am never going to get all of my work done by the end of the month!!!! aggghhhh!!
Anywho - I took some time yesterday to work out my training schedule in order to get me ready for the Pig in 2008. So - it's official - i'll sign up for the pig next pay check! I know that i'll need to fine tune the schedule - but at least it's an outline of what my long runs need to be. And...I have an idea of where I need to be right now - which will be a lot better than the random running i'm doing right now. Plus - I always do better when i have a schedule where I can cross off things as I do them.
I don't really have much else to say right now -- but guess what? I think that tomorrow is the shortest day of the year... which means... the days are getting longer - which means - before you know it we can stop being vampires and start running in the daylight again!!! woo hoo!! ok - back to work...wish me luck!

i'm so tired...

Well I cracked open a red bull at 8:30 this morning. Not a good sign. I'm not sure what's wrong with me. I thought i was rested from this weekend - we literally slept all day long on saturday - i can't remember ever doing that - but we got up at about 3:30 in the afternoon... who does that? well regardless i felt great come monday. We were able to get a ton of wedding stuff done the last couple of days -- and although not enough - i got a ton of work stuff done too. But i am just dragging. I really want to ramp up my workouts - get back in the pool - take a spinning class - something - but it seems all i can do is be happy if i get a workout of some sort in 3-4 times a week. I guess i need to just deal with it over the next 51 days. there is only so much time in a day right? I guess planning a wedding right after the holidays, redoing the house and working an insane job all while trying to train is a bit more than i thought it would be. all i know is 53 days til hawaii.... ahhh!!!

"There's a lot of people who would run in this shit, but i believe i am not one of them" Steve S.

Well I think Steve's quote sums it up. I was having the "to gym or not to gym" dilema today. I hate going to the gym - I know that strength training is necessary - but I just get no satisfaction out of lifting a heavy metal object repeatedly. What is the point - at least if you go for a run or for a ride - you get to go somewhere and see something. Guess that's part of the reason I loathe treadmills. (That and it's tough to run on one of those when you are the type of person who has trouble running in a straight line as it is!)
So anyway - i was having the internal diliema of to run outside in the cold or go to the gym and lift some rocks for awhile. Well i checked the weather channel. 32 degrees -- perfect! Still didn't want to get out there. So I stuck my head outside and realized it was pouring rain! So i decided to be a wuss and go to the gym. Maybe it was nature's way of telling me to get back to strength training. I was hoping that the temperature would drop the half of a degree necessary to turn the nasty rain into snow - but no such luck. So i went to the gym, got a good lift in and ran for about 30 minutes on the dreaded treadmill. I did some messed up version of an interval training workout. Not sure if it did much for me -- but at least it made the time go by faster. (mental note - look up some good treadmill workouts)
Oh and good news. Ever since I got my new shoes I have been having horrible arch and heel pain. And my toes have been falling asleep midrun. Well i was using a pair of less agressive arch supports - put the old more agressive ones in (even though they are worn down) and my feet did not fall asleep and my arches do not hurt. good thing - b/c i wasn't looking forward to taking any time off.

holly cow!

58 days til we get married. agghh!!! just needed to share the fact that i am overwhelmed with life at the moment... why can't my work just pay me to plan my wedding and let someone else do my work?? maybe i should see if they'll let me have a co-op - then i can make the co-op do all of my wedding planning. how funny would that be? I just can't believe we are down to 58 days -- that means we can actually apply for our marriage liscense. I remember telling steve after we set the date that it seemed as though we were never going to get married b/c it was so far away -- now here it is creeping up quickly!!
I think i am losing my mind... My boss told me that i need to see a doctor after I showed up to work an hour and half late because I
1.) i overslept
2.) i had to return to the house to check if the iron was plugged in
3.) had to return to check if my straightner was plugged in
4.) had to return to the house to look for my cell phone that was in pocket.
5.) got to work and said i thought i might need to go home to see if the stove was turned on
6.) told him about how i managed to get cheese all over my floor and sock that morning which delayed me as well.

Now in addition to that my cell phone is playing games with me. i have spent probably a good hour and a half this week alone looking for the darned thing. my favorite was yesterday when i finally pulled into a wallmart parking lot to try and track the bugger down in my car -- well i found it under the drivers seat -but i couldn't get it or my hand out from under the seat for a good five minutes...

ok that's it -going crazy and thought i'd let you all in on it.

