AudieRunner

Life, Love and Running

2011-07-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

Haven't written in a while, because I'm still really in recovery and not racing. I lost the spreadsheet where I was tracking my running last month. ugh! I know I should have a backup or log my runs online, but the online logs are too freakin' complicated and I never PLAN to get a virus on my computer. Actually, I'm not sure it was a virus, my McAfee didn't find anything. Just got a weird error message on three of the spreadsheets I use regularly and one of them was my beloved running log. However, I'm one running streak number 4 and it is 26 days strong. I'm still running everyday for 2-8 miles and maintaining 20-25 miles per week.

To quote The Cure it's "Hot, Hot, Hot"! Not a revelation since it's July and I live in the South. Some say this year is worse than others, but hot is hot and the heat index is just a conspiracy made up by the government to get us to agree to raise the debt ceiling. Just kidding! I'm really glad I took this year off from distance. I have little to no motivation these days to start my runs. Once I'm out there I'm glad I started, but I'm also glad to finish after 3-4 miles. Tonight I start back on the track. I'm aiming to do another race this fall, but I haven't picked it out yet. I'm going to Maggie Valley for a long weekend in September and I may look for something in that direction. Or maybe this will be the year that I finally get my Wooly Worm Woad Wace shirt!

The condo is getting close to ready for the market. The ugly, ugly housing market! But it's looking really nice and 'must see' will be a fitting description by the fall. Adam is getting ready for the Steamtown Marathon in October and I'm looking forward to the trip.

On the Road Again

2011-06-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

My apologies if I've just given you an ear worm.

So after a little more than 4 weeks of "rest" I'm back on the road. I missed a lot of beautiful, cool running days and now I'm running in the heat an humidity. I started back Tuesday, June 7th with a short, slow 1.5 mile run. I felt great and of course, I stretched before and after. I've run everyday since for about 1.5-4 miles. Stretching every day is part of my new routine. My knee hasn't been an issue, but I am feeling a lot of strange feelings in my Achilles in both legs.

What concerns me is back in April when I had a bad sinus infection, my Allergist prescribed me Levaquin, an antibiotic that is really effective in curing sinus infections. I took it without first reviewing the side effects. Something you should NEVER do. After experiencing some of the minor side effects of the medication, I looked up the drug online and found this:

"Fluoroquinolones, including LEVAQUIN®, are associated with an increased risk of tendon rupture or swelling of the tendon (tendinitis) in all ages. This risk is higher if you are over 60 years of age, are taking steroids (corticosteroid drugs), or if you have kidney, heart, or lung transplants.

Tendon rupture can happen while you are taking LEVAQUIN® or up to several months after you have finished taking it. Call your healthcare professional right away at the first sign of tendon pain, swelling, or inflammation

Get medical help right away if you hear or feel a snap or pop, have severe pain, rapid or immediate bruising after an accident, or are unable to use the affected area

Stop taking LEVAQUIN® until tendinitis or tendon rupture have been ruled out by your healthcare provider and avoid exercise and using the affected area"

So naturally I'm concerned about what I'm feeling when I run. So far there is no pain, just an acute awareness that my tendons are there and working. This is also a lesson to review all side effects of the medication prescribed BEFORE taking them. My doctor is aware that I'm a runner and shouldn't have prescribed this. It has to be on me to research the side effects of the medication he prescribes. The "up to several months after" is quite vague, I wish they could be more specific.

I currently consider myself in recovery and so I haven't planned any races. I'd like to regain more strength before racing again. In the meantime, I'm enjoying running again.

Running streak 3 is at 7 days and counting.

I've run 120 days this year and a total of 426 miles.

What I Learned at Biker Week: We're Not So Different

2011-05-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

My parents own one of those timeshare deals where you use points to get vacation rentals. My Dad always invites my sisters and I to join. I usually go for part of the week. Last October, my Dad asked Adam and I when we could join them in the Spring and he'd book at that time. We said mid-May. By the time my Dad booked, a place in Garden City, SC was the only place available for the week. Adam and I agreed to drive down Wednesday and stay until Saturday when my parents left.

Garden City is just South of Myrtle Beach and mid-May is biker week in Myrtle Beach and the surrounding area. I'm not from MB and I'm not into motorcycles so the thought that we could be at the beach at the same time as the Hell's Angels never entered my mind. It wasn't until my Dad sent me an email that Tuesday letting us know about the weather and saying "it's biker week, so it's really loud" that I realized I'd be getting a cultural lesson on my mini vacation this year.

The car ride to the beach was uneventful (not a complaint) and we arrived late Wednesday night. The condo was maybe a quarter of a mile from the famous Garden City Pier. The fishing pier is the largest attraction in Garden City. At the pier, in addition to fishing, the pier has an arcade, two bars and great "people watching." One of the bars is just outside the tackle shop and another is at the end of the pier. Each bar features live entertainment from bands to karaoke. It's a must see while in Garden City.

The first morning that we were there, we got up early (by vacation standards) to do our exercise for the day. Adam enjoyed a nice cool run while I had to walk because I'm still recovering from quad tendinitis. My Dad decided to walk with me and we headed out south of the condo to walk in a small neighborhood. It was on this walk, I got my first glimpse of "biker week." We passed several parked motorcycles and their leather-clad owners waking up and greeting their fellow riders. Some were already on their bikes revving their engines to announce their presence. Or is it a mating call? We heard, for 3 blocks mind you, a man heaving over the balcony of a rented house. I don't know why he couldn't do that inside. I noticed, though, that there weren't as many bikers as I'd thought that there would be. I think most of them stay in Myrtle Beach and that the ones near us were older and more tame. There's no Hooters restaurant in Garden City which also could account for the small numbers.

The bikers weren't the most interesting people that we saw this trip, however. Adam, my Dad and I spent some time at the end of the fishing pier. There we talked to a man who was missing several teeth and had a tattoo across his chest that read "DO NOT RESUSCITATE." And then there was the guy from Isreal working at the Slick Track place who was wearing a white t-shirt that read in big black letters "And For My Next Trick I'll Need A Condom and a Volunteer."

Adam and I did try the Slick Track place. It was not a slick track. I think at one point it was, but it needs to be repaved. The carts were old and not in great shape. However, it was only $5 and we got to ride just the two of us for about 9 minutes. A bargain.

As Adam, my Dad and I were leaving the track and heading back to the condo, my Dad made a comment that really made me think. He said "As far as I can tell, all the bikers do is ride around, drink beer and buy (cycle) paraphernelia." My first thought and what I said was "Well, all we runners do when we go for a running weekend is run, drink beer and buy running paraphernelia."

Then I started thinking about all of the people that I've run into over the years while I was running a race in another city. Imagine a person who finds themself in Boston or Chicago on the weekend of the marathon having no clue that 40,000 runners will be their clogging streets and Italian restaurants. Someone with no knowledge of running races. What impression did we leave on them? I thought about the guy in Nashville that I shared a cab to the airport with. He was Australian and when he asked me where I was heading and I said Charlotte, NC, he didn't know where that was. And by 'didn't know where that was,' I mean North Carolina. I was his first and probably last encounter he'd ever have with a person from North Carolina. I thought about the European guys that stopped my friend Jody and I on a street in Asheville, NC to ask us about the Asheville half marathon that was finishing close by. They wanted to know how far a half marathon is, in kilometers. We couldn't tell them the answer. It's roughly 21.1km, just in case you get asked.

New races are created every year and old ones are gaining popularity. We book flights, hotel rooms, rental cars and arrive en masse to run, drink and buy running paraphernalia. Sure we pay taxes and help boost the local economy, but is every person living in the area on board with that? This week is a big week in Charlotte for NASCAR and it's fans. Statistics prove that this is a great boost to the Charlotte economy every year, but how many complaints from residents have you heard? I don't want people to feel this way about runners. I'm setting a goal to be more respectful of the citizens of the places that I visit and more knowledgeable of Charlotte. I plan to be more polite and empathetic to a bewildered person who stumbles upon a finish area full of sweaty, smelly, dry fit-clad runners, when they were hoping to ride their seqway through Grant Park. Runners think that runners are the nicest people in the world. We shouldn't keep that to ourselves.

GHB and Fog

2011-05-10T05:30:00.000-07:00

So my running streak ended at 99 days and picked up 15 days later. Streak 2 ended at 14 days, but more on that in a minute.

This past Saturday I ran the GBS 5K. GBS stands for Guillain-Barré syndrome. GBS is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. A friend of mine contracted the disorder a few years back and became involved in organizing the GBS 5K, which started about 5 years ago. Saturday was my 3rd time running the race. It's a small race so the first two times I ran it I placed in my age group.

I told Adam when I signed up for the race. I told him that he should sign up because he'd have a good shot at winning it. Adam is fast enough that winning a 5K is actually a reachable goal. Adam, like a lot of people had never heard of GBS. He asked me the week of the race "you have that GHB race this weekend, right?" I laughed so hard!

Adam didn't sign up and instead got up early and ran 14 miles. I got up and hour before I wanted to leave and started my race morning routine which is just waking up early and getting my butt out of bed. I hate mornings. I peaked out to check the weather. It was foggy which is my favorite type of running weather! When Adam came back I asked him how cool was his run in the fog? He agreed it was pretty cool. Adam quickly showered and got ready to go with me to watch the race. The fog had started to lift by the time we headed to the race, which was only about 7 miles away in the southpark area of Charlotte.

We parked about half a mile from the race and headed towards packet pickup. The DJ already had the music cranked and there were volunteers still prepping the finish area. I found packet pick-up easily and got my bib and t-shirt. This race, like many races, sends a virtual goodie bag by email instead of giving you a bag with race brochures, coupons and other crap you'll never use. I am a huge fan of this concept.

It was about 45 minutes before the race start and I should have been stretching and warming up. Since I had only run the 2 weeks leading up to this race and those runs were shorter than a 5K, I knew placing wasn't a possibility. So instead I looked around for other runners I knew. I didn't know of anyone who had planned to run, but was happy to run into Mike and his family. Mike moved to Charlotte from Pennsylvania a few years ago and started running with us on Wednesday night. His wife and their 3 kids stayed in PA until the house sold and when they got to Charlotte, Mike disappeared. He reappeared a few weeks ago and was at the race Saturday to support his wife by watching the kids while she ran. We chatted a while and then all headed to the start line.

This year they were chip timing the start. I was really happy about this. Adam looked around at the competition and said that he should have signed up. He asked me how fast I expected to finish and I said I'd be happy to break 26 minutes, but considering how the past couple of weeks had gone, I'd settle for breaking 27 minutes.

http://www.gbs-cidp.org/pdf/2011_GBS_Charlotte_Walk_5K_Map.pdf

The race director called the runners to the start line. Victims of GBS often make a full recovery with no lasting effects, but after a long, slow healing process. Victims who have to go on a respirator within the first day of coming down with the illness, usually have some residual disability or effect. This is why the race's slogan is "Running for those who can't." Another thing I love about this race. Many people at that race are running their first 5K and they don't always seed correctly. Case in point was an overweight lady standing about 2 rows off the line who was wearing spandex capri pants and long sleeves under a short sleeve shirt in 55* weather. I'll give her this, it was workout wear and God love her, she was out here!

The race started without a fanfare (which is also a personal favorite). The race starts on Colony road and continues down until turning left onto Ferncliff. The first year that I ran this race, I ran a 7:42 in the first mile fueled by a combination of downhill, adrenaline and the misplacement of the 'Mile 1' sign. This year it was just over 8 minutes with the sign correctly placed. Starting at Ferncliff we started climbing about a mile and a half of hills. There are only 2 steep ones with the rest being slow inclines. The race winds through neighborhood streets behind Southpark Mall and runs up Morrison which is the finish line for the Southpark Racefest races and the Southpark 8K. Once you get up Morrison, you turn left onto Sharon and it flattens out to the finish. I hadn't run the race in 2 years and didn't remember the course, though I knew it wasn't fast. I overheard a guy, before the race, telling a kid (possibly his son or he was the kid's coach) about the course flattening out at Sharon and his comment stayed with me the whole race.

I passed the lady in the capris within the first quarter of a mile and got passed by several people. I felt like I was walking while everyone else was in a race car. However at the turn onto Ferncliff and the first steep hill, I passed a few people and a few kids who were already walking. At the top of the hill is the Mile 1 marker and then there were several turns and some nice rolling hills until we took another left and had to go up the second steep hill. At that point, I thought "I don't remember this course at all!" When we turned onto Morrison for the last mile and I realized we had to run through and beyond the finishes for the Southpark Racefest races, it posed quite a mental challenge. But I came back to that man telling the kid 'when you get to Sharon it flattens out and you can kick it in.' Telling myself that helped me up the long slow incline and then the short, rather insulting hill up to Sharon. When I made the turn, I fixed my shallow breathing with three short blasts out and a long inhale and then did my best to kick it in. At the 3 mile marker, I checked my watch 25:43. I knew 26 was out of range, but I also knew I'd beat 27. At the turn back into the shopping center to finish, Adam was standing on the curb and cheered me on. I gave a wave or a thumbs up, who can remember at the end of a 5K? I finished at 26:38, 5th in my age group and 80 overall.

During the first mile, I had recognized a man that I don't know but I've seen at races before. He's tall and runs completely straight backed, on the front of his feet with his toes turned out about 30* in each direction and he has a small stride. His calf muscles are well-defined. He was ahead of me the whole race. I tried watching his feet and taking as many steps as he did, trying to figure out how he could stay ahead of me with such bad form. He finished about 30 seconds ahead of me.

When I finished, Adam told me that the winner had run a 18:42 and was "some kid." He was disappointed that he didn't run it, because he could have beat that time. Laughing I said, "You need to listen to me, I know how to cherry pick a race." Adam introduced me to a guy he knew that he'd been talking to while waiting for me to finish. While they continued to talk, I checked out the finish area tables. Earth Fare was there and provided the fruit. I grabbed a couple of Chic-Fil-A chicken minis for Adam and some Starbucks coffee for me. After seeing that I didn't place, we headed back to the car by walking past the finish line and out of the shopping center. There we saw the capri pants lady slowly jogging to the finish. We cheered for her. She had a satisfied look on her face and I was relieved to see that she was in a good mood.

After the race, my left knee hurt again. I was able to do a short run on Sunday but I had to take Monday off and won't run again until the pain is gone. There's no sign of swelling and I find that taking Aleve really helps. So I don't think it's time to go to a doctor. I found this site: http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/handouts/overusekneeinjuries/overusekneeinjuries.htm I believe I have "Quad Tendonitis." I plan to do the recommended stretches a couple of times a day. This course of action makes sense to me as stretching is a weak point. I do yoga, but haven't had time recently to be consistent. After doing the stretches this morning, my knee feels a lot better.

I don't have another race planned until I can get the knee issue figured out. Hopefully it isn't long.

I Haven't Run in 9 Days. Am I Still a Runner?

2011-04-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

So as my knee was healing, the pollen count in Charlotte was rising and by the time I could run again, my asthma and allergies were in full swing. Every. Spring. So I haven't run in 9 days and I don't know what to do with all this extra time. My physical ability is severely limited. Just getting up and walking into another room makes me winded and sometimes dizzy. I've done some yoga, but not as much as I'd like to be able to do. I was continuing to lift, but that is now out of the question. I did get a nice antibiotic from the doctor and I'm taking my Mucinex D as directed, but until the pollen count is reduced to normal levels I'm stuck with all this extra time. It's worse on the weekends. Saturday morning, Adam and I headed to the finish line for the Southpark Racefest Half and 10K. It was raining and storms were expected, but the lightning had held off. The rain had reduced the pollen count so I felt ok going out with out a mask or oxygen tank. Unfortunately, the race started at 7:30am when I'd thought it started at 8am. We missed most of our friends' finishes. We ran into some of our friends and got to hang out before heading back inside. Sunday the pollen levels returned and I was more sick than I had been all week. I was really hoping to back to running at least on the treadmill by Monday, but it's looking like another week will go by without running. It's crazy to be so lost without exercise!

...and on the 100th day I rested.

2011-04-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

Back in February, when I thought I'd be in Boston the weekend of the Southpark Racefest, I signed up for the Elizabeth 8K. I did this race a few years ago and I remembered the course being beautiful. I didn't remember it having rolling hills and I didn't remember how long an 8K is.

Saturday morning I woke up at 5:50am to start getting ready. Adam had agreed to take care of a friend's pets while he was out of town so we had to tend to them before heading to the race. I put on my race ready shorts, my Sharksbite singlet, my Herculisa socks and tried to wake up. After tending to the dogs and the cat, we headed to the race. We found a parking space right at the finish line in a lot where only one other car was parked, then walked to the Community Center to get my packet.

WE SAW ELVIS!!! Well, we saw a guy dressed as Elvis. He was the same guy who'd been dressed as Cupid at the Cupid's Cup 5K in February. He was outside the Community Center entertaining the few people who were standing around.

I got my packet and was pleased to see that they've started giving out tech shirts. We headed back to the car. Adam is still recovering and was there to do a run in the area during the race. He stretched and took off. I went in search of the three friends, Mindi, Jay and C.A., that I knew were running the race. I found Mindi, Jay found me and I didn't see C.A. until after the race. Mindi is married to a friend of mine from college. She recently started running to lose weight after having her fourth child. This was the second race she was running since high school. She had signed up on my recommendation. She was in a great mood and said she may try and pace with me in the beginning. I told her that my legs were tired and I didn't know how I was going to do. We seeded our selves about 5 feet behind the start line and chatted before the start.

I had run a short 2 mile route the night before the race on very tired legs. I hoped Saturday I'd be in better shape. Nope. Still very tired legs. But I pushed along. Mile 1 contained 8 turns taking us on mostly residential streets lined with houses and old apartment buildings. It was beautiful. Mindi was right with me during this mile. I was energized by the crowd and carried along with their momentum. Into mile 2 the streets began to get longer and there are fewer turns. I spotted Kathy Seavers ahead of me. Kathy Seavers and her husband Larry are an institution in Charlotte's running scene. At 65 Kathy is an "oncology nurse who has posted age-group wins at several recent local races..." (Theoden Janes' blog) I've seen her at almost every race I've run in Charlotte and over time, my times have caught up to hers. Of course, she's slowed down some over the years. She and her husband are very nice people and in addition to seeing them at races, I've seen them at The Neighborhood Theatre enjoying a concert. I'm not their only fan, though. To quote Scott Dvorak at the 2006 Dilworth 8K awards ceremony "Who doesn't love the Seavers?" I made it a goal in this race to pass her. At the water stop close to the mile 2 marker, I caught up to her. Shortly after the water stop, I did. But then I had to hold her off. Which wasn't easy.

At about 2 1/2 miles I saw Larry Seavers and made it a goal to pass him. I crept towards him and was gaining ground when just after the 3rd mile marker the course turned onto Dotger Ave and headed up the largest hill on the course. After the hill, we continued climbing for about half a mile as we looped around Deacon/Emerson/5th streets. I noticed Larry taking peeks over his shoulder. I would get closer, but then fall behind him. The course began to descend at the turn back onto Dotger Ave and then flattened with the turn onto Kenmore Ave. I passed Larry and as I did, he said "Go Sharksbite!" in labored speech. "Oh" I said in equally labored speech. "Go Lary Seavers!" I added.

Having passed Larry I now had to work to stay ahead of him. We soon passed the 4th mile marker and I began wondering "How long is an 8K again?" Math and running don't mix. I knew a 5K was 3.1 miles and that we were passed that, "so if 1K=.71 miles, then we have..." Actually 1K = .62 miles. I really should have looked it up before the race. I did know that an 8K is less than 5 miles so I knew we had less than a mile to go. I also knew that Greenway Ave was one of the last streets of the course. So shortly after turning to go up Cameron Ave I saw "eenw" on a street sign and new the end was near. We turned onto Greenway Ave and then finished on Park Dr.

I finished with a chip time of 41:28(8:24/mile pace) 138th place overall and 4th in my age group. Larry Seavers was 4 spots behind me with a time of 41:48 and Kathy finished at place 159 with a time of 42:40. So I beat people more than 20 years my senior. But they're fast, so it was a tough victory.

Adam was cheering at the finish and was surprised at my fast finish. I joined him in time to cheer for Mindi and C.A. who finished neck and neck. C.A. finished 166th with a chip time of 42:18 and Mindi finished 167th with a chip time of 42:29. Jay, who was wearing a knee brace at the start, finished 331st at a chip time of 48:39.

Speaking of knee issues. At some point in the race, my left knee started hurting. I think with my legs really tired, I either locked out my knee or hyper-extended it when landing. After the race, it really bothered me, but not as bad as it did Sunday morning. I took 2 Aleve before yoga and made the sad and hard decision to not run on Sunday. I decided it wasn't worth the risk of further damaging or seriously injuring my knee. So the first running streak of 2011, ended at 99 days. My goal is to run as many days as I can this year, so my goal is still in play. My knee isn't swollen and it only hurts when I put pressure on it, so I don't believe it is a serious injury. Today, Monday, it is significantly better. I can still feel little twinges of pain, so I plan to take today off too. This was a hard decision, but I know it is the right one. Better end the streak than end running period.

Current Stats:
Total Days Run: 99
Longest Running Streak: 99 Days
Longest run: 8 miles
Longest week: 32.6 miles
Shortest run: 1 mile
Shortest week: 20.6 miles
Number of races run: 5
Total Miles Run: 374.35
Next Race: GBS 5K

Cooper 2011

2011-04-06T06:47:00.001-07:00

The Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, SC kicks off the Spring for many area runners. This year it fell on the first weekend of April. When I've gone in the past I've stayed on the Isle of Palms (IOP) just outside of Charleston. This year I stayed with Adam, his brother Todd and wife Ellyne in Shem Creek. Shem Creek is in Mt. Pleasant between Charleston and IOP and is close to the start of the race.

We all took Friday off and headed out mid-day to drive the 3 hours to Charleston. We arrived at the hotel, checked in, changed in the room and went in search of food and drinks. It was probably the chilliest weekend I've ever experienced in Charleston. It was cooler than it had been in October! The official temperature was around 50-60*, but the wind was dropping the temperature by at least 10 degrees. I hadn't packed correctly but I was still determined to spend time outside. After dinner and a trip to Firehouse Subs to get Todd his traditional pre-race dinner, Adam and I went up to the Shark Fin Bar which was next to our hotel.

The bar was on the second floor of Vickeries restaurant and outdoors, open on 2 sides. Luckily they had propane heaters and we found one to huddle under once the sun went down. The actual bar was shaped like a shark fin that's laying on it's side. It was a small place and the bar took up a lot of room. There were about a dozen people there. The views of the sunset and water were gorgeous! After a couple of beers we headed back to the room.

I hate the actual CRBR race! It's crowded, people don't seed well and you end up walking more than you want to. Then you get into a slam packed Charleston where you have to wait in line for everything you want to do. So I go for the after parties (at the Windjammer and Red's) and not for the race. Adam is still recovering from a severe calf muscle strain and wasn't running the race either. But he and Ellyne woke up, before Todd (the only person among us running the race)to get ready and drive over the bridge into Charleston prior to the bridge closing to traffic for the race.

I slept in until about 7:30am when Todd came back to the room for one last pit stop. I wished him well and then got up and dressed in my running clothes, at my Kashi bar, watched TV and watched the race leaders cross the Shem Creek bridge from the room's balcony. Around 8:30, I ventured out to the end of the hotel's drive way. This year the race directors finally added wave starts. Each wave was released every 3 minutes. I was watching runners in probably the 8:30-9:00 min/mile pace group. I saw my friends Steve, Kate and Kai run past but no one else that I know.

Some people wear costumes for this race. I gave Adam my camera to take pictures of Todd's finish, so I don't have pictures of the costumes I saw, but you can use your imagination. I saw two guys dressed like 'Reno 911' police officers. I saw 4 guys dressed like 'Bay Watch' lifeguards. Two of them had fake boobs. I saw two of the 'Seven Dwarfs.' I saw one bride and groom. I saw one 'blue man' and a lot of people in funny hats, pink boas and other outfits that I can't describe.

