Californiaaaaa

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year! I've been in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA since 12/26 and am staying until 1/3. I finally got in a run this morning for the first time. It was so awesome running right along the beach with all the boats and palm trees and nice weather. I had to watch my pace since it's easy to get carried away and start off too fast. But yes, I feel out of shape. December running was a bust!!

Pics/video to come.

Whaaaaaaa

Man, I thought I was a bad arse who could run in the cold weather and snow but I'm not! I'm a loser who can't fit in running. :(

Work has been busy and Jon's knee has been hurting and then it's been freezing and windy and snowy. So, once again I'm slacking on the miles and have only run seven this week so far---three yesterday and four today...in the snow. We were sooo slow on today's 4:45am run- I think it was 10 minute miles. Felt like running up sand dunes.

Anyway, December will be a crappy month. The last week of Dec. we're going to CA so don't know how many miles I'll get in there.

8 Miles on Treadmill

Jon's knee started hurting yesterday during our cold run (probably because of the cold...) so he took this morning off. I bet Anna again that I had to run eight miles on the treadmill today after work or I had to give her a five minute massage for every mile I didn't do (bets are the only things that work in my life).

So, I got on the dang treadmill and already took a break after three miles. I just can't make it on that thing. Then I had to go to the bathroom so that was another break after four miles. Then I considered quitting but I knew I didn't feel like giving Anna a 20 minute massage (it would have really been 35 minutes because I already owe her 15 minutes from the last bet I lost). So then I did two more miles...then a break...then considered quitting, but finally made it to eight miles because good ole Wheel of Fortune came on and kept me through the end. Woohoo!

It's Cold!

Jon and I took off all of last week from running except for Monday. I could tell I was eating worse and just lazier because I was out of the mood. Dangit.

So this morning we got back at it and went out at 5:05am for eight miles. I guess it was the coldest morning in the past 11 months- 11 degrees out with wind chill of -1 or so. So, I put on some tights and wind pants and then a spandex shirt with winter jacket and a headband. Ugh! Way too many clothes to be running in. I felt like a fat marshmellow who could barely bend their limbs and the junk food from last night didn't help at all. Then you get home with frozen hair and a red body. Oh well. I'm hoping for at least five days of running this week!

Updates: WS Race, Mini-Marathon, This Week's Mileage

Aiight...let's see.

Western States: I decided not to enter the lottery. My heart wasn't in it yet. Maybe someday. (and...I don't want to die from a mountain lion)

Indianapolis Mini-Marathon: Back in the day my dad, sis, uncle, cousin, neighbor, and whoever else would run this race each year. I haven't run it in the past five years or so but for old times' sake, I told my cousin that I would run it with her next year (5/7/11) if she wanted to give it a shot. So, on the last day before the prices jacked up even higher, she told me she registered and so I did likewise. I still can't believe I paid almost $60 for a 13 mile race but oh well. It'll be fun. (I hope to still run Gnawbone the following weekend).

This Week's Mileage: It succccks so far. Only eight measly miles from Monday.
Tuesday: I backed out of the morning run because I was lazy and said I was too tired
Wednesday: Jon and I were both at home ready to go but we didn't make it out because my phone was all messed up and so we couldn't get in touch with each other to confirm. Isn't that dumb? We only live a few blocks away.

I bet my friend Anna that I had to run eight miles after work or else I owed her a 15 minute
massage but when I left work, it was wayyy too windy and cold so I said "screw it".

This morning: Jon cancelled because he's sick. Ohhhh well...I'm at least maintaining some endurance so I'm fine. I did Zumba Tuesday, Wednesday, and will tonight. Woohoo!

Thanksgiving & Black Friday Run

Happy post Thanksgiving! Did you eat lots of delicious foods? Run any? Jon texted yesterday morning and canceled our 5am 10 mile run because it was rainy/windy/cold out. I still wanted to go because I ate like crap on Wednesday night (did you know a 24oz bottle of Coke has 290 calories and 78 grams of sugar??? That's a candy bar, at least! I never drink Coke but I bought some and hot dang, that's a full meal!) and I knew yesterday's diet wouldn't be any better. So, I kept sleeping and got up at 7:30am and made it out for my 10 mile run. It was raining some but 50 degrees and it felt nice.

Then because we're psycho, we went running this morning at 4:45am and made it 16 miles in the freeezing cold! It was 24 degrees out and since I normally wear shorts and a jacket in 35 degrees, I figured that wind pants/jacket/baseball cap/light $1 gloves would suffice. I have a fear of overdressing and then getting too hot and having to carry the extra layers with you. But nope! From the get go my ears were freezing and same with my poor fingers. I kept telling myself I wouldn't die from cold hands but it sucked. I had brought my water bottle (which was pointless since I didn't drink more than four ounces the whole time) and it stunk carrying it the whole time with my fingers exposed. When I got home I thought my knuckles were going to break off and die.

Uhh! I have some better gloves that I'll wear next time but I think my fingers still get cold in them. I don't think even the most expensive pair would help because your little fingers are still hanging out there alone. I need mittens. I think I might waste some money on those hand warmers and bring them for 10+ mile runs.

Oh well. It was nice knowing that I burnt off some of those dessert calories.

Western States Dilemma

The other day I randomly got a comment on my Hallucination post from "Doodlegirl" and she casually mentioned that her sister is a big runner who has done Western States, among other ultras. Well why did that little random comment start me thinking about applying for the 100 mile Western States' race next June?

