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!!!

Tecumseh Disclaimer

Here's my pre-Tecumseh disclaimer:

Unfortunately I haven't run since 11/17. Ouch. I have been part-busy, part-lazy. All I will say is that I'm not expecting to have a great time for this race; I just want to finish. It'd be great to finish just one second before my last year's time of 4:58. Even though I haven't run in forever, I'll be depressed if I don't beat my previous time since that was my first run on a trail, and first run on more than one incline.

The race is one week from today...and maybe I'll get in one-two runs until then. Don't worry, I'll finally be done with school in a few weeks and my plan is that with all my new free time, I'll have a wonderful new training schedule for the first time. Woohoo!

Boston Marathon Attire

I know it's early but I've been thinking a lot about what I'm going to wear for the Boston marathon and I know for sure that I'll be sporting the Colts while I'm there.

Would these be too harsh to wear? Although I love them (the shirts, that is), they don't sport the Colts at all- and that's the main goal.

Thankfully someone already asked the question about wearing the shirt and it looks like it might not be a good idea.

Even though this shirt below isn't made of runnable material and it will probably be freezing in Boston in April, I wanted to wear this tank top since it's in your face. Too bad they don't sell this item anymore. I'll keep on looking.

Please let me know if you see anything worthy of wearing.

Recap of Races Cont...

It's been awhile since I've recapped this year's races and so now's the time, before I forget everything. This is a continuation of my previous Recap of Races from the beginning of the year.

Kettle Morraine 100k- 6/7/08- This race was 31.5 miles out and back on trail. The trail was easy to follow, so you needed conversation to keep you interested. There were longer hills, although not too high, that required more hill training than what I prepared for (big surprise). Tons of rocks and roots that made your feet hurt at the end. I would do this race again only if I wanted to run this distance at a halfway-nearby place...otherwise I kind of got bored with the path. Oh ya, it's SUPER hot and muggy in June.

Silverlake 50/50- 8/23/08- I intended on running the 50 miles and I only made it about 17 or something. I didn't finish because of my own personal desire at that time- it did not have to do with the course. The race consisted of 4 12.5 mile loops on trail. There were a bunch of small hills that you could run up; nothing too challenging. The course in itself was interesting and kept you interested; or at least you had to pay attention to what you were doing. Speaking of- my main complaint was that the trail was open to the public and bikers would speed down the hills from the other direction. It was scary because a lot of times, you couldn't tell a biker was coming because of the turn...be careful! I would do this race again- or at least the 50k portion. Oh ya, the finish line is at the beach so you can rinse your sweaty body off afterwards! Yum.

Dances With Dirt- Hell- 50 Miles-9/6/08- I loved this race, as I loved the other DWD-Gnawbone race. It has a random trail path that you have to try to follow the whole time and pay attention to. You should expect to get really lost and should consider yourself very lucky if you don't. There are big and small hills- but it's fine if you walk up them. You go through nasty lakes, swamps, and mud bogs. It's a lot of fun!! Expect to get dirty and stinky.

Akron Marathon- 9/27/08- This is a paved race with a lot of long, gradual hills. There is a section with what seems to be a 3+mile long hill around mile 16-19 or so. There are some smaller hills near the finish line, too. Be prepared. The race is a good challenge and tests your strength. If I'm interested in squeezing in another marathon for the year, I might consider doing it again. Knees were sore afterwards, partly due to the pavement.

Columbus Marathon- 10/19/08- Flat, PR-able, paved, partly-downhill marathon. This is the race to run to qualify for Boston. The course runs through the city and through residential neighborhoods. Actually to be honest, I don't think I would have liked the race as much if I wasn't trying to qualify for Boston or to PR. It's nice and all but nothing is exciting about it- it's just a flat course.

"Easy" run on pavement

For some reason I actually wanted to go for a run when I got home from work today, despite the ugly, gray, windy, snowy, 27degree outsideness. (How do you know if you're supposed to write "gray" or "grey"? I typed in "grey" and it made me capitalize it. I though "Gray" was for the name...It's like "worse/worst, farther/further, who/whom, caca/kaka"... you never know which one to use). I probably made myself go run because every Monday I eat a ton for dinner at the n-laws and then feel like crap on Tuesday morning. Now I won't feel so guilty.

Unfortunately I only had time for a 45 minute run since it gets dark so early these days. I had a good run though. Speaking of- How come I'm all happy that I ran for 45 minutes? Because it's the most training I've done in a long time?

Anyway, it was cold out but surprisingly nice and refreshing after a few minutes. If only I could remember ahead of time that once you get going, it gets warmer--then I'd not dread these winterish runs so much.

the beauty of trails almost forgotten...

You all will be very pleased to hear that I finally got a decent workout in yesterday. I went to the gym and did about 30 minutes on the Stair Master and then about 30 minutes of weights/other exercises.

I then left and finally went to Eagle Creek. I ran a stretch of 10minutes 4 times. I have to admit, I stopped for about 1 minute after each stretch- I was seriously tired. NOW, I'm blaming part of my tiredness on the fact that I had just gotten done with the weights/stair master thing and part of it on my own lack of training.

But holy moly- I had totally forgotten how much harder/different trails are than plain ole pavement. It's nuts! I can't remember the last time I ran on trail- probably the DWD-Hell in September.

It felt great to get out on the trails but it made me sad that they weren't super easy for me. I forgot you have to jump around, climb things (well, not really), dodge stuff, pay attention; all that jazz.

I like this blogger's summary of trails vs pavement. He talks about the common things trail running includes- such as you'll run slower on trails, you better slow down or you'll fall, no cars, etc.

Speaking of, I had a couple of close calls yesterday on the ankle rollovers. Almost every inch of the trails were covered in leaves and so I was very lucky to not have fallen on over the millions of rocks and roots.

So anyway, yesterday's run was enough motivation to get back out there more. We'll see what this afternoon brings.