Todd is fast enough to start pretty close to the line and managed a 37:13, which wasn't a personal best, but I think it was pretty great.

Meanwhile, I finally cut across some walkers and started my run in the neighborhood across Coleman Blvd from the hotel. I had mapped my run online before leaving for the trip and had an 8-mile route planned. I had never run in the area before and wasn't sure what to expect. The neighborhood across from the hotel was full of well-kept, mostly brick homes. The neighborhood was probably built in the 60s-70s and the homes were landscaped with beautiful azaleas that were in full bloom. There were also magnolia and oak trees around. I was only in this neighborhood for about 2 miles. The last 6 were run in the neighborhood on the other side of Shem Creek from our hotel. It was a gorgeous quaint version of Charleston. Old (or old-looking) plantation homes on the water and other beautiful homes surrounding them. The streets were lined with shade trees and the whole area was flat.

When I finished, back at the hotel, they were cleaning up the continental breakfast items. I managed to grab a chocolate, glazed donut and half of a sesame bagel before going back to the room to shower. I had a missed call from Adam and when I called him back, he told me they were heading back to the room. He had said that they would be in Charleston most of the afternoon, but by 10:30am, they'd had lunch and were ready to come back.

After they got back I was hungry for lunch. Ellyne was ready for a nap. Adam, Todd and I walked across Shem Creek bridge to Red's. Red's is by far the most popular bar in Shem Creek and it was packed. So we went next door and I got a shrimp po-boy and a beer from RB's. RB's is really delicious and is on the water at Shem Creek. We sat upstairs outside and shivered every time the wind blew! After lunch, we headed over to Half Moon Outfitters. It's similar to an REI, but much smaller. Adam was impressed with the huge Rainbo flip-flop on the wall.

After our shopping adventure, we grabbed Ellyne and headed over to the Windjammer on IOP. It wasn't as packed as I've seen it in the past. It was 2 or 3 by the time we got there, so maybe the crowd had left. We ran into a lot of people that we know from Charlotte, Karin, Mike, Vincent, Jim, Wendy and Joey. We had a great time catching up and hearing how people did. The sun was shining and it got nice and warm on the back deck. Todd and Ellyne caught a ride in Charleston with friends while Adam and I stayed on the island. We then walked over to ACME Cantina for dinner and the NCAA Tournament games.

Sunday morning Adam and I ran a 3 mile loop around Patriot's Point. After a little shopping and lunch, we headed home. I snapped the picture below of the bridge on our way out of town. I think I have everyone, or Adam, talked into the Savannah Bridge Run in December. I haven't done that race in a couple of years and would love to go back.

Current Stats:

Total Days Run: 95

Longest run: 8 miles

Longest week: 32.6 miles

Shortest run: 1 mile

Shortest week: 20.6 miles

Number of races run: 4

Total Miles Run: 360.15

Next Race: Elizabeth 8K

Sharks and Angels

2011-03-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

I log my running weeks from Saturday to Friday and started Saturday of the Corporate Cup race with a great 8 mile run. I planned a route that put me on Morehead Street where the half marathon racers would run their last, long leg of the race. I felt pretty good. It was a great route and a beautiful day. I started my run at 7am and didn't get to see many of the race finishers while running. After my run, Adam, Jody, Bryan and I all stood along Morehead cheering runners before going into Dilworth Bar & Grill for brunch to celebrate Adam's birthday. I had missed most of the people I expected to see, but still got to cheer on a few friends. Several people set PRs that day because it was such great running weather.

The next day my body told me that it was time to dial it back. I had run a total of 30+ miles the past two weeks which was more than I'd run in a long time. I didn't run more than 1.6 miles the next 4 days.

That Thursday was St. Patty's Day. There were a couple of themed runs that night, but I decided to go to the reprisal of the old Sharksbite Thursday night run hosted by Eimear and Charlotte Running Company. I'd only run the course a few times and remembered it being pretty tough. I sent information about the run to a couple of my friends who I know from Sharksbite. Karen responded that she was in and forwarded it to some of our other running friends. Karen, Joanna, Collin, Chloe and Gibson all came out to the run the 4.4 mile course. We signed in and included an estimated completion time. I put down 45 minutes because I wasn't expecting to do well after 4 days of only running a mile.

We started the run and I felt great. I was definitely going to beat my estimated time. Then within the first mile I stepped in a dip in the road and nearly went down. In my effort to avoid falling, I probably pulled every muscle from the hips down. Even though I didn't hurt, I did feel my muscles strain. I knew I was going to be sore and that this would probably be my last good run for a while. So I decided to make it a good run and ran it like a race. It's a gorgeous course through the area in Dilworth behind Freedom Park. There's also a number of rolling hills and one pretty big one. When I finished at a time of 41 minutes and some seconds (can't remember), I felt strong and thought that the course was easier than I'd remembered. I've been looking for a new Thursday run since Meetup moved to Philosopher's Stone. I think this run is a much better option and Eimear did a great job making it a special run.

The next day I was pretty sore. I went out for a 3 1/2 mile run after work to try to shake it out. The following day was the Angel's 5K. Adam was helping to organize the race and his brother, his dad and I were signed up to run. I woke up around 7:10 and started getting ready. It was going to be a warm day so I planned to wear shorts and my Sharksbite singlet. Running Thursday night had made me a little nostalgic for the old team uniform. Adam had left earlier to go help set up the race so I was left with his simple directions to North Meck High School and the start of the race.

Adam graduated from North Meck and I graduated from Myers Park. In high school, I didn't play sports and only attended games when we played our big rivals: Providence and South Meck. I had no idea what North Meck looked like and half expected it to be a red, wooden, A-frame building with a wood burning stove in the middle like in Little House on the Prairie. But it wasn't that much different from Myers Park. One large, main building made of brick surrounded by several smaller buildings with a baseball field and football field in the back.

I found the correct parking lot and walked to packet pickup. When I didn't see Adam by registration, I went back to my jeep to put my stuff up and put my bib and timing...well we'll just call it a device. What do you call those strips on the bibs that they use instead of chips now? While in my car I saw Adam's parents pull up and park. Adam's dad was running the race as his first 5K. I finished in the jeep and headed back to the registration/start/finish area where I saw Adam's parents along with his brother Todd and his wife Ellyne. Adam walked up with extra pins for everyone. They'd only given us 2 pins. I don't know why they would skimp on the pins! I was feeling pretty sore, but after saying hello to everyone I decided to run a little to try to get loose. I probably run a half mile. I was less than motivated.

We lined up at the start and Adam got to be the one to start the race using the siren on a bull horn. He kept the start short, explaining that we would hear ready, set, siren and we'd be off. It was actually ready, set, pause, siren, and then we were off and running. The first mile wasn't too bad. I was pretty sore, but mostly I noticed that my stomach felt sick. I used to feel this same feeling because I was nervous about being timed when I first started running races. I don't think I was nervous this race, I just think I'm conditioned to feel this way now for every 5K!

Adam's friend and fellow alum, David, ran up from behind me and said hello just before we finished mile 1. We chatted a bit until he pointed out the first big hill in front of us. It looked awful! But it turned out to be steep but short. David passed me on it. I still can't seem to keep my pace on hills! But I really can't complain since I haven't been doing hill repeats. I missed the first mile marker and I didn't know my pace until the mile 2 marker. At that point I was running about an 8:21 pace. Right into mile 3 I heard a loud breather behind me. I breathe pretty loud, so I really shouldn't complain, but his breathing was in a pattern and contained a chant sounding something like 'oh yeah', 'oh yeah', 'oh yeah.' Finally he passed me and I decided not to try and catch up. Mile 3 was flat with the last 3/10s of a mile of the race on a side walk between the buildings and the fields followed by a sharp left turn into a parking lot to finish under the inflatable arch. Adam's mom saw me just before the left turn and cheered while telling Adam who was closer to the finish that I was coming.

I finished with a time of 26:14, which is about average for me but was good enough for 2nd in my age group. The total turnout for the race was under 200 people. Todd won the race in a time of 18:13. After getting some water, coffee and chatting with Adam's mom, I ran back to find Adam's dad. To my surprise he and Todd were running up the sidewalk only a tenth of a mile from the finish. I cheered for him and he had a big grin on his face. He finished in just over 34 minutes. Ellyne and her sister Emily were behind and I found them and ran along side them towards the finish.

Overall it was a great race and I would recommend it for next year. My next race is the Elizabeth 8K, which I'm really looking forward to. Currently I'm pretty sore, but running through it. I don't think it's anything that a good massage or a lot of yoga wouldn't cure.

Current Stats:
Total Days Run: 81
Longest run: 8 miles
Longest week: 32.6 miles
Shortest run: 1 mile
Shortest week: 20.6 miles
Number of races run: 4
Total Miles Run: 304.99

"Practice? We're talking practice."

2011-03-08T06:41:00.000-08:00

My long run on Saturday was supposed to be 8 miles. I quit at 6.78 miles (someone had a Garmin). I met a nice size group of running friends at the Cluck 'n Cup (say that 10 times fast!) at 8:30am to run. The group has been running together for a couple of years now and they have several loops of varying distances from this location that they run. A girl I've been running with on the Wednesday night runs who goes by C.A. joined us.

During the first loop, C.A. and I stayed right behind the three fastest girls. It was a great route through Dilworth that included some of the Greenways in the area. I never run these Greenways because if you're alone, it's pretty scary.
http://www.charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/ParkandRec/Greenways/LittleSugarCreekGreenway/Pages/Little%20Sugar%20Creek%20Greenway%20-%20Morehead%20Street%20to%20Brandywine%20Road.aspx

I felt great during the first loop. We stopped at CNC to get water and decide how far we wanted to go next. I wanted to get in at least 8 miles. We started out again with most people deciding to run 8. After a mile and a half, I started feeling weird, like my blood sugar had dropped. I had eaten most of a Pro Max bar, but maybe it wasn't enough. I split from the group and headed back to CNC. Steph and Collin had already grabbed a table for the group so I joined them. Sometimes I think the best part of my Saturday runs is the coffee afterwards!!

My Sunday run was much better. It was a rainy day and Adam wanted to spend some time together, so I skipped my usual Yoga class and instead guided Adam through a typical yoga routine. I say 'guided' he says I told him what to do.

His doctor had told him to start doing yoga so he put up with my instruction. Grunting as he went peppering the poses with an 'oh', 'oh my God' and 'are you serious?' After 35 minutes he wanted to stop. To be fair the first 35 minutes are the hardest. It included the warrior series, chair posture, standing sequences and balance poses. I told him he had to finish, but that it would get easier. We finished a couple more standing poses and then moved to the floor exercises. He made it through the rest of the routine. His favorite pose was Savasana (everyone's favorite!)

But we both felt great afterwards. Yoga is like giving yourself a massage.

When we spotted a break in the rain, we dressed out and started running. He showed me a .8 mile loop in his neighborhood before he took off for a long run. I finished 3.2 miles before it started raining steadily and I decided it wasn't fun anymore.

But if the weekend's runs weren't great, my speed workout on Monday evening more than made up for it. I met Molly at the track and we started our warm up of 1.5 miles. On the way back to the track we saw Jody, who yelled out for us to get started without her. We waited on her anyway, while doing some stretching. My 5K training plan called for 12 x 400m with a 15 second rest in between. This was the third week in a row for 12 x 400m, but previous rest times were longer. Molly was doing a ladder and said she'd run with me as we matched up. My workout was a tough workout, but I really enjoyed it. It went by quickly. My fastest lap was a 1:46, which was my last lap. I ran another 1:47 lap, a couple of 1:49 laps, several 1:50s and the slowest lap was a 1:53 (the first lap). My goal had been 1:50, so I was pretty happy with my results.

My Stats for 2011 so far:

Races run: 3

Miles run: 255.58

Number of days run in a row: 66

Longest Mileage Week: 32.6miles

Shortest Mileage Week: 23.3miles

Next race is in 2 weeks: Angels 5K

The Mundane

2011-03-02T06:55:00.000-08:00

So, post-purging my junk, I'm in a much better place emotionally and mentally. I think there is a direct correlation between a cluttered home and a cluttered mind! My running streak is 60 days strong and my 'make the bed everyday' goal is in tack as well. I give myself a 'B' for keeping my place neat. Currently there are dishes in the sink and clean clothes that need to be folded. So yeah, I'm still lazy.

My next race is a 5K in Huntersville on March 19th. It's the Angel's 5K and it's the inaugural running of the race. There's another race the same day that is part of the Run for Your Life series, so it will likely be a small race which is my preference. Adam is involved with the planning of this race as well as the Angels of '97 organization that created the race. The organization was started after the North Mecklenburg High School's graduating class of 1997 lost 5 students due to illness or car accidents. The organization raises money for scholarships for students in the North Mecklenburg County area. They organize an annual golf tournament, spaghetti dinner and now a 5K.

After that I plan on doing the Elizabeth 8K on April 9th. It may be my longest race this year!

I saw this car while eating at Jason's Deli in Pineville with
my mom. Not sure if it's pink for Mary Kay or breast cancer
awareness. I love pink, but no on cars!

New Goal!

2011-02-24T13:22:00.000-08:00

After watching The Biggest Loser this week and seeing Bob demonstrate his 'Scorpion Flip', I knew what I had to do. I HAVE to learn, own and rename this new move!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRApqG8NC-s

Purge-a-Palooza 2011

2011-02-22T06:35:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a three day weekend and I took it as an opportunity to de-clutter my space. I've lived here for almost 12 years and I've acquired alot of crap during that time. There are some areas that I haven't spent much time cleaning in all 12 years like the attic, closets and cabinets. I started with those this weekend.

During this 'Great Clean' I discovered many things. I've been several different people in the last 12 years and one of them acquired these:

WTH? I thought my attic was creepy, now I know it is!

Going through closets and storage containers I found relics from my past and my past lives. I discovered pictures of old boyfriends that I kept for some reason or another. They weren't necessarily significant relationships, but I couldn't seem to throw out their pictures...until now. I found small picture portfolios that were carried in purses or wallets at some point. They were full of people that I've lost touch with but at one point they were important enough for me to carry them around in my purse. I don't have any pictures in my current purse or wallet. I don't even have a picture holder in my wallet. When did they stop including those in wallets? I wonder if I had children if I'd have their pictures in my purse. They used to sell pictures in 'wallet size' what do they call that size now? Small, 2x2? Do they make lockets anymore?! I took the pictures out and threw out the holders but kept most of the pictures. (None of them of old boyfriends) I guess I put alot of value on pictures and memories.

I found bib numbers from some of the first races that I ran. I found an award for making the Dean's list my first semester of college (it never happened again). I found keys I'd lost. I found paper work and warranties for items I purged in previous clean house events. I threw out old cotton shirts from races that weren't memorable or had crappy designs. I ditched anything I thought I could live without and found new or cleaner spaces for items that made the cut. In the end I realized that if my place burned down or was flooded out tomorrow, I shouldn't replace even half of the crap that I kept!

I'm not completely finished but I've managed to fill 12 garbage bags for donation to the National Kidney Foundation and I've filled my gargage bin. Getting really close to being able to put this place on the market and I'm getting excited about it. It's time for a new space.

P.S. Running streak is at 52 days with no end in sight!

Cupid's Cup 5K

2011-02-16T11:52:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about when I first started running. When I first started running I ran almost everyday, only short distances and when I wanted. I followed no training plan and didn't think about how to improve my running or what I ate and needed to eat to run. Ahhh, the good ol' days!

I'm somewhat running like that now except that I am trying to improve my form and my speed. While running the Cupid's Cup 5K this weekend I thought about how much my goals for races have changed since I first started running. Before my first 5K, my first race, I set a time goal for myself. Not a place goal for overall, for my age group or to beat anyone. I didn't know about placing or what it meant and I knew I wasn't a natural with a chance to place. But as time went on and I ran more races I started setting what I thought were realistic but challenging goals.

Beat anyone wearing a costume.
Beat anyone wearing the cotton t-shirt that came free with the race entry.
Beat all kids under 12 years of age.
Beat people with a bigger butt than mine.

This weekend during the Cupid's Cup 5K I thought about these goals. It was a big race so placing, even in my age group wasn't unrealistic. I also haven't really trained so I didn't set high expectations for this race. I'm just getting back into track workouts, I've only done 1 hill workout and haven't done any tempo runs. My time goal was 1) under 30 minutes if I was having a bad day, 2) under 27 if it was a decent day and 3) under 25 if it was a stellar day. I ran a 25:55, which I was pretty happy about.

Towards the end of the race, I thought about my other 4 goals. I don't think I was being fair when I set them.

Beat anyone wearing a costume - Costumes can be fun and wearing one doesn't mean you're not fast. In my running club, members wear costumes all the time and they kick my butt! I didn't see a lot of costumes at CC 5K so not sure if anyone dressed up beat me. But if someone dressed as cupid and carrying a bow and arrows can run a fast 5K, I have to give them credit.
Beat anyone wearing the cotton t-shirt that came with the race entry - I've learned this doesn't necessarily mean they're not taking the race seriously. They may be really close to the cause, they may be a sponsor, they may have a natural ability they weren't aware of. And didn't Lance Armstrong run his first marathon in a cotton t-shirt? For the CC 5K, the shirts were UGLY! I didn't see anyone wearing them and I don't blame them! So this was a win for me, this day.
Beat all kids under 12 - Kids are annoying to run near. They run fast, then stop and walk, then speed up and pass you again, then stop and walk. It's annoying. They also drag their feet and whine and complain. Mostly I just don't want to lose to someone who's running a 3.1 mile fartlek! But a fartlek is an accepted running practice so who am I to judge? I got beat by a few smokin' fast kids but none that were around me!
Beat people with a bigger butt than mine - I really shouldn't judge, but shouldn't I be faster than them?! I realized when I couldn't pass a few Kardashian-esk runners close to the end of the race that there may be something to their butt. Maybe it's fuel packed! Maybe it's loaded with energy and carbs and is something akin to a jet engine. The was not a win for me this race.

These goals may be petty and judgmental, but they are good motivators! I pushed pretty hard this weekend and managed a pretty good finish. I plan to use it as a base and plan to beat it by the end of the year. I've pulled some track workouts geared towards 5Ks off of runtheplanet.com and will start working on it next week. I'll pepper in some hill repeats and tempo runs. But mostly I'm going to run when I want, what I want and just enjoy being a runner.

Staying Vertical

2011-02-08T08:06:00.000-08:00

Staying vertical has two meanings for this blog post. One, it was my overall goal for the Uwharrie 8 Mile and two, is my fighting a possible cold and not wanting to lay down and let it win.

Uwharrie was warmer this year than in years past. I think the temperature at the 8-mile, 9am start was in the high 30s, which is about twice what it has been the years I've run it. I was completely over dressed! I wore my warmest tights, my thickest running shirt and arm warmers underneath. Hat, gloves and a running jacket. I knew the running jacket was over the top and had planned to tie it around my waste if needed. I took it off within the first two miles. Then the gloves and then the arm warmers which were harder to manage than I'd thought they'd be.

Last year, my friends and I debated going because the trail had been compromised by ice/snow storms. This year we didn't even think twice though it has been very rainy. Last year we were pleasantly surprised to find the trail in good shape. This year the trail was soft, muddy and scary! I walked/hiked most of the first couple of miles. Even in the flatter sections that I've been able to run in the past! This trail is pretty rocky, rooty and covered in leaves on a good day. This day everything was glistening from the morning rain and the trail looked like a hard fall waiting for a victim. Part of my caution was because I know how much it hurts to fall and what a long recovery would mean. I was also tired and not sure I wasn't catching a cold. Running even short distances was getting me out of breath and I really didn't feel like myself.

My friend Jody and I usually run this race together. We spend the 8 miles catching up and laughing. This year, she was having a good year and I wasn't. For the most part, I kept in her sight, but the last mile, she took off and I finished about 5 minutes behind her. After walking/hiking the first couple of miles up what one runner near me called 'bat man's right ear' I ran down hill to the first aid stop at mile 2. This was the first real running stretch of the day. At this point I was leading about three ladies running behind me. The one running behind me (for about 5 miles), was a heavy breather and it sounded like I was being chased by Darth Vader. Though I offered to let her, Vader would not pass. Soon after the stop I saw a woman standing on the side of the trail. Vader yelled out "Big foot!" but used a girly, 'just kidding' type voice to cushion the blow of what would usually be considered an insult. I couldn't help thinking that this is why girls shouldn't do nicknames. Or at least they shouldn't do nicknames that have to be cushioned. Big foot giggled and said it was more fun to run with the group and fell in line with Vader and crew.

Vader started me wondering why we refer to 'Darth Vader' by his last name. It's not like there were multiple Darths in space. Like there was Darth Vader of the Death Star and Darth Smith of the Lively Star. There was only one Darth, yet we say 'Vader' and not 'Darth.' This lead to thinking about Eddie Izzard, the comedian who did a joke about the "Death Star Cantina" and who ran something like 60 marathons in 60 days for charity. There were many other random thoughts after this that helped me forget about Vader's annoying heavy breathing.

As I was saying, the trail had many muddy parts and I decided to walk those sections. Often you would see where people had slipped and it let you know to be more cautious. The mud was ankle deep in some sections and wide in some sections. Staying vertical became my mantra. There was only one time that I tripped and almost went down. I was able to hold myself up by bending way over causing a pulled hamstring. Luckily it wasn't bad enough to keep me from finishing. In the last mile I was obviously getting tired as I slipped more and turned ankles more. I remember from previous years that I rolled ankles a lot more during this race so I knew I hadn't run enough of the trail this year. At this point we were climbing back up or over 'bat man's left ear' as Vader's crew put it. I finished in my slowest time yet for this course, but being that I was tired and completely over dressed, I'm okay with it!

At the finish, I was handed my finisher's pottery. In year's past this has been something akin to a pottery metal with the Uwharrie symbol pressed into it. The winners received bigger pottery items like vases, bowls, plates, etc. This year all finisher's recieved a small pottery cup.

I found my friends after the race and we all agreed that the trail was awful and that it had been better last year. My friend Scott was at the finish as a spectator this year. A pulled calf muscle kept him from doing the 20 mile race so he was running support for a group of friends. He gave us a ride back to our car so that we wouldn't have to wait on the shuttle. This race is a point-to-point race and the shuttle system is pretty organized but it was nice to get a ride back with no waiting.

After changing at the outpost where we'd parked, Jody, Karen, Chloe and I went into downtown Albemarle to have lunch at a place called 'Off the Square.' Chloe had found this place online and we'd all okayed the menu the day before. The atmosphere was great with nice artwork along one wall. The opposite wall had exposed brick and the ceiling was made of the old style tile that you see in many old buildings. It was very ornate. I got the quiche of the day and the cheese grits. It was delicious! The service was a bit slow, but we all agreed we'd love to go back.

When I finally got home it was close to 4pm. I took a nap, but still ended up crashing at 8pm and sleeping for 13 hours! I felt wiped out! When I woke up I felt like I had a weird hangover and I was a bit worried that my daily running streak was in jeopardy. I managed to make it to the J for the early 10am yoga class and managed to run a mile on the upstairs track (1/12 of a mile long). The streak is alive and is 39 days long! It wasn't until much later that day and several caffeinated drinks later that I felt somewhat normal. Still monitoring myself for cold symptoms and still staying vertical!

Nice Day in the South in January

2011-01-31T11:13:00.000-08:00

What I love about living in the South is that mid-Winter you get a reprieve from the cold weather in the form of a random 60-80* day. This past weekend was our reprieve with highs in the 50s and low 60s. While Saturday morning was still freezing, Sunday was perfect short sleeve/shorts running weather.