I don't even know what Western States is...I've only heard its name pop up a few times and for some reason, I'm thinkin it's the Boston of the ultras (or is that Badwater or Barkley?). Well, since it's popular and since it's hard to get in, I'm intrigued.

So, there are a few ways to enter the race but the main way is by the lottery which just so happens to be open right now until 11/27. I guess only 369 runners can be on the field and over 1,000 usually apply to get in.

Here's the dilemma:
If I'm thinking about kids in the next one-two years, now is the time to try to run this race. However, after reading some things about the course (see below), I don't know if I'd be fully prepared for the completion of the race without having run on anything that even a tiny, tiny bit resembles the actual course conditions. So, would it be a waste of time and money?

Here are some risks/things to consider:

1) Everything's non-refundable. Since I was injured this past summer and took a few months off for PT and STILL am not movitated to stretch before/after running, who's to say I won't have the same muscle pull next year and be screwed?
2) The course has a few water crossings (and wet snow paths...yeah, part of the course is in 20 degree weather and part of the course is in 90 degree weather) so there'd be a chance that my feet would get jacked up again with a million blisters
3) No pacer/crew lined up = less motivation
4) I read that you could be running downhill for an hour at a time and that they recommend training on a hill that's at least three miles long. Huh? All I can find are little dinky .07 mile hills to run up and down. (Have they invented a treadmill that has a decline-grade yet to serve such a purpose?) (Oh my gosh: check out this cheesy downhill converter someone's trying to sell)
5)Uhh...why did I just read in Alan's race report that a runner was killed by a cougar on the same Western States' course some years ago? It's already bad enough running half-asleep through the night in the dark with other people, let alone by yourself in some crazy wilderness. I would be way too freaked out the whole time out there. Why do all of these athletes get eaten by animals in CA?



I know, I know....it's very unlikely that my name would even get drawn in the lottery but if it was, I need to know if I'd be ready for it since the drawing seals the deal; no backing out.

What do I do??

Last Week's Recap/ This Week's Mileage

Every Monday Jon and I talk about our great plans for our mileage that week and then as the week progresses, it always ends up that either we can't run all six days as planned or we can't run as much due to whatever reason. Usually one of Jon's kids wakes up a ton during the night and then he's too tired, or our alarm doesn't go off, or I have to go in early at work....

So last week we wanted to run 55 miles for the week, which included a 15 mile run on Saturday. It turned out both of us got sick (along with a million other people) and so we only ran two-three days and then only 10 miles on Saturday. It stinks. So after our 10 mile run on Saturday, I knew I wanted to get in more miles than 28 for the week so I made myself run another 12 that afternoon, which brought me to 40 miles.

Then yesterday morning I actually woke up to my alarm before church at 7am and was planning on running 10 miles. I freaking got dressed, got my water and went outside and started to run. When I got about one-two minutes into it I decided I just didn't feel like running so I turned back around, went home and got back into bed. I'm lazy!!!

I told myself I'd run in the afternoon...then I said I'd run in the evening after the Colts' game (sniff, sniff) and then I just didn't do it. It's hard to make myself get more miles in when I don't have any upcoming races yet. Darnit.

So this morning Jon and I planned out the week as such: eight miles today; tomorrow I'm off work so we each bet that we have to run eight miles on our own or pay a whopping dollar for each mile we miss; Wednesday 10 miles; Thursday 10 miles; Friday 15 miles; Saturday is unknown and may just be a make-up day. Let's hope we make it!

Sat-Monday Runs

Last Saturday I ran 16 miles in the morning; Jon did 13 with me. Yesterday Bernie was in town and we ran 13 miles together. It was fun catching up on Hallucination stuff and talking about other random things (like Bernie's story of seeing a naked woman running during one of his trail runs back home; she was running as if everything was normal and not looking like she had been in some crazy attack or something). And, it was weird having normal conversations (better than playing the dumb alphabet game) and not being wacked out since we hadn't already been running 20+ hours again.

Then, this morning I ran 8 miles with Jon at 5am and we ran around the Lucas Oil Stadium and there were already a few people waiting outside its doors. I wish I could take the day off and tailgate all day. It's time to get hyped for the Colts tonight; woohoo!!!

Week Recap and Happy Halloween!

Well, darnit! It's funny how you have some good mileage weeks and some not. Jon and I were planning on running everyday this week but for various reasons, we only made it out twice. I'm gonna try to run this afternoon and some on Sat and Sun but I bet I won't get the miles in that I'd like to. Oh well.

Anyway, Happy early Halloween! Eat some good candy and enjoy my costume: OCTOMOM!!

Mornin Marathon

This morning I ran 13.1 miles with Jon, who is trying to get ready for his first mini marathon in May. I almost ran over a homeless guy sleeping on a step that I didn't see. Man, that would have sucked to have tumbled on him. I'd break a random bone and then I'd become part of his nightmare or something. I did this long, delayed-reaction scream/yell because he startled me and then I felt bad; I had woken him up. Sowwy.

I came home and still had energy so I went back out, planning on running 6 or 10 miles more. Well after 10.1 miles I couldn't just stop and not complete a marathon, so I tacked on 3 more miles and called it a day (and with no more ankle issues, btw).

