The Great Outdoors

I went home this past weekend for Mother’s Day and with the choice of either doing nothing or running outdoors, I hit the pavement! I was lucky that my great southern state was experiencing a cold front this weekend so when I went out Saturday night it was in the low 60s and when I went out early Sunday morning, it was barely 50 degrees with a nice breeze (or headwind, but I digress)! As any runner would attest, these are ideal conditions but my mom was so funny…”Are you sure you don’t want a jacket?” LOL

While I should not be surprised that driving 2 hours south onto “the plains”, I would be experiencing flatter conditions than my “foothills of the Appalachians”, I have to admit that I was surprised at how MUCH flatter it was! Not to say that my parents’ neighborhood is flat (it’s not) but at least there were some stretches of flat instead of the constant up and down of my usual outdoor pursuits. It was really nice to run in a new place and to take things in from a new perspective.

Saturday night after returning from baseball/softball and helping my parents prep stuff for the grill, I took their dog out for a .75 loop and asked them how much time I had before dinner was ready. They estimated 10, so I went out for another 15, figuring something was better than nothing. After an off-schedule week leading up to going out of town (heavy on the work and social calendar and lighter on the exercise) my body was CRAVING activity and was itching to run. I have not really had that feeling b/c I have been sticking so close to a training plan that I never had enough off time to miss it. It was a great feeling to just let my body go without distance or pace agenda.

I ran 2.7 Sunday morning (was aiming for 3 but with no Garmin or internet…my parents have DIAL UP, why bother?...I was pleased to have estimated it fairly closely) and it went quickly as I thought about growing up, teenage antics and wondered about the families that still lived there. After my mom got home from church, she and I headed out for a 2.8 walk (different route) which was fun.

While overall, the mileage was lower than usual for a weekend I am pleased that I found time to exercise out of my normal routine and I look forward to running in their neighborhood again. I now know what I can do to easily make each route 3+ so it gives me some options when I come home for college football Saturdays or holidays b/c I will feel SO MUCH better knowing I squeezed in some mileage rather than just sitting on my arse.

Nostalgic

Last fall Matt and I went here:

It was THE most amazing trip I have taken in my 30 years and made an incredible impact on me. Although I believe in exploring and not returning to destinations, I am itching to go back and if someone told me to pack tonight and get on a plane tomorrow morning, you can bet I would be ready. I have not been actively seeking out this programming, but in the past two nights I have watched fascinating documentaries on Alaskan bears and Icecaps/Glaciers in Iceland (and snuck in an episode of Deadliest Catch while waiting for LOST to come on!). OK, so Iceland may be a stretch, but so much of our Alaskan adventure centered around glaciers (viewing them, learning about them, hiking to them) and I just think they are absolutely fascinating creations. I could gush on and on about Alaska it was so truly amazing and I know in my heart I am not done exploring that great state. I also don't know if there was ever a time where I felt more at peace. (We actually slept with the door to our balcony open taking in the crisp FRESH air, not wanting to miss anything)

And to make this marginally about running, these are representative of the views I had every morning from the gym in the front of the ship. This along with the amazing wildlife (whales, seals, sea lions, dolphins, birds). Ahh...peace :)

The Day I Became "a Runner"

It's something I may have mentioned in passing following Mercedes: that even despite the months of training, the clear obsession with all things running and having the official half under my belt, I still didn't feel like "a runner." Six more weeks passed as I kept up my training for Country Music/Nashville, logged countless more hours and added a second half marathon under my belt.

In the two (or so?) weeks leading up to Nashville, I "announced" that I was ready for a break from training since I had been religiously following some sort of plan since early November. I am as Type A as anyone, but it was wearing on me. Now, granted, I didn't really know what I meant by that statement but I envisioned more cross training (perhaps training for a tri?) and maybe a reduction in running.