Saturday after a short run in the morning, Adam and I headed to Salisbury and arrived in time to see the ending of the Winter Flight 8K at Catawba College. We ran into a few friends who were running or supporting other runners. I ran this race in 2005 and remember the course containing rolling hills and from the feedback from the finishers, that hasn't changed. What has changed is their timing method. I remember they used chips in 2005, but this year, it was all manual. A volunteer was writing down the times as the runners finished along with bib numbers. Finishing runners were handed an index card with a number on it. The number was their finishing place. Then another volunteer grabbed the tag off the bottom of their bib. Other volunteers matched the bib numbers and times to the runner's name and other information. When this system was invented and put in place, I imagine there were only 50-100 runners in a big race. It's amazing how the sport has grown and what industries it has spawned.

The small expo inside the school's gymnasium was nice and I was lucky enough to find last year's model of my running shoe, in my size, for $60. I never get lucky and find shoes I can wear at expos! We didn't stay for the awards and left to have lunch and head back to Charlotte. We hung out with friends celebrating birthdays for FOUR people, which I guess means that April is a popular month for gettin' busy. Sunday was my usual yoga followed by a short run and then lunch with mom. A nice quiet way to end the weekend.

Off the topic, I'm on a small quest to find a great vegetarian burger. I've tried many and at present Boca burgers are my favorite. If you know of one that I should try, please let me know. I'll keep you posted on my quest.

Short Distance Running

2011-01-27T11:28:00.000-08:00

26 Days and counting! I've run a minimum of 1 mile for the past 26 days. But my maximum run has been only 8 miles. Can I still call myself a runner if my longest run is "only 8 miles?!" Am I considered a "recreational runner" and not a "real runner" because I'm not training for a marathon and have no plan to train for a marathon? What is the opposite of an Ultra Runner?! Am I less passionate about running because I'm only running 1-8 miles?! I can remember thinking, during a taper period in my marathon training, that 3 miles wasn't worth getting dressed and sweaty over. Now I'll lace up and bundle up against the cold for one mile!

But after that mile, I feel wonderful! I've run every day for 26 days and I can't tell you when I've ever done that. I feel great after every run and I can't say that I've felt great after every long run I've ever done. It's nice not feeling pressured to get in miles and it feels good to just run what I want to run on any given day. Even if it's "just a mile."

With that said, I still want to improve my running and increase my speed. I plan to start back doing track workouts next week. I searched the Internet for ideas on 5K-10K track workouts as I've never done track workouts unless I was following a plan and training for a marathon. It looks short and awesome! I'm looking forward to gearing more workouts towards shorter distances. I'd also like to add back some hill repeats. Maybe I'll try out some 'fartlek.' Not sure what my actual time goal will be. I plan to run the Cupid's Cup 5K to see where I am before I set any time goals.

The weekend before the Cupid's Cup race, I'm running the Uwharrie 8 Mile race through the Uwharrie National Forest. This race is limited to a very small number of people and closes really fast, so I feel honored to be running it for my 4th time. I've actually signed up every year since 2005, but missed a couple of years due to illness. It's probably my favorite race and I'm really looking forward to it! Even though it really is an ass kicker!

Charleston Riverfront Race Festival

2011-01-18T07:55:00.000-08:00

What a weekend!

We got a late start and didn't leave Charlotte until after 7:30pm on Friday, which put us at the hotel around 11:30pm. I was exhausted but still had a hard time getting to sleep. The morning of the race I was tired, but had agreed to drive my friend Jen to the start of the 10K in North Charleston so skipping the race was not an option. Jen wasn't registered and was really there to vacation and hang with friends, but wanted to get some exercise. She's faster than I am, but wasn't in the mood to race (neither was I) so we decided to run together. We found each other in the lobby quickly and had no issues getting to the start of the race. It was pretty much a straight shot from the hotel in downtown Charleston to the Navy Yard in N. Charleston. We traveled along part of the route for the half marathon and both remarked about how ugly the course was and how glad we were that we weren't running the half! Adam was running the half, which started a 1/2 mile from the hotel and didn't have to drive to N. Charleston. (All races end at the same finish line in N. Charleston)

I picked up my packet without issue and headed back to the car to try and stay warm. The forecast for the weekend showed lows in the high 30s when I packed for the trip. When we woke up the temperature was reportedly 23* and I hadn't packed running tights! It was still in the high 20s at the start and I was in shorts, two long sleeve shirts, gloves and a hat. Jen was in shorts as well. We started the race so cold that we couldn't feel our knees or feet. It took well over a mile to get warmed up enough to feel my feet. For the first four miles, I felt pretty good. We were running at a good pace and I knew I was pushing it, but it didn't feel like that was an issue. Into mile 5 I started feeling really hungry and tired. I had eaten a Greens bar before the race and it may have had too much sugar, which would explain my hunger. I like to have a half of a bagel with almond butter before I run, but without a refrigerator in the hotel room, I couldn't bring the almond butter on the trip.

The course was pretty flat with maybe one small hill. The scenery was still pretty industrial, but there was a cute older "main street' type section that reminded me of a western movie. It had been on the half course last year as well. There were some strange sections where there were run down houses across from nice, newly constructed homes. I've never understood why people would live in a nice house with a shack across the street. The last 3 miles were the most interesting and were run on the Navy base and a through park. I managed to finish the race at a time of 59:08, which is pretty good considering I walked some in the last 2 miles and I really haven't been training. I was really glad that Jen was there to run with me and push me along. Jen and I went to the car where I quickly changed into warmer clothes and then we headed back to the finish line to find our friends. We found our friends who'd done the 10K pretty quickly as they had finished before us. They'd all done really well and had enjoyed the flat 10K.

Charlotte friends' 10K results:

KAREN GUELDNER 51:28 (placed in her age group!)
COLLIN CLARK 58:08
STEPHANIE SHERIDAN 58:54 (passed us at mile marker 6)
MEGAN LANDERS 1:01:14 (first 10K!!!)

Adam ran the half and I got to watch him finish. He had run a 1:21 at the Thunder Road half in Charlotte in December. I had asked him how he thought he'd do at this flat half in Charleston and he said he thought he'd run 1:20. I thought that was modest considering how hilly TR was and how flat Charleston is. He finished at 1:19:30 something and was 15th overall. I was so happy for him and he felt pretty good, too. He found us after he finished and asked me about how the packet pickup was and the start of our race. Apparently there was a great deal of confusion at the start line for the half marathon.

We ran into more friends and many of them set personal records at the race. They seemed to be in good spirits and had forgotten the confusion at the beginning. A PR fixes everything!

Charlotte friends' Half Marathon Results:
STEVE AHRENS 1:25:07
KATHY RINK 1:32:27
CHRISTOPHER SPANO 1:37:52
ADAM NEWMAN 1:42:55
SEAN WELSH 1:43:39
JACK SPANNER 1:49:45
GIBSON GROSE 1:54:46
JODY DENNIS 2:01:35
JOANNA CLARK 2:02:12
CHLOE BOMBERGER 2:05:15
CANTEY NEWMAN 2:13:27
JULIE SPADAVECCHIA 2:23:35

Charlotte friends' Marathon Results:
DEVITT ROGERS 3:48:21
BEVIN JETT 3:48:32
PETER BALLETTA 3:51:07
JOSHUA JAMES 4:12:31

The post-race festivities were under a tent near the finish line. There was beer and warm shrimp & grits. The shrimp & grits were awful! The year before they'd been delicious with a little spice to them. This year they had some kind of gravy that was pretty bland. I ate the shrimp and tossed the rest. I didn't get a beer because we had plans to go to the Windjammer later and I knew I'd be enjoying a few there. Adam and Jody found their checked bags and we hung out around the stage area to listen to The Blue Dogs play and wait for the race results and awards for the half marathon. I had forgotten to pack my watch, so I'm not sure how much time actually passed before they finally posted the half marathon results, but it was really ridiculous. Then they posted the times in no logical order so it took some time to find Adam's placement results. It turned out that he was FIFTH in his age group! We were sure he had placed and it was a shock when he didn't.

Jody rode back with us because her car was parked at the start line, around the corner from our hotel. We got into the car and drove out of the parking lot towards downtown Charleston. The street was a wide four laned road, but it dead ended at the Navy yard behind us and there were only a few side streets off of it. We were all talking when suddenly a car pulls quickly along side us and then in front of us and barely misses rear-ending another car. I quickly looked at the rear view mirror, thinking that I may be in the way of faster traffic, and saw three police cars behind me obviously pursuing the crazy driver ahead of me. I quickly got in the right lane and stopped to let a parade of 6 police cars pass. My passengers realized what was happening and reacted. "We almost became a statistic!" I said. Jody said "You pulled over fast! I don't think I would have reacted that fast." Jen was texting the event to her boyfriend who was back at the hotel. Adam said "I've always wanted to see a high speed chase!" Later I found his reaction hilarious. We didn't see the chase again after that and I haven't found anything online about it.

The rest of the day we spent with friends having lunch at ACME Cantina with Julie and her family and then drinking at the Windjammer on Isle of Palms. We met up with most of our other running friends including the group we'd run with for the Hood to Coast race. The Hood to Coast teammates were staying at a house across from The Windjammer and we walked over to check out their digs. After watching the Steelers win a playoff game, we headed back to our hotel in Charleston. It was restaurant week and we took advantage of the dinner deal at Tsunami (sushi) with Jen and her boyfriend Mark. It was delicious. It turns out that Mark went to Gardner Webb, like Adam. It was not a late night as we were exhausted from such a long day.

The next day we weren't in a hurry to leave because we both had Monday off. We ran together in the morning through downtown Charleston. We ran at my pace, of course! We passed a firehouse that contained old fire engines and then the Charleston Museum, which we decided we had to go see what it was about. After showering, checking out, eating breakfast and doing some shopping, we walked down to the museum and paid the admission fee.

It was a great idea! Charleston has so much history, which isn't a surprise. I knew that a lot of battles took place during the civil war in Charleston. There was a lot of memorabilia along this vein. The clothing, the mortars, the guns, etc. What surprised me was that in the late 1800s there was a cooking fire that burned all the way across the lower part of the peninsula. It burned almost 600 houses, 5 churches and several businesses. It must have been an amazing and scary thing to see. Several years after the fire there was a year of earthquakes. A couple of devastating earthquakes followed by several, increasingly smaller quakes spanning a year's time. No building was unaffected. I never knew that any place had had a year of quakes and I'm surprised it happened in Charleston.

To sum up the race and the collective thoughts on it; the festival is a great idea, the courses are flat and fast, but the organization needs some work. There's potential there and though the course isn't scenic, it can be excused because it's flat. Charleston is still a favorite destination.

New Year, New Plan

2011-01-11T06:49:00.000-08:00

I never seem to find time to blog anymore. I'm usually rushing right out the door after work or I'm so sick of being in front of the computer that I can't stomach another moment.

The New Year's resolutions that I set for 2010 went mostly unaccomplished. I did manage to see two plays and complete that one resolution. Didn't read 10 books, think the final tally was 6. Didn't visit the Evening Muse once last year, didn't even put together a budget to stick to, I'm still in my condo (no 'For Sale' sign) and I only completed one marathon for the year, not two.

So this year, I've resolved to not make resolutions. Which means I'll probably accomplish something this year! I did make one running goal and that is to see how many days this year I can log at least one mile. I know I won't make it the year due to seasonal allergies, but so far I'm on a 10 day streak. I've overcome a couple of obstacles to keep the streak going. The first was that I forgot my running tights so that I could run after yoga and had to run inside on the treadmill in my yoga outfit. My chosen outfit for yoga that day was the Kermit the Frog pajama capri's, my sister gave me, with a white shirt, you can just imagine what that looked like on the treadmill. Luckily it's the J and no one cares what you wear there. The next obstacle is snow/sleet, which is still around today. I managed to make it to the gym to run 3 miles on the treadmill. Today as there is ice accompanying the snow, but I hope to make it out to the gym again. The shortest run has been a mile, while the longest has been 8 miles.

I'm a bit burned out on distance. However, I'm enjoying the shorter distances so I know I'm not burned out on running all together. I have no marathons or halves planned this year. I think the longest races this year will be 10Ks. This weekend will be my first 10K of the year at the Charleston Riverfront Racefestival in North Charleston. I'm looking forward to it. This week in Charlotte, the temperature won't be more than the low 30s so I'm really looking forward to the low 50s promised in Charleston. I haven't planned any other races yet, though there are several 5Ks on my radar.

Accompanying this new love of shorter distances is a renewed love of yoga. Sometime in December, I got really into going to yoga classes and really out of going to swim. The colder than normal temperatures in Charlotte have a lot to do with that. Something about putting my face into cold water when it's 28-32* outside just doesn't appeal. I'm not sure where this renewed interest in yoga has come from, but it's very compatible with the goal of running as many days as possible. I took my first yoga class at Central Piedmont Community College in 2005 and it's been something I've enjoyed on and off since. I've been going only once a week pretty regularly for about 3 years, which is when I could fit it in around everything else. Lately, the J has increased it's classes and I've been attending more often.

Work is as hectic as ever and I should get back to that. I'll follow with a recap of this weekend's 10K through N. Charleston.

Turkey Flop & Training

2010-12-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

This year I decided not to run the crowded Southpark Turkey Trot and ran the Lake Norman Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day along with Adam. It was the most disorganized race I've ever been part of. I say 'part of' because I've volunteered at a few races. The most unorganized one I ever helped with, was still better organized than the debacle Thanksgiving 2010. For starters, we had to wait in 2 different lines to pick up packets. The first was to get our shirts, bibs, coupons and transponders. This race was timed with 'transponders' versus the usual 'chips.' The transponders where on padded velcro strips that strapped onto your ankle. They had clearly been used many times before and were in pretty nasty shape. The organizers hadn't connected the bibs and transponders together for people who had pre-registered. This meant that we had to wait in a second line to do this.

There are three distances associated with the race: half marathon, 10K and 5K. Adam ran the 5K and I ran the 10K because it matched with my training for the day. After waiting in line for packet pickup, I had to wait in yet another line for the restroom and when I made my way back outside the half marathon was starting and I had 10 minutes to run to Adam's truck, dump my stuff and get back to the start line to start the 10K.

We ran into a couple of our friends who were in a long line to register for the event. We then ran into my friend Julie who had decided to run that morning and had not pre-registered. She told us that they were out of shirts and transponders. So they had let her wait in line and pay even though they knew she wouldn't get a time or a spot in the results. No announcement was made to the people in line about the lack of transponders and time.

We started the 10K on time. The course (all three races shared the same streets with the half repeating sections) consisted of several out-and-back stretches through an apartment complex and a business park. There were very few volunteers on the course and very little signage for the 10K. People were turning around earlier than the turn around points because they were confused as to where the actual turn is. This confusion was partly why many runners finished short of their race distances. The 5K and 10K were off by around 2 tenths of a mile, but the half marathon was a good 2 miles short. The volunteer leading the half marathoners by bike completely missed the first 2 miles of the race leading the runners in the wrong direction.

After finishing, Adam found me and I learned that the 5K start was delayed 10 minutes so that they could finish registering the people in line. The people who WEREN'T GETTING TIMED! He also told me that people were complaining that the courses were short. I only saw 3 mile markers for the 10K: miles 1, 2 & 4. At mile 2 my watch indicated I was running a 6:30 pace. Hahahahahaha! I wish! I've never run that fast. I figured then that it was roughly 1/2 mile short, but after finishing and putting things together, I think the sign was in the wrong place and that the course wasn't that short.

Adam finished 4th overall and took his age group. We went to his truck and put on warmer clothes and went back to wait on the awards. After almost an hour we learned that they would not be giving out the age group awards. The organizer later said it was because they hadn't been able to enter all of the day of registrants into the system.

Thus ends my rant and my reasoning for not running Turkey Trots anymore.

As for training, it's not going too badly. I've chosen a program that I really believe in. It uses speed workouts, tempo runs, long runs and a recovery run to prepare. Some of the long runs are 'Race Simulations' where you run part of your long run near your planned race pace. I'm struggling with the usual issues of fueling and pacing myself so I don't bonk. I also missed a couple of runs due to a sinus infection. Every. race.

A Look Back Since We Last Blogged

2010-10-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie to you, I really wimped out during the dog days of summer! I shut down so much during July and August that I wonder if it's even worth it to try and run. I'm considering taking those two months off next year so that I'm not so discouraged about my running.

Here's a quick run down of what I've been up to since we last blogged (I won't bore you with how much I'm doing at work):

Hood-to-Coast, Oregon, August 26-30 - Hated it! Man, I hated this race. Let me first start with first impressions by saying that Portland, OR, where we flew in, really surprised me. I expected something along the lines of Asheville, NC and was surprised to see a city similar to Charlotte, NC but with mountains. Mt Hood (the race start) was awesome and Seaside, OR (the race finish) reminded me of Virginia Beach, VA.

Post race we took a short trip to Canon Beach (see picture above), which was really beautiful.

The race: I repeat, I hated it. I knew leading up to it I would, but it was too late for the team to find a sub so I went thinking I could make the best of a bad situation. I cannot go without sleep and a relay requires that you go without sleep. This tore my stomach up and put me in the worst mood. The first and last race legs didn't help.

I was leg 11, which means I ran legs 11, 23 & 35. The first leg, was a little more than 4 miles long and was during the evening hours. I had to run along a greenway in the pitch black dark in a deserted for the weekend business/industrial area. I would never do this at home and if I did, you'd call me an idiot. Several faster runners passed me, but none were close enough to make me feel comfortable about being on this greenway at night. I wasn't alone though, there were lots of creepy people hanging out along the course to keep me freaked out the whole 4 miles. They were all dressed in dark clothing with no lights or reflectors. I had on my required head lamp, blinky lights (one in front and one in back) and my reflective vest. So they could see me, but I couldn't see them until I was right on them.

I finished incredibly pissed at myself for agreeing to do this stupid race along with race organizers who would send us through such dangerous places. My second leg was much better. Again it was only a little more than 4 miles, but it was during the day. When I agreed to do the race the upside was that I'd get to see Oregon which I'd heard was beautiful. I finally got to see some beautiful sights in Oregon on my second leg.

My third leg was still during the day, but terribly ugly. I was on a gravel service road with large mounds of grass and dirt on either side. I couldn't see anything but telephone poles and wires. At this point, my stomach was too upset from a lack of sleep to fuel this run. I had no desire to run at all and it was my longest run: 7 miles. It was horrible. I was tired, I was cramping, hurt and I was incredibly tight. I walked most of it. I finished, passed off the bracelet and was ready for a nice bed and a long night's sleep.

I didn't get that until I got home. We were all (2 teams 24 people total) staying in one big house. I had to sleep on the floor. You went to bed when the last person went to bed and you got up when the first person got up. But the rest of the trip wasn't a total loss. I really loved Canon Beach. I want to go back to Oregon sometime and tour a winery or drive up the coast. I'm sure it's prettier than what I saw on the run!

Social Life: Maintaining. Adam and I attended a lot of social gatherings since August. This picture is of us after a wedding anniversary party. It's rare to see Adam in pants that aren't jeans. His brother's wedding and my best friend's daughter's birthday have also been some fun events for us recently.

The house on Minnehaha Parkway

Twin Cities Marathon: Loved it!...but bonked. For the trip to Minneapolis for the Twin Cities Marathon on October 3rd we, along with 3 other friends rented a house in Minneapolis. It was in a great neighborhood! The house had 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It was perfect! We all attended a Twins game the day before the race. Through the race website we were able to get $20 tickets to the new stadium. The game was packed because the Twins were having a great season and this was one of the last home games for regular season. They won in an exciting finish. Bases loaded, full count, etc. It was exciting!

The race was great as well! Well, it started out great anyway. The weather was perfect. It was in the 40s at the start and in the 50s at the finish. There were a lot of people cheering the runners on. It was like running through block parties. I felt great until somewhere between miles 9 and 12. By 12, I needed a nap! I made it to the end running a 2:05 half, but a 4:45 full. I found out later that what happened to me was what they refer to as 'hitting the wall.' I always thought you couldn't finish when you hit the wall, but now I know differently. Training didn't go well (read: July and August were hot). When it began to get hot my track workouts got slower, my tempo runs turned into 'just get through it runs' and my long runs were no where near the paces I needed. So it wasn't a complete surprise that I bonked. It happens. I felt horrible after the race! I was so sore and stiff! I had planned to do the new full marathon in Charleston in January, but I've downgraded to the half. I think I have an endurance problem and that I really need to focus on that. The next two races I did, prove that! (more on that later)

Vacation: Later in October, I met my parents and older sister in Wild Dunes on the Isle of Palms outside of Charleston, SC for a vacation. Adam joined me a few days later for the weekend. The picture above is of the place where we stayed taken from the beach and the other is a sunrise from the balcony of the condo where we stayed.

Like all good runners (read: addicted runners) we looked for a race to compete in while we were on vacation. The pictures above are Adam finishing the Daniel Island Race for the Cure 5K at an official time of 17:20 and me on the right finishing the same 5K at an official time of 25:31. This race was flat and looped through a pretty neighborhood on Daniel Island. The temperature was perfect for a race PR. Adam PR'd by 2 seconds and I ran what I'll call a recent PR. The following weekend at the 4.9erK (around 3 miles) at UNC-Charlotte I ran a 25:42, which is pretty good for such a hilly course. It's faster than last year's time when I was fighting PF so I'll call it an improvement. With these recent times, according to the FIRST training program, I should be able to run a 4:08 marathon. So you see I have some endurance work to do! Suggestions for improving endurance welcome!!!

Finishing out the vacation theme, we rode bikes along the paths in Wild Dunes, found a rope swing, had dinner out, drank beer, ate way too much Halloween candy and managed to blow my recent diet out of the water. But it was a great time!

Next race: Charleston Half Marathon in January. I may sneak in a 5K in between, but I have a pretty aggressive training program that I got from the internet and I don't know how I'll feel. The plan is one that I found on the FIRST website that was used by Ryan Hall when he ran his half marathon PR. It's similar to the FIRST program but you run 4 or 5 times a week and you have a bit more flexibility in distances. Crossing my fingers and going now for a swim. Bye!

Runner's Hall of Fame

2010-08-17T07:29:00.001-07:00

So the numbers from the NASCAR Hall of Fame are in and they aren't good. This did surprise me as I really thought the scores of people who move to Charlotte to either get a job at NASCAR or to live in a city where they might see Jeff Gordon at a PF Chang's would attend the HOF regularly. Maybe if they added a bar?

I have no interest in visiting the NASCAR HOF, but it got me thinking about other hall of fames that I might be interested in. Football, Baseball, Country Music? Nah, nah, nope. But what if the sport that I not only love, but actually participate in had a hall of fame? A runner's hall of fame. Where would that even be? Boston? New York City? Oregon? Maybe it should exist online. Where everyone involved in the sport could visit!

Then I did a quick Google and found out that there is a National Distance Running Hall of Fame! In Utica, NY. Yeah. Utica. The only explanation given on the website as to why a city in the middle of New York was chosen was this:
"Utica, N.Y. is the home of The Boilermaker 15K Road Race, the largest 15K in the nation with nearly 10,000 runners. Though located in a small city, The Boilermaker consistently ranks as one of Runner's World's Top 100 Races."

Interesting. A 15K that draws 10,000 runners is such a big deal that the National "Distance" Running Hall of Fame should be located in the same location. Though most big city MARATHONS draw way more than 10,000 runners (ex. Chicago registers 45,000 every year), this race was such the big deal that the HOF is now located in Utica. Well, yeah, because the hall was created in 1998. In the mid-90s running started to take off as a sport. Between 1999 and 2009, the number of people running road races increased by 3 million. Had the hall been built today a different location may have been chosen.