I've learned that I do much better with long runs if I don't plan them out ahead of time (unless I'm going to be running with someone else, that is). If yesterday I had said I was going to run 13 more miles alone after my time with Jon, I probably would have headed back out and then made a million excuses as to why I was tired or sore and needed to quit. Instead, I went out with no expectations and since I felt good, I kept on going. That's the way to do it.

Funky Ankle

Ever since Woodstock, for the past 2 weeks or something, part of my right ankle/heel has been hurting a little bit during my runs. It's usually tight in the beginning and then is fine by the end. When I stretch it (which is pretty much never), it feels super tight like something needs to be worked out. Then I found out that if I run with a better stride and land more on the balls of my feet, it doesn't hurt. Does that mean I've just been slamming my heels down on the ground with every stride? That sounds gross. But now that I put more pressure on the balls of my feet, I got a blister on the top of my left toe. I'll be danged!

So bottom line- can I just keep ignoring it and running differently or do I need to do something about it? Lord knows I don't wanna stretch regularly. And why is it only my right ankle? Weird.

100 Miles, Baby! Woodstock Hallucination Race Report

Woohoo, I finally finished 100 miles; did it in 24:30.

The course was 6 loops of 16.6 miles and I think I liked it that way for a 100 miler. You could put one drop bag at the start/finish area and one at the 8 miler aid station. The majority of the course was flat with just a handful of hills that you could walk up without too much pain. I was surprised at how much of the race we actually ran. We probably ran 46 or 47 out of the first 50 miles and then a good bit of the last half, too.

Also, the course was surprisingly easier than all of the other races I was used to- nothing too technical or hilly like Mohican, the DWD races, or the Buckeye/Run for Regis run, and no water crossings. It was weird not seeing deep scratches and wounds on my thighs with thorns sticking out of them after the race.

I ran the whole race with Bill. He was so nice to have stayed with me the whole time, especially the last 2 loops when I was struggling and not talking much- just grunting. He somehow still had this super fast energy in him at the end and would run up ahead and then wait for me to catch up.

We ran a few loops with a fast runner and fellow Hoosier, Bernie, who was sneaky and stopped after 4 loops without telling us he was even struggling. It was actually smart of him because then he didn't have to listen to us trying to guilt him into finishing it out. Too bad, though. Next time! I also met Melissa from OH and James from IL.

So my feet...they started to hurt a little bit with just 8 miles into it. I did not want to get screwed again by dang blisters so I ended up switching out my socks 1-2 times each loop and then I switched my shoes about 4 different times. Only on loop 5 did I start to feel some blisters form but I kept on truckin, taped the toes at the end of the loop, took meds, and finished out fine. I think I'll actually keep my toenails this time. Awesome!

The ultimate problem has to be that my feet aren't used to running on trails, moving in different angles and stuff all the time. A couple weeks ago I ran 31 miles on flat pavement in the same pair of socks/shoes and had no problems...but when I go to trail, I have problems after just 8 miles. Hmm.

Let's see....I made it the whole way with just my handheld water bottle and Nathan vest- no heavy CamelBak. Thankfully the food situation was fine. I never had to force myself to suck down another turkey sandwich or anything. I ate and ate and felt fine. But uhhh, how did I burn around 10,000 calories but the scale now says a couple pounds more? Something's wrong. I wasn't eating donuts and drinking sugar water out there. And no, it's not a swollen body or water weight that's making the scale say what it does. I'd like to be like Mikey and get sick and lose 12 pounds after a 100 miler. Joke.

Overall it was a good experience and I never thought of quitting. I knew I came to run 100 miles and I was gonna do it. Right when I finished the race I said that I probably wouldn't do another one- anything over 12 hours is a lonnng time to be running and it gets kind of old. But---yesterday and today I'm reconsidering. Who knows what's next- maybe Burning River.

Enjoy the choppy video below and the bloopers at the end while my husband videotapes.

50k run and Taper Time

I slacked on Friday and didn't run so I bet Anna that I had to do 24 miles last Saturday. I was feeling good at 18 miles so I hurried and texted her saying I had to do 30 miles. My course was a 6 mile loop that I repeated; I figured it was good practice for Woodstock since that's 6 loops of a 16+ mile path. I ended up throwing in an extra mile so I could call it a 50k and I felt pretty good. The last time I had run a 50k on pavement was back in 2007 at the Lakeshore 50/50 race. My legs felt like noodles at the end of that one.

I finished off the week with 6 miles last Sunday and took today off....now I'm ready to slow down these last 2 weeks. Yes! I'll probably run 45-50 this week and maybe 30 next week. Vamos a ver!

Week Recap and Upcoming Race

I was originally going to be running at Hell this weekend but somehow my registration got messed up and so I'm not going to do it now. I've been trying to prepare for Woodstock and get the miles in so some extra rest will help. I'm not looking forward to that drive home alone after the race. I don't know how I'll make it, all jacked up.

I had my first bike accident last week and it wasn't even anything to brag about, dangit. I was going slow and I must not have been paying attention because my huge mountain bike tire wheel got caught in the grass and when I tried to bring it back over the sidewalk I got all tangled up and fell. I hit my head but I was wearing a helmet so I was happy that looking like a nerd paid off finally. The weirdest thing was having my hearing go out for a minute after the accident. I got on my bike and heard nothing...not my chain and not the cars going by. It was kinda scary but finally it came back. Now I'm too scared to invest in that road bike I was going to get. I don't mind dying (or going deaf) in a big running race or something but during a stupid 6 mile bike ride? Nah. It sucks though..every time I go running my stupid knee scrape breaks open again. It'll never heal.

