Not as easy as it looks.....

The Patrol Stroll race on Saturday (9/26) was the perfect motivational pick me up! We had a blast. The weather cooperated (started raining after we left) and the atmosphere was energetic. Me, Calvin, and my younger sister, Sallie, participated in the race.

Wanting a race PR, we lined up close to the start. There were only 141 runners for the 5k. Calvin's time was 24:56, mine was 30:55, and Sallie's was 41:19. New PR for us all! My last 5k time was 34 minutes, give or take, and Sallie's was around 45. Sallie isn't a road runner. She runs mostly on the treadmill at the gym...she did an amazing job shaving off almost 4 minutes since June. I can't remember what Calvin's previous PR was but he said this was the fastest his ever run a 5k! Running is truly amazing. When I did my first 5k, June 2008, I finished in 45 minutes and had a terrible migraine afterward. Truly amazing what a year of training can do.

Early Sunday morning Calvin, me, Anne, and her friend (lets call him Jay to protect the not so innocent) set out for our 10 mile long run. It was lightly raining and cool. Jay hasn't run with us before and, since he can run 6 miles on the treadmill, thought he could keep up. Some say that because we interval (run 3 minutes:walk 1 minute) during the long runs that it's not as hard as it seems, I beg to differ.

We planned to do an out and back from Shelley Lake down the Crabtree trail extension toward the mall. Miles 1-5 went off without a hitch. Jay made several mistakes to begin but managed to make it to mile 5 without complaint. Hungover, no water, cotton shirt and long pants, and the fact that he is untrained, Jay was determined he could do this.

I loaned Jay one of my 10 oz water bottles which he refilled at the turn around point. As we head back toward Shelley, Jay begins to complain about cramps and told us to keep moving, he would catch up with us later. Fearing Jay may get lost (he isn't from here) and worried he may get progressively sick, we would run ahead, turn around and run back to him. Each interval, Jay is looking more and more ghost like. Not as easy as it looks, huh? NO, I didn't say this to him but that's what I was thinking.

We all finally made it back to Shelley after a 2 hour run. Later, Anne texted to say she had to make an emergency pit stop so Jay could get sick......... Sooooo to those who have the idea that running intervals is easy, join us for our next 10+ miler and let's see what you are made of. ;) LOL!!

Jennie meets the WALL....

5 weeks remain before our marathon...one more long run with the Galloway group, the race, and I am free. Yes, this is how I feel. We have been training for almost 6 months and I'm burnt out. Motivation is shot. This is my story.....

The Long Run....a devious slave driver wielding a heavy whip. 23 miles ahead, feet pounding pavement, I lumber farther then I have ever been. (It's not news that I dread the super long runs. These days I consider a meager 10 miles to be cake in comparison to the tortuous distances the Galloway program puts us through.) Alas it must be done, muscles aching, bones rattling, will tested, I press forward just to say I did it...

Miles 1-20 went well with the usual signs of fatigue appearing at mile 15. My feet and knees begin to ache....this is normal and easy to push through. We round Shelley Lake back to the meeting point, the long run is mercifully over for the 20 milers. I watch with jealous eyes as Anna trots to her car. We push on, my mind begging me to stop, MY FEET HURT! I don't think I can go any further and if Calvin wasn't with me I would have hidden in the trees until everyone was gone, slunk back to my car, and sulked all the way home. But he motivates me, "you're wussing out" he says.

One.....twwwwooooo moooorreee millleessss......I can't, I just can't go any more. Please, please have mercy on me 23 miles! Oh no, here they come, d@mn chipper diabetic guy and his leg warmers, the rest of the 23 milers are coming up behind us....we have to go. BUT, it will be a walk for the last mile. I've given in to my left brain. Ahhh hello wall...so we finally meet, I have heard about you.

Since 9/12 (the 23 mile long run) I've lost my motivation. I've run only twice since then including a 10 mile long run. I'm seriously burnt out. Feeling much better today. I have a plan for the remainder of this week and a good easy run schedule set for next week. What I think has happened is I've taken the fun out of running. It's time to retool and look at this from a different angle....this is for me, this is for fun, I am my motivator. I'm also running an easy 5k race this Saturday with my lil' sis and my hubby. This should help shake off the "burnt out blues".

I do hope you all are well, feeling good, and running. Any motivational tips you have would be greatly appreciated.

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I'm so dramatic...I know hahaha

Mind over matter....and....I don't mind b.c you don't matter.

There are two parts to this blog...one, of course, about running....and an unrelated topic.

My long run was put off until today because me and the hubby were out of town. We took the entire weekend off from running unintentionally. It was nice to have several rest days to relax. This morning instead of our normal intervaled long run the plan was to see how far we could make it without a rest break and then interval the remaining mileage. The furthest I've been is 5 miles without a small rest break.

After reading a blog by Jeff Galloway, we warm up by intervaling 1:1's for the first half mile. We started with an out and back on Timber for 4 miles. Feeling good, we turned on to Vandora Springs (where there are new sidewalks) and run to Aversboro. Aversboro continues around to Timber (7 miles) and we are still feeling good so we head on to Lake Benson. We loop around Lake Benson and head back to Timber. Before you know it WE RAN 10 MILES!!! I've never run that far without a rest break. Amazing! Granted it was slow....1:59 minutes....but we ran it and that's all that matters.