So now I know that there is a Hall of Fame for running and it's in Utica, NY, which is small but in the same time zone and easily accessible from I-90. I have no desire to visit. I love this sport. I love going to races and cheering on my friends or people who look like they're struggling and can use some words of encouragement. But do I want to go and read about people I don't know? No, not really. I think running is a very personal sport. I care about how I perform and how that stacks up against how I performed in the last race. Isn't that the idea behind a PR (Personal Record)? I'm happy when my friends set a new PR or finish a milestone race or even place. But care about Ryan Hall breaking a world record or Kara Goucher qualifying for this or that. Not so much. Adam cares. He reads magazines, watches replays of races and can tell me who ran what at which race this past weekend. So maybe it's a guy thing.

Staying Green

2010-08-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

Besides the number of strip malls and churches in Charlotte, many visitors to the area comment on how green Charlotte is. Not how energy, eco-conscious we are, but how many trees there are in Charlotte. Today's photo is a good example of some of the most common trees in Charlotte's landscape: a Magnolia tree and three Crape Myrtle trees. Magnolia trees are somewhat of a symbol of the South and Charlotte is a city in the South. Crape Myrtle trees in every color are planted in many yards in Charlotte as well as many shopping centers. They add color to the landscape starting in late spring and continuing through the summer.

However, Charlotte's people population growth (which is continuing even during the recession) is encroaching on our green population. If you've lived here long enough, you've noticed the decline. A recent article in the Charlotte Observer shared statistics on how much we've lost.

"Between 2002 and 2008, the analysis found, Mecklenburg lost 9,475 acres, or 3 percent, of its trees as the population rose 21 percent. At that rate, the county would lose an additional 20,500 acres - more than the combined acreage of all county parks - by 2015." Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/05/19/1444305/city-tree-canopy-continues-to.html#ixzz0wmMablSe

There is some hope for Charlotte's trees. The city counsel recently voted for new regulations forcing developers to keep more existing trees than in the past and they approved planting more trees along city streets over the next year.

This is good news to landscapers who charge a small fortune for tree trimming services, their insurance companies who in turn charge them for a policy protecting them from hospitals who benefit from injuries during such services. Let's not forget plumbing companies who benefit from tree roots encroaching on pipes. That's the true green cycle of Charlotte!

Charlotte Criterium 2010

2010-08-09T12:07:00.001-07:00

Saturday night a section of downtown Charlotte was blocked off for the Charlotte Criterium bike race. Per Wikipedia: "A criterium, or crit, is a bike race held on a short course (usually less than 5 km), often run on closed-off city center streets." For Charlotte the course distance was 1.2 miles and the male cyclers travel it 50 times. The male winner receives $50,000, which is apparently a large purse for criteriums. (We didn't get there early to watch the female cyclers. They competed 25 miles for $25,000) Elite cyclers must be invited to participate.

Adam, me and 3 of our friends set up chairs at 4th & Tryon near the 24 HOB tent to watch. We brought a cooler with a six pack and sandwiches from HT. From our spot we could see the racers every half mile. They were going at speeds between 2:48-2:50 minutes per mile. It took roughly an hour and 50 minutes for the cyclers to complete the 50 miles. When they were pushing to finish, you could smell the rubber from their tires burning on the asphalt! There must have been something to gain for all of them to push to the finish but I haven't found any information on what that is.

We didn't see any of the wrecks, but we heard an announcer speak about two of them. We learned that the cyclers involved in a wreck have to be checked out by medical personnel, on standby, before they can return to the course. For that reason, if a cycler is involved in a wreck and is ok to return, he's not penalized a lap and starts behind the other cyclers on the same lap that they are completing. This made perfect sense to me as they couldn't possible catch up at those speeds! It's not like NASCAR where they pull into pits for a break giving someone the chance to get a lap back. We saw a couple of cyclers walking their bikes or riding them slowly down the sidewalk after the wrecks. They were pretty beat up and bloodied. We heard from friends who saw one victim close up that said he had a few teeth missing!

It's a nice event and there were quite a few people (more than 35,000 were expected) there to watch. While the entire course was lined with people it didn't seem to be more than one person deep. I'd like to see Charlotte do more events like this. It was fun, exciting, and promoted a healthy sport that is also good for the environment.

Audra's Photos of Charlotte

2010-08-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

"I'll just tell them...that I have nothing to say." Pedro Sanchez 'Napoleon Dynamite'

I haven't posted in while. Partly because I've been super busy and partly because of the thought behind the line above. Other than complaining about how hot it is and how lousy my training is going because of the heat, what else can I say. Yeah, I've been busy, but it's not really interesting enough to blog about. Now I've been having fun, it's just the kind of fun you have to be there to enjoy. So in thinking of something else to write about I started thinking of things I've already discussed. That reminded me of my trip to Northern California which always reminds me of Willits. Willits, CA is a tiny town along the coast of Northern California where we stopped and got the best burrito I've ever had. I can't stop thinking about Willits, CA so I googled it. I found a blog called "Photos of Willits, CA."

And that is the inspiration for a new angle for this blog "Audra's Photos of Charlotte." I've personalized it because I'm sure there's a blog out there called "Photos of Charlotte" but I'm too lazy to confirm that. On to the first photo.

South Tryon in South Charlotte

I begin with this photo of the strip mall where Adam and I had lunch today. This picture of this seemingly insignificant strip mall in Charlotte is actually indicative of Charlotte whose catch phrase could be 'The Land of the Strip Malls." On nearly every corner in Charlotte, if there isn't a church, there's a strip mall. Many visitors believe that all we do in Charlotte is shop, eat and go to church. That isn't ALL we do. Just most of the time.

Foiled Again!

2010-07-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

I walked into a quiet and cool indoor pool area to find it was just the lifeguard and I. The pool water looked like glass until my temp-testing toe sent ripples through it. I jumped in and the contrast between my body temperature and the water's 85* sent chill bumps over my skin for the first 2 laps. I settled into a comfortable pattern enjoying the peace and quiet of the room. What could possibly ruin this moment?

A leaky face mask.

More annoying than fifty thousand vuvuzelas!

First one little drop penetrates the seal at the forehead and rolls down the nose to pool under my left eye. Staying right in my peripheral vision, it sits there taunting me, rolling with my head as I come up for air. Soon other drops follow its path until I'm having to close my eye when I take a breath on the left or take a drop in the eye. Soon another pesky issue, fog, develops.

Still I do love an empty pool.

Cold SNAP

2010-07-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

So in the middle of summer there was a cold snap where it was only in the 80s for about a week. Yep, ONLY 80s. The mornings were high-5os - 60s, which is when I tried to get out and take advantage of it.

It did make a huge difference in my training. My speed work this week called for 3 x 1600m. I managed a 8:08, 7:50 and an 8:26. Felt great! My long run for the week was 12 miles and that too went pretty well, except for all our 'breaks' which we need to get better about.

But all good things must end and we're not only back to hot temps but bad air quality has accompanied it. It's now truly brutal out where before we only thought it was brutal. This is the time when you start feeling like you're a slug and like you can't run fast if you were being chased by bigfoot. Fortunately I've come across (thanks to my friend Emily) a run calculator that will tell you your pace based on previous times for different temperatures up to 100*. Found here http://www.runworks.com/calculator.html I'm already stuck some of my times in to see where I could be in Minnesota in the fall when it will be cooler.

This weekend is a cut back weekend where I only have to run 10 miles. 10 miles at 10:35-10:20 per mile pace. If I start early enough, like at 3am, I could make that pace. Highly unlikely that I will.

Field Day

2010-06-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

So since training is going so crappily I think I'll write about something else.

Recently I was in the doctor's office waiting to get my allergy shots when I overheard a conversation between a nurse and a little girl (about 6 years old) ahead of me who was getting her allergy shots. The nurse called her name and she ran over and said
"We had field day today"
Nurse: "What's your favorite event?"
Little girl: "Tug-of-War"

I got a pit in my stomach hearing this. I always hated Field Day when I was in elementary school. I remember we'd come back after Christmas break and the PE teacher, Mr. Biggs, would be ready for us to start practicing for field day. He always made us do at least one running event. I hated running and would always pick the shortest distance I could. There was the 25 yrd dash, the 50 yrd dash, 75 yrd and 100yrd dash. The 25 yrd dash wasn't an option after the 2nd grade. Then there was a relay race, hurdles and of course tug-of-war. We'd choose our activities and then we'd be matched to race 3 others of the same ability. We'd practice every Friday during PE until the big day, often racing against the 3 people we'd race on field day.

I don't remember many field days, I think I've mentally blocked them like many of the traumatic events in my life (including most of my relationships). But I do remember one event. It was in 4th grade. I'd picked the 50 yrd dash and been matched with 3 other slower girls including my friend Patty. Every practice I was last and Patty was 3rd. I really didn't care. Then it was field day.

I remember starting out and being just a little behind Patty, which was where I'd been every practice. Something just clicked. I've had a lot of 'clicked' moments in my life. When I've been stuck on a concept for a class and suddenly a light goes off and I get what the professor/teacher has been trying to get across. When I've been stuck on a work issue and suddenly remember where I've seen the answer before. Something clicked that day during this race when I thought "if I speed up, I could beat Patty." So I dug in and pushed myself harder. The race wasn't long enough for my body to catch up to what I was doing so I didn't feel my asthma kick in until after the race, so there was no pain. I remember feeling great. Feeling like I could actually do something I've never done before.

I did beat Patty and got a 3rd place ribbon. That was my first physical accomplishment.

Life, Love and Running

2010-06-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

So after bragging about how strong my runs have felt, I went out and ran a sloppy tempo run on legs o' jello. It happens. The schedule called for a 2-mile warm-up followed by a 3-mile tempo run followed by a 1-mile cool down. When I took off for the 3-miles of tempo, my legs didn't immediately respond. It's of course HOT in Charlotte right now and hydrating properly is more important than ever, but not always possible. And that's my excuse for what I was feeling during this run. And what I was feeling was that at any next step I would fold like paper. Though my knees wobbled quite a bit, I didn't fall. I make it the whole 6 miles though the last mile included more walking than I'd care to admit.

This third week of marathon training I added an extra 'speed workout' in the form of the 'Miles of Mooresville.' I love this event! It takes place one Friday evening a month during the summer and the first one was Friday, June 18th. The race lengths are 1 mile, 2 miles and 3 miles, with approx. 20 minutes between each event so that you can run all three. It's timed, well organized, fun, but incredibly hot.

I headed out from my place at 5:15 pm to head 45 mins North for the 7pm start. It took an hour and a half to get there due to terrible traffic! Why anyone lives North of Charlotte and deals with that traffic everyday, I will never understand. I also plan to find a new route before next month's event. My A/C in my Jeep has been broken for 7 years now. I know, I know, but it really hasn't been an issue until this year when I'm driving to Adam's via the interstate on a regular basis. The windows down and moving provides a nice breeze and keeps me relatively cool but when you're stuck in traffic, you just roast. So by the time I got to the event, got my bib number and timing device, I'd sweat out at least a quart of water. I grabbed a 12 oz. bottle of water and downed it before getting to the starting line.

The organizers reversed the course this year. This is the second year for the event and the organizers had requested feedback to make the event more attractive. I think someone must have suggested that the previous ending, which was up hill, was not a fun finish. The 'new' course started off down hill, for about .25 mile then a vicious uphill. The uphill is long and steep. Then you turn a corner and get to climb a slow incline. Then the course flattens out to the end. I think the idea was to go for a faster finish.

I had already decided to concentrate on the first two races and then use the third as a cool down. The first race my bronchial tubes were burning. It was so hard to breathe! The sun was out and the temp was in the 90s and I was pushing as hard as I could. I felt terrible! And the only thing I got for this was an 8:12 mile. Worse than last year by about 30 seconds. Ugh! The second race was the 2-mile race which was 2 loops of the course which meant two times up that horrible hill! This time my stomach was aflame. Good thing there was nothing in it or I'd have lost it. I finished at an 8:38 pace. Which I felt better about than the 1-mile. I decided not to run the 3-mile run and to save it for my 10 mile training run the next day. I grabbed my race tech tee and free beer and watched the third race.

Several folks from Charlotte and from the Meetup group came up for the races. We all complained about the traffic and the heat. A couple of guys were asking if Adam was coming to run. They know Adam is fast, but they've never run with him. I think they were looking forward to competition. Adam always has a hard time getting out of work at a decent time and Fridays are the worst. Add traffic and he was barely there in time to get registered to run the 2-mile race. He rocked it! He finished in 11:01 or a 5:31 pace. He landed in 2nd place. That's only because a 23 year old kid from Chapel Hill (via Nashville) named Brock Baker came to town to visit a friend and decided to join a racing event. He won all three races and ran the 1-mile at a 4:43 pace.

So with about a dozen people up from Charlotte, we planned to celebrate after the event at the Brickhouse Tavern in Davidson. We all headed there after the last race and got a big table on the side porch. It was after midnight before we headed out. So unfortunately I slept in on Saturday and missed my window to run my 10 mile training run before it got too hot. So I moved it to Sunday. Unfortunately Sunday was the hottest day of the year so far. Even starting early was still pretty toasty. I managed to get in the mileage, but due to continuous side stiches the last 1 1/2 miles included walking than I should be doing. I was at least a minute off the pace I needed for my long run.

Overall, I think heat is contributing more to being off pace than anything else. I feel like my legs want to run and want to push the pace. My bronchial tubes and ab muscles are not completely on board. Tonight's speed workout calls for 12 - 400m, on the first day of summer. Nice.

More Marathon Training

2010-06-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

So during week 2, God decided to turn up the heat. It's really tough to hit the pace I need to hit in this heat. It'll be in the 90s this week and probably every day until some time in September. The good thing is that I haven't missed the pace by much and I feel really strong. I've kept up with my increased stretching and I can really feel the difference it's making. I've cut back the frequency of my runs on the suggestion of a friend of mine who said that even though it feels good to run extra miles, the program that I'm using is pretty intense alone.

This week I'll still add an extra run when I run the Miles of Mooresville runs. I ran this last year and I'm really looking forward to it again. It's 3 timed runs in downtown Mooresville. A 1-mile run, 2-mile run and a 3-mile run. The course isn't flat. It starts down a slight decline, then begins a slow decline, then a nice downhill, but then you climb to the end. The course is the same for all 3 races, you just do more loops for the second two. It's not bad, but when you add the extreme temperatures, it's tough.

My strategy, if you want to call it that, is to focus on the first two races for a total speed workout of 3 miles. I plan to make the most of the downhills to get my speed up. The 3-mile I'll run as a cool down. Last year my July 1-mile time was 7:51 and 8:06 in August. My 2-mile time in July was 17:07 (8:34 pace) and 17:20 (8:40 pace) in August. I didn't run the June races last year. I was fighting plantar fasciitis last summer and I remember that did bother me during these races. So did the heat! It will be interesting to see what my times are this year. My plantar isn't completely healed but does feel much better.

I don't know what running Friday night is going to do to my time Saturday morning. I thought about postponing my long run to Sunday morning but then that would mean running my long run and then my speed workout back to back. I think this will be good practice for H2C. I hope so anyway!

Training Week 1

2010-06-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

Interesting first week of training for Hood to Coast and Twin Cities Marathon.

Monday was Memorial Day and the first official day of training. My plan (a modified FIRST plan) called for a speed workout of 6 x (1 min fast, 3 mins easy) with the 10 min warm up first and then a 10 min cool down following. Since I was lucky enough to have the day off on Monday, I decided not to tie myself to a time and meet with a group for a workout. I instead went to the J in the morning and used their outdoor 'dirt' track for my workout. I'm not sure how big this track is (I think it's 1/8 of a mile) but since my training was time based I didn't feel it mattered. During the warm up I noticed dark clouds rolling in. Since I didn't hear thunder or see any lightning, I wasn't too worried. After the 4th 1 min fast/3 min easy session, the clouds were almost over the field and I started getting a tad worried. After my 5th session, I decided to head inside and finish on the treadmill. As I reached the front door to the J I started hearing big rain drops. Before I hit the inside door to enter the gym area the bottom fell out and it was a complete down pour. It was an interesting scene from inside the windows of the gym on the treadmill. Lightning, thunder, slanted rain made the time on the treadmill go by a bit faster.

The FIRST program only requires you to run 3 focused runs a week which allows for a great deal of cross training. You can add a run or two for cross training and to prepare for H2C, I've added 3 runs. One is a Tuesday hilly 2.4mi run. This week this run was an uneventful, humid and hot (87*) run. But I felt strong and that's what counts. The second and third runs are my '2 a day' runs for H2C. I'd originally thought I'd just run an extra run Saturday evenings to get in a '2 a day' day, but have figured out that with a busy social calendar, this would be impossible. So Thursday mornings I run before work and after work. That puts about 9 hours between runs, which may turn out to be too much time. But I've not been able to find a training program for a relay race so I'll have to wing it as best I can. Thursdays runs didn't go well. A side stitch in the morning and heartburn in the evening. Not sure about the cause of the sidestitch but I've traced the heartburn to peanuts and peanut butter in a Clif Mojo bar I had for snack. The important thing is that my legs felt good and strong for these runs.

Wednesday's run was the second official training run for the FIRST program and mother nature wasn't on board with that run either. This run is a tempo run and the plan called for 2 easy miles, 2 fast miles, 2 easy miles. I arrived at CRC in the rain to run with the group. I was the only girl in a group of about 12-14 runners. The thunder and lightning were rolling in as we gathered on the front porch. I told the group when at start time that they could go ahead and start or wait out the lightning. You know men. If one said 'let's roll' the others have to follow. So I watched as all but one of them took off in the rain and lightning. Two more late comers showed up and we used a blackberry to watch a radar screen showing intense storms right over our location. When it finally passed it was close to 7:30pm and the four of us headed out. Rounding a corner in the 3rd mile I saw some cloud to cloud lightning and decided to call it a night after 4 miles. It seemed stupid to risk death to train to run a 4:15 hour marathon.

My long run this week, and the third run in the FIRST program series, called for 8 miles at a pace of 10:05 (planned marathon pace + 30 secs). In case you're not mathematically inclined, my planned race pace is 9:35. Because it was only 8 miles, less than I'd run the week before, and I didn't have to meet anyone at a specific time, I lazed around in the morning and didn't get started running until 8:15. It was already 87* and the humidity was on full blast. It was a tough run because of the heat, but surprisingly there were a few moments when I felt pretty good. I missed my overall goal time of 1:20:40 by about 3 minutes. I'm going to blame the heat and humidity for that and let it pass.

In all the first week was less than sucessful. But I'm not going to let that cloud the rest of the training. Weather happens, life happens and you have to learn to run through it.

I Just Haven't Been the Same Since That House Fell on My Sister

2010-05-25T06:03:00.001-07:00

Of the six New Year's Resolutions I made this year, I've already succeeded at one: seeing two plays this year. I've seen Jersey Boys and Wicked and I highly recommend both.

Four years ago on vacation I picked up the book Wicked, The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I enjoyed the book. A couple of years later a friend of mine asked me if I'd seen the play. I didn't know there was a play. It was in Charlotte and she said it was great. I didn't get to see it and was really disappointed. Then it came back this year. I had waiting 2 years to see the play and heard from everyone I knew who'd seen it that it was amazing. I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype.

We got to Oven Auditorium with about 10 minutes to spare. We found or seats which were in the lower section to the right of the stage and twenty three rows from it. There was a big monster, either a pterodactyl or a dragon with wings made of metal above the stage as part of the frame. There was a curtain with a map of the Emerald City and the surrounding region hiding the stage. A green light was shining behind the map highlighting the Emerald City. We didn't have to wait too long before the orchestra started and the ptero-dragon began to move, his eyes glowed red, steam spewed from his nostrils and his wings flapped. And we were in for three hours of excellent entertainment.

The play or the tale, starts with the villagers celebrating that the witch is dead. Glinda the good witch arrives to celebrate with them and one of the villagers asks if a rumor that Glinda and the wicked witch were friends is true. Glinda then begins to tell the story of the life of the 'wicked' witch.

The story is tragic, but the play does have a lot of funny moments. I had heard it described as a play that anyone can relate to. The characters are certainly relate-able. It is a great tale and in the end good does trump evil, but it challenges your idea of what you thought was 'good' is in this story.

The cast was phenomenal. Elphaba (the wicked witch) had an amazing voice. The dancing, the lighting and the stage forced your imagination to see story as bigger than the stage. It definitely lived up to the hype.

So other than hanging out at the theatre I have been ramping up my mileage. I don't officially start training until next week, but I've been getting into a new routine to prepare for it. My next big races are Hood to Coast (H2C) in Oregon, the Ashville Half Marathon and Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota. For training I'll be using the F.I.R.S.T. beginner program again, but adding an extra 5-7 mile run close to the long run in order to prepare for H2C. I'll also be adding hill repeats in addition to the speed work to prepare for H2C. I've never done a relay race and I haven't gotten any good advice on how to prepare. I've heard "you have to be in better than marathon shape' and that's been it. Not helpful. There are no training programs on the web for it either. So I'm winging it. The tough part is going to be getting in that extra run and still having a life.

Eureka! I Made It!

2010-05-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while since my trip to Northern California, but it's been pretty crazy since I got back and I'm just now stealing some time to write about it.

In short, the Humboldt Forest is gorgeous and Napa contains the best landscaping I've seen since Italy.

We got to San Francisco at around 11pm local time after leaving Charlotte at 4:30 and stopping briefly in Houston. Exhausted, we managed to find the hotel shuttle, get checked in and hit the bed by some time around midnight. It was a great hotel that was conveniently located near the airport. That's about as much as I can say about San Fran as we left out the next morning after picking up the rental car and headed north to packet pickup and Eureka.

Our road trip was pretty much confined to HWY 101, which was an easy road to follow. We passed through the usual small towns that have highways running through them similar to what you see on the way to the beach. Only this was Northern California, not Eastern Carolina. So instead of seeing industrial styled strip malls with barber shops, "home-cooking" diners and little shops with rebel flags in the windows, we saw tie-dye shops, cafes and cute restaurants with healthy and tasty food in old refurbished buildings.

We found packet pickup at the start line for the race in the Humbolt Forest. It consisted of about 8 tents, lots of volunteers and only a few items for sale by one running store in the area. We didn't have any trouble getting parked and getting our packets. The volunteer who handed me my bib number repeated my city and state to me. 'Yes' I said. Again he repeated it and said 'you came all the way from North Carolina?' That was the first clue that this was a small, rather local, race. I took my bib to another tent where I switched from the full to the half. The lady at that tent asked me if I knew some relatives of hers that also live in Charlotte. I didn't know them. After getting my race shirt, which rocks!, we headed back out of the forest after stopping for some photo ops, and headed to the Red Lion Hotel in Eureka.Eureka is about 40 miles from the Humboldt Forest and about the closest place to stay if you're visiting Humboldt. I have searched for words to describe Eureka. If you live in Charlotte, it's very similar to NoDa. You have very industrial parts mixed with cool victorian homes or cafes or restaurants. There are no tall buildings. There is waterfront and the waterfront is very beautiful. Overall, it has a sad feeling to it. I don't know the history of the area, but I had the sense that is was once a booming area and a nice place to live, but something, maybe the recession, hit it hard. I don't recommend a trip to Eureka.

We went to a neat restaurant called Lost Coast Brewery and enjoyed a nice meal, some great micobrews and then hit the bed early for the race the next morning. Race morning we woke up, got ready and headed 40 miles south to Humboldt. I was a bit worried in the morning that I would be cold. I hadn't brought a long-sleeve shirt to run in and I was afraid that had been a mistake. When we got to the race start and parked I realized I would be fine. Actually I knew it would be hot! I was pretty glad I wasn't running the full. The temps were in the upper 50s and it later got into the 60s. Not terrible, but a bit warmer than a good race temp.