Month to month mileage from '09

...just cleaning up a side tab.

December:

11/30-12/6	12/7-12/13	12/14-12/20	12/21-12/27	12/28-1/3	Total
0	5	2	7.5	13.5	28

November:

11/2-11/8	11/9-11/15	11/16-11/22	11/23-11/29	Total
6	9.5	14.5	15.5	45.5

October:

10/5-10/11	10/12-10/18	10/19-10/25	10/26-11/1	Total
0	0	0	0	0

September:

8/31-9/6	9/7-9/13	9/14-9/20	9/21-9/27	9/28-10/4	Total
6	50	0	0	0	56

August:

8/3-8/9	8/10-8/16	8/17-8/23	8/24-8/30	Total
0	0	0	3	3

July:

6/29-7/5	7/6-7/12	7/13-7/19	7/20-7/26	7/27-8/2	Total
0	3	0	3	10	13

June:

6/1-6/7	6/8-6/14	6/15-6/21	6/22-6/28	Total
47	8	85.5	0	143.5

May:

5/4-5/10	5/11-5/17	5/18-5/24	5/25-5/31	Total
50.5	32.1	26	26	134.6

April:

3/30-4/5	4/6-4/12	4/13-4/19	4/20-4/26
56	4	18	51.7

4/27-5/3	Total
60	189.7

March:

3/2-3/8	3/9-3/15	3/16-3/22	3/23-3/29	Total
10	47	17	43	117

Feb:

2/2-2/8	2/9-2/15	2/16-2/22	2/23-3/1	Total
60	45	10	25	140

Jan '09:

1/5-1/11	1/12-1/18	1/19-1/25	1/26-2/1	Total
40	40	43	20	143

70 Miles and Pooped!

I finally made a 70 mile non-race week; woohoo! All I have to say is that it is a sacrifice to run that much in a week. I average about 6 1/2 hours of sleep a night so that I can run early with the b-n-law (and yes, people at work do notice I look like a zombie!), I delay social activities on the weekend so I can get my long run in and still have time to nap because I'm drained at the end of a work/running week, and I let my house look like crap and say that I'll clean everything after church on Sunday but really I just cash out in front of the TV for 3 hours (yep...just woke up and I'm sitting with a pile of clean sheets on the dining room table, needed to be folded). Dang! I don't even have 1 kid, let alone 2 or 3 kids, who need to be driven around to sports and plays and fed and cared for. How do other people do it?? I actually have a little extra time at night since my husband's in school but what do others do? I know that Nick has some kids and he does it; gets up at 3:30am everyday and counts on his espresso. Ay ay ay.

So about the 70 miles, I started out ahead because I didn't have to work last Monday so I ran 16 miles. Then I hit 35 or something on Thursday so I bet Brian again that I had to do x amount of miles over the weekend to equal 70 and there ya have it. Yes, my legs were tired and heavy and my 16 mile run yesterday took forevvvvver.

Even after my long-arse ponderment on the sacrifice of running (I just googled "ponderment" to see if it's a word and I still can't tell. I like it though.) there's something about it that makes me want to do it again...keep uppin the mileage. It's crazy to think how much time and energy the 70 miles took in a week and I'm going to attempt 100 miles in 24+ hours at Woodstock. Why will I do it??

Disappointing Drymax

No, that's not my foot.

Last year at Mohican I got hit with a ton of blisters and it ended up forcing me out of the race. Nick had the same problem and finally recommended me some good, expensive socks that supposedly do the trick: the $20/pair Drymax Socks Maximum Proctection "made for ultra runners, guaranteeing to keep your feet drier than any other pair of sock" socks. Since these were the "top-notch" socks that everyone loves, I kept them in the back of my mind and was going to buy them as my mileage picked up and as I got closer to attempting another 100 mile race (Woodstock is 9/24).

So the other day I forked out $60 for three pairs of them, assuming they'd get me through a 50 mile race. I ran six miles in them the other day and felt fine. I was on a ten mile run today and at mile EIGHT my feet were soaked with sweat! I could feel the water sloshing around. I came home and I already had a little blister on my toe. The crazy thing was that it was cooler out today (76 degrees) than my other runs and for some reason I noticed the wetness in these socks more than other socks on different runs.

I'm pretty disappointed as big races are approaching and I have yet to find a solution to blisters. I wasn't even in water today and my socks were wet. What the heck am I going to do with a million water and mud-caca crossings during a race? Buy 30 pairs of socks and then change my socks every five miles? Maybe I should just run in water shoes. After all, wouldn't water shoes be similar to Vibram shoes and isn't barefoot running in style nowadays?

Someone at my last race suggested putting the powder that you put on baby's butts on your feet to help. I forget what it's called. I'll go ahead and get my money back for these socks and keep on searching for solutions.

Am I the only one having problems? No one else in these ultras seems to suffer. Any suggestions? Any help?

Morning run and off to camp

Last night I knew I wouldn't want to run this morning so I made a bet with Brian that at 5:10am today I had to be running and I had to run 12 miles, otherwise I had to pay him $80. It was my only motivation.