666

666! What kind of omen is it when you are waiting in line to pick up your race number and you are handed a 666? Well for most normal people it's not an omen at all - rather it's just a number that enables you to get your correct time at end of said race. Well for an over analyzer like me I thought - well maybe I'll run like the devil -- or maybe it's going to be a bad day. Well, since my running ephinany of a few weeks ago - i'm starting to become a little psycho about analyzing my times. For instance i had looked at the past i don't know how many years of results at the reindeer run and decided that i was going to finish in the top 10 of my age group, i looked at the course map and decided that although the my fasted 5k in oh approximately 10 years was a 24:55 at the pig skin classic a few weeks ago - i decided that i should be able to bust out a 22 minute run.

Well I woke up that morning and thought - well i better go out there and run in the 22's or at the very least get in the 23's or this whole running ephiphany of mine will be farse. Well then i got the 666 number at which point i decided i hated my new shoes and that my running jacket i bought last year was nothing more than a large parachute and that today was not going to be a good day. How does one psych themselves out that bad?
Anywho... as usual we didn't get there in time to have any sort of warm up -- unless of course you count jogging from the car to the pavillion - so when the bell went off I was stiff and cold - but i thought - well just go out there and run the three miles. Usually when i run in a race i try to pick someone and mentally reel them in - as a way of keeping myself from slowing down. Well i was having a really hard time reeling in these two old guys and I thought sheesh today is just not my day -- i'm barely moving - all these people are passing me -- i knew today was going to be bad. Oh - and have you ever been running and gotten a stick or something stuck to the bottom of your shoe? That's what my shoe felt like -- so i spent a few minutes trying to drag my left foot along the road to scrape the offending object off my shoe -- only there didn't seem to be anything on the bottom of my shoe. I must have looked like I had a stroke or something - running along dragging my left foot behind me! Not so sure about the new shoes by the way - love the color - but i think maybe with this particular model of shoe, they've finally altered it enough that i may have to switch my alligence to another shoe. Ok - back to the race...

Well after what seemed like at least 20 minutes (i had forgotten my watch at home) i finally get to the mile marker and my time is 7:28 -- obviously i was not slugging along like i had thought! well then my brain kicked in - and said well dummy you lined up closer to the start line than you normally do - so you were up with faster people - that's why you couldn't reel them in - which made me feel better - but at the same time I was feeling pretty crappy and was worried that my pace was going to drop way off. Well then I got stuck next to a couple of people with jingle bells on their shoes, a loud breather, a grunter, and kid that sounded like he was running in clown shoes with each step. I knew I couldn't stay with that pack for the rest of the race or I would go mad! I saw i girl up ahead that had her shoe untied so i decided to catch up to her to let her know about her shoe. She was grateful to me and the next ten zillion people that told her about her shoe i'm sure! Anyway - I thought - just stick with this girl to the end. Well we pass the mile two mark and i'm at 15:20 or 15:30 something I don't remember -- but i remember thinking holy cow - yes my pace dropped off a bit - but I'm still running under and 8 minute mile -- maybe a 23 is in the cards today. As I turned the corner after the 3 mile mark I tried to kick it in - but it was one of those days that i was trying not to show the finish line my breakfast - so i just kept it strong and as i crossed the line I saw 24:09 -- which i was initially disappointed in. But... official time...23:58!!! Woo hoo -- i broke 24 for the first time in 10 years -- and I ended up #10 - out of 44 in my age group -- so mission accomplished for the day. Maybe if i stop being such a head case and start expending all of the effort i put into over-analyzing into training - maybe I'll be able to break 21 early on in the new year! Maybe i'll make my new year's resolution to stop over analysing and self doubting!!! Think i'll get a jump on it a little early though... sheesh this is a long post for such a short race!!

new shoes!!!

What better motivation is there for going out for a run on a cold wintery friday night than a new pair of shoes, a spanking brand new neon yellow vest and a head lamp? Ok so i'm on something like my eighth pair of gel nimbus' but these are even cooler b/c check out the name of the shoe's color..."Brown/Rootbeer/Latte" Maybe the rootbeer shoes will help me reach all my new goals! I'll keep you posted. Maybe I should start drinking rootbeer as well hmmm... maybe there is a theory in here somewhere...