The course was simply gorgeous! When you looked into the forest, you couldn't see very deep into it. I couldn't really tell if you could even walk off the beaten path in this forest. The race course was on a paved road which contained some potholes and dips. The redwoods were right at the edge of the road. You could see where some of them had been chipped when cars or trucks or something large had brushed them. The first 6.5 miles was pretty much up hill. But it wasn't steep hills, it was more like slight inclines. It was a little deceptive. My asthma was still an issue. When I tried to push it up the hills, it pushed back. I took my rescue inhaler a couple of times and then decided I wasn't doing well enough to risk overdose on medication. I backed off and ended up walking more than I'd like. At the turn around point we started back down to the finish line. The downhill was nice and I really think it was a great course for a PR if you're in shape for it. After the race we took a few more pictures and headed back to Eureka for showers and lunch.

Chloe, my travel companion on this trip, had read about Arcata which was only about 10 miles North of Eureka, but was supposed to be pretty cool. I was relunctant to get back in car because I felt like we'd already spent too much time in it. However, I already knew there wasn't much in Eureka and agreed to head up to Arcata for lunch. After a lot of driving around searching for 'downtown Arcata' we finally found it, parked and headed out on foot to check out the shops. It was about 4pm on Sunday. FYI Arcata apparently shuts down at 5 or 6 on Sundays. That was a bit surprising considering it was a little college town home to Humboldt State. It did have a very 'college' feel to it and was much nicer than Eureka. We got some coffee in a little cafe and then checked out an outdoor store around the corner.

Then we went looking for lunch/dinner. Not an easy chore as most places were closing. We were referred to a place called Luke's Joint. It was delicious! Really great food! It was across the street from what must have been the town square. We got a table in the window and talked to the owner about the area. He told us about a wine bar around the corner that wouldn't be open for another hour. We headed out from Luke's and tried to kill some time in a little used book store. The store was two stories tall and packed with used books. We both managed to find a couple of books and then decided to just head back to Eureka rather than killing more time before the Wine bar opened.

Back in Eureka, we walked from the hotel to the Carter House Inn, which is a bed and breakfast that occupies about three Victorian style buildings in Eureka. There we were able to buy some wine and a cheese and fruit plate while we chilled out on comfortable chairs by a fire. It was chillier in Eureka than Humbolt by about 10 degrees. Not so horrible that you can't stand it, but cool enough that a nice spot by a fireplace was comfy.

The next day we left Eureka and headed South to Napa. On the way we stopped at a little town called Willits. We chose to stop in Willits because of a cafe that we saw on 101 that looked good. In California cafes serve coffee and baked goods. Not lunch, like they do back East. The guy in the cafe referred us to a Burrito Exquisito place across the street. "Organic, Natural, Fast Food." Really, it said that! We grabbed burritos and went to eat at plastic tables behind the building. The food was really good and surprisingly not greasy. After checking out a tie-dye shop we got back in the car and headed to Napa.

While checking into the Marriott, we asked the lady at the desk for some suggestions for downtown Napa. The lady began telling us that Yountville is 10 miles North and has some great dinner places. Again we asked her about downtown Napa. She said it was 10 miles South and yeah there are some places there. We were confused by her behavior but headed to downtown Napa. We found a beautiful park near downtown and left the car to go tour Napa. It was a Monday evening and there wasn't much going on. We found that most of the shops were closed or getting ready to close. We were surprised at how few people were around. The downtown area consisted of several small shops and a mall. Nothing special and not quaint. We walked down to the area known as Riverfront and found a large, newly built mix-use building. It was built to house shops and restaurants on the lower level and condos or apartments above. There was one shop occupying the lower level. It was bike shop that was closing for the day. The condos or apartments above looked mostly vacant. It looked like it had been started before the recession and then taken a hit.

We found a nice Italian restaurant and got a table without having to wait. The food was great and the wine was great too. Afterwards we found the car and headed back to the hotel.

The next morning we asked the concierge about places to rent bikes and which wineries to visit in the Napa Wine Country. She pointed us to Yountville for the bikes and gave us a map as well as vouchers for free tastings.

Driving through Yountville we realized why the lady at the desk had pointed us this way. It was so beautiful and quaint. We found the bike rental place, got the bikes, a map and were off. It was a beautiful day. It was sunny and warm but not too hot. We visited 3 or 4 wineries and did about 3 tastings. We took a lot of pictures! The pictures are beautiful but do not capture the essence of the area. We were there during a non peak time and didn't have to stand in lines or fight crowds to get to wineries or wines. A couple of the places where we tasted wine actually gave us additional tastings. Something we really didn't need, but we didn't want to be rude. We stopped after the second winery at a roadside deli and store for lunch. It was a small place that looked like a rural grocery store. They had a really nice cheese case and I got some cheese, bread and a salad. We ate at a picnic table behind the store.

We continued the tour after lunch and were surprised to find that we'd had the bikes for about 6 1/2 hours! We returned the bikes in Yountville just before the bike shop closed and started our walking tour of Yountville. We found a little place called Bistro Jeanty where we had dinner. It was a French restaurant and we were able to get a table outside.

After dinner we headed back to San Francisco and back to the same DoubleTree Hotel by the airport. After checking in, returning the rental car and catching the shuttle back to the hotel our buzz had worn off and we were in full on withdrawal. I hit the bed early because I had to get up at 4am to make a 6am flight. I made my flight and got home with a stomach ache from lack of sleep, dehydration and jet lag. Totally worth it!

In all it was a great trip and we spent just about the right amount of time in all locations except that I didn't get to see SF at all. If I had known what Eureka was like, I'd have stayed in Arcata and left after the race, still spent only the one day in Napa and gotten in a day in SF. But it was a great trip.

Beantown

2010-04-22T05:51:00.000-07:00

I don't know where to start. In short Boston was awesome and exhausting!

We went to the expo right away to get our packets and spend some time checking out the booths. The shirts for the 5K and Marathon were really nice. Good quality, wicking shirts with no sponsors posted on them. The packet pick up and official Boston gear was in a small room with a few other discount booths. We walked through the room some and didn't find anything interesting. We were thinking that it was a pretty crappy expo for a big race when we saw that there was a whole other room we'd missed! The expo was closing so we agreed to come back the next day after the 5K.

That evening we checked into our hotels. I roomed with Adam's friend Kathy at the Double Tree near Chinatown and Tufts University. Adam and his family were in a Holiday Inn, off the beaten path in Beacon Hill. I met Adam and Todd at Rock Bottom's for dinner. It was walking distance from my hotel. It was cold and rainy so we ate and went back to the hotels to get some sleep before the 5K the next day.

The next morning it was 38* and rainy, which isn't really bad weather for a 5K. I ran to the start line with Kathy, which was less than a mile from the hotel. I seeded myself closer to the start line than where I was comfortable starting. I started
with the 6-minute group. In my defense there were a lot of people who were not where they should be. From the start I was being passed and passing people. The first two miles I was at or close to a 9-min pace. It wasn't what I wanted to do, but it was pretty good for how I felt. The course had about 2 decent sized hills and the rest was flat. It was also gorgeous! We passed beautiful brownstones on tree lined streets. They couldn't have picked a more scenic route. I finished at 28:39.

After the race we went back to the Expo to check out the room we'd missed. I bought some gloves from Nike and a jacket from Northface. I needed a nice jacket, plus I wanted it for the walk back to the room. We didn't find any good deals at the Expo, just a lot of running stuff. We only had about an hour to shop then we had to head back to our rooms to get ready to head to a Red Sox game.

It was freezing at the game. Just what you'd expect from a Spring game! We got really lucky as our seats were under the covered area. We were lucky because it rained at least 3 times during the game.

The Tampa Bay Rays are really good this year. They held the Sox off from scoring until the very last inning. The Rays won 7-1. But what a great stadium! They even have veggie burgers! I grabbed one and some peanuts plus a Sam Adams. It was all yummy. They sell Clam Chowder and hot chocolate in the stands. I've never seen that before!

After the came we headed to Canestaro's for a nice Italian meal so Adam could get his pasta. It was a quaint place in the neighborhood behind the stadium. I had found it online and made a reservation. The reviews were right, it was a good place. Then it was back to the hotels to get some sleep before an early start in the morning.

Kathy's mom, Judy, was also staying with us at the Double Tree. She and I got up early to get in a workout before going to watch the race. I had tossed my shoes after the 5K, because they were clearly done, but I didn't have any to workout in. So I decided to get a swim in. Our hotel also houses the Chinatown YMCA and we had free use while staying at the Double Tree. So I went for a short swim and wasn't at all surprised to see I was the only non-Asian at the pool. Even the Y's employees were Chinese. The pool was pretty clean, but the building was old and not very nice. It made me really appreciate the Jewish Community Center in Charlotte.

After working out we got ready to head to Boston College to watch the race. We decided to take the train which was pretty close to the hotel. When we got down to the subway we found the train packed with people. I started to get on and a guy waved me down to the next section of the train. Judy said "I guess we should wait for the next one." I said "They're all going to be like this." and I squeezed in where really, there was no room. Judy managed to get on as well and we were crammed in like we were in Japan or something. I was thinking that it was going to be hard to find a good spot to watch the race with all of these people going. Then the train got to the Kenmore station and 90% of the trains occupants got off. Whew! We were able to grab seats and ride out to the very last stop, the Boston College stop.

We found a nice spot right at mile 21 and sat down. It was cold, but sunny. I had brought some trail mix and it turned out to be a life saver as there were no places to get food around us. We were there for a little more than an hour before the first runners came through. By then the area around us was starting to fill in. Adam had given me his splits so I'd know when he should be passing. Unfortunately he had a bad second half. I thought I'd missed him. After a while I started thinking that I hoped I'd missed him because if I hadn't then he was off pace. And then I saw him. And he didn't look good. I could tell something was wrong with his right leg or hip. He managed a smile as he passed but it looked like he limped off. He still managed a great time, 3:25, but he had been at the halfway point at under 1:30, so he was a bit dissappointed in the second half. When we met up with him after the race, he said it was the toughest course he's ever run. I believe we'll be back in Boston another year so he can have another go at it. I know he'll sub-3 at some point. He's a really strong runner.

Kathy called as we were waiting for her to pass mile 21 and said she'd quit at 10 and was sitting with Adam at the finish. Kathy had been injured so she already wasn't sure how far she'd get. It was interesting for me to be around these really fast runners when they had had a bad day. I found myself saying to Adam what I usually say to my friends which is, training is good, but it all comes down to that one day. The difference was that these fast runners knew they'd have a better day another time and that they'd be back again. You don't find that confidence in slower runners.

We ended the evening at Cheers. Touristy, yes, but lots of fun!

Boston Bound!

2010-04-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

So I'm packed, for the most part, for Boston. I have a lot going on this week between now and then, but was just thinking about the 5K on Sunday. I'm closely watching the weather and have packed for every possibility. Shorts, long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt, calf sleeves and a running hat. I have directions from my hotel to the race start and directions to the St. Charles River to run my cool down. But I have no plan for the race.

For many reasons. For one thing, I've run one 10-mile run in the last 3 weeks. And it was not a quick 10 miles. I haven't done speed work in 3 weeks. Three weeks may not seem like a long time, but it really is. I'm completely out of the loop on running and on where I am in my running. I haven't done a 5K since August. I don't even remember how I did! Another thing, and this is big, I'm still hocking up some luggies. Sorry to be so graphic. I don't know what my lungs can take and especially when the temperature will be a good 20-30 degrees cooler.

Guess I'll wing it!

So since I didn't get in a 20 mile run for marathon training, I've had to set my sights on the half marathon instead of the full. I'm disappointed, but I think I'm doing the right thing. I am registered for the Twin Cities Marathon in the fall so it's not like I don't have another one to look forward to. Additionally, I won't have to spend as much time recovering as I would from a full. This will allow me to focus on more of the shorter distances in the area and work on speed. So it's good. It's for the best. I'll just keep telling myself that!

Good Days and Bad Days

2010-04-09T06:54:00.000-07:00

Fortunately we got some much needed heavy rains on Thursday. Unfortunately, today, Friday, I'm still pretty congested. I plan to get an allergy shot today and next Friday in an effort to curb these stupid symptoms. I also plan to attempt the 20 miler tomorrow morning. I have no idea how far I'll get or how slow it's going to go. My mind and my legs want to get out there and knock it out. My lungs have more sedentary plans.

I leave for Boston next weekend and from recent pictures of the city I can see they're all bloomed out for Spring. Lovely. Hence the weekly allergy shots. I played around with maps of the area where I'll be staying. I'm luckily very conveniently located to everything. After the 5K on Sunday I'm going to run down to the St. Charles River and run along a path by the water that I found on the map. I've heard so much about this area from other runners that I want to experience it myself. I also found a great map about the Boston Marathon course and still plan to be at mile 21 at the top of heartbreak hill, but now know a little about the area.

Adam got tickets to the Sunday Red Sox game. My Dad told me a little about the stadium. He said it's like what Crocket Park was like when we first moved to Charlotte, more than 20 years ago. Crocket Park was where the Charlotte O's played. They were a AA Division baseball farm team for the Orioles. The park was a small and wooden stadium and if you got into the box seats (which you could always sneak down into), you felt like you were on the field. We used to sneak down and sit in the first row by the dugout. We could hear the manager cussing at the players. My Dad said Fenway Park is very similar. I can't wait to see it!

Update

2010-04-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

Still sick with a sinus infection/walking pneumonia, something like that. Getting better but no eta on a return to running. To date, I've missed 7 training runs including the first 20 miler. If I can't do my 20 miler scheduled for this weekend, I'll have to drop to the half marathon instead of the marathon.

Lesson learned: No more Spring marathons.

Good news is that I did book a hotel the night before the marathon and I'm working on a room in Sonoma. Not easy to find a cheap room out there!

I did get my packet from the Boston Marathon association with my 5K number in it. Very excited about this race. I love 5Ks! I can't wait to get to Boston and run the course. The course runs around the Public Gardens and Boston Common. It finishes at the finish line for the Boston marathon. I'll need to get in some extra miles that day and I'd love to run near the Charles River. Later we're attending a Boston Red Sox game.

Another update: Vibram 5 Fingers. I actually set out (with inhaler in hand) to walk a 4 mile loop on Saturday morning in my Vibram 5 Fingers. Calves still hurt today. I really believe these 'shoes' work muscles nothing else seems to find. I also ended up with several blisters to I'll be investing in the socks for them before I use them again.

Keeping fingers crossed that I can get in 4-6 miles on Wednesday. S-L-O-W miles.

Everything On Hold

2010-03-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

Been sick since Sunday. No end in sight. This sucks major. Missed all my runs this week, haven't swam in 3 weeks and haven't lifted in 2 weeks. I'm on a ton of meds and pretty much in a fog. Every. Freakin'. Spring.

DST Has Arrived

2010-03-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

I was so looking forward to Daylight Savings Time! Running in the daylight and the beginning of the great warm-up when we can run comfortable in shorts again!

But this whole week I've been so tired and out of it. I thought DST would be my reset button, but I think I'm going to need a full re-boot! I've skipped out on lifting and swimming all week. I've continued my running, but it's been somewhat lacking in energy.

I have had a lot going on. Work remains busy and I had to go into the office (or an office) twice this week, which somewhat disrupts my schedule. Then there was the beer mile.

I didn't run in the beer mile. I don't think I have the stomach for it! You drink 4 beers while running a mile. One full 12-oz beer every quarter mile. Why waste beer by guzzling it? I should mention here that I drink dark beers like Guinness and other stouts and not piss water such as bud or miller. So I'm really not the target demographic for a beer mile. I do love organizing theme runs and so I organized this one. Luckily, 30+ people don't share my view on guzzling beer and the event was successful and entertaining. Surprisingly there was very little carnage (puking, passing out, etc.). The weather was awesome as opposed to last year when it monsooned on us at the start, so people stuck around for a long time and actually continued to drink! There's a general feeling these days that we've all emerged from hibernation after a brutal winter and we're out and ready to celebrate Spring. It feels great!

I purchased my flight for San Francisco for the Avenue of the Giants Marathon and the plan is being set into motion. The next 4 weeks of training will be tough as I complete the 2-20 mile runs and the recovery runs in between. I'm looking forward to it with a healthy amount of fear. I also have the Boston 5K coming up and a weekend at the beach in between.

With work, training and trips, no additional progress has been made on the condo. It is upsetting that we're 3 months into the year and no 'For Sale' sign is posted outside. But there's a lot on my plate at the moment and not a lot that I, alone, can do about what's left to get the condo on the market. But there's still 9 months left in the year!

Training, Work, Life

2010-03-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

I've been working so much lately that I haven't wanted to log back in after work to blog or even to check my email. It's not bad, the work is interesting, there's just a lot. Some of my team members want me to start helping with releases. I don't mind helping but some of these releases don't start til 9 or 11pm. I'm in bed by 11pm and my brain is definitely off by 9pm. I've never been a night owl. I've stayed up late, but I was drinking. My brain was not working then. And no, I didn't pull all nighters in college, either. My body just doesn't do evenings. So I'm not sure I can pull this off. I wonder how long I can put it off?

I finally had a good long run on Saturday. Unfortunately I didn't start my watch to see how good of a day it was but I felt pretty strong. This week I'm doing my first 18 miler. yikes!

I've started doing some of the Thursday night runs again. Some of my friends that I know from other things besides running, have started coming to them. I've decided to make these runs my 5 Finger runs. I haven't run much in them since I got them and this seems like the perfect opportunity as Thursdays is a cross-training day and not part of my marathon program. This week we're doing a pre-Irish Beer Mile run practice run. Combining a little beer with my 5 finger run should be interesting. Plus I've never hashed so it will be good to see how that feels. I'm organizing the beer mile so I can't participate. I'm not really all that disappointed.

The weather is warming up and I'm so excited to be able to put away my running tights! It's much better to run in shorts. It's totally mental but most of running is mental.

Speaking of mental, I'm considering running my first ultra. It's a little one as ultras go, it's a 50K. It's in Salem Lake where I ran the 30K in October. The only thing about the 50K is that it's an out and back twice. The course is flat and on trail that is more like a greenway and not technical. I'm dreading the out and back and repeat part. Is it better to stay in your head during that or get out of your head? I wonder if my mp3 player would make the whole race? I mentioned it to Adam and he said, 'you'd be running for a long time. That's well over 4 hours.' He's a really fast runner, so the idea of running FOR 4 hours is foreign to him. I think his longest marathon was 3:40 something. Maybe faster. The race isn't until January. I have plenty of time to decide and then to train. But the idea is out there.

The Bloom Is Off the Rose

2010-03-03T11:21:00.000-08:00

I was sitting with some friends talking about our long runs and complaining about feeling bored during them when one of them said 'I think it's because it's not new anymore.' She hit on it right there. I'm in my 7th year of running, I'm training for my 7th marathon, I have at least a hundred bib numbers from races of all distances and turfs hanging on my refrigerator, dozens of medals and even a few awards. There aren't many, if any, firsts anymore.

When you first start running you seem to hit a PR every time you race. You watch your time for a particular distance break goal after goal and it's exciting! I PR'd by 1 minute, 2 minutes, or by the most minutes by which I've ever PRd! I just ran my first 5K!, my first half! my first full! All of these exciting milestones happen early in your running career. After a while your friends and family stop being excited. You run out of milestones, you have a few bad races, then you stop PRing except maybe once a year if you're lucky.

Then what?

There is a certain amount of pleasure in watching other people hit milestones or PR. That is why I do love this sport. It's such an individual effort that you can be happy for someone else because it doesn't mean that you or someone else lost, like it does in a team sport. But that doesn't exactly motivate me to get through a 12 or 20 miler without being bored.

Inconsistent

2010-03-02T14:13:00.000-08:00

"Why must it always be stop and go?
Where in this life can I find constant flow?
Inconsistency on a larger scale
Impersistence forcing me to bail out
.... What I really need is consistency" - Consistency by Ari Hest

That sums up how I feel about my training. I've determined that if I have a really good speed workout and tempo run then my long run will suck. The reverse is also true. Maybe there's some consistency here after all.

I'm 9 weeks out and have officially decided to run the Avenue of the Giants marathon. I have also possibly talked 2 friends into joining me. We plan to make a nice mini vacation out of it.

Work has been keeping me really, really busy. I'm falling behind on many of my New Year's Resolutions. The biggest being selling the condo. Nope not on the market yet. Why? Mostly it's the weather. For example, it's snowing right now for the 80th time this year! So can't really get all those little projects I have left to do done. I did finish reading a book, bringing my total to 2 towards my goal of 10. I started 2 more so that one is looking good. I have a plan to see the play Wicked which will count towards my 2 plays for the year. Haven't actually bought tickets yet, but I will. Haven't been to the Evening Muse yet this year sadly. I have signed up for my two marathons though so that one is almost locked down.

So with work being incredibly busy and training, there hasn't been a lot of down time. There also hasn't been much play time. The most interesting thing that's happened in the past month is that I won my first beer chugging contest. Yep. At a baby shower. Had to drink beer out of a baby bottle. Fun stuff. I'm not posting pictures.

I do have some great trips planned and I really can't wait to get out of here and enjoy some time in other cities. I'm also still planning to run the B.A.A. 5K and will be signing up for that as soon as it opens tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to running a 5K! It's been too long!

MT Weeks 4 & 5

2010-02-18T05:58:00.000-08:00

So work has been really hectic. I'm in an area now that has a great deal of work. It's great! But I haven't had as much time to blog. It's also been tough getting in my long runs due to snow every weekend!

I'll start with speed workouts. I found some fools willing to run track with me. The company has been great! They're motivated and motivating. We did a workout that consisted of 5 x 1K with a 400m recovery in between. It was awesome! It seemed weird at first. What is 1k? It's a 1,000 meters or two and a half times around the track. We decided to swap directions for each interval. It really helped the hips. I felt great after workout. The next speed workout didn't go so great. The plan called for 2 mins fast/2 mins easy. What? Minutes? That's just license to go slowly. I had a pinched nerve in my back that was affecting my neck and arm. So the workout was horrible. I was barely finishing 400m in 2 minutes. Lousy workout.

Speaking of lousy, the tempo runs have been going badly as well. The first one called for 1 mile easy, 4 tempo, 1 mile easy. I could not push myself during the 4 miles. I ended up walking some and finishing at a 10 minute pace. The next week didn't go well either! The plan called for 1 mile easy and 7 miles tempo. Again, I finished at a 10 mile pace. Part of the issue could be that it was really cold. In the 20s. Another issue is that I can't tell what pace I'm running. I'll think I'm running really hard and will find out it was a 10 minute pace. At some points I think I was running faster than a 9 minute mile but then dieing in the next mile. I'm not sure how to work on pacing. I was hoping this training would help. I thought that this was something that came with time, but I'm starting to think you either know it or you don't.

My long runs have been affected by adverse weather conditions and a race...in adverse weather conditions. I'll start with my favorite, The Uwharrie 8 mile trail race. I love this race! I've only run it 3 times in the past 6 years though I've signed up 5 of those years. This year I ran it with my friend Jody. My friend Chloe ventured to the race as well, but took off and we didn't see her again until the end. The weather was cold, but not as cold as I've experienced there. It was at or around the freezing mark. They'd had a great deal of rain leading up to the race and were considering cancelling the race, but decided to do it. Chloe, Jody and I went back and forth the night before considering whether or not to do the race. The race is an hour and a half from Charlotte so we couldn't just go and check the trail conditions ourselves. Finally Chloe said 'Let's do it. It'll be ugly but it'll be a great story.' Later Jody would say that 'the great story' part hooked her. We met at 6am and headed East.

The trails were wet but not completely soupy which is what I had expected. There was no ice. Jody and I stayed together and got into a good groove in places while walking the more treacherous areas. We talked, laughed and caught up in general on what we'd been up to. The race directors had put up ropes to get over the worst of the creeks and we were able to get through the race course without any spills or broken bones. I had worn my wool socks and trail shoes and I was amazed at how warm my feet stayed. Along the course we met up with a lady who runs trail races all the time. She's been a runner for 30 years and left the roads 15 years ago. She gave us great advice on how to land so you don't slip or fall and gave advice on how to dress. I never knew there was such a thing as wool underwear and bras. Now I may have to buy them!