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On to the unrelated stuff....b.c I just need to vent.

You know the adage, "sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me"? I never believed this to be true, even at my age. Words do hurt. The strongest among us will ponder over hurtful words, even for just a bit.

An acquaintance of ours used a particularly offensive slang term to describe me this weekend to which my husband quickly corrected him (mind you I was not at this gathering so I could not offer a retort). It seems I'm not thought of too highly by this person, even though I've been nothing but friendly, opened my home to him, and even visited him and his wife on occasion. We have quite a bit in common actually; we both enjoy mechanics and engineering, we both are attempting another degree, and we are both savvy shoppers. I don't know why he thinks of me so lowly and my husband couldn't recall the context of the short conversation.

Anyway, I'm offended b.c I thought he knew me and I thought we were friends. I never felt guarded and we had so much in common; I didn't realize I was being judged. Others were around when he made the repugnant statement. I wonder how many seeds he planted by uttering that one little adjective with my name attached?

The power of words is immense; it can drive or halt, cause tears or laughs, make you sigh or scream....it only takes one little word to trip an entire blog entry. I guess I've vented enough...
I hear the words of my late Aunt Pat saying, "put on your big girl panties and get over it". AND so I will.

Thanks for listening to me vent. :)

Is it Fall already.....

It's been unseasonably cool in ol' Carolina this week. Hovering in the Mid-70's, our usual temps are the low 80's this time of year. Running in the cool (or cool for our standards) has been a welcomed change. Don't know if you non-Carolinian's know this but NC weather goes from HOT to cold in about a weeks time...there is no "in between" so this has been a delightful change in pace.

Other then the weather, this week has been fairly uneventful:

• Monday - rain
• Tuesday - 4 miles at Fleet Feet (45:58 -almost a minute slower then last week)
  
• Wednesday - 4.09 miles at Anna's (49:11 - hills, hills, and more hills..)
  
• Thursday - 4 miles at Lake Pine Community Park (43:57....NEW PR)
  
• Friday - maybe a 3 mile easy run
  
• Saturday - ??
  
• Sunday - Rest
• Monday - 10 mile long run and maybe the Nog run later in the day...just depends
  

With the weather getting cooler and our race drawing near (8 weeks away), I'm starting to ponder what to do afterward. I would really like to drop some pounds....this endurance training has not helped at all...not like I thought it would. I've actually gained about 1.5 pounds. AND I would like to change my training strategy from "just finishing" to getting faster!

So, those of you more experienced runners....I would like to post a few questions and get your feedback.

1. How long do you normal wait between long endurance races, i.e. 1/2 marathons or marathons?
2. What training programs can you recommend following to increase speed?
3. What cross training do you do and how often?
4. Have you tried losing weight during the off season and what programs have you followed?

Ok...there is my contribution for the week. Hope everyone has a lovely holiday weekend. I'll be unplugged so I'll see you guys & gals next week!

Saturday's 20 doesn't quite go as planned....

Are morning started as usual, breakfast, get dressed, get gear, get going.....

Typically, when running in the Galloway program, we meet for our long runs at a local sports store. Admittedly I do not always pay attention to the name of the store we meet at. This Saturday, we were suppose to meet a Omega Sports. During our runs this week, we had discussed how hilly the runs were from Omega Sports and were dreading having the 20 mile run there. I only recall one pretty hilly long run and that was in Cary...


So we formulated a new plan. I don't usually carry all the bottles that fit in my water belt because we have plenty of water stops along the trails during a Galloway run. One pit stop to pick up some extra agua, a few Gatorades, and we are off to Umstead.

We make our way around Umstead's many trails, some we have never been on. North and Sound Turkey Trail prove to be very hilly and at 12 miles we take a little walk break.



There are two water stations and one rest area we came across during our run. Thankfully so, because we needed to refill the water bottles and make use of the facilities. During the last few miles of the run we come across Puke Hill....appropriately named due to it's long ascent.



We finally finish up our run and head back to the car. Even though the day didn't start out as planned, the scenery, shade, and company made it worth the work.

Just "bit" it.......

Running this week was almost on schedule...

• Monday - 4 miles (45:01)
• Tuesday - 3 miles (33:31)
• Wednesday - 5 miles (??)
• Thursday - no run....
• Friday - rain!
  

Wednesday, we (the running gals) just couldn't get our schedules together. The initial plan was to run 5 at Umstead. But Dina and Calvin were running late at work, the park is 40 miles from Michelle's, and the other girls are sticking to the Tuesday/Thursday routine. So me and Anna hit Lake Benson for a 5 miler in the sun opting out of the drive in traffic for something closer to home.

Started out good. We ran 1.4 miles, met up with Jenn (the last remaining member of Couch to 5k) for 2 miles with her, then finished up the last 1.6.

We make our way around the paved loop and head into the woods for some shade relief. Maybe 400 yards into the trail I catch my right toe on a rock and start to tumble. (Once I heard a trail runner say, "don't worry, you will fall". I had managed to avoid this thus far.) Anyway.....my feet are desperately trying to catch up with the momentum of my head when I hear a little voice saying "roll through it". BAM!!! Down I go, dropping my left elbow and rolling over onto my back and rump. Wow....I actually rolled it haha! I managed to save my knees and elbows somehow.