So I went out in the dark to the canal alone this morning. I felt a little scared in the beginning and then it just became awkward because I ran by so many couples making out on the benches. Anyway, it was NASTY hot out and my clothes were so soaked. I had brought some extra water in a bottle and put it next to some flowers. I saw it each time I did a loop of the canal until the very last loop; it was gone. :( Some maintenance guy probably threw it away, even though I didn't see it in the trash. Ohhh well.

This afternoon I'm heading off to camp again for a week so this is it until August. It'll be a low mileage week yet again. I plan to just run 2-3 miles each morning with the kids.

Until next time...

A Jacked up Morning

Last night I worked part of third shift and went to bed at 2am; woke up at 5am to go bike/run with the b-n-law, Jon. It was gonna be the first run since the race. I was super tired this morning and did not feeling like going but I did. When we started out biking, I was going super slow for some reason and I couldn't keep up. I was confused because my legs weren't sore at all but my bike wouldn't go anywhere.

When we got to the canal to run, I just assumed I hadn't fully recovered yet from last weekend and so I opted out of the run. I slowly rode my bike next to Jon while he ran 3 miles and then we got on our bikes again to go home.

Well I'll be danged; my back tire had gone all the way flat and I couldn't ride it more than a half mile. That was the dumb reason I couldn't bike on the way up. It sucks that it affected my mentality and made me think I couldn't run...so I missed out on a workout.

So, we locked up my bike on the canal and Jon was nice and let me ride his bike home while he ran home. When I got home, I grabbed my dad's van and went back downtown to go get the bike....then I went to sleep.

I felt like I wasted 1 1/2 hours this morning since I didn't even break a sweat, and then I missed out on some good sleep, too. Poor me.

DWD Devil's Lake 50 Mile Race Report

Well, I have mixed feelings about this race. The good news is that I finished the 50 miles in 11:07, my leg that was injured did not bother me at all; not during the race or after it, and I never got lost. Woohoo! I made it through with just a handheld water bottle and a smaller water bottle in my Nathan vest.

It was dang hot out all day and the worst part was that there was this beautiful lake two feet away from us at times and we just had to run sweatily by all of the people swimming and splashing and floating and boating. Ahhh, it was torture. My body was soaked from sweat from the start but at least my wet shorts worked as a good wash cloth for my hands when they'd be sticky after eating Fig Newtons... err something like that anyway.

So I wanted to make sure that I capture the course in my blog well so I can make a wise decision next year on whether to run it again. The course was similiar to Gnawbone and Hell in that you run through some woods, go on a few streets, get off the course a little bit, do random climbs...but the main difference in Devil's Lake is that you don't go through any big water crossings (you passed through a couple of tiny creeks but your feet don't get wet...but maybe I shouldn't be complaining since the water ruined my feet at Mohican) or any crazy mud bogs. I was really disappointed because that's what makes the DWD races fun and mixes things up.

It seems like the overall elevation of this race wasn't terrible; it was just all condensed into two big climbs that you repeated twice: one climb up awful rock stairs that lasted forever and one climb up the large bluff that kept going and going. Those sections were not fun. Oh ya, at one point up the climb there was a right turn but I kept going up straight ahead. Thank goodness these two people overlooking the view yelled and told me I had missed my turn. Ahh! I would have been so annoyed to have gotten lost, especially on that ascent.

And although there were a lot of trails in the woods, I was suprised that a lot of those sections were paved. There were also a good bit of rocky sections that kind of hurt your feet and blisters. And then there were a handful of sections where you ran out in open fields without shade, but most of them only lasted .5 miles.

I haven't actually compared the elevation on all of the DWD courses but it seems like Gnawbone was the hardest course because you consisently did a million random hills, and then maybe Hell and Devil's Lake are tied. I probably prefer Hell over them all because of the fun mud bogs.

So another thing that made this race only medium-fun is that I ran the majority of it by myself, surprisingly. I don't know how it ended up that way but I would go to the aid stations and ask where everyone was since I couldn't see anyone in front or behind me for miles.

I was so tired and discouraged at the end from people catching up to me that I was tempted to quit. At around 45 miles, I finished a loop and I could see the finish line with people cheering and I heard the loud music and then someone told me that you have to repeat the same 4.8 mile loop again that you did in the beginning. Ahh! I had no idea how I was going to finish it; I thought it would take me over an hour.

The beginning of this loop entailed going up the Bunny Hill which seemed soo easy in the beginning but by this point I just walked the whole thing, cussing to myself, and I kept looking back to see who was getting closer to me. Thank goodness this guy I met from Ft. Wayne, Jason, caught up with me and didn't feel like running either. We walked the last loop together and the conversation made it go back so quickly. He probably got sick of me yapping off his ear since it was my first human contact in awhile.

So I finished the race and hung around for awhile, talking to Dorn and others. I bought a fat Subway sub, went back to Heather's parents' house, forced myself to shower, and then hit the hay. I have no idea if I'll run this race again next year....most likely I will because there's something about that terrible challenge that's appealing.

I took a few short videos during the run and stuck them all together in the YouTube video below. Dang, I didn't realize how out of breath I was.

Oh ya, why did I find a dead gnat in my ear on Sunday night, after I had showered and slept and all? Trifling.

Tuesday Workout!

I'm embarrassed to say that I only made it 6 miles last week (but at least I'm tan now though, right?). I just hope I don't finish dead last in my upcoming race.