Running in Snow

So is it weird that i woke up early the day after thanksgiving... looked out the window and said "it snowed! i'm going for a run!"? Now, had i looked outside and saw that it was gray and just kind of wet - i wouldn't have been so excited about running - but the fact that it snowed was enough to get me up and moving. This run was pretty cool b/c of the weird fall we've had... while the ground was covered with snow and even the streets had not been totally cleared - there we still leaves on the trees. This one particularly beautiful yellow that looked like it finally gave in once the snow came b/c on top of the snow was a beautiful ring of freshly fallen yellow leaves. While i was running i was thinking about an article in runners world that was talking about not gaining weight over the holidays. The one articles said get out there and run, even if it's not your best run, the longer you keep your legs moving the more calories you burn up. Well maybe that's not what it said - but that's what i got out of it. Let me tell you that was the only thing that kept moving that day - my legs were like lead! When all was said and done i ran about 4.5 miles at about a nine minute pace -- not real quick - but i burned off some turkey and got to see some really awesome sights of fall clashing with winter.

Turkey Trot

So Steve and I ran the turkey trot for this first time this thanksgiving. let me tell you - i am so glad that we signed up ahead of time - b/c there is no way i would have gotten up that morning to go run if I had not already paid my money and had my goofy turkey t-shirt in hand. Let me start by saying i love running in the snow...but i hate hate hate running in 34-40 rainy cold nastiness -- and that is exactly what was in store for me when i woke up the morning. funny it was 65 degrees the previous afternoon -- ahh gotta love ohio. So anyway I decided to just get the five miles in - not to worry too much about my time -- - just get out there and run. Well the race started and I almost got run over by some chocolate lab that was not on a leash - that was just having a grand old time running in between all the runners and barking at other dogs. there were an awful lot of dogs out there on thursday -- not sure why. but i digress -- the first mile was sooooo long and when i got there the guy said "9:20" and I was like oh well guess it's going to be a bad day. then i remembered to check the time on my watch... "7:45" much better. So instead of slowing down on mile two like i always seem to do - i made it my goal to catch as many people as I could. The race went really well from there on out. The only real tough part was where the race turned to go down and around brown's stadium. I was thinking to myself - oh good you can speed up here on the downhill -- not so much -- the wind was blowing so hard and the rain had turned into sleet/ice so i was running with one eye shut trying to make it down the hill. Now i have fallen down hills before -- but i have never had this much trouble getting to the bottom of a hill!! it was a relief when we turned to go back up the hill and the wind was at our backs! Anyway - five miles - final time 40:55 -- 26 out of 198 in my age group-- and something like 549 out of 1875 or something like that -- i am very happy -- goal next year - -top ten in my age group and next five miler -- breaking 40... enough rambling for now... happy running!!

funny outfits

ok - since i haven't written in so long i have a lot of thoughts to share today. Yesterday - got home from work and got dressed for my run. Black running tights (very proud of myself - have gotten over enough self-consciousness to actually wear tights in public with out shorts over them) bright orange long sleeve shirt, water belt, reflective vest for safety and topped it all off with one red glove and one teal glove. For those of you that have run with us - you will note that steve and i have about four sets of these one teal glove, one red glove combinations -- why we can't pair the correct colors together you ask? not sure - apparently we think dressing like a clown will help our run. who knows. well i was sitting there looking at how stinking dark it is outside thinking to myself -- so much for the running ephinany of earlier in the day - i do not want to go out into the dark. then i looked at myself in the mirror and said i should not go out in public like this -- i look insane -- kind of like a rambo crossing guard -- i tried to take a picture with my cell phone but it didn't come out real clear - hopefully i can upload it. But looking at my ridiculousness i realized that this is part of why i do this... is it ridiculous to go run in the dark where there are no sidewalks dressed like a clown when other people are sitting on their nice warms couches? yes it is - and that is exactly what i love about running. I took my watch - not to time myself - simply to make sure i had some idea of how long i was out there for - and i just ran. I simply ran - I got stuck in the middle of hillside road where it was pitch black with no sidewalks. i had to jump out of the way of several cars who apparently could not see my stylish vest -- but i made it safe and sound and thoroughly enjoyed my run. I felt like I was jogging the whole time - not putting out to much effort -- i mapped out where i had gone when i got home... 6.5 miles at exactly a 9 minute pace -- pretty good for being just an easy jog for me. Imagine if i would have pushed it...