Bouncing back up, Anna says "that was a graceful fall". Check for bleeding...nope...and off we go to finish out the last 1/2 mile and head home. Here are my pictures all covered in dirt. I had one bruise below my left knee....not to bad considering :)

Mondays "Super Soaker" Run...hahaha!!

So I'm back at NCSU for a second bachelors degree, this time in Mechanical Engineering. Class meets 3 nights a week and put a little kink in my running schedule. With that said, Dina, Anna, and I have decided to meet on Monday and Wednesdays.

This Monday we headed to Fleet Feet (FF) to traverse "Hilly Tuesday"....why, you might ask, b.c Anna is a freak and a glutton for punishment! Actually, I think she has a new addiction for hills hahaha!! I walk into FF to exchange my very small women's Nog Run Club technical T and, to my surprise, they are hosting a Super Soaker Social Run! Woo hoo!!! .....wait a minute....d@mn.....I can't go to class sweaty and soaked to the bone. What to do, what to do?

Anna texted that she wasn't going to make it and Dina showed up about 20 minutes early. New plan! "Hilly Tuesday" will wait for another, ah hmmm, Monday. ;) So Dina and I grab a 4 mile map from FF and head out earlier then the social runners with the water guns! We make our way through the beautiful mix of old vintage homes and new McMansions with out so much as one spatter of H20. Around mile 3 (and coming from the opposite direction) a FF'er with a soaker comes trotting toward us! Ugh oh....she points her weapon in a menacing fashion but alas lets us pass with no retaliation for beating her to her hiding spot.

Rounding up the hill from Dixie Trail to Leonard, we come across one last "hider" and gratefully accept a few splashes of cool aqua to finish out our 4 mile run. We return to FF where some very soaked elite runners have gathered and enjoy cool icy pops. Suddenly it begins to rain.....it's still sunny with the exception of one tiny little gray cloud over FF that let's out a dense down pour. The ultimate "Super Soaker"....mother nature!

Good run for Dina and me. Finished 4 miles in 45:01 minutes with no rest intervals. Calvin and I got up early Tuesday morning for a quick 3 miler (33:31). Strong runs thus far. Looking forward to Umstead today!

Running and school......

This week was lite...ran a total of 19.1 miles with a 10.5 mile long run on Saturday. The Galloway program provided a huge breakfast after our run including eggs, pancakes, sausage, a plethora of fruit, and much more. I could not fathom eating a hot pancake after such a sauna like run. The heat and humidity were high from the moment we stepped foot on the trails near Raleigh Running Outfitters. Wish I had weighed before and after the run to see how much water was lost. Ron said that 16 oz of water is lost for every pound of weight dropped during a run. WOW!!

A multitude of excuses kept my running totals down this week; it was hot, it's the first week of school, and I have been just plain fatigued. This week in review:

• Tuesday 4.1 miles
• Wednesday 4.5 miles
• Saturday 10.5

My running schedule has changed and that will take a little getting use to. I plan to run Monday/Wednesday evenings with the Gals, Tuesday/Thursday mornings with the hubby, Friday will be a light run with Jenn, and a long run on Saturday. Sunday is a rest day. If this schedule works out here are what my totals should be this week: (35-37 miles)

• Monday - "Hilly Tuesday" 3-4 miles
• Tuesday - 3 easy miles
• Wednesday - Umstead run - 4-5 miles
• Thursday - 3 miles, Fartlek training
• Friday - 2 easy miles
• Saturday - 20 mile long run

Here's hoping!!

Spandex + 2000 calorie a day diet = Great 18 mile run!

Lately I've harped on how frustrated I've been regarding the new diet (2k calories a day) but Saturday's long run has made me a believer in my nutritionist.

It started like any other long run; breakfast was a piece of whole wheat bread with peanut butter and a small cup of coffee. During the run, every 20 minutes of so, I hydrated with water or Gatorade depending on how much I had been sweating. Upon each hour, I refuel with sports beans or shot blocks. There were snacks at the Shelley Lake water stop about 12 or so miles in....yummy orange slices..I partook of a few, sticky fingers aside. Overall nutrition....CHECK!

As the miles piled up, I felt really good. I left my Garmin on interval so as not to track mileage or analyze pace...I wanted to concentrate on how I felt without distraction. Now and again Anne would ask what mile we were at, this being my only indication of how far we had been. Once we reached mile 10 and the group split off (those running 10 miles headed back and the others plodded on) , I was stunned by how great I felt; no aches, no pains, and no heavy legs.

The original plan was to run 16, although my prescribed regimen was 18. Our pack eventually reduced from 45 to roughly 10 runners at the last peal off point (4 miles remained)....it's decision making time. Do I turn back now or push on to 18 and really test my limits? The soles of my feet started to ache between 13-14 miles, this is a normal pain during long runs so no red flags there. Shins, calves, knees, quads, hams...all good.....ok...... lets see what I'm made of.

