2 miles

Yesterday I reallllly didn't want to run but I made myself do 2 miles, averaging 7:18 pace. I made myself go out and run, that's the point.

Warm, warm weather

How was I bundled up running in 4 degree weather just a few days ago and today I was exposing the white legs running in 67 degree weather? Holy moly it felt nice out today! What a teaser. It felt like a warm summer night, ahhh.

I just now went running for 50 minutes at the canal. I would have liked to keep going but it was too dark out. Afterward I wanted to do a lot of hill repeats but I stopped after 2 for fear of seeing a dead body floating in the White River. Oh well.

Yesterday I wasn't in the mood to run outside and so I attempted to run 10 miles on the treadmill. I felt like if Rob could do it, I could do it. Yeahhhhh right; we all know I have no discipline on the machine. I ran 2 miles then walked 2 minutes. Then I attempted to run another 2 miles, walk 2 minutes, etc. Well because I hate the treadmill so much I only made it 1 other mile and then called it quits. 3 miles are better than no miles, right???

Ninja Turtle? Ghost Buster? Randy?

Welp for some crazy reason I decided to go out for a run this morning, on the coldest morning yet, instead of the treadmill. It was 3 degrees out and it said it felt like -12 degrees. Holy moly.

This morning I was in the mood to go outside because:

1. I wasn't at work
2. I was in a happier mood because of #1 and because of Xmas coming
3. I never get to run outside in the mornings
4. No one would be outside to make fun of my mummy-looking-self
5. I don't have pressing plans today so I could take as long as I wanted
6. If Brian and his siblings could do it outside in the freezing, then I could do it outside in the freezing
   

I somehow made myself go 8.5 miles in that brutal weather and I somehow ran it in 1hr 11minutes, when it felt like I was running 15 minute miles. I was so bundled up I could barely move my legs; I had about 20 extra pounds on me.

I brought my Camelpak (I still get confused- is it Camelbak?) and tried taking a drink after 21 minutes of being outside. A freakin ice cube came out of it, no joke! All of the water in the straw was frozen! I've never seen that before.

Anyway, I'm glad I did it and it's all over. Now I just have to deal with a burnt-looking face. I forgot to cover up my cheeks against the wind; dangit.

No Excuses Now

Well darnit. I was planning on going to WI this afternoon and returning on Monday. Since I haven't done any Xmas shopping yet and the house is a mess, I was going to spend that following Tuesday and Wednesday doing those things---then Thursday is Xmas and all that jazz. So my point is, I sureeeeely wouldn't have had time to get in any runs until the new year.

Welp I've cancelled my trip now due to weather and after today, I'm not expected back to work until 12/29. SOOO, you better hold me accountable and expect a lot of good runs out of me. No more slacking!

Ultraholic Blog Tag

Alright, Alan, thanks for the tag. I don't want to disappoint you, though...I'm afraid my answers won't be too interesting. I am now tagging Rob, Nick, Brian, DrT, Josh, and Red. If you've already been tagged before, just entertain me and answer the questions. :)

1. What was your 2008 running highlight and running low?
-My 2008 running highlight would have to be Dances with Dirt 50 miles-Hell that was in September. I love the DWD series and they make it easy to run 50 miles. I actually didn't get lost during this race and I had a BLAST running through the lakes and mud bogs, and speaking a few hours of Spanish with Bill. It was great. I also have to say that the Columbus Marathon was a for sure highlight since I finally qualified for Boston- woohoo!
-My 2008 running low would have to be Silverlake 50/50 in MI in September, because it was my first DNF... Ohh well.

2. What race are you secretly planning on doing (or contemplating) for 2009 but haven't made it known to the public....until now.
-Unfortunately I don't think I have a good answer for this one since I've made all of my thoughts public already. I'm a tiny bit considering running my first 100 miler in 2009- either Mohican or Burning River if I'm in town for it. I've been scared of the training that a 100 mile race will require; I'm scared of running 25 miles one day and 35 the next, on a regular basis----however, I think this morning I just had a revelation. A 50 mile training schedule says to do the same thing, run long distances back-to-back. During my "training", I never did back-to-back long runs and I was able to do 2 50 milers and 1 100k. SO what this means is, training is overrated and that I'll be fine for a 100 miler! :) :) :)

3. Where would you like create and direct an ultra that (to your knowledge) none exists?
I have no idea, considering I just stay around my little hometown and don't get out much. Maybe around the Grand Canyon. Do they already have one there?? Dangit, I just googled it and there's already a race there. Hmm...I'll keep thinking about this one.