My next long run was a 12 miler that I had to run after a 3.5 inch snow fell the night before. I started my run at close to 11am. I decided to wear my trail running shoes and wool socks. I thought the trail running shoes would help grip in the snow. I chose a route close to home and wore a fuel belt to carry my water. The roads and sidewalks weren't bad. The shady areas did have a great deal of ice and I had to walk through those areas. In the end, the trail shoes were a bad call. They didn't offer the cushioning I needed for the roads and there weren't enough snowy areas to make them worth while. Live and learn, I guess. I was glad to get in the 12 as it had been close to a month since I'd been able to hit double digits. I lost one long run to snow and the Uwharrie race was only 8 miles.

This week's plan calls for a long run of 13 miles. I've decided to bump it to 14 miles. I feel like I need to get these long runs ramped up a tad faster than in the plan. Wish me luck!

MT Week 3

2010-02-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

Last weekend's long run was foiled by snow and ice. I got in about 45 minutes on an indoor track but one lap was 1/12 of a mile. So making it 45 minutes is pretty good (sane).

I was able to find a track that was snow-free to do my speed workout. This week's workout called for 3 1-mile repeats. Fortunately the kiddies were out of school and I was able to go during the daylight hours. My goal for one mile during speed workouts is to be within 8:05 and 8:20. I felt somewhat strong in the legs during the workout, but I noticed my breathing was really off. I was really struggling. It could have been the cold. It hasn't been getting out of the 40s much these days. Still I was able to stay within range with:

4:13
4:09
4:14

The last one I was doing pretty good the first 3 laps but lost it in the last lap.

I really hate track workouts.

The second workout was my tempo run. The plan was 2m easy, 3 tempo, 2 easy. The 3 tempo miles I did in 26:06 or 8:42 per mile pace. Not bad. This is a bit faster than I need to run for tempo. I'm also on a pretty hilly part of the course when I do these tempo runs. My legs after about 2 miles of tempo started feeling like spaghetti. I think I hyper extended my knees a couple of times because after I finished running they really hurt. I ran 3 more miles after my tempo run, but I walked a couple of times during the first mile after tempo. I think I'm running the tempo runs too fast and then giving out on the cool down.

Another interesting thing I discovered is that if I completely stop, like when trying to cross a busy street, I start back feeling stronger. This may be something I can do at water stops and I definitely want to experiment with in my next half marathon race.

My next race is supposed to be this weekend. The Uwharrie Mountain Run. Unfortunately the are calling for ice in that area this weekend. It's a trail run that is already difficult without adding ice to the mix. I'm keeping an eye on the weather, but I'm not hopeful I'll be running it this weekend. If not the race, then I'll probably get in the 12-miler that I missed last weekend.

5 Fingers and MT Week 3

2010-01-28T07:21:00.001-08:00

Over the weekend I purchased a pair of Vibram Five Fingers Sprints. I walked around in them for a couple of days to loosen them up as they were a little tight when I bought them. They loosed up quickly. They are also more comfortable than they look. They got a few looks, though most people didn't notice. Reaction ranged from cool to creepy. Some people don't like feet.

My track workout for the week called for 6 x 800 (only 6?) with a 90 recovery in between. I decided to go to a nearby track that someone had told me about. This would save me some gas and it was supposedly well lit and visible from a main road. I decided I would warm up in my Five Fingers and do my workout in my Mizunos.

The warm up in the Five Fingers was good overall. I didn't notice any difference in my stride or any burning sensation in my legs. I'd heard from a couple of people to expect this. I read about barefoot running when I'd only been running a short time in '04. I changed my stride based on the information I'd read about barefoot running. This could be why I didn't notice a difference. Towards the end of the 3rd loop, I guess I didn't lift my left foot high enough and scraped the top of my big toe along the track's surface. It hurt so bad I was sure there was permanent damage. My first thought was 'not my pedicure!' I stopped and looked at my big toe and waited for the blood to surface on my new Five Fingers. But it never came. When the sting subsided, I continued my warm up with minimum pain in my big toe. When I changed into my Mizunos, there was no visible evidence of the scrape and my pedicure still looked great. Score 1 for the V5s!

It was really windy! The wind gusts were unbelievable. I switch direction each speed interval to break it up in my head and in both directions the head wind was in the second half of the track, when you're tired anyway. It felt like a bully had his hand on my forehead holding me back. I'd start an interval pretty strong, but hit the head wind and lose momentum. After the first 400, I'd struggle to recover even with the wind at my back then lose it all together when I hit the second head wind. It was so discouraging. My times were off more than 10 seconds from last week.

Interval times:
4:07
4:11
4:13
4:13
4:12
4:06

When I got to the track there was a lady run/walking the track. Her sons were playing around the soccer goal. She left before I started the warm up. It was just me. There were no games at the nearby softball fields and there were no lights on the track. There was heavy track on the main road, but the parking lot wasn't visible from this road. When it started to get dark, it started to get creepy. I'll try a different track next week. Maybe I'll even find someone else to run these with!

Workout number two went better than speed work. I run this one with a group. The plan called for 5 miles @ tempo pace. That's roughly a 9:50-10:05 pace for me. I warmed up for a mile before starting my tempo run. It was tough, but I felt strong. The course I run with the group isn't easy. There's a lot of hills, but there will be hills in a race, so I don't modify this run to avoid hills. I managed 5 miles in 47:32 or a pace of 9:30. That's slower than the 4 mile tempo pace last week, but I started the tempo run sooner, where there are bigger hills, this week.

Overall, I think training is going well. I feel strong and I'm more involved in my workouts than I have been in the past. My long runs have been hit or miss which is normal. I am working on some fueling issues with those but I think I have a plan that will work. I'm certainly enjoying this more than usual.

More Charleston and F.I.R.S.T. Week 2

2010-01-21T12:04:00.000-08:00

...after finishing shrimp & grits, we headed back to the hotel to clean up and spend some time in downtown Charleston. The temperature was in the 60s but it was raining. We walked up to Kings street and walked along it, stopping in some of the more interesting shops. We went into Half Moon Outfitters where I tried on a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. They didn't have the size I need or the kind I wanted, but I made a note of what I am looking for. I'm debating between a pair of V5s or a new pair of Mizunos. Just not sure if V5s are a good idea with my PF issue.

Adam shopped for a hat while we were there;)

We eventually stopped into King's Street Bar & Grill for a bite, some beers and to catch the NFL game. We took it easy the rest of the evening and went to Poogan's Porch for breakfast. I highly recommend Poogan's!

Poogan's Porch is in an old Charleston-style house on Queen St.

Back in Charlotte I enjoyed a relaxing Monday off from work since it was MLK day. Well not really. I actually got up early and made it to my athletic conditioning class and then went for a nice swim. After running a couple of errands I went home and sat on the couch for hours.

I usually do my speed workout on Mondays and I'd been doing them in the gym on the treadmill. I had decided that that really wasn't going to work and wasn't a good indicator of how fast I was really going and had resolved to finding a track. So I really wasn't relaxing on the couch as much as I was putting off going to the track. Finally around 3:00 I headed to a local school track. It was unseasonably warm but still cool enough to not get too hot. I need to do a 10 minute warm up, 12 x 400 (90 secs RI) and then a 10 minute cool down. I used to do my speed work on a street that was relatively flat and had the mile markers for 200 meters, 400 meters, etc. up to 800 meters and then you would run back to get in a full mile. I liked this but the track is closer. I had it in my head that I needed to run 12 times around the track with a 90 second rest in between. But for whatever reason, while I was warming up I somehow got it in my head that 400 meters was actually twice around the track and not once. I timed myself running twice around the track 10 times with a 90 second rest in between sets before it sunk in that I'd been doing 800s! Ugh! I thought well, I should finish what I started. But after doing my 11th one I realized that I'd done 5 1/2 miles of speed work and that's really too much. So I stopped. I was pretty beat anyway. My times were:

3:49
3:51
3:55
3:56
3:57
4:00
3:55
3:59
4:02
4:02
4:05

So from this, I see some consistency. I also see an endurance issue. By the way, the first 4:00 was partially due to a pause when a little girl riding her bike on the track took a nasty spill. I was going to help her, but her dad was at the track and he helped her. She wasn't seriously hurt just startled.

My second run for the week, my tempo run, was postponed a day because of work. Luckily my training schedule is flexible enough that this wasn't a problem. I just ran the next morning instead of in the evening with my group. It was cold and my foot hurt (pf issue) for the first mile, but loosened up and didn't bother me again until after the run. The plan was 1 mile easy, 4 miles tempo, 1 mile easy. Unfortunately, when my run was moved to the next day, I had to run a route I'm not familiar with. This meant having to stop a couple of times and check my directions. I did manage to get the 4miles tempo in at 37:05. I was happy with this given the stop and go during the run due to not being familiar with the route. I think next week's tempo run will go a lot better.

For my third run this week I'm meeting a group to run part of it. I have to run 11 miles at a 10:20 pace. I don't think that will be a problem. I may try to run it at a sub-10 pace but it really depends on how I feel when I wake up that morning. I'm looking forward to running a long run with a group again.

Shrimp & Grits Y'all!

2010-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Adam and I left out kind of late (7:30pm) Friday night for Charleston, SC for the Charleston Riverfront Race Festival. We found the Double Tree hotel at Church and Market, checked in and crashed at around 11:30pm. The room was awesome. I'd booked on priceline and gotten a great deal on a standard room, but some how we were upgraded to a junior suite at no extra charge. Nice. Plenty of room and a big king sized bed.

Adam was a bit worried about getting to the race on time. The start time was 8:35am for the half and we had to get our car from the valet and get my packet before lining up at the start. So we got up at 6am. I was pretty tired but getting ready for the race went smoothly. We had no problem getting our car and found the race area without any issues. The race start/finish was only 7 miles from the hotel in N. Charleston near the Naval Yard. We were there early enough that there were no lines for packet pickup. After grabbing my packet we went back to the car and sat for about 45 minutes.

The shirts for the race were really nice long sleeve, dry fit shirts with the race logo on the front. They also gave us a reusable draw string bag. Nice touch. There were no freebies in the bag, just race fliers.

After doing about a 15 minute warm up through the parking lot, we headed to the race start line with about 10 minutes to spare. Unfortunately, the race start was 20 minutes later than the posted start time.

My two options for running the race went right out of my head and I decided on a secret 3rd option for the race after it started. The first mile of the race was very congested. I was having to bob and weave a bit more than I like to during a race. But I found some space and my stride and decided to run the first 10 miles as fast as I could. I missed quite a few mile markers during the first ten miles; mile 2, 6,7 and 10. But a fellow racer let me know when were at mile 10.25 and I was able to deduce from that that I'd finished the first 10 miles at a 9 and change pace. Not bad. Unfortunately, from mile 2 on I was starving. I don't mean a tad uncomfortable, I could go for a snack hungry, I mean full-on stomach growling send down a Denny's Grand Slam hungry! I'd only brought one Gu, but more wouldn't have cut it anyway. So the last 3 miles were at a 10 minute, 11 minute and 12 minute pace. I finished in 2:04.

The Pros: The race course was flat, as promised. The weather was great, it was about 45* when we woke up. Really great entertainment along the course. I saw more bands and cheer sections than at the LV RnR half last month! There was a rock band, a little girls' cheering group along the course, another group of children who were singing while using sign language, a small rock band consisting of little boys all around the age of 10 (if that), a boy on the piano and an African drum circle. You passed all of these twice with the exception of the drum circle. The entertainment was great since you really didn't get a lot of scenery along the course. The water stops were well organized. At the end of the race they served warm shrimp & grits and the best bagels I've ever had!

The Cons: The race started late. The mile markers may not have been measured correctly and the markers were small and easy to miss. The race medals at the end were pretty cheap looking. The course contains a couple of out and back sections which can be a con if you're having a bad day or a pro if you want to see faster/slower friends along the route.

This race, I didn't see anything particularly weird. I did see a guy wearing the Vibram 5 fingers. This was a little surprising given it's a barefoot technology and we were running a half marathon. I tried to catch up to him to see how his feet felt, but we were into mile 11 and I just didn't have the energy.

I spent a lot of time in my head this race. Here's a list of some of the things I thought about in random order:

Pat Tillman (the NFL player turned Army Ranger who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in April '04)
2005 Army 10-miler
Adam Mayes
Tacking
Pippit Long
Tim Long's blog
My knee hurts
Hmm, my foot doesn't hurt
This ground is cushy, is that rubber?
My outfit is boring
She didn't go all the way to the turn around point!
He's hot
The national flag printed on running shorts is tacky
I hope I'm done soon
What mile is this?
This is the longest effing mile
I'm starving
Man, there is nothing in N. Charleston

Marathon Training Week 1

2010-01-14T08:59:00.001-08:00

So far I have completed 2 workouts of my marathon training.

The first workout was the speed workout which was completed on the treadmill. It consisted of 10 minutes warm up, 3 mins fast/3 min recovery x 4, 10 minute cool down. It didn't go so well. Maybe I was tired. Maybe I hate the treadmill. Maybe it's calibrated incorrectly. Maybe I was annoyed because I kept hitting the cord on my new headphones and pulling them out. I don't know, but I couldn't maintain the 8:20 pace I was hoping to maintain and instead was at about 8:25-8:35 pace. Which isn't bad, but it isn't what I needed to be doing. I think I'll find a track to continue these.

The second workout was my tempo run, which I completed on the road with my running group. It consisted of 2 miles easy, 3 miles tempo and 1 mile easy. My tempo was to be 30 to 45 seconds slower than my planned marathon pace of 9:35. That just doesn't sound right to me. Shouldn't tempo be faster? It's probably meant to be slower at first to train you to maintain a certain pace. I instead ran 2 miles at about 9:30-10:00/mile pace and then ran 3 miles in 25:15 or 8:25/mile pace. Then 1 mile in about 10:00. I didn't time the easy miles so those times are just a guess.

I felt great after the second workout! I felt strong. I felt like I'd really done a hard workout. I didn't get bored on the run. I left 3 people behind when I started the tempo run and then passed 2 guys. That doesn't happen to me on a regular basis. I did wonder what this will all feel like as the temperature warms up. Last night the temperature was in the 30s. Not as cold as it has been but not warm. I guess I'm really thinking too far ahead. I'm thinking about June-August temps when my race is in May. So I'll let that go for a while.

My next workout will be completed at the inaugural running of the Charleston Riverfront Race Festival Half Marathon on Saturday morning. My training plan calls for 10 miles at PMP +30 secs. That translate, for me, to 10:05 miles. I feel confident that that's doable. I have decided on one of two plans:

If I wake up feeling like crap: run 13 miles at 10:05 pace.
If I wake up feeling great: run 1 mile at 10:05, then alternate fast mile(9:30ish avg pace)/slow mile(10ish pace) for 10 miles, 2 miles at 10:05

Hopefully I feel pretty good. The race directors have promised a flat course so I'd like to do well.

Marathon Training Preparation

2010-01-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

So finally did my marathon training plan for the Avenue of the Giants Marathon on May 2nd. I'm already 2 weeks behind!

I chose the Furman Institue of Running and Scientific Training (F.I.R.S.T) program. http://www.furman.edu/first/fmtp.htm I'm using the beginner program even though this will be my 7th marathon. The reasons are 1. The other programs cost $ 2. This will still be pretty intense for me because I've never focused on pace during my training.

The program consists of 3 running workouts a week. This allows for all the cross-training I want to do. Though this is one less run than I normally do a week, it's still an intense program. The first workout is a speed workout. It's been a while since I've done speed. Not really looking forward to this! The pace is based on my 10K pace, which I set as 53 minutes. Okay, so I've not run a 53 minute 10K, but I've run a 54 minute 10K on a course that wasn't easy. The pace for the speed workouts will be about 8:05/mile and 2:00 per 400m. This I can do. I did this at a track last weekend. The question is, can I do it consistently?

The second workout is a tempo run. I never do these. They sound painful. For this run, I'll get in a decent amount of distance 5-8 miles but a good portion of this will be run at an 9:35-10:05 pace. With the tempo speed increasing up to the marathon.

The third workout is a long run. I can do a long run, no problem. The pace on the long run is 20-45 seconds slower than my planned marathon pace (9:35) until closer the marathon when the speed picks up on the shorter long runs.

My goals for this training are:

to run my fastest marathon yet at a time around 4:11 (previous PR is 4:21 in 2005)
to not feel like marathon training is another full time job
to put more into my runs and training by allowing more focus on my runs

So my first full week of training starts Monday. My first long run will be that Saturday when I tackle the brand new Charleston Riverfest Half Marathon in Charleston, SC. The great thing about this race is that my plan for the day has me running at a 10:05 pace for 10 miles. I should be about to maintain that pace on the 'flat course' the organizers promised in the brochure. I think.

New Year, New Goals!

2010-01-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

So, very few times in my life have I set New Year's Resolutions. This year, I set very realistic resolutions - I hope! There is one that is beyond my control and one that is possibly a physical stretch and one that is possibly a fiscal stretch.

My first resolution is to 'stick to a budget.' I'm good at creating a budget. The first issue with this one is that it might be tough to accomplish the other goals.

My next resolution is to read 10 books. This could be easy if I pick children's books. My issue here is time. I don't have much. But in making this goal I'm hoping to break the terrible habit I've gotten into of watching too much TV. And TV sucks, so I'm not sure why I do it.

My next resolution is to sell my condo. This is completely up to the real estate gods. I would love to get out of this one and into a cute little house closer to town, my activities and my bf.

My next resolution (I think we're halfway done) is to visit the Evening Muse at least six times this year. Now, the Muse is great and not very expensive. I love the shows, but haven't been going as much lately and want to get back into it.

My next resolution is to attend at least two plays this year. It's important to stay culturally active. I hope that one with the muppets comes back to town. That was funny! I did see that 'Wicked' is coming back to Charlotte in the Spring. I've read the book and really want to see the play. I've heard great things.

My last resolution is to run two marathons this year. This is possibly physically impossible. I'll see how the first one goes. Avenue of the Giants in Eureka, CA, May 2nd.

See how that first one will get broken?

Part 3 of My Trip Out West

2009-12-28T07:39:00.000-08:00

So to continue my backwards recap of my trip, I'll end where it began with Zion/Springdale, UT. When I arrived in Vegas, Will picked me up at the airport and we drove down the strip to head out of town. We stopped to walk through the Wynn and Encore hotel/casinos as we had heard they are the newest and we wanted to see them. (The Aria opened the last day of our trip.) We stopped and had lunch at a great little restaurant in The Wynn. It had 'terrace' in the name, but I don't remember the whole name. It was warm enough to sit outside so we enjoyed a nice view of the hotel pool and ate salads among the many birds on the terrace.

We left Vegas and headed East to Utah. There really isn't much in the 2.5 hour drive between Vegas and Springdale. We did drive through St. George, but couldn't see much from the road. It was mostly flat. Mostly desert. Mostly deserted.

We arrived at the Desert Pearl Inn, just off the road while it was still daylight. The hotel was nice and the town was very quaint. It was off season so there were very few tourists in town, but the locals were out and about.

After we settled into the hotel, we went for a short run through Zion National Park, which was about 3 miles from our hotel. I wore shorts, two shirts, a hat, gloves and my trail running shoes. We were in the shade most of the time so it was still pretty cold. We got in a decent run and just took in the sights. It was so beautiful! In Zion you start in the canyon and hike or run up.

Will had to work some while we were there so I had some time to myself to run, take pictures, read and relax. The first morning we were in Springdale, I got up and went for a run. I wore some running pants, two shirts, a hat and gloves. It was 27* or less. I had planned to run for an hour, but after 33 minutes, I headed back to the hotel for a warm shower and hot coffee. I relaxed on a sofa in the gift shop with my coffee and read Nelson DeMille's 'The Gatehouse.'

In the afternoon, we hiked Angel's Landing and the West Rim Trail. Angel's Landing is the most popular attraction at Zion. If you make it to the top (pictured left) you can see the entire canyon.

Will had been telling me about his previous hike up Angel's Landing. He told me that there's two spots where it's really, really scary. He also told me about a conversation with his uncle where he learned that a week before we were there, a woman died in a fall off of Angel's Landing. The second such death this year.

Angel's Landing

Walter's Wiggles - along the path to Angel's Landing

We walked the paths up Angel's Landing and then got to the technical section. We started climbing using the chains available. We didn't get far. I started getting a little dizzy and decided it wasn't a good day for me to go all the way to the top of Angel's Landing. I wasn't 100% and was feeling shaky already. We hadn't even gotten to the scariest part. I have to admit that the stories of the women dying this year got to me. It was humiliating seeing people coming down walking upright past us. But I still feel that day wasn't a good day for me to attempt it. I will have to go back and attempt this again!

We went left and hiked the West Rim Trail from the landing. It was still very gorgeous and a great hike.

The second day we hiked the East Rim Trail. Below are images from that hike:

This hike was gorgeous and longer though not as strenuous. We found a few arches along the way.

Now Here's Something I Hope You'll Really Like!

2009-12-22T06:23:00.000-08:00

The holidays are hectic! This one is even more so because I've been spending time with Adam's family as well as mine. So it's taken me a couple of weeks to get back and post about my favorite part of my trip out West!

We left Springdale, UT (where we stayed when we hiked in Zion (more on that later)) on Friday evening and headed to Bryce Canyon. I think the drive was about 2 hours and as we went we saw more and more snow. I wish our car had had an outside temperature gauge so I could have taken pictures of the temperature dropping. It was so cold!

The drive went through a lot of very small towns that sprouted up between vast areas of nothing. In the South, where I spend most of my time traveling, you see pine forests along the interstates and even the back roads are lined with houses, pine forests and the occasional corn field. But in Utah, it was bare mountains, bare fields and the occasional cow pasture. A small amount of snow was on the ground, though, and it made everything look so beautiful. We finally arrived at Ruby's Inn near Bryce Canyon where we stayed the night. It was pretty dark when we arrived and a good 20* colder than where we'd left. The area where Ruby's is, is not very populated. There were about 3 hotels, a gas station...and that's about it. It was also not tourist season so most places had closed for the season. It reminded me a little of the movie 'The Shining.'

After dinner, we spent some time warming up in the hot tub. The Inn had an indoor pool and hot tub. Unfortunately a loud, rowdy group of boys had taken over this area and made it less than relaxing. So we got out and turned in early. We decided to go to Bryce Canyon very early so we could see the sunrise over the Canyon. I'd seen pictures of the sunrise and I was excited to see it for myself. I had a roommate 11 years ago who had been to Bryce and showed me pictures. I'd wanted to go since then and I was almost too excited to sleep!

The alarm went off around 5am so that we could get ready for a 7:20am sunrise. I got right out of bed without hitting snooze. That has likely never happened before. The night before we heard it would be a very, very cold morning so I'd mentally prepared my outfit for it. I turned on the TV while Will started getting ready. It was 8*. Officially the coldest temperature I've ever experienced! But it's a dry cold, right? I was most shocked to see on the Weather Channel that it was snowing in Houston, TX!

I put on a pair of running pants that I'd brought for lounging around in. Then I put on my hiking pants over it and was excited to see that I could fasten them over the other pants. This was looking good! Then I put on my UnderArmor shirt, then the thin shirt I'd been hiking in, then the shirt I'd brought to run the race in and then the warmest sweater I own which really isn't for hiking. Then my jacket. Luckily it all fit. I put on my hat and gloves and then noticed Will had taken everything out of his suitcase and had flipped the case over and was shaking it.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"My other glove." He replied.

Will had either lost or left his other glove at home. After checking the suitcase and the car, the other glove was not found. We grabbed coffee and hot chocolate from the restaurant downstairs and headed towards the park. It was cold and dark and we were the only people in the park that early. The only fools!

We parked and walked up to 'Sunrise Point.' There was some snow and ice on the paths so you had to be careful where you stepped.