I was sick and down for the count almost immediately following Nashville...not the type of sick I could "run through" and it was frustrating. I managed a walk/run with Matt and the pups last Thursday and a run/bike on Saturday. I missed my trail run with Amy yesterday due to weather and I would be lying if I said my legs (and mind) weren't itching to get out there. Fast forward to today: googling running maintenance plans and mentally strategizing how to maintain my mileage and ADD the possible x-training goals. I hit the gym for an easy 3 on the track (no treadmill!), followed by some time on the bike and was so truly happy to be running. As I was stretching afterwards, I realized that I couldn't imagine my life without running...there is just nothing I have found that truly challenges and rewards me physically and mentally every.single.time. And then it hit me. "I think I might actually be A RUNNER." :) Cheesy, I know, but I have to believe others know what I'm talking about. Now maybe when others classify me as such, I don't have to qualify their statements or feel like a poser, I can smile and agree :)

Did not get sucked up by a tornado

Finished the 13.1 but have been hit hard by a sore throat/conngestion/exhaustion that started to reveal itself mere hours after the race. (Wendy has it too.) Between the above and putting on a major event at work on Tuesday, I am down for the count but still kicking (barely). Needless to say, passing out on the couch after 12 hour work days M-W has been my preferred activity of choice. I was actaully supposed to take the dogs out for 3-4 miles with Matt tonight but I fell asleep sitting up in the chair. (Must be why I am awake now?) Once I have recovered from my non-running adventures, I will be back with an update/review of Nashville with musings about my plans for the summer.

Nashville Bound!

I have no idea why, but I am so nervous! I have had a little pit in my stomach all day! Directions are printed, iPod is charged and bags are packed. All that's left is to fill my H2O bottle and hit the road! Let's hope the weather gods are kind tomorrow...the forecast is sketchy at best but it could make for a memorable event!

Ramblings

Lots going on! Probably easiest to post in "bullets."


--Matt and I did not win the diamond but we did do well. About half the participants were on bikes; we were on foot. The top 3 teams were all on bikes. (If we do it again next year, I will be purchasing an el-chepo bike from Wal Mart b/c if we could have covered more ground, I truly believe we would have been in contention. We only got 2 questions wrong and all of the pre-research helped save us a ton of time. Not to mention I work downtown which helped with the navigating!) After the race, I tracked back all of our text messages and did a "map my run" on the point to point routes we took. Not even taking into consideration all of the "up and down the sidewalk" , "cross the street and cross back again", "run around the park and look for an impossibly obscure statue" that we did for 2 hours and 45 minutes, we did just over 7.1 miles!!! I figure it was probably 8 when all was said and done, if not being a little conservative. Physically, it felt harder than the half marathon b/c we sprinted from location to location and ran out of water 1 1/2 hours into it. We were troopers though and rewarded ourselves with powerade and beer at the after-party!



--We also made al.com and the Sunday edition of the Birmingham News. Pretty cool! In the picture we were actually getting the question wrong. Trying to translate a bible verse from Latin and figuring out what book it was from. I still swear it was Proverbs (and so did my "phone a friend", Lauren) but the system disagreed. Matt was so sweaty but I really like the pic!

--I FINALLY signed up for the Country Music Half last night. Nothing like waiting 2 hours before the deadline. I am in Corral 22 with a million other slow people. Turns out my sister has a friend who is running her first half that day and is in the same corral. Wonder where Wendy and her dad ended up? They were projecting a 5 hour finish and I put a 2.5 hour half so it's possible we're all in the same place (they mix full and half participants)

--I did 11 on Saturday and it went really well. (In fact all of my runs last week went as well or better than expected) Storms are in the forecast which could make things interesting. (Temps ranging from the upper 50s to the low 80s) How does one dress for that (rain and humidity/warmth)? How do you listen to your iPod if it's raining? (Will my armband protect it from the elements?)I don't even want to think about running without music. I don't know if I can disassociate myself from myself with just the elements to distract!

--I experimented with Cliff Shot Bloks on Saturday. YUM!!! How to best carry in a race? I never wear a belt or anything since all of my stuff is laid out on the treadmill during the long runs. I don't want to carry fluids, just the bloks and maybe some beans. Shit, why do I always wait til the last minute to figure out the little details? I will be traveling to Nashville Friday after work so this needs to be figured out Thursday night at the latest. Tomorrow is a rest day so I probably need to stop by The Trak Shak or Fleet Feet after work to check out my options.