The group decided to make the loop around Shelley lake and then head back to Crabtree mall via the greenway trails. Sweat soaked, quite with the exception of diabetic guy at the back of the pack....he makes for intriguing entertainment.....and focused, the group traverses the terrain. At 16 miles my attention shifts. This is getting hard and I start to second guess my choice. A group mentality forms when everyone is struggling to finish....you can't stop (you don't want to be the one to wuss out), and you don't complain because everyone (with the exception of diabetic guy) is hammering away as hard as you are. Heavy respiration's can be heard as the Garmin marks the next walk break. Finally we arrive at the bridge under Glenwood and the mall is in sight.

Once back at my car, I change my drenched shirt and grab a snack from my lunch box. I truly can not believe I finished 18 miles and I wasn't dead on my feet. Oh..the spandex part...I adorned a pair of knee cropped spandex Fila pants for this run. BEST PURCHASE I HAVE MADE (in clothing that is)...no thigh chafing, hallelujah!! This may not be my best look but I could care less! Should have listened to Dina much sooner!

So needless to say, I'm a firm believer in the new diet and, well, spandex pants!

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Forgot to mention but after the run we went to a pool party and out dancing. Granted I was not as chipper as usual but I wasn't a total zombie either. Says tons about a good diet plan I think.

I'm not fat, I just have fat parts.....

Over the past month or so my weight, or rather the lack of weight loss, has been at the forefront of my thoughts. The two weeks previous to my vacation I gained weight, unbelievable as it may seem considering my current exercise regimen. During vacation and the week afterward (b.c I wasn't quite back to my regular exercise schedule) I lost 1.6 pounds. Baffled, I went to see a sports nutritionist.

Tracy, the nutritionist, explained that my body is storing more glycogen then the normal non-active person. The untrained store roughly 13g of glycogen in their muscles while the trained can store as much as 36g. With each gram of glycogen comes 3 grams of water. Well that's the answer to all my prayers.....I'm blotted! hahaha Nah, not really. My body needs the water to utilize the glycogen during endurance activities. Here is a handy dandy little article and chart regarding glycogen and carb loading (which we will discuss at my next visit).

She put me on a 2000 calorie a day diet...I was eating about 1500 before.
Here's the break down:

• Calories = 2000
• Carbs = 250 grams
• Protein = 125 grams
• Fat = 56 grams

She also figured I'm burning about 118.4 calories per mile. On an average week that's about 3,552 calories burned. She said that on the average day I need between 2100-2600 calories to maintain my current level of fitness. WOW!! So I've not been eating enough and I guess my body is holding on to what ever it can. I started the new diet Monday the 10th. I feel good and find it hard to eat that much food during the day....we will see how it goes.

Saturdays' long run strikes again.....

So lazy.....ran only 19 miles last week. My sister and I ran 5 miles Monday. We ran 1:1's. This is what happened to her afterward---->

Thursday, Calvin and I ran 5.5 miles; running 1 mile:1 minute rest. We shaved over 10 minutes off the run on Monday.

Saturday loomed on the horizon. I had been dreading Saturday...it haunted my sleep.
Stalking me like a wounded lamb, I tried every avenue of escape; "I'm sick", "I think I have sciatica". Nothing could shake the determined beast...aww Saturday!

I was unprepared...out of my routine...off schedule...away from my "peeps". But there was no denying it, my alarms contemptible siren rouses me at 5:45 am. Fighting the light, I begrudgingly dress and accept my fate....I am Saturdays' pawn.

The elevators decent...18, 17, 16, 15.....ticks down the remaining moments of my pain free existence. Along the bike path, by the ocean, through the ritzy beach house communities, past the high rise condos, and so on, and so on.....it becomes abundantly clear that this run is going to suck, suck worse then any other run has sucked before. My energy is zapped and my left brain screams obscenities. I just want to stop and at mile 9 we did.

Every run can not be great. I heard a quote once, "if you start feeling good during a run, don't worry you'll get over it." This quote has never been more true then Saturday.

Pain in the butt....literally

This pain in my butt persists...and it's not because of my husband.

During Monday's Tir-Na-Nog run I noticed a nagging little pain at the base of my left buttock, deep in the muscle. Assuming I strained my glut running hills I've iced it, taken Aleve, and rested; well somewhat, I went for a short bike ride yesterday.

Today it hurts and it's starting to radiate down my hamstring a bit. I may have actually injured my hamstring where it connects at the ischium....I looked that up....which is located under my gluteus maximus.

I stole someone's ice pack out of the fridge, wrapped it in a plastic bag, and gauze....ahhhh much better.

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Little update...
The pain subsides when I walk around and not sitting all day. I've had two days of rest and I'm going for a run today (7/24/09).

Oh the dreaded scale...

My scale is possessed by a demon. I have proof. This morning as I inched closer to what I now refer to as Satin's spawn, I debated whether I should dare climb upon it. Knowing full well its numerical trickery, I gather the courage to take the first step. As I stand there watching the numbers flicker like a video slot machine, I pray that the integer of my gravitational force will be slightly less then last week.

Finally, the charlatan flashes the one number that spins my entire day into an infinite downward spiral.....NOOOOoooooooo.......it mocks me! ***fist waving*** I try again thinking this can't be true...you devilish piece of $h!t, what's the real number? I pounce, eager for the truth. Yet again, I am fooled.....I have gained for the second week in a row. Blaspheme I tell you!