4. What is your "primary" race for 2009?
Boston baby!

5. What is the most exciting thing about your upcoming race schedule?
Boston and a potential 100 miler.

6. List your planned races for 2009:
-Mayybbe Land Between the Lakes 60k/50m in March, mayybbe Fools 50k in April, Boston in April, DWD Gnawbone 50m in May, a 100miler? in June or August, DWD Hell50m in September, and 100m or 100k with the Pinckney, MI races in November (more info to come).

12 mile run

Woohoo! The pressure of the blog worked- I made myself go run yesterday after work! My goal was to run 10 miles and I ended up doing anywhere from 11.8-12 miles.

Normally I wouldn't carry any water for a 10 mile run but I decided to wear my Camelbak so I could get used to having that extra weight on my shoulders and back. I'm going to try to remember to wear it on all of my runs- short and long- for that same reason. In the end, I was really glad I had it on because I was drinking a bunch of water throughout my whole run.

I also brought a Gu along with me, too, so I could do things the "right" way. I took it after 30 minutes and the green apple flavor was so nasty that I gagged and spit some of it back up...and that's with drinking a ton in between each bite. YUCK! Maybe I should start bringing actual food during my runs, instead of Gu, so my stomach can get used to digesting it...and so I prepare myself for a *****potential 100 miler*****.

It was around 5pm, 5:30pm when I was out running and so it was getting dark quickly. I ran on the canal, so I was running under different bridges and buildings and what not. All of a sudden as I reached the end of the canal, I ran out into the open and it was seriously like someone just turned the light on. The whole entire sky was super yellow all over and it was so bright outside- it was beautiful!!! I kept on running and the sunset was so awesome- I'm mad I didn't have a camera. I stopped for a second and looked at all of the downtown buildings off the canal- the huge moon, the blue sky, the red/orange/yellow clouds----ahhh....I loved it.

So anyway, I did about 7.5 miles on the canal and then ran towards home to finish up 4.5 miles around a one-mile-radius park. That was the mentally challenging part. It was already dark and cold out, and I had already run a good amount- so I knew I would be tempted to stop after 1 or 2 miles around the park. I kept thinking of the Boston Marathon and of how I might do a ****100 miler**** and so I made myself finish out all of the miles.

I was running at a good pace the whole time and I'm proud I made myself do it. I actually didn't wake up this morning already feeling full. :)

Tecumseh Marathon Race Report

Short story:
It was snowing this year and the trails were icy.

Tiny icicle on Richard's beard:

I finished in 5:06, so I didn't beat my last year's time of 4:58. However, I am confident that I ran faster and harder this year but that I was just slower because of the trail conditions. Still had fun and will do it again next year.

Long story:
The race was on Saturday, December 6. Chris picked me up that morning around 6am, and I got to drinkin my traditional Monster drink- yummmmy. I always need one before a race. (What are your unique routines that you do before a race?)

Chris had been sick for awhile and was still sick on race day, but still wanted to attempt the race. Unfortunately I'm a half-germaphobe and so the hour and a half ride there was a little disturbing; listening to him hack up some mucus and all.

At one point we stopped at a gas station and right as he was about to get out of the car, he looked down and said, "what's that?". I looked at his pants and there was a huge glob of snot just sitting on his lap. That's disgusting. He must have spit it up some time and didn't realize it. I think I'm about to puke just typing about it, but you all need to know what I had to endure.

I hope you enjoyed that side story....now back to running. We arrived around 7:30am, checked in, and then realized that we got some grandpa-looking white sweatshirt this year. I'm sorry- but the shirts are ugly.

It was snowy and freezing outside and I wished I had worn more clothes, or at least a winter hat.