--Did a hard 4 tonight and then got home from the gym and Matt wanted to take the dogs for a walk! (Remember the hilly neighborhood) Grabbed some QUICK leftovers and headed out to conquer the hills. My legs were spent so I asked to Matt to hold both leashes since I needed max capacity from my arms! So sad. Ended up doing a little over 2. That makes 21 miles over the past 3 days (not to mention the couple miles I did at work today in heels walking all across campus to meetings). That's a lot for me...especially with a race on Saturday! The rest of the week is cake with 2 on Wed and x-training on Thurs. Honestly the 3 hour drive Friday will probably be the most physically "taxing" thing for the rest of the week.

--I need a plan for after Saturday. I've been saying I want a break from training and I do, but not a break from running. Just want some ideas on how to maximize the time so that I don't get burnt out but that I am still running with purpose.

Another race before the Country Music 1/2?

I have one more race before the half at the end of the month. What kind? One that has very little to do with running. Matt and I were selected to participate in Bromberg's Diamond Dash next Saturday!! The Diamond Dash is being billed as a high tech scavenger hunt which will be held in downtown Birmingham with the end prize being a $15,000 Ritani engagement ring. I am incredibly excited and we have both been doing a little research to get an idea of what to expect. Apparently, Diamond Dashes have been quite the trend around the country over the past year. No motorized vehicles are allowed in this hunt, but since I don't have a bike, I think we are going to rely on running to get from place to place. I have a 10.5 on the books for next weekend and of course in true Type A fashion I have already been trying to figure out how to fit that in since I don't want to do the hunt on tired legs nor do I want to get that started at 5pm. I have thought about tagging on 6 to my usual run with Amy on Sunday or possibly trying Friday night after work. We shall see.

Country Music is 3 weeks from now and during my run today, I really began to doubt my ability or desire to do the race. I think I am just tired and somewhat burnt out from following training plans since November. After this race, I know I will be taking some time off. Not sure exactly what that means b/c I def. want to keep some base mileage but I would like to focus on strength training and possibly some yoga and swimming.

Anyway, I had 9 scheduled for today and barely managed to eek out 8.17. I seriously felt like Venus Williams must have felt during her match with Kim Clijsters today. (In case you were wondering, Williams got her ass kicked by Clijsters, 6-2, 6-1.) I actually watched the beating during my run, but at least the torture for Williams took less time than my run and she still ended with a trophy and a hefty payday at the end of it. (LOL) I was (of course) on the 'mill today and the cardio room was especially roasting. I took 3 sports beans at miles 2 and 4 and was alternating water and G2 but I still stopped sweating TWICE. While I know I probably could have finished if I had really wanted to, I was absolutely drenched, salty, nauseous and mentally spent. I assessed myself at mile 5 (the first time I noticed I had stopped sweating) and wanted to quit then but I reminded myself of how hot it was in Nashville for the race last year and decided to keep pushing. ("What if this were race day? You wouldn't settle for a DNF. You would WALK to the end if that's what it took to finish.") The way the run went today made me really question what the hell I am doing, planning another 13.1 at the end of the month. I haven't quite gotten in the mileage I would like the way I did for Mercedes, but I have still been very vigilant with my plan and I am not racing on the 24th. I am going to experience this with my best friend and enjoy the scenery.

Things I need to do before Nashville:

• Buy some running capris. I am set on shorts now but I do not wanting to risk chafing over that kind of distance with these thighs and the longer tights are going to be WAY too warm. I actually have a pair of UnderArmour picked out, I just need to bite the bullet and purchase them.
  
• Buy a couple more pair of Experia socks. I have 3 pair going through the rotation and they are holding up INCREDIBLY well. I realize that I suffer in runs when I am in my cheaper socks but I have to time laundry just right to make sure I have those 3 pair available at all times.
  
• Actually register for the race. I waited until the week before Mercedes in case of injury gods coming to visit. Same reason for waiting here and I really want to know that my 10.5 goes better than today. The past 2 Saturdays have not been kind to me!