If I wasn't so cheap I would throw the cursed piece of machinery into traffic, but I am so behind the bathroom door it sits waiting for the time when it can strike again. I swear I heard it laugh as I walked away dejected.

Tir-Na-Nog run club

Calvin and I met at the bi-monthly Tir-Na-Nog social run yesterday. It was a beautiful day to run; overcast with a breeze. We decided to run (not interval) 4 miles through downtown Raleigh. It took us 46 minutes even thought we were running about an 11 min pace, we had to stop at lights and for traffic. It's getting so much easier...not to say there were no difficult times; N Bloodworth is always a sore spot with me. However, much better.

We have been running lots of hills...Umstead on Thursday, Galloway on Saturday...needless to say, my @$$ is sore. Yes, my left glut is sore...weird huh. I can only attribute that to hills. Ice, ice, ice!!

Aches and pains.....

14 miles with the 11 minute pace group was so good today. Anna and I made the leap to the faster group for the long runs. They stayed on pace (between 11 - 11:30). I think we were suppose to be running around 12 or so but I like 11 much better.

This may get a little graphic so I warn those faint of heart to stop reading now....

On to the aches and pains.....

Do I have to state how bad chafing hurts? Holly f#*kin' crap!

I wear Bodyglide (BG) religiously. I can honestly say that I will skip running with the group if I've forgotten to pack my bg. I put this crap everywhere; toes, thighs, around the elastic band of my shorts, underarms, everywhere!! At mile 12, bg was officially gone! BG has completely worn off and I'm 2 miles away from relief. (Yes, I have to state this twice because you must understand the seriousness of the situation.) In my mind I'm spattering every curse word I can think of and making up some I had to pray about later. My thighs are now creating so much thermal energy I'm afraid my shorts are going to burst into flames.

When I finally get to my car, I turn the AC up as high as it will go and point the vent toward my poor aching upper thigh region ;). At home I quickly shower...burn burn burn!!!....and find the loosest fitting shorts to wear the rest of the afternoon. Walking around was another challenge; I look like I just finished riding a horse for several hours.

I also found that my shirt had rode up while I was running and my water belt had chafed my back in a few places and I have a mad little blister on one of my toes that actually requires a bandage. hmmmm 14 miles will kick your @$$.

Staying upwind..... ;0)

• Weather: 87 degrees, 58% humidity
• Location: Koka Booth (flat and lovely)
• Duration: 4 miles; 1 mile:1 minute rest intervals finished in 45:48.

Anne, Anna, Calvin, Dina and myself ran Koka while dodging Canadian Geese (and their poo). Cool evening to run by NC weather standards. During the first two miles my average pace was 10:55-11:10. The third mile is always the hardest for me. I started out with an 11:30 pace for the first half and speed up to an 11 for the second. The fourth mile was good, finishing with an 11 min/mile pace.

Some interesting questions came up after the run. I thought I would share and maybe answer them more thoroughly here.

1. "Why do I throw up after every race?" A little Internet searching has uncovered a few good explanations for this phenomena. One reason is you may be pushing yourself harder then you trained for the race. If you want to run faster then you have to train for it. Pace yourself during your race and avoid running too fast due to the excitement. Another reason I found was dehydration. Make sure you are drinking enough water/electrolytes before, during, and after the race. Lastly, low blood sugar could also be the culprit. Review your diet. Make sure you are consuming the right kind and enough carbs before the race. Make sure you are eating breakfast as well, but not with in an hour of the race start time.

2. "Are your workout shirts getting funky?" (LOL!!!) Ok, this made me laugh!! But, seriously, I did a little research and like the idea of using washing soda to get the "funk" out. Arm & Hammer sales it as a detergent booster or you can purchase it yourself. However, be careful with it. It only takes a little bit, you need to wear gloves when handling it, and keep it away from the dog....it is used to induce vomiting in animals. (We don't need that).

Beware of the old lady with the stick!

Week 8 - Galloway training

• Weather: 72, overcast, 69% humidity (very nice day to run)
• Location: Omega Sports
• Duration: 12 miles (intervals) in 2:41

What an insane run! We ran all over North Raleigh. Starting at Omega Sports in North Hills Shopping center, through some neighborhoods, over to the greenway trails, linked up to the Shelley Lake trail, and back down Six Forks Road. Once back at North Hills those who are running 12 miles turned back around, up to Dunkin Doughnuts and back to Omega for the final 2 miles.

Running with the Kewl Runners (name of our pace group) has its challenges. It's an 11:30 pace group but we are constantly running between 12:30-13 min/miles. Finally, me and Dina ran up to the front of our immense group of 50 members and became pace leaders for a few intervals....not a good job for us. The group leaders kept yelling for us to slow down if we got any faster then 12:30. We asked Ron (the director) about the groups pace and he told us that 11:30 is the race pace so on long runs we should be running slower. AND that makes sense, however, 13 min/miles is just agony for me. So in two weeks, I am moving up to the 11:00 min/mile pace group. Let's see how that one fits.