Last weekend I happened to be in Meijer's hunting aisle buying my husband some earplugs and I saw some some hand warmers- AWWWESOME. My funky Raynaud's hands always freeze, even after 2 seconds of being outside, so I thought these suckers would be perfect.

Here are my ugly hands. It's always the middle finger that gets super white.

The 1 hr bus ride was warmer than last year and not as boring since some guy let me read his newspaper. Note to self: next year bring hand warmers and a newspaper.

We got there and everyone had to pee...I had to snap a shot.

So anyway, I got to running and I was going slow but it was fine. Like I said earlier, a lot of the trails were icy, especially on the downhill, skinny single track parts. You can call me a wimp, but a lot of times I was seriously scared going down those curves! If you have a bad slip on any of those patches, you're going down the little hill/cliff- no 2 ways about it. One time I just purposefully went downhill on my butt because I was too afraid of falling. Haha. How come no one died out there?

Now I realized I need to just fork out $30 to buy some YakTrax.

Chris was wearing his and said he didn't slip at all. Lucky.

I spent a good amount of the beginning miles with "Echoguy" aka Brian. I somehow left him after mile 13 while he was taking pictures of everyone. Sowwwwy- not intentional! I spent the second half with another guy, Mike, and then left him 3 miles before the finish- not intentional either!

I felt like I was running a better race than last year. It was easier for me to walk/run up the hills this time and I know I spent a HECK of a lot less time at the aid stations than last year- I just grabbed a cup and kept going. It was freaking awesome to be stuck behind a big group of 10 runners for awhile, annoyed because I couldn't pass, and then pass them all in while they stopped forever at the stations. I loved it.

(But speaking of aid stations- for some reason I wasn't in the mood to eat much during the race. Besides a few pretzals and fig newtons, I only ate one Gu and it was seriously like hard taffy! For the first time I liked eating/chewing it. The Gatorade was icy and it tasted like a good slushy.)

I only passed people during the last half of the race. I kept telling myself that if I can see them, I can pass them. I remember reading or hearing a long time ago some guy saying that if you happen to catch up to other runners, you better pass them; don't start running at their pace with them. The fact that you caught up with them means that you're faster than them, so keep on going forward. It seemed to work and help me mentally to keep on truckin.

This is SO DUMB but I seriously got annoyed at seeing two older, slower-looking women in front of me around mile 23 or something. I don't even train at all so I don't know why I expect to be faster, but I just felt like hands down- these two women should never have been in front of me. And before that, around mile 18, I saw another girl in front of me who said that Tecumseh was her first marathon ever. She shouldn't have been in front of me.

So anyway, those two situations were a slap in the face and made me realize that darnit, I might actually have to move my body more than once a week in order to place higher. :)

I ended up finishing 193/483 (top 39%) while last year I placed 241/454 (top 53%). I also finished 3rd in my division and got a nifty award out of it. (I only later realized there were only 6 other girls in my division, Ha!)

They had good soup, sandwiches, etc after the race. I always hate the way you feel after finishing- I was sooo hungry but couldn't eat anything. I just stood there with soup in my hand, not able to take a bite of it. Darnit- should have forced some more chewy Gu down my throat during the race.

Unfortunately I later saw Chris and learned that he had to cut it short early. He was too sick and dizzy. Even after having puked up all of that thick, nasty mucus, it was too much to finish. His friend Richard, on the other hand, finished his first "official" marathon at 5:24. Good job.

Overall, I enjoyed myself and look forward to next year's race.

4 Short Miles

When I'm at work, I always think about running when I get home. After driving 45 minutes from work to home, I always just want to sleep and not run at all. My mindset always changes and I think, "Ahhh...screw it. Why do I care about running?".

So that's what happened yesterday- I felt obligated to run but also wanted to sleep because #1, I have a cold and #2, sleep always sounds great. I comprimised and ended up sleeping a little bit and then I headed out to the park.

I ended up running 4 measly miles around the park (32:34) and I was happy I did so. I'm trying, slowly but surely, to actually start moving my body and getting outside. It wasn't even cold out...and I was just wearing a cotten shirt and jacket. I have no excuse.

I hope that if I continue to write about my little "training" runs then I'll be motivated to keep on going and getting faster. Hopefully I'll have good news for tomorrow's post!!!