I biked and ran 6 miles this morning before work and it felt great! Now I'll have Zumba in a few minutes, and then I'm vowing to run at least 9 miles again today after work. Gotta do it!

Lazy Week!

Dang; how did I run the same low amount two weeks ago with a gimpy leg as I did this past week with a fine leg? I was lazzzzy and each day I didn't feel like running, especially in the heat. I went out last Saturday wearing 5 tons of running gear (music, 2 water bottles, berries, PB crackers, salt, etc), hoping to run 12-18 miles to bump up the weekly mileage, but I ended up only running 2.5 miles....just didn't feel like it. Caca.

This week's mileage will probably be low again, too, since I'm going to the beach from this Friday-Sunday. Wooohooo!

DWD Devil's Lake 50 Miler

Alright, I'm registered for the 7/10 race in WI! This DWD race will be a new one for me. They cancelled the race a couple of years ago; I think because they got a ton of rain and they had sewage problems or something and all the poop from the Port-o-lets starting leaking. Is that right?

Anyway, I'll go up on Thursday night to spend some time with Heather and then drive back that Sunday. I feel like I should be able to fork out some slow miles, as long as I make sure to warm up the leg beforehand. Four weeks away---Vamos a ver!

Saturday Exercise

Biked an hour to Bripple this morning; ran 13.3 miles in 2 hours in the POURING rain (leg felt better the second half); biked back home and as I approached downtown, I ran right into the works of a Gay Pride parade with people in costumes and crowding the streets--- or something of the sort... it was a little awkward. It'd be nice to finish up a 50 mi week tomorrow.

PT & A hot mess run

I had PT yesterday and I'm told to still hold off on ultimate frisbee for now; not 100% cleared yet. We agreed that the PT sessions are forcing me to cross train and stretch and they're still helping my recovery anyway, so I'm going to keep going for a little bit. Mo money down the hole.

After PT I headed to the canal for another run, not having any particular goal in mind (although I thought it'd be nice to do 18). I didn't eat much all day and I didn't have water or food on me so the run wasn't too pleasant.

I stopped at the IN State Museum every 10 minutes to take a water break and then had to sit down a few times to rest at the end. I had run 15 miles and was struggling to keep going because I was exhausted so I decided to drive real quick to the gas station and buy some food, then finish the last 3 miles. I picked up my favorite foods (pretzal combos, cinnamon poptart, and blue Gatorade), ate them in 2 seconds, and drove back to the canal. I was about to finish the mileage when I decided to go hang out at the frisbee field since I had already been gone a couple of hours.

Then when I got to the field I felt all nasty and sick and still hungry so afterwards I left and picked up an awesome, huge burrito from Qdobas. Then I got home, ate some, and still felt nasty and tired and fell asleep on the floor---then went to bed in my filth with salty legs and nappy hair. Trifling!

So anyway, I made it 15 miles and the good news is that my leg never hurt; I was just too tired. I don't know if it was worth all the pain and moaning though.

I woke up this morning and was still hungry so I finished last night's burrito then headed on the bike with the b-n-law and went downtown, ran 3 tiring miles with the burrito at the tip of my throat, then biked home. Now I need coffee.

Back up and running!

I think I am just about all healed up (knock, knock!!)! Each run seems to get a little better. I finally ran a good 6 miles last Monday; the first 3 at an 8:37 pace and last 3 at an 8:00 pace. I ran 2 miles yesterday morning and then 4.25 this morning, sub 8:00 pace. It feels so great to get back out there and it's hard to be patient and take it slowly. Today might be my last physical therapy apt...we'll see what he says.

Morning Workout

Biked for 1 1/2 hours at 5:30am; walked the dog for 20 minutes; then ran 10 miles at a pace just shy of 10 minutes. Slow and steady. The good thing was I wasn't in any pain; woohoo!!! I hope I'm not ramping up too soon. Maybe I'll be ready for 50 miles in July??????

5 Miles!

They were a very slow 5 miles but I pumped them out yesterday on the treadmill. First four miles at a 10 minute pace, last mile at 9:15. I wanted to take it slow to ensure I made it and I did with no pain; just tiny pressure at the end. I had to warm up for about 15 minutes beforehand and I think that'll just have to be part of my routine when I run now. :(

1 Mile Run!

Made it one mile on the treadmill yesterday at about an 8:50 pace. It wasn't totally pain free- felt a tinnny bit of pain and some pressure. Oh well...slowly but surely.

.6 Miles in the books

It's hard to believe that it's almost been two months since I stopped running. I had to miss my fav DWD race and also the upcoming Kettle race. :(

I've been going to physical therapy 2x/wk for the past few weeks and I think it's helping. The therapist narrowed the injury down to the adductor magnus muscle. Sooo we've been working on some hip/thigh/glute strengthening and been doing a lot of balance exercises that I suck at. The hard thing will be to keep the exercises up after my leg is healed. Although I know they will prevent further injuries (knock), I don't know if I'll have enough motivation.

So for the first time I got on the treadmill and was able to run .5 miles at a slow 9:50 pace. It didn't hurt but I was aware of the muscle. I took a break and then did another .1 miles and then stopped so that I don't jack it up more.

Progress!!

Trifling

How did I get pooped on twice yesterday while sitting in the same spot? Nasty.