I began passing the time by snapping some pictures of sights I found interesting. It was so incredible even in the low light before dawn. Will spent the time trying to get warm. He ran around and did jumping jacks, keeping one ungloved hand in his pocket the whole time.

Unfortunately, and as is my luck, it was cloudy this morning and a clear view a picture of the sunrise over Bryce Canyon was not to be. It was still gorgeous and still worth seeing. There is nothing else like Bryce Canyon in the world. After we gave up on the sunrise, we did a short hike through the Canyon. It was about 3 miles and it took us through "Wall Street."

The hike was gorgeous and I did end up warming up by the end of it. I'm happy to report that Will didn't lose any digits as a result of his one-gloved hike!

Vegas Baby!

2009-12-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I hate my title too.

I had a wonderful time out West! But I'll start with my least favorite part. The half marathon in Vegas.

The race started at 6:15am in front of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. I stayed at the Wynn. When I looked at the map provided by the marathon, my hotel looked like it was roughly 2 - 2.5 miles from the start. "Cool, nice warm up, I thought." I left my hotel at 5:30am to head to the race. I had a little trouble getting out of the hotel and onto the strip. They make it so confusing so you'll just stay and gamble at the casino! Anyway, I ran into a line of people waiting to take a shuttle to the race. I thought about taking the shuttle, but I was too antsy to stand there in the freezing cold (it was 30* at the start) and I thought "It's only two miles." So I started running down the strip towards the Mandalay Bay. The street had been closed to traffic and me and one other person were the only crazy people running in the street to the start. It was actually pretty cool. While I hate getting out of bed early in the morning, there is nothing like being outside when people and places are waking up.

But of course this is Vegas which is open 24 hours a day. I wasn't surprised to see people stumbling out of casinos at 5:45am, I was surprised at HOW MANY people were stumbling out of casinos at 5:45am. I passed one group of five or six drunk people who asked me "Has the marathon started already?" so I replied "Yeah, I'm winning!" They cheered for me. After I'd run about half a mile, I still couldn't see the Mandalay Bay. I asked a cop blocking a side street if the Mandalay Bay was in the direction I was heading and he said "Yeah, a long way that way." I laughed thinking "Not if you run marathons."

Turns out the cop had the last laugh. By the time I got to my corral, I'd run at least 3.5 miles. I had 2 minutes to spare and had to stand in line to get into my corral. I saw a guy climbing over the fence to get in to the same corral. I recognized him as the guy standing in the back of the line to get onto the shuttle at the hotel. I felt that I'd made the right decision to run to the start. I would have gone mad standing in line and cutting it that close. As it was I felt pretty good and really ready to run a good race.

The race started and being in corral 4, I was 3 minutes off the line. I felt really strong and ready to run. I ran the first mile at an 8:42 pace. It was really cold. I wore shorts, an Under Armor shirt with another dry fit shirt over that. A hat and gloves. I should have worn tights.

The first part of the race heads from the Mandalay Bay towards the airport then you turn 360* and head back up the strip. When I made that turn, I was running directly into the wind and the sun was barely up. Brr! The course, however, was completely flat and for that I was grateful. At mile 2 I was still running sub-9 miles. At this point we were running past where we'd started and I could see a significant number of runners still waiting to start. There were 27,000 total runners in 30 corrals starting both races. I wondered why they'd hurried to get into their corrals.

I ran sub-9 miles until roughly mile 5 or 6. Into mile 7, which was really mile 10.5 for me, my foot started to hurt and I was tired. I began slowing down at that point. Luckily, there was no surprise hill at the end, like Chicago! I managed to finish at 2:09. I was happy with that, all things considered. It was really the 3.5 mile walk back that killed me!

There were a few things I liked about this course in addition to the flat course. The hotels broadcasted race coverage on the screens on their signs along the strip. It was pretty neat to see where the leaders were on the course. There were plenty of water stops along the course. The crowd support was adequate given the time the race started and the temperature. The start and the finish line seemed to be well organized. There were lots of great goodies in the race packet and at the finish line.

Things I didn't like include the lack of bands. It was a Rock 'n' Roll series race and I remember 3 bands on the course for the half. The organizers claim there were 35, but I don't think they know what they're talking about. The packet pickup parking was disorganized and we spent 15 minutes looking for a spot in the parking deck. We finally gave up and parked across the street. Some direction would have been nice. Additionally, finding the packet pickup area was difficult. We had to walk probably a mile through the Mandalay Bay to find the small room we needed. The place was packed with people and there were no signs directing you. The expo was small and pretty crappy.

There were a number of interesting sights on the course, as you can imagine. There was a small temporary wedding chapel set up at mile 3 or 4 and 50 couples were married during the race in a 3 minute wedding ceremony. I counted 7 Elvi (the plural form of 'Elvis'), 3 Amigos running together, 3 Santa Clauses, 1 Superman (there's always a superman!), one cheesehead, and one Captain America. The Captain America was a first!

Overall it wasn't bad, but I don't plan to do this race again. I'm glad I did it, but Vegas just isn't me. Too cheesy, too sad, really.

Las Vegas here I come!

2009-12-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

I leave very, very early tomorrow for Vegas. 6am flights should be outlawed. I'm looking forward to being out West, but not getting there. I have a layover in Cincinnati. I met Adam in the airport in Cincinnati8) Still a layover by yourself is no fun. I'm bringing Nelson DeMille's latest book 'The Gatehouse.' Heard it isn't one of his bests, but I still love the way he tells a story.

I'm looking forward to hiking in Utah's Zion National Park. I've never been to Utah, but I've heard it's "by far the most beautiful state." I'm bringing my camera and hope to get some good shots.

As for the race, I really don't know how it's going to go. I'm on my second round of antibiotics for a sinus infection and it doesn't seem to be going away. I'm hoping between now and Sunday I make a remarkable recovery!

Pics and more to come!

Second Half of TR Preview '09

2009-11-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

This year I was able to run both Thunder Road Preview runs. In previous years I only made it to one. The second half started at 7am on Saturday and is a lot less hilly than the first half.

The night before the run, I attended a party for the Charlotte Running Club with Adam, Jody and Molly. Adam and Jody are members of this running club. It was a nice, small affair at Dilworth Neighborhood Bar & Grill. They had appetizers that included salad, meatballs, chips & spinach dip and little spiral ham sandwiches. Being a vegetarian, I could eat only the salad and spinach dip. It was tasty but hardly enough to eat before a long run. Jody, Molly and I only stayed for about an hour and a half and then headed to the Evening Muse for a concert.

We weren't out terribly late, but I somehow managed to sleep through my alarm. Molly's early text woke me up at about 10 minutes after my alarm went off and I pulled myself out of bed. Luckily I still had plenty of time to get ready, do my foot exercises and get out the door to the Dowd Y. I found Molly and our friend Christi and spent a few minutes talking with them before we took off at about 7am. Unfortunately, I didn't know anyone there who ran my pace.

This part of the race starts on the flatter section of Morehead and heads west towards a not so great section of Charlotte. We took a left onto South Tryon and headed towards Southend. This area is growing and becoming more residential as the Linx's light rail drives right through it. Though there are a lot of new apartment and condo buildings, the area still remains pretty industrial looking. While it's not pretty, it is flat and that is a nice thing to be at miles 13-18 in a marathon. We wound around Southend on Tremont, Camden, West Blvd and into downtown via Mint St., 4th St., Cedar St. and Trade St. I was trying to keep Christi, Molly and the ladies they were running with in my sight. At about mile 5, along Caldwell, they had stopped at a port-a-potty and Christi told me I was probably keeping a 9 minute pace. My body felt like I was pushing it.

When we started out again, I continued trying to keep up the pace. However about 2 miles later, I knew I needed to slow it down. This section of the course heads towards the North Davidson area, or NoDa. It's the original artsy neighborhood in Charlotte. While it's the most interesting area in Charlotte, it's not pretty getting there. From Caldwell we took a left onto Parkwood, which is a wide four laned street that isn't heavily populated. We passed some new condos that looked a lot like the condos downtown. Charlotte really should branch out architecturally speaking. At N. Davidson, we hung a right and headed towards the art galleries, bars and music venues that define NoDa. The course begins reintroducing hills at this point. There's a large, long hill just past Madison Ave. on N. Davidson that had everyone groaning. This hill would be a nightmare during a marathon coming at mile 19, but at mile 6 or 7 of the preview, it really wasn't bad.

Unfortunately the course turns of N. Davidson at 35th St., just before you get to the heart of NoDa. However, 35th St. has some of the cutest houses in the NoDa area. They aren't new, large houses, they're older with a lot of character. Most have porches. All have very cute front yards with great flowers and shrubs. Some of the houses are hidden by the flowers and greenery in the front yard, but it adds to the character of the place. It's obvious there is no home owner's association sucking the creativity from the street and squashing a sense of community. Also this road is flat, so I really loved it. I caught up to a fellow CRMG club member who was walking due to a calf injury. I walked and talked with him as I was not in a hurry to turn onto The Plaza. He assured me he could make it to the end and I started running again.

We turn right on The Plaza and start heading towards the Plaza-Midwood area. The Plaza is a long street that changes socio-economic conditions twice. The part we start on, reminds me of Pensacola. I didn't live in Pensacola long enough to remember living there, but we traveled back to visit family 3-4 times a year. This section of The Plaza contains a lot of concrete, some run-down stores, some discount stores and a discount grocery store. There are a lot of people walking or waiting at the bus stops and old cars parked in the parking lots. It's not scary during the daytime.

We turn left at a funky intersection that takes us onto the nicer part of The Plaza. This stretch is residential and contains old Victorian houses mixed with small homes that were probably built in the 60s. They're very cute with well landscaped yards and nice sidewalks. It's an extreme contrast from where we had just run. This section is flat and Kristie and Jaclyn from CRMG have caught up to me. I speak with them a little and they stay close enough behind me that I can hear their conversation without trying. From here we loop around a part of Plaza-Midwood I don't usually run through. It's a really cute area with great little houses that are well kept. I stopped and check an information sheet for one that was for sale. There wasn't a price listed, but I'm sure it's out of my range. This section has some small hills, but for the most part is pretty flat. From this section we continue down Central Ave. and back into downtown, hitting one major hill on the way. I'm surprised that I have enough energy to get up it. I took one GU with me and I'm starting to fade as the 'dinner' the night before was not enough to sustain a long run. By the time we get to Morehead, about a mile from the finish at the Dowd Y, I had to walk about a block.

At the finish I'd run about 14 miles. Time to party! We had a larger than normal group at Bruegger's for celebratory bagels and coffee. It was Christi's birthday and she brought a few friends with her. Some other CRMG members joined us and people filtered in and out. It was such a fun way to start the weekend!

TR '09 Preview

2009-11-18T06:38:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I ran the first half of the Thunder Road Marathon Preview run with Cantey. My longest run since the Salem Lake 30K had been eight miles so I really didn't know how this run was going to go. The run started at 7am and the temperature was in the 50s. It was actually a tad warm for a long run.

I got to the parking lot at the Y early, signed in and got my shirt. RFYL, who organizes the TR Marathon and it's preview runs, supplied water and Powerade along the route and you got a very nice technical shirt for signing up. I found Cantey in line after I signed in and waited with her. There must have been close to 300 people waiting to run the course.

Cantey and I started out a little after 7am and the rest of the runners caught up to us about a quarter of a mile into the run. By the time we reached the first mile, all the fast runners had passed us and we were at a somewhat comfortable pace somewhere in the middle of the pack.

The preview course is a little different from the real course as we start at the Dowd Y on Morehead and not the start line on College. So the start was a nice downhill to flat. After the first mile we started climbing out of downtown and up 4th St./Randolph Rd. Then we turned onto Colville, which I've run many times. It's about 3/4 of a mile of large rolling hills, but it's very beautiful. It's in one of the older Charlotte neighborhoods with huge, beautiful houses priced $1.5M and up. I love this neighborhood. It has character and most importantly it has three drinking fountains and nice wide streets. At the end of Colville is a short, but steep hill that I often avoid on my runs. For whatever reason, probably all the company and the fact that I wasn't exhausted yet, the hill wasn't that bad and I scooted right up it.

After Colville we turned left onto Providence Rd. Every long race in this town goes up Providence Rd. The only explanation for this fact that I have is that it is one of the few long roads in Charlotte and race directors like to avoid turns as much as possible on a race route. Providence Rd is all uphill. Both ways. OK, not both ways, but it's uphill the only way we ever race it. Slow inclines, short inclines and some nice rolling hills make up Providence Rd. When I drive Providence Rd., I notice the quaint homes that line it with their long, well landscaped, front lawns. When I run it, I don't see any of that crap, just the asphalt. When we turned onto Sharon Rd. from Providence, I think we were at about four miles. I felt pretty good at this point. My body didn't hurt and I didn't feel tired. Cantey and I were catching up and the miles were flying by.

From Sharon we turned into the Arborway neighborhood. This is another nice neighborhood in Charlotte, though the houses aren't nearly as large. It's full of rolling hills, but on this course there are no big hills in this neighborhood. When we exited the neighborhood back onto Sharon Rd. we were right around seven miles. I decided to eat my Pure Bar for energy. I discovered I was out of GU at 8pm the night before and there are no running stores open after 7pm. So I brought a Pure Bar instead because I can't make it through a long run without some energy boost. We walked while I ate and that brought us really close to the turn onto Sharon Ln. where we started running again.

On Sharon Ln. we ran passed what are probably the most expensive houses in Charlotte. This is in the Southpark area and there are some very large houses on this street. About a handful of them actually have a lot of acreage around them. While there's nothing spectacular about these houses, I would say they're a "must see" for visitors to this area because they are a tribute to what Charlotte looked like before the Banks moved here.

Another great thing about Sharon Ln. is that it is a downward slope to a much appreciated downhill before turning onto Chilton Pl. Chilton Pl. has some nice rolling hills leading you to Queens Rd. West which takes you along the backside of the Booty Loop and into the heart of Myers Park. It was along the Booty Loop that I started feeling the long run. My calves and hamstrings started getting sore and tight and I started thinking about walking some of the hills. Luckily Cantey, who had run the Dowd Y Half Marathon the weekend before, remembered this street from that race and told me that these hills weren't as bad as they looked. She was right, but my legs were still unhappy with me.

We stopped at the water/Powerade station just before the turn from Kings onto Morehead. I ran into a guy from high school named Tim at this stop. I hadn't seen him in quite a few years and was surprised to hear that he is planning to run the full Thunder Road Marathon in December. After chatting briefly we wished him luck and started running up Morehead. Luckily the race course ducks into the Dilworth neighborhood and doesn't go all the way up Morehead. I was doing pretty good on the somewhat flat Berkeley Pl. but when we turned to run up Romany I gave up and walked. Cantey ran ahead and waited for me at the top. It's not a big hill. Romany is actually a very small hill. Tiny really. I've run Romany many times and so I now have a mental block about it. It was the last time that I walked, though. We ran the rest of the route that included taking Euclid (nice rolling hills) back to the Dowd Y.

Towards the end of the run I did feel some pain in my left arch, which tells me that I'm not fully healed yet. Which is really too bad because I am itching to get back into marathon training. I'm actually dreaming about doing speed work and running up hills and long runs. I don't want to chance a relapse, so I'll stick with half marathons for now.

This Saturday is the second half of the Thunder Road Marathon Preview run. It's not nearly as pretty or interesting as the first half. It is a tad flatter. I'll be out there. I may time this half.

4.NinerK and Other Lifebits

2009-11-17T07:47:00.000-08:00

So forgot to recap the 4.NinerK I did at the end of October. It was the inaugural event and the race was really great. The weather was crappy. It started off overcast, but then poured a minute before the race started. There was intermittent rain during the race and another downpour after I finished. But it really didn't ruin the event.

I got to UNCC early and was able to find the free parking deck next to the Student Union building, both of which were not there when I attended UNCC. The whole start area was completely new to me. It was very nice and the outside fit with the style of the older buildings. I got my packet which contained M&Ms (nice!), a UNCC koozie (awesome!) and a great race t-shirt (awesomer!). It was a pale yellow and had the green Charlotte 49ers symbol on it. The usual glut of sponsor logos on the back, but it was still a nice shirt. The race packet was given to us in paper Trader Joe's bags. It was great because I love TJ's and it's recyclable. It was not great that it was raining and that tends to disintegrate paper.

I decided to run most of the course as a warm up. UNCC is a hilly, hilly campus. I wasn't a runner when I attended college and that's probably a good thing! My feet hurt during the warm up. I had had my first Graston appointment two days before and they were still pretty tender. The loop I ran was probably 2 1/2 miles and it went by some of the older buildings that I remembered. It was good to see they haven't updated Smurf Village. I can't remember the real name of these on-campus apartments, but since they were painted blue we called them Smurf Village. They were really crappy, too, and they still are. It was interesting to see that they added a Greek Village for Sororities and Fraternities. Something I was opposed to as it tends to segregate the students. It was good to see that even though there has been a lot of construction on campus, there is still a lot of green space left.

I ended up with a lot of time between my warm up and the race so I was able to walk around the Student Union center some. When I was there, they had just gotten some fast food restaurants on campus; Chick-Fil-A and Taco Bell. That was it. In the new Student Center there was a Wendy's, a convenience store, a Mrs. Fields, and of course a Starbucks. I started thinking that maybe going back to school wasn't such a bad idea. But then I saw some students walk by on their way to class, on a Saturday, and got that familiar pit in my stomach thinking about studying and deadlines, exams, presentations and I thought better of it.

They lined the roughly 300 of us runners up for an 8:49 start (we're the 49ers, get it?). Bobby Lutz, the men's basketball coach gave a short thank you/inspirational speech. I don't remember it, I never listen to these things. It's usually at this point when I wonder why I pay money to come run when I could run on my own and start whenever I get there. But, as I said before, a minute after a downpour started we were released on the course. The race started with a somewhat steep downhill with a turn to the right. Then a long uphill and a turnaround about 1/4 of a mile up. The next 1/4 of a mile was downhill, then a long ascent towards the front of the campus. The next mile and a half was gentle rolling hills and then a short steep downhill then a tad longer steep uphill, but then there was about 3/4 of a mile of gradual downhill. Very nice! However, then we had to go back up the hill where we started! The ending was brutal. I managed a 29:10 which isn't great, but considering my feet hurt the whole time, I'll take it.

I did see a few interesting things along the course. The first was a lady who carried her packet with her on her hip during the race. She would transfer it from hip to hip as her arm got tired. Sadly I couldn't pass this woman! As I mentioned, the race packets were in a paper bag, so the rain caused a hole in the bottom and at one point she lost a package of M&Ms, which she didn't stop to pick up. I'm assuming she didn't have a car to leave her packet. I would have just taken the shirt and left the rest, but I guess she really needed a koozie.

There were several young (late teens/early20s maybe) guys running the race who would stop and walk and then start running again. I couldn't believe they couldn't run 3 miles, but had signed up for a race. Then it occurred to me that they were probably out partying the night before and hadn't slept all night.

Since this was a college campus event, there were a lot of students or younger runners. There were only 12 women in my age group running the race. Lucky for me, this helped me come in second in my age group and I got a lovely medal. It was an unexpected surprise as I really didn't feel like I'd done my best. It does make me want to run this again next year and try to take first.

So I've been really busy these days. All that time when I wanted a boyfriend, I'd forgotten how much time they take! But it's really nice to have someone to share time with. I've done a few more projects on the condo. I painted the fireplace and replaced the over-the-range microwave. Next up is to paint the bathroom cabinets, hire a landscaper and a real estate agent. I bought some new bedroom furniture from a store that is going out of business. I've been wanting a sleigh bed and bedside tables and I found some I really, really like. It's going to be a few weeks before they get here and I have to get the old stuff out. Just in time for the holidays!

Keeping Busy

2009-11-05T07:33:00.000-08:00

The Graston technique I've been subjected to twice now really, really does work! My foot feels worlds better than it did! I ran 8 miles last night and had only a small amount of pain. I'm confident that after only a few more treatments I'll be able to run without pain at all.

So feeling like superwoman, I started looking at distance races. Nevermind that I'm signed up for the Vegas half and haven't run more than 8 miles in months and it's only 4 weeks away. I'm looking at the Minneapolis Marathon June 6th. It's far enough away for training purposes and it gives me another state. I also read about a 50K that sounds like something I'd like to do. It's in January, so I won't make it this year. But I'm putting it on the list for 2011.

Other than running, life has been pretty busy. My best friend had her baby. She's perfect! I typically think all babies look alike and can't see how one could be more beautiful than the other, but this baby really is! She has a perfect little round head and the sweetest face.

I've also been to several concerts: OAR, Blues Traveler, Pat McGee, Bryan Adams and Guster.
Pat McGee was awesome! He had a full band (6 members, I believe) and they sounded great. They played a lot of great songs and joked with each other. It was by far the best concert I've seen him do. It seemed like he was really excited to be there. Bryan Adams was great as well. It was an acoustic show and his first acoustic tour. He's such a talented song writer and had a lot of material to play. He told a few stories about the songs and why he wrote them, which is what you'd expect he to do at this particular type of performance. I was surprised to find out that the song 'Heaven' was actually written for a film about a love story involving a male stripper. He said he put that out of his mind and just wrote a beautiful love song. Guster was a bit disappointing. The first time I saw them in 2007, it was the best concert I'd ever seen. I loved how the audience got into the music and how you could hear them singing even over the music. This time, though the concert was completely sold out and the theatre packed, it just didn't have the same vibe. The band seemed a bit clumsy and not as in sync as the last concert. But I'm glad I went, I just hope they are better next time.

I missed Ari Hest at the Muse so that I could carve a pumpkin with Adam. I love

Halloween and I love pumpkins, but I'd never carved one. It's harder than it looks. But it turned out awesome! Which is good because it took two hours.

Halloween we went to a party in Davidson. It got pretty crazy. I went as 'I Dream of Jeannie's' Jeannie. So with my mid-drift out for the world to see, I drank very little beer and didn't eat any of the party food. So Sunday was a great day as I wasn't hung over! There were some great costumes at the party. There was a Kate from 'Kate Plus Eight', a Rainbow Bright, a shark attack, and a Mark Sanford and his mistress. Adam went as a stripper firefighter and his brother was Richard Simmons.

So with Halloween over we enter that part of the year that flies by. I have bought 3 gifts and have an idea for one other gift. The rest I'm clueless about.

I Don't Have a Title

2009-10-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

So still injured, but it is feeling a lot better. I've completely stopped wearing my Asics and it's making a huge difference. I have an appointment with a doctor tomorrow to try the Graston technique. I read and heard that it's painful. Oh joy.

I'm staying optimistic and part of that optimism is planning and running races. This weekend I'm running my first ever 4.9K. It's at my Alma Mater and I'm looking forward to seeing the campus again. It's been a couple of years since I've run a race there and seen it. After that I plan to run the Turkey Trot 8K on Thanksgiving, a half in Charleston in January and the Uwharrie 8 Miler in February. Sometime after February I'd like to find a marathon to do.

Other than running I have been staying pretty busy lately. I went to 3 concerts last week. OAR, Blues Traveler and Pat McGee. I had never seen OAR before and was impressed. We had fun even though we had to stand outside at the NC Music Factory Amphitheatre in the cold rain. It was in the 50s, which isn't bad if you're running, but not when you're standing in the rain. The concert was good and the crowd was really into it. The next night we saw Blues Traveler. This was inside at the new Fillmore theatre downtown. I love this place. It's an old warehouse that has been converted. The acoustics are great. The decor reminds me of clubs in Charlotte in the 80s. Red velvet drapes, chandeliers, etc. The next night was Pat McGee at the Visulite Theatre. This was my 5th timing seeing Pat and it was by far the best. He had a full band on stage and they cut up and seem to really enjoy playing. I ended up staying until close to 1 am.

I have a couple more concerts next week and a halloween run planned. It's going to be a great week! I'm already tired thinking about it!