i'm back

i've had an ephiany of sorts - i may not know how to spell the word - but i'm pretty certain that's what happened -- a running ephiany. this ephinany occured to me on monday november 18th. here's the story. I haven't been running too much lately - i've been exercising - don't get me wrong - but i've been exercising to lose weight - not to train for anything specific -- there is a very big difference between the two. When you are just exercising to lose weight - you'll do what ever is easier and more convenient - hence why i've been getting most of my workouts on the bike trainer. With my schedule as hectic as it has been - i'll take a calorie burning workout whenever i can - and most of the time it's at about eleven o'clock at night (and even in our safe city - i don't think that's the best idea to go for a run at that time of night by myself) or at 5:30 in the morning it's a lot easier to drag your butt out of bed to just go down to your warm basement where you can work out while watching whatever shows you've tivo'd during the week than it is to get your butt out in the dark to go for a run. Oh and the pool at the rec center has been closed for i think about five months -- so here i am spinning a lot and running when I can. The only redeming this is I am doing well on the weight loss front -- went from a size 10 - 157 lbs to currently a size 6 - 133 pounds. I'd like to be on the other side of 130 - but these last few pounds are slow going. So here's the weird thing - running less - not training for everything - so not calculating all the miles and all the minutes - and i find i'm getting faster. Is it merely b/c of the weight loss? is it b/c i'm for once not over analyzing myself?

well back to the ephiany - I ran the pigskin 5k on saturday - my goal was to run eight minute miles -- guess what i did it -- finished in 24:54 which is just above an eight minute mile. and guess what -- if i hadn't freaked out that the first mile was too fast and that if i didn't slow down i would end up running a forty minute 5k -- then i probably could have run maybe a 23 something. I swear i am my worst enemy when i comes to running - if i'm going to slow - i get way down on myself - if i'm going to fast - i say woah slow down you can't go that fast. so i started thinking about running and what i've accomplished since i started back up again. so i went through and i made a file of pdf's of all the races i've done since steve and i started back to running in 2005. Here's what i've found -- i've accomplished a lot - 2 marathons and 3 half marathons - plus a ton of other races. I'm pretty proud of myself. But when i look at my times - i know that i can do better. most of my 5k times are around 29 minutes -- and not that there is anything wrong with that - but back in the day when i was not nearly in as good of shape as i am now - i could bust out a sub 21 minutes 5k. So I started thinking about it, trying to figure out what is holding me back - is it the crazy work schedule, along with getting married in 73 days along with trying to redo an entire house, perhaps a bit - but the real culprit is me. So - here's the challenge i'm issuing myself -- stop selling yourself short - you are capable of more than you think. Number two - i'm putting my two main goals out there for everyone to see (well steve and elizabeth - the ones who read this blog anyway)

#1) sub 21 minute 5k
#2) sub 1 hours 50 minute half marathon
#3) sub 4 hour marathon
#4) complete olympic length triathlon

I've got a long long way to go to get there -- namely cutting 48 minutes off my marathon time -- but i know i'm capable. it's no longer a matter of can i do a marathon or a half marathon -- now it's a matter of getting my butt through that distance a whole lot faster

who needs to train for a half marathon?

Ok - so it's been a rough couple of months, my leg was hurt, my back was hurt etc... i know whine and complain whine and complain. Well i took about two - two and half months off of running. I started swimming a bunch and spinning on the trainer to keep in shape - but no running - save the 5k chili bowl that I ran. I missed st malachi and to catch a leprechaun (i'm pretty upset about not having these shirts) So long story short - a while back i signed up for the DC National 1/2 marathon. Steve and I were planning on going down there, do some sight seeing, visit his cousins and I would run the race. Well seeing as how I haven't run over six miles since I crossed the finish line at Nike on October 22nd - i wasn't sure how this race was going to well. Well i just started running - up behind the capital building - down to the washington monument... it was one of the best feeling races I've ever run. I ended up beating my first half marathon time by a minute or two and I finished that race with the biggest smile on my face ever. I looked over at Steve and said "Who says you need to train for a half marathon?" I was so happy that i was able to run the race that well let alone run the whole thing with out being swept off the course. I didn't think I had it in me after such a long break. So post race rap up - everything felt really good - think my leg is back to normal back isn't doing to bad - so it's back to running this week. Hopefully when the cinci 1/2 marathon comes around in 5 weeks I'll be a little more physically prepared and hopefully I'll be able to run it just like DC -- no overanalysing -- just enjoying the run for the sake of the run. I'm thinking about doing the towpath marathon in the fall -- anyone have any thoughts on that one?