Docta docta

I went to the Dr today about my leg and after first ruling out an adductor strain, he concluded that that's what it was. He then sent me to a physical therapist and the same conclusion arose: I flunked all of the tests that would lead you to think it was an adductor pull...but since he didn't think it was anything else, he said he will just treat it as if that's what it is. Hmm.

At the end of the day, he just gave me a few stretches to do at home and then told me to come back next week. Well, I hope the next meeting is worth my while because I'm not going to keep paying $35/wk for some stretches that I know I can do on my own. Ay ay ay.

I'm also going to [sadly] hold off on my ultimate frisbee for the moment so that my leg can keep on healing; butttt, I will be doing some Zumba still tomorrow.

So after work today I went to the gym and did the elliptical for about 17 minutes, then some stretches, then some weights that work the inner and outer thigh. It's about time my lazy butt did some moving around.

Tennis, Zumba, Ultimate Frisbee

Slowing but surely I think the leg is coming along. I played tennis last Monday and the little sprints hurt; Zumba was awesome and fun on Tuesday; and ultimate frisbee on Thursday was medium. I couldn't run in the beginning so I took a half hour off and then got back in. I wasn't 100% but I was able to run a little more and it felt good. I was going to try to run 2 miles tomorrow for the first time but I think I'll wait. I went ahead and cancelled the Gnawbone race in May. :( :( :(

Gimpy Gimp

Why did my leg jack up for the first time that I actually got in a running groove since eight months ago? I actually had five consistent weeks of good miles and then BAM. Nothing. Whhhhaaaaa!

I have never been one to stretch before I run...not for races and not for anything. I'm just too lazy to do so and since I've never had any running injuries or pulls or anything, I thought I was good to go. So, that's why I'm a little shocked that I pulled something even though it may be normal for a lot of runners. I just liked being in my naive world, I guess.

So speaking of stretching, I've been doing little stretches for the past couple days and I think it's helped a little. I can finally balance on the injured leg without it hurting anymore so that's progress. I hopped on the treadmill yesterday just to see how it'd react and I managed to make it .1 miles at about a 15 minute pace. Sweet.

I'm getting a little nervous because my favorite race, DWD-Gnawbone, is coming up on May 15th and I don't want to miss it. I've also just recently been considering running Kettle again in June, and perhapppps Oil Creek.

Heal, leg, heal!

Injured :(

I ran 18 miles last Saturday on a flat, plain course and at around mile 13 or so, the inside of my upper thigh started killing me for some weird reason. I kept running through the pain but it was difficult.

I tried to run 4.25 miles yesterday to complete a 50 mile week but I couldn't make it past 1 minute. :( I was immediately limping and in pain.

I had today off work and was planning to get a great run in to start off the week but my leg still hurts. What the heck happened to me? My family says it's just because I've been running more lately but I'm not running thattt much and other people run more than me and are fine. I've never been injured before so this is weird and definitely frustrating to take time off. I'm hoping that I'll be good to go by Wednesday.

Health Screening / This Week's Miles

We had a health screening at work today and I learned my BMI is 20.2 and 19 of my 128 lbs are fat, 15.2%. Since that's normal for my age, I'm hopeful that some of these extra pounds are actually turning into muscle instead of flabby mush. It's all a mind game for me.

I opted out of this morning's run to get more sleep so I am vowing to run 12 miles this afternoon after work. It should be in the mid 50s and sunny out.

This is what I'd like to get in for the rest of the week, totaling 50 mi:

Wednesday = 4 mi a.m.
Thursday = 3 mi a.m./ 6 mi p.m.
Friday = 3.5 mi a.m.
Sat = 18.5 mi
Sun = REST

Upcoming Miles

Okay...I'll run at least 6 miles this afternoon, 10 tomorrow, and 4 on Sunday. That will give me 47.5 for the week again.

Tuesday Miles

Yesterday afternoon I pulled up to the canal ready to run, turned off the car, and then my husband called and said he was skipping class....SO, I turned the car back on, drove home, and skipped out on running. Who really cares?

This morning I ran 3.5 with the b-n-law, came home and ate bfast with the hubby, and then headed out to the canal to run some more. It was warm and sunny and I seriously had the best run of my life. I ran 12 miles and felt like I could have gone on forever. I should have been able to just run and then fly, like on Crouching Tiger.

Afterwards I went to work, came home, and then took a nap. Now while sleeping, I've peed before, moaned before, talked, yelled "MOM!", and have jumped a few feet before. Never have I actually spit before. Today I had a dream that I was in a race and had to spit, and then I woke up to a big thing of spit coming out on my shirt! Uhh yeah, it was disgusthing.

Today/Tomorrow Run

I ran 2.5 miles this morning and will run, hmm....3-6 miles this afternoon, depending on how I feel. I'll run another 2.5-3 miles tomorrow morning with my b-n-law and then since I have the morning off work, I'll run another...is 10 miles fine?

6 Miles

Well, I ate FOUR FAT donuts this morning for breakfast and felt nastily stuffed afterwards. No, they weren't the small white powdered donuts that you buy in the little bag at the grocery. I waited over 30 minutes in line at Long's Bakery for some cinnamon fried (fried?? yuck) donuts that are gigantic and then stuffed myself with them at home. Why do I wonder why I don't lose weight after running a lot?

So anyway, I really wasn't in the mood to do my 5 miles in the afternoon but I made myself. I went out to the canal and there were tons of people there since it was warm and sunny out. For some crazy reason, I felt really good and was able to run 6 miles at a 7:50-55 pace. Woohoo!