During the Galloway runs, we come across bikers, other runners, and walkers. We have been instructed to be courteous and yield the trail way. However, as good as we may be, we usually hear objections from some trail users. This Saturday was no exception. As we are making our way up to Shelley Lake, we happened upon this older lady holding a tuner style radio to her ear, trash bag, and long stick. She is swinging the stick wildly from side to side (making herself a human pendulum) and yelling that she is "protecting [her] space". She whacked a few runners as they passed her. Talk about comfort zone, hers took up most of the trail way. Needless to say, she has been the first person to actually assault some of the runners. I could only say "wow, I'm blogging this one" and the ladies in front of me burst into laughs.

Injury Report:

• Anne sustained an ankle injury around mile 5. She felt better by Sunday and we ran and extra 2 miles.
• Christa has been diagnosed with Achilles tendinitis and has to stay off of it for two weeks
• Jason, Planters Facilities, has not returned to running yet.

C25K - Wk 2, day 3

Met Andrea this morning for our C25K session. Weather was great, overcast and cool. We ran 1.5 miles in roughly 25 minutes with a 3 minute warm up walk. Average pace was 11:30. I love running with Andrea, she cracks me up. She pushes herself so hard. She's a great workout partner....can't wait till she is back to par so she can start kicking my @$$ again.

Andrea got me started running and stomped my rump all around Raleigh in 2007. She never took no for an answer or let me stop. You had to be dieing to stop. That's basically her personal mantra, "stop and I will kill you". hahaha

Found a great marathon documentary on Hulu.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/63726/nova-marathon-challenge
Check it out. It's about 52 minutes and informative. Kind of reminds me of the Running Gals group. All the runners are 1st time 1/2 or hole marathoners.

Week 7 - Shin Splints

• Weather: 81 degrees, 50% humidity
• Location: Lake Johnson
• Duration: 4 miles (intervals)

Me, Anne, Kelly, and Calvin met at Lake Johnson for a four mile run. My shins started to ache while running, so it's ice and Aleve for me.

I feel focused about running and need to develop a more intense training regimen. Not sure if running intervals during the week is going to get me to marathon strength by November 1. I don't know, it's just something I'm bouncing around.

C25K - Week 2, day 2 - Ouch...my head!!

• Weather: 86 degrees, sunny, 38% humidity
• Location: Koka Booth, flat!
• Duration: 1.30 miles (1:30 min run: 2 min walk for 20 minutes)

C25K training was good. Brittany and Jenn came. Brittany is struggling a little bit now but I know it will get better for her if she keeps at it. Jenn could have kept going. She was surprised that time was up so quickly.

Brittany inquired about good running form. Your running form is important in that you can expend a lot of wasted energy by holding your shoulders up, titling forward as you run, or over striding. All in all, your body should be relaxed (as relaxed as possible considering the stress of running) and you should allow yourself to settle into the natural form your body takes while running. To tweak out some of bad habits, check out this Runner's World article on good running form for tips.

Jenn emailed this morning about experiencing headaches after running. I too get headaches after long runs or on really hot 3-4 mile days. I've read that this is due to electrolyte loss. So here is my remedy....

• drink lots of water before the run (50 oz is usually what I can get in before an afternoon run) but avoid that sloshy feeling in your stomach...you've drunk too much
• drink in some electrolytes (Gatorade) during the long or hot runs (you lose electrolytes when you sweat) but no more then 8oz every 20 minutes to avoid hypoatremia
• eat within 30 minutes after the run. I usually try to get more Gatorade in at this point too

I buy Gatorade in the powder form at Walmart. It's much cheaper then buying it already bottled. After long runs, I usually experience a headache so I take a Tylenol. I read that taking Tylenol before you run is bad but you will have to do your own research on that.

**used some of my old web page design skills on the hyperlinks...how do you like the pop out windows?**

Week 7 - Kicking @$$ and taking names...

• Weather: 92 degrees, Sunny, 61% humidity (HOT!)
• Location: NC Museum of Art
• Duration: 5.13 miles; 3 continuous miles & 2 miles intervaled
• Average pace: slow!!!

Ran part of the Reedy Creek Trail , beginning at the museum into Umstead. It's scenic with green horse pastures and a rolling decent. It's a bear coming back when you are exhausted. I over did it Monday....but it felt so good, I couldn't help myself. Paid for it yesterday. :) My legs became post hole diggers most of the way back. Had to slow to what felt like a crawl. Still managed to finish in less then 50 minutes. Averaged an 11:38 pace out and 13:21 back (with intervals included). Still not bad considering how I felt.

Seems I have developed a reputation for being a drill sergeant although I do not yell at anyone. I do encourage people to run though (I'm smiling as I type this, hehehe). The Running Gals have been together for almost a year now. We can run this. So when someone stops, I push them to keep going. As slow as you may feel you are moving, keep running!!! Woo hoo! I love it. This week I kicked my own @$$!

Injury report.....