Goal Accomplished

They were very slow miles but I managed 12 after work yesterday and 9 this morning. 5 more to go.

Upcoming Miles

I ran 3 miles this morning and will hopefully do the P90x workout this afternoon. I was planning on running 21 miles tomorrow but I'm leaving early in the a.m. to go to IL. Soo, my plan is to run 10.5 (or so) tonight and do the remaining miles tomorrow before we leave. Hopefullllly that will work. I'd like to do 5 miles on Sunday. Wow, that would give me a weekly total of 46.5 miles which is something I haven't done in a non-race week for a long-arse time.

Saturday/Monday Miles

I ran 18 miles on Saturday; 6 of them with Tim. I wasn't able to run yesterday. I ran 2.5 miles this morning before work and then ran 7 miles after work to make up for yesterday. I had a huge, unhealthy lunch today and could just feel it bouncing around in my stomach and creeping up my throat while I ran. Yuck!

Weekly Recap

I've been running 2.5 miles every morning before work and it feels pretty good. The distances are short but I finally look forward to running again. I hope to run 18 miles tomorrow and 7 on Sunday. Sunday miles might be hard to get in because I'll be busy but I'll try.

15 miles

Made myself run 15 miles around the canal again today in 2:05; felt pretty good and wasn't too cold out.

Weekend Run

...will run 15 miles tomorrow and 3 on Sunday for a grand weekly total of a measly 27.8 miles.

12 Miles!

Wow...stating that I'm going to run the next day actually works. I ran 12 miles today at the canal on a 3 mile loop in 1:46. My music battery died so it was just me and my thoughts...pretty relaxing. It was nice and sunny out, too.

I now have one complaint about the injinji socks. After being outside for only a couple minutes, my toes were painfully cold. I couldn't even feel them and was about to stop. They need to put some kind of warning label on their product so no one sues them. joke.

Anyway, I felt pretty good running but it sucked afterwards because I was so dang hungry. I had only eaten a little egg white before running and 4 hours had passed so it was lunch time but still; my stomach hurt so bad from hunger that it made me not wanna run. Why does that happen? I didn't eat during the run since it was only 12 miles but perhaps I should have. (Maybe I just need to shut up. There's people starving all over and this is the one time I feel hunger)

Speaking of eating, tomorrow night I'm getting Greek for dinner so now I have to be careful about how much I run so I don't go all crazy like the last
times...maybe just a few miles in the morning will do.

2 Mo Miles!

Ran 2 miles this morning out in the cold. It's a bad thing when my coworkers who typically don't run are coming up to me and saying that they've been running 3 miles or 5 miles and they're training for marathons and what not. Dangit. I'm now jealous because my lazy butt doesn't even do those 3 miles. I'm off work tomorrow so I'm committing via my blog that I will run 10 miles!

February Miles!

Alright y'all! I procrastinated running for a couple of weeks but my b-n-law finally convinced me to go running with him this morning around the hood for a total of 2.3 miles. Nice. It felt good to get out there. I ran in my new injinji socks and they felt fine.

For the past four weeks I've been doing some P90X workouts with people at work that last 1-1.5 hours. So, at least I'm getting some sort of exercise in, I suppose. They're pretty intense workouts that I enjoy but it makes it hard to fit in cardio work...

Run for Regis 50k Race Report

Chris and I drove over to OH on Saturday and made it in time to see the awesome Colts game. Here is my corny celebration dance the morning of the race:



So as you know, I've averaged a total of about 20miles/month since last September. I thought that registering for the race back in October would have encouraged me to run but it didn't happen.

The OH trails were still covered in snow/ice/mud unlike the IN roads (I don't know about our trails since I haven't been out in awhile); similar to running in sand. I made the mistake of not wearing trail shoes, "screw-shoes", YakTrax, or even some nice socks (which, btw, I finally purchased some Injinji socks since my old $5 pair of socks are disintegrating).

I saw Dr. T at the beginning of the race. I had run with him at the first Buckeye race in 1/08 but he finished at least an hour before me this year. After mile 5 I finally got to meet Rob and we ran together for about 6 miles. Then I met up with Shannon, whom I had seen at a few races in the past, and I stayed 2 feet behind her for about 18 miles. After the marathon I was tempted to stop but she kept me going and I'm glad I did.

So anyway, the course itself wasn't too difficult. There were a handful of climbs that we walked up but for the most part, it was fine. I think I prefer the old Buckeye Trail because it's a little prettier and a little more challenging (from what I recall). (Regarding the "pretty" aspect, I actually couldn't tell too much how pretty this new course was because I was focused on my feet for literally the entire time, trying not to fall. Back hurts a little bit from trying to balance so much.)

I finished in 7 hrs 10 minutes; a very slow race! I now realize that I shouldn't keep this style of training up anymore. My knee hurt pretty bad afterwards and was swollen and made me empathize for those that have bad knee problems. Thankfully it's all better now but I don't want to ruin myself completely.

(Ignore my hair wings. I just ran 31-33miles (discrepancy exists))

Thanks to Dr. T for the pics! Go Colts!!!!!

Below's a beautiful video of my nasty feet. I had to post it because they're just so gross and uncurable.

I believe the next race for me will be Dances With Dirt- Gnawbone 50mi in May. This is too hard of a course to not be prepared for so I'll start training in 1-2 months. :)