• Christa has had to scale back her running due to an achilles injury. 10 miles is a bear.
• Jason (C25K) has Planters Fasciitis

C25K-Week 2....amazing

• Weather: 82 degrees, overcast, 76% humidity
• Location: Lake Benson (LB)
• Duration: 5.5 miles (various intervals)
• Average pace: unknown

"Sometimes the moments that challenge us the most, define us." The first line from the documentary Spirit of the Marathon; powerful and true. I think this applies well for the week. The C25K met today at LB. Andrea ate her Wheaties (as Kelly would say) and was running super fast. Jenn had a hard time keeping the pace so we hung back and ran together. It was a challenging run for her. Those are the best runs; they show you what your made of. I firmly believe that the body changes and adapts when pushed past the point when your left brain screams stop and your motivation moves you forward.

Arriving at the lake early gave me the opportunity to run a mile before everyone showed up. I ran 1.06 miles in about 10 minutes. My pace was 9:55. We ran the C25K regimen for 1.33 miles. Andrea and Jason ran another .65 miles and Jason continued with me for about another half mile after that. I ran two more miles afterwards in 24 minutes, for a total of 5.5 miles.

I'm truly and completely addicted to running. I feel like a runner today, like a real runner. I ran today until my legs were tired. It took 5.5 miles. I could have pushed for more but I'm running tomorrow and didn't want to ware myself out.

10 Miles!!

• Weather: 70+ degrees, no rain, low humidity
  
• Location: Through Garner to Lake Benson
• Duration: 10 miles (intervals); 2 hr 18 min
• Average pace: unknown

We made it. I can't believe we ran 10 miles. Calvin and I got up early on Friday to run because we were going to be out of town all weekend and wouldn't be able to run. It was great. We ran down to Lake Benson which was closed b.c they were setting up for the July 4th celebration. We stuck to the trails and ran the park a couple times before Sallie, Jason, and Blake met up with us for their Couch to 5k run. They did really good. Jason continued to run with us for another mile after their 20 minutes was up.

I had a headache on and off Friday and woke up with one on Saturday. I think this is due to electrolyte loss and because I'm not very good at eating after my runs. Got to work on that.

Another little issue that has come up are these tiny little blisters on the tips of my toes. Bodyglide is awesome and I just read that you can use it on your toes to avoid such blisters. I'll give it a try for my next run.

Couch to 5k continues tomorrow, rain or shine. I contacted most of the girls via text on Saturday and was very proud to hear they all ran! This program has gotten off to a good start.

Couch 2 5k - The beginning

Couch to 5k training began today. We had 3 participants, not including myself and met at Lake Benson Park for our inaugural run.

Run started at 6pm and went really well. We warmed up by walking 5 minutes then intervaled 1 minute of running and 1:30 walking for 20 minutes. We covered 1.46 miles in about 27 minutes. Poor Jenn dropped her key on the trail somewhere and we took another two laps around looking for it. Her Mom brought her extra key and saved the day....moral...tie keys down, shoelaces are your friend.

Andrea was in drill Sergeant mode...have to say I've missed that...and whipped Brittany into shape. Brittany admitted later to wanting to curse us all but appreciated the support.

Today was a good day. It's really great to see people taking steps to make their lives better by improving their health. It's the beginning and it only gets better from here.

Wk 6 - Tuesday's hilly run

(Flamingo Run @ Fleet Feet)

• Weather: 92 degrees, no rain, 58% humidity
• Location: Fleet Feet
• Duration: 4.1 miles, 51 min (intervals)
• Average pace: 12
  

Mapped out a route for the group, turned out to be hilly and quite hard. Everyone did really well and only got off interval after 2 miles. When I got home, I tried this new mapping website, www.mapmyrun.com. Mapped our run today and it showed the elevation changes. Great tool. I will use it again.

I have to say, I really love hills. They are challenging and hard. The City of Oaks Marathon is hilly so it's good training to do hills.

Week 6 - Long Run 8.6 miles

• Weather: 71 degrees, no rain, 69% humidity
• Location: New Balance Store, Glenwood
  
• Duration: 8.6 miles, 1 hour 57 minutes
  
• Average pace: 11:00 - 11:30

Good run today. Drank lots of water & Gatorade. Felt really strong most of the run. The hills at the end (past 8 miles) were rough but Anne and I were able to run them. Kelly ran the full 8 and took longer walk breaks on the last hills.

Been debating on whether to move up to the 11:00 min/mile pace group but with the increasing mileage, it may be safer to stay where I'm at. Plus I would miss the running group companionship.

Running these long distances wears you down. I had a banana before the run. Eating prior to the runs is more important now that the distances are longer. I'll have to look into more complex carbs and protein for breakfast. Asked Ron about it, he suggested bananas, fruits, bars, half a bagel with peanut butter, etc. Tolerable foods, not new foods so you have no surprises during the run.

I honestly thought this run was going to be a lot harder but, surprisingly enough, it was a really good run. You almost have to take a nap afterward. According to my Garmin, we burned at least 860 calories. AMAZING!! I ate junk today; pizza, a doughnut, fajitas. My diet has to get better to maintain this kind of running. AND I've got to loss some of this weight. I feel like I'm carrying around 20 pound weighted biker shorts! ;>

Couch to 5k (C25K) training starts on Monday. Should be at least 5 gals in that group. I'm going to run with them on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. On Tuesdays & Thursdays I'll run with my regular social group and Saturdays with Galloway. This may seem like a lot but the C25K is mostly walking and only 20 minutes of activity. Should be a good leisurely workout for me.

W5 - 2nd run

• Weather: 70+ degrees, no rain, low humidity
• Location: Timber Dr
  
• Duration: 4 miles with only 4 interval breaks after the 2nd mile mark
  
• Average pace: 11:45
  

I ran this morning because I had the day off. Good run but I got a cramp around the 2nd mile mark and took a walk break. It worked and and I could run past the usual interval breaks. Ended up taking 4 total walk breaks over the last two miles due to the cramp resurfacing. It was not a big deal, just the usual cramp. I probably didn't eat well yesterday or drink enough water.

I should work on my nutrition. I'm doing weight watchers but I doubt it's the best nutritionally based diet for a runner. Going to do some more research on diet.

Today has been a hard one. Michael Jackson and Farrah died. My aunt is sick in the hospital due to her cancer. It's thought provoking. Makes me want to take care of my health and spend quality time with the people I love.

Week 5 -Gray shorts and sweat do not mix!

6/23/09

• Weather: 89 degrees, no rain, 58% humidity
• Location: Fleet feet
• Duration: 2 miles running (23 min), 2 miles in interval (25+ min)
• Average pace: 11:45

Calvin, Dina, and Kelly ran strong yesterday finishing 4 miles in about 48:28 minutes. I was a little behind them at 48:49 minutes. Calvin, of course, ran past the 4 mile mark to the parking lot....I think he likes to show off. :)

It was hot! I didn't want a repeat episode from last Saturdays chills so I took it pretty easy but I was feeling it between the 2.25-3 mile mark. Everyone else did really well and finished strong.

When selecting running gear, one usually goes with comfort and performance....these are the important factors. However some manufacturers are a bit misguided in their color selections; i.e. gray shorts. Beware of gray shorts....and here is why.

About two weeks ago, me and Dina met for a run. Just a simple 3 mile out and back at Fleet Feet. This is a popular running location b.c of the side walk, bike lane, and almost flat terrain. You pass lots of runners, bikers, and cars....let alone the shoppers at Ridge road shopping center.

I'm wearing my normal, uncoordinated, running gear and Dina has dawned a gray t-shirt and pair of shorts. As we finish up our run, two nicely framed male runners are heading in our direction. We smile, they smile back and yield to us the side walk opting for the bike lane as they pass. After a few comments on the recent eye candy, we continue on to our cars, say our goodbyes, and off we go.

My cell phone rings not 5 minutes into my ride and it's Dina. She proceeds to tell me that she has to stop for gas but she looked down and has sweat through her lite gray shorts. It appears she has "peed her pants"!!! After a fit of laughter, I told her she best pull over for gas or she'll be the gal who broke down who "peed her pants". Then we realized why the eye candy yielded the side walk to us.....hahahaha!!

AHHH moral of the story...stir clear of lite gray shorts during a run!

Thanks Dina for letting me share. :)

The beginning....well Week 4

I should have started this from the beginning of our training but we will just have to start here. :)
So let's get up to speed.

My adventures in running began July 11, 2007, when I answered an activities post on Craigslist for a running partner...yes I know, I should have been scared but I wasn't. I met, my now dear friend, Andrea and she got me up to two miles in one month. Andrea was a wonderful trainer. My first goal was to run Lake Johnson (3 miles) in it's entirety by the end of summer. I did accomplish this feet and more. Fall and winter came, my running dwindle to 2 or 3 miles, maybe 3 times a weeks.

Fast forward to September 2008. My running regimen was basically the same; not a lot and not very impressive. Running 101 was a program for beginning runners who desired to run an 8k (5 miles) by Thanksgiving. I joined the group and slowly got up to 5 miles running the Turkey Trot in 51 minutes. After Running 101, some of us participants created our own social running group and we have continued to run every since.

April 2009, we discussed the Raleigh Galloway Half or Full Marathon Training Program. We all decided to give it a shot and join the program with intentions on running a half in early November 2009. I spoke with Ron, the director, and he mentioned that most participants of Galloway who's goal is to run the half usually end up running the full marathon. So being completely insane, Calvin and I registered for the City of Oaks Marathon which is held on November 1st, 2009.

Our training consist of 2 days during the week and one long run on Saturday.
This is where we are in our marathon training:
Week 1 total of 9 miles, long run 3 miles.
Week 2 total of 10 miles, long run 4 miles.
Week 3 total of 13 miles, long run 5 miles (I skipped Galloway and ran 7 at the Race for the Cure)
Week 4 total of 13 miles, long run 6 miles.

This weeks long run was good until the end. Calvin and I ran at home because my softball tournament started at 9 and I feared I would not finish training in time for the game. We began our run at 7. It was already hot (got up to 96) and humid. Around mile 5.5, I started getting chills and goose bumps and so I slowed my pace.

Researching this phenomenon on the Internet, I found it could be due to dehydration and heat stress. Some sites recommend you weigh yourself before your run and after to see how much water weight was lost. This will give you a good idea of how much water/electrolytes you need to take in. Also, if the weather conditions are particularly humid with little wind, your sweat does not evaporated off your skin inhibiting some of the cooling process. Good to know.

So the moral of this weeks training....hydrate more before running, drink more fluids that contain electrolytes, and monitor my temperature more closely.