Still Injured

2009-10-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

So my plantar issue is still there. However, I'm certain now that it is my Asics 2130s. So no more running in them! I'll now be running in my Mizuno Alchemy shoes which I purchased a month ago. When I run in them, the pain is not as bad. However, my casual cold weather shoes are a bit of an issue. The weather has turned a little cooler and I'm no longer wearing my flat flip flops. So my left foot has been in a great deal of pain lately. I've started a new treatment using witch hazel, which Adam swears by. I love holistic remedies so I'm on board with this one. I've started with soaking a wash cloth and then pinning it on my foot, but I plan to start soaking it in a bucket of the stuff soon. I'll keep you posted;)

I fear a reduction of miles is in my future. Thankfully I'll still have swimming and spin class, but they're just not the same. I guess a break every now and then is a good thing, but when it comes as the weather is perfect for running, it sucks. But maybe now I'll have time to learn the guitar! My first guitar lesson happened this weekend around a fire pit in my instructor's back yard. Some beer was involved so it can't really be called a success. I learned E Flat (I think it was flat, I know it was E). So I have that to practice this week. Yay!

Life is Good

2009-09-29T07:47:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I ran the Salem Lake 30K Trail Race. This is an awesome race! It's located at a greenway at Salem Lake in Winston Salem, NC. The course is wonderful. It's an out and back race where you run almost completely around the lake and then turn and run back. You can see the lake for most of the course. The terrain is mostly packed sand, but there are sections of asphalt in some of the trickier spots. I estimate there was 5 miles of asphalt and the rest was sand. No roots and very few ruts to avoid. It really should be called a Greenway race instead of trail. It was also mostly flat. There were a few hills (possibly 5) that were interspersed, making for a nice challenge just when you started getting bored. Only two hills were really noteworthy.

The first 10 miles were great. I felt strong and ran as hard as I can at the moment. The last 8.6, all I could think about was the .6. Sometimes something ridiculous like that gets in my head and I can't shake it. The last 8.6 were tougher than the first 10. I didn't realize I was running so much decline at the beginning until I was running so much incline at the end. But it was so nice to get off asphalt and do something different. The weather was cool but it was misting the entire time. Towards the end the trail was starting to puddle. Of course, I'm pretty out of shape as far as endurance and I was out there 3hrs 14mins. When I finished Adam was waiting for me and gave me a nice dry towel. It felt so awesome to wrap up in something warm and dry and clean! I'd like to do this race again next year, but will actually train for it!

I had a lot of friends running this race. Adam came in 12th overall and ran a 2:03, Todd P. ran a 2:14, his gf Shenna ran a 2:19, Shawn S. ran a 2:26, Jamie and Tara ran a 2:47 and Luci ran a 3:10.

So given my results, I've decided to up my long runs from 8-12 miles to 12-15 miles and instead of 20-25 miles per week, I'm aiming for 30-35. With the race last week I finished over 36 miles for the week. This week I'll finish with close to 30. This is probably not a great idea since my foot issue seems to come and go. It's currently 'come.'

In addition to running 4 times a week, spin class once a week, swimming 3 times a week, lifting 3 times a week and yoga once a week, I 've started walking twice a week with a friend from work. We walk in the morning twice a week for 3 miles each time. It's really nice. I may not think so in December and January, but I'll be out there!

Outside of fitness, things are going well. Poor Cleo ate a leaf over the weekend and spent all Monday throwing up. She seems to be doing well today. I was worried I was going to have to take her to the animal hospital at one point. She wouldn't let me pick her up (think it was too much pressure on her stomach) so I didn't know how I was going to get her there. I planned my trip to Zion/Vegas for December and I have several concerts coming up this month. So I'm staying busy and enjoying life a bit more these days.

Plantar Issue

2009-09-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

I read that if you take 6 weeks off from running, you can heal your plantar fasciitis issue. If you continue to run on it, it will take 6 months. It's been 6 months of running and treating it with ice/heat, massage, new shoes, looser laces, etc. It worked!!! I have almost no pain in my arch or heal. I do feel some soreness in my leg, but I'm sure it's all related. But I'm pretty happy to have it going away. It's funny but it really started feeling better after the Asheville half. I expected it to be worse as hills are what you're supposed to avoid when suffering this particular injury. But two days after the race I ran my best four mile run in a long time. I felt great!

I'm really thinking about a Spring marathon...

A HARD Half

2009-09-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

I think I mentioned before that they changed the course for the Asheville Citizen Times Half Marathon. I was completely unprepared for this hilly, hilly, hilly course.

The morning started off well. I woke up in the very nice Renaissance Asheville Hotel on Woodfin. Highly recommend this hotel! I was pretty tired when the alarm went off at 6am, so I made a pot of the in room coffee, which was Starbucks. I drank a fairly large cup of coffee and ate my protein bar. The coffee was admittedly a HUGE mistake. I left the room at 7 am to walk to the start line. I was only half a mile from the start so I allowed plenty of time to get there, stretch and be ready for the start at 7:30am.

The start of the race was great. The field is limited to 1,000 and the 5K has a separate start time so there's plenty of room to get into a comfortable pace early. The first two miles were great. We ran through downtown Asheville and it was mostly small rolling hills. Very beautiful. Then just before mile marker two, they threw in a real hill. Short but steep. It caught many of us off guard. But it was followed by a nice long descent and it was a gorgeous neighborhood. Of course as soon as you finished the descent, they threw another steep hill at you. This one was longer. But again followed by another long descent. At this point we'd run three miles and there seemed to be more downhill than up. So far, I really like this course! Miles four through six presented more rolling hills similar with a couple of steep ones thrown in. Mile seven was my favorite mile. At this point we left the asphalt to run on a small dirt trail near the Grove Park Inn. It's fairly flat at this point and the break from the asphalt is really appreciated. It's at this point that you can pick up your pace a bit and pass a few people (if you can get around them!). However, just before the mile marker, you return to the asphalt and climb a long slow climb around the Grove Park Inn with no satisfying descent at the end. At this point I began running half of the hills and walking the other half. In years past it was this point where the course began to ease up on you. Not this year. Mile eight was more up and down and just when you needed a break from hills, mile 9 was a solid mile of uphill. It seemed to go on forever! Up the hill, turn left and up another hills, turn right and up another hill, for one mile! Miles ten through thirteen were brought more rolling hills with a nice long in mile 12 leading back into downtown Asheville and then approx. one half of a mile from the end is a nice short STEEP hill followed up a short incline then flat to the finish. Rough, very rough.

I've been resting my foot since the Flying Pig Marathon, which is doing much better. I've been somewhat avoiding running hills and long runs and really concentrated on more 5Ks this summer. So to say I wasn't prepared for this race is an understatement! I finished in two hours and fifteen minutes, which is eight minutes slower than my previous worst for this course. But if I didn't mention this before, it was a gorgeous course! Next year I plan to incorporate some hill repeats in my long run training, even though we don't have hills anywhere near the ones I ran on Saturday.

So as I've said before you can always find something interesting/funny in every race and this race had quite a few things! The first thing was a handmade, wooden sign on a fence near mile ten that read "Healthcare 4 Ever One" The '4' was backwards and yes, 'ever one' not 'everyone.' I bet they vote, too. The next thing was a man in his 70s or 80s who was running close to me and when a spectator yelled "You're doing great!" he replied in a grumpy, angry voice "No I'm not!" Awkward! Another thing was a woman yelling from the doorway of her house to a cheering volunteer at the street corner adjacent to her property "Can you move down a block?" and the volunteer replied that she couldn't. She was keeping the cars from driving onto the race course.

I noticed too that this year there was more crowd support than in past years. Not that there was an incredible amount of support, but compared to years past there was. There was also a great deal more advertising along the course. People had hung banners for other races, bike rides and various products. It was good to see people embrace this opportunity, even in a self-serving way. Support in any form is always welcome!

Annual Trek to Asheville

2009-09-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

This evening I'm leaving for Asheville to compete in my 4th Asheville Half Marathon tomorrow. I love this race. It's beautiful and the temperature's usually pretty nice. This year will be the first year I don't run it with my friend Jody. So it won't be quite the same, but I'm excited anyway. This is the perfect time of year to go to Asheville. The weather is cooler, but not cold. The leaves are just starting to turn, so you're not fighting for views over the heads of tourists. It's still off-season so you can get a decent hotel room at a decent price.

Tomorrow the expected low is 54 and partly sunny, with an expected high of 79. So I won't be able to blame the weather for my poor performance! My left foot, though much better, is still not 100%. I'd give it more like 65%. And it's mostly my Achilles tendon. Which means the pain is moving, which is supposed to be a good sign. I hope so. I'm really tired of it. This year they're starting the race at 7:30 and they changed the course a little. But they didn't make it less hillier. They didn't even take out the big hill! My best for this race was in 2007, the second year I ran it, I ran a 2:04. The worst I did on this course was a 2:07 in 2006, but it was also the 3rd half that I did in 4 weeks. I'm hoping for anything in between these course records tomorrow!

Charlotte's Greek Myth

2009-08-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning was the 'flat' Greek Fest 5K race. This race is flat by Charlotte's standards. The race is run around the Greek Church in the Dilworth neighborhood and draws runners who are hoping to set a new 5K Personal Record (PR). This year it drew almost 1,300 runners.

The course starts in front of the Greek Church on East Blvd and runs East on East Blvd (down) then turns right onto Dilworth Rd West, which is mostly flat, but there is a small hill or two. Then the course turns left onto Dilworth Rd East, then left onto East Blvd, which is flat to slightly up hill. You then take a quick right onto Park Rd and then a very quick left onto Kingston Ave, which is a long slow incline (about .34 miles). Then you turn left on Lyndhurst, which is flat, then left onto Worthington which is a nice long slight decline (about .43 miles). Then you repeat the Dilworth loop and finish by running another slight incline up East Blvd back to the church. The hardest part of this course is the ending. The incline is probably the same as the Kingston stretch, but you can see the finish line the entire time. And it appears to move out of your reach with every step!

Last year I managed a 24:47. This year I managed a 27:24. I did everything wrong. Didn't get enough sleep. Didn't get out of bed early enough. Didn't seed correctly (entirely too far back! I was 30 seconds off the start line!). I gave up at the 1 mile mark when it said I was running about 8:40. I don't think I was awake for any of it.

But I ran into several friends afterwards who had done very well. They were very happy with their time and most had run a personal record. I joked that next year when I look up my time, I'll know I can beat it. So basically, I set up a slam dunk for next year!

It's Never Easy to Say Goodbye

2009-08-26T12:56:00.001-07:00

Tonight I'll be saying goodbye to an old friend when I run the Wednesday night CRC course for the last time. I've run this course every Wednesday (that I was in town and not injured or resting) since 2004. It's been a great course with some good hills but there are a couple of confusing spots and we tend to lose new people. The new route will be longer, less confusing and with easier stopping points to accommodate runners needing shorter distances.

I'm a bit nostalgic about this course because it's been the one constant in my running life for the last 5 years. It's been my favorite for all that time, too. It never drew a large crowd and it never developed a consistent following. But it was always there and it was always a challenge. I have a lot of fond memories about this course, but some bad memories as well.

So I guess next week when I run the new course it will be like turning a page. Gaining a new friend with new challenges. I have a feeling, especially given the condition of my foot, my old friend will leave me with something to remember him by tonight.

Yeeoouuuchh!

2009-08-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

So I ran the Miles of Mooresville on Friday night. I ran an 8:05 for the first race, the one mile and a 17:20 for the second race, the two mile. For the third race, I hung out, had a couple of beers and took pictures of my friends who actually ran the race. It was a tough night to push it. It was really hot. I don't know the official temperature, but I imagine it was somewhere near 90 and was hotter than the last Miles of Mooresville.

So Saturday when I woke up, in addition to being hungover, my left foot hurt so bad, I thought it should be removed! Luckily I had a massage scheduled and she worked that foot and leg the entire hour. I was able to ice it a couple of times and do some stretches later that day. I continued icing and stretching it Sunday and have iced it a couple of times today and the pain isn't as bad as it was. But I am still in pain.

I read on the internet that when you have plantar fasciitis, you shouldn't run for 6 weeks. OR, you can continue to run and treat the injury, but it will take 3 to 6 months to heal. I'm choosing the running option. I have 4 miles planned later today. I also have a 5K this weekend, a half marathon in mid-September and a 30K trail run at the end of September all planned. Should be interesting...

Healing, Vacay and a Car Review

2009-08-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

So I haven't run since the Blue Points 5K, because I wanted to rest my feet. I got these huge calluses on my feet while training for the Flying Pig. I was hoping my doctor would cut them off at an appointment last week, but she suggested new shoes and said a podiatrist would have to cut them off. Um, what? I went to CVS and bought a tool that shaves them and they're doing much better. I think the one on my left foot was starting to cause plantar fasciitis. But after taking a break for a week and a half, my feet are doing much better and I'm considering running the full marathon in Nashville in April.

I spent last weekend on the Isle of Palms outside of Charleston, SC. I love this beach! It's not cheesy like most of them and is the perfect place to relax and party. This was my second trip this year. I went with four of my girlfriends to see the Pat McGee Band play at the Windjammer. We tried a new place called Acme Cantina on the island this time. It was ok. But I was pretty much just eating shrimp salads all weekend as I didn't have much of an appetite. It's interesting what not running does to my body. I'm not as hungry and I have no appetite. The concert was awesome. He really put on a great show. We'd been drinking all day and were pretty drunk by the concert. I remember laughing so hard, but I can't remember about what. Yes, it was a great night! I took a lot of pictures, but my friends won't allow me to share them. They're funny like that.

I love renting cars. It's a great way to test drive a car for an extended period. Not that I want to trade in my vehicle. I love not having a car payment and it's in pretty good shape. But if something should happen, I want to have an idea of what I'd like to get next. I've decided my next vehicle will be a compact with great gas mileage. I spend 99% of my time driving to the gym, to the run, to the store and to home, so luxury isn't a necessity. For this trip, I rented a hatchback and was given a Toyota Yaris to try out. It's possibly the world's smallest rental car! I think it's very cute, though. I'm sure I was just driving the base model so many options were missing. I'm not big on power doors, power windows so not having those wasn't a big deal. However, the radio, or speakers left something to be desired. I think this model only has speakers in the back and that really isn't sufficient. This model also didn't have cruise control. I know this feature costs extra and you rarely use it, but when you do, it pays for itself. Another thing I didn't like was that the speedometer is in the center of the console. I understand this is a European feature, but I didn't care for it. Not being a luxury vehicle, the ride was a bit bumpy and there was a lot of road noise on the interstate. It also lacked the pull out power you need in an around the town car. The gas mileage was great and it got us from point A to point B and back, but it's not my next car.

My next race is in two days when I'll do the last Miles of Mooresville for this summer. Friday night in the rockin' ville! This time we have a larger group going and plan to hit Brickhouse in Davidson afterwards. I plan to do what I did last time and run full speed for the one mile and two mile races and then run the three easy for the mileage. I'm really looking forward to getting back out and running!

This pic is of the sunset on the island from the restaurant Boathouse at the end of the island near Sullivan's Island.

Oh yeah...

2009-08-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I ran the Blue Points 5K in downtown Charlotte. It started and ended at the Panthers stadium and the route was one big loop. One big hilly loop! The course had to be reversed due to construction limiting one street to one lane. The course was reversed so that the 1200-1300 people were more spread out when we had to merge into one lane.

Course:
This reversal meant that we would run from Mint Street (flat) and turn left onto Morehead, where we would run down for about half a mile and then enjoy rolling hills for another half mile. Then turn left onto Kenilworth where we enjoyed a slight downhill to flat for about a quarter of a mile. Then we turned left onto Stonewall. That's when it got interesting. There we climbed for about three quarters of a mile and then we ran rolling hills for another 3 quarters of a mile. Then we began a quarter mile climb and ran through the construction area. This was a little unnerving because the pavement was torn up and there was some dirt and some water. The ending was flat.

It was a tough course, but I felt oddly strong the whole run. I finished in 26:33 and was number 494 out of 1,273 finishers. Pretty decent finish for me.

Again, you see something interesting in every race. This race I got passed by a blind guy. He was running alone with his stick infront of him. I've seen a blind guy in a race before, but he was running while holding someone's arm. I don't know how this guy avoided potholes! We actually passed each other a few times and at one point he yelled out 'is this where we're in one lane?' Several of us yelled out 'no' and he said 'thanks' and then moved to the far right lane. I was amazed at how well he could run without being able to see. I never saw him bump into anyone one or trip or fall. At the two mile mark I yelled out the time and he said 'thanks' and seemed pleased with his time.

The Song Remembers

2009-08-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

On my way to the gym, a radio station played Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam's song 'All Cried Out.' This song is 20 something years old and reminds me of when I moved to Charlotte with my parents and sisters. We lived in an apartment in East Charlotte (an area I now know to avoid) and a little girl at the apartment complex could sing this song better than Lisa Lisa. She had a beautiful voice and every time she was around we asked her to sing this song.

For some reason this memory led to another memory about another song that in 1992 was every other song on radio station Gorilla 95.1 (now known as Kiss 95.1, but still just as cheesy); 'Freak Me' by Silk. In the Spring of 1992, I was in my second semester of my freshman year at UNCC and all my close friends were at other colleges. So one weekend I drove to Greensboro to visit my friend Crystal at UNCG. Saturday night we went to a dance club called Daddy-Os, which was probably the only club in Greensboro at the time. We were having a great time, the DJ was playing great dance hits and then suddenly we were all asked to clear the dance floor. The dance floor was dark with a mirrored disco ball spinning star shaped light on the floor and the back wall. Three male figures walk onto the dance floor. Two guys are dressed in black pants, black button-down shirts and thin black ties (all ties were thin back then). One guy was dressed in a purple suit with a black button-down shirt and a thin, purple tie (if you can recall the outfits Color Me Badd wore circa 1991, he looked like that). When the music began to play 'Freak Me' the three figures began to dance slowly, smoothly and lip-sync (YES! LIP-SYNC!) the words "Freak Me Baby, ah yeah, Freak Me Baby..." The ladies in the club began shrieking in delight (yeah, DELIGHT?!). As I stood there with my eyes wide-open and my hand covering my gaping mouth, my friend excitedly said 'OH! I'm so glad he's doing this while you're here! It's so awesome!' I might not have blinked the entire time because the image of a guy with a long, curly mullet and his two skinny 'back up dancers' gyrating seductively while lip-syncing into fake microphones is still burned into my brain. At some point I think I overcame my shock and cracked up. Towards the end of the song I remember my friend saying something like 'Now, normally I wouldn't find him attractive, but when he does this I think he is so sexy!'

I remember thinking 'Ah, so that's why there's so many lesbians in Greensboro!'

Strange Dream

2009-08-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

If I have even one drink of alcohol, I will have strange dreams. Last night I hung out with some friends and had a few beers and all night I had strange dreams.

In the most notable one, I was invited to this house for a party. When I got to the house, I couldn't find parking for my Jeep, but then I remembered that in prior dreams in these situations, I can pull a plug and deflate the Jeep and fold it to fit in my pocket. (I wonder if GM has considered building a car that can do this?) I walked into this strange house and was greeted by a man. I asked him who's house it was and he said 'I don't know, but everyone will be here soon.' The house reminded me of one of the bungalows on East Blvd that's been converted into a boutique. It had hardwood floors and antique furniture in the very small rooms throughout. And there were French doors that led into the dining room. Then people started coming in dressed in Halloween costumes, but they were actually there for a wedding reception. Pretty soon the bride and groom came in and I knew the bride, but not well enough to be at her wedding reception. Then I realized that I was just wearing a t-shirt and shorts and everyone else was dressed really nice and I hadn't brought the couple a gift!

The dream changed when I found it ridiculous that the Jeep would deflate automatically, but not re-inflate automatically.

I Hate the EpiCenter. It's Personal and it Knows What it Did!

2009-07-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

The Charlotte EpiCenter (crapicenter) opened sometime last year and is an 'entertainment mecca' in downtown (yeah, I said it, DOWNtown) Charlotte. It's a mostly white stucco structure (hate white) that houses various bars and restaurants on 3 levels. Not interesting, unique bars and restaurants, but your average cheesy, cookie-cutter ones, i.e. a sports bar, a piano bar, a redneck bar (complete with mechanical bull). They've been having free concerts on Thursdays and Saturdays to attract people. The concerts are on temporary stages set up in the breezeways of the building. Bands like Who's Bad the Michael Jackson cover band, Vanilla Ice and Cowboy Mouth have played at the crapicenter.

I've gone twice. Once to the piano bar, which was packed with people I don't want to associate with and once to the sports bar which was packed with people who looked like the people I went to high school with that I don't want to associate with. It's too 90210 meets The Hills. A lot of plastic stuffed into short hoochie outfits.

So why can't I just leave it alone and be content to not go. It's because I feel like Charlotte missed a huge opportunity with this thing. Charlotte has no real stroll district and has lost all of it's southern charm. When I say southern charm, I don't mean small town feel or redneckness (btw Charlotte hasn't lost the redneck element!). I mean a charming stroll district like river street in Savannah. A strip with old brick warehouses that were converted into shops and bars. With cobblestone streets and kiosks full of handmade goods. Sidewalk cafes. No cars allowed on weekends. I wonder if this project had been started after the economy hit the skids if it would have been scaled down to something cool like a stroll district.

A friend of mine argued that Charlotte was going for more big city with this crapicenter and wanting something to lure big city people to it. (I'm sure it was just tax revenue they were going for) But when I've traveled to Chicago, New York, DC, Atlanta, I've never been to anything this cheesy. I've always hit more local, neighborhood pubs. That too me is the way to experience a big city.

The crapicenter is a very popular destination, but I think it's just because that's where everyone is and it's still new. I bet most people who go don't like it either, but like sheep they have to go with the flock. Ridiculous.

36

2009-07-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

Monday - swim & spin class, Tuesday - lift & run, Wednesday - swim & run, Thursday - lift & run, Friday - swim, Saturday - run & lift, Sunday - yoga. Every week. Every month. And then one morning you wake up and you're 36. 36? Really. So usually I'm excited and ready to celebrate. This year is different. This year I'm noticing that I can't do as much as I used to be able to do. Can't stay out as late. Can't run as many days. Can't drink as much. Can't eat as much salty food without swelling up and I swear I'm having hot flashes!

My times this year have also been off from last year. I ran the Polk 5K yesterday and finished in 26:04. Last year I ran a 25:41. I did manage to take 2nd in my age group this year. Yeah, there weren't too many in my age group there! It was a good race though. I always forget how many hills there are on this course. I ran into a guy from the running club, it was his first race. Before the race, I told him it was a great race with few hills. When I got into mile two, I knew he was cursing my name.

The race does start out flat. For the first mile it's flat and I ran about an 8:06 mile. In the second mile there's a large, long hill. It's probably in the top 5 highest I've seen. I managed to get to the 2 mile marker at 16:34. The third mile has a hill that's pretty close in steepness to the first hill, but not nearly as long. The last half mile is completely flat, but I had no energy left to kick it in.

The prize for 2nd in my age group was a nice aluminum water bottle. It's pretty cool and I'm glad they're finally giving out things we can actually use. Though I do love my little trophies!

I Cried, Ran, Ached, Laughed

2009-07-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

(cried) Yes, Mooresville is quite a haul from my place! And I hit traffic. I really, really hate traffic. I know everyone does, but I hate it more than them! I headed out around 5:20 to make the 43 mile trek up I-77. Bad move. Apparently back roads are faster. I hit a bad patch of traffic at the I-485 interchange where 3 lanes try to merge into 2 already crowded lanes. Love Charlotte DOT. Ugh! Then my gas light came on. So had to pull off at the next exit and fill up. Ha! It was crazy getting in and out and I had to pull a few 'Charlotte moves' and piss some people off to achieve my objective. Once I got back on I hit another bad patch before getting to my exit. I went through some somewhat scary sections of small town America and finally arrived at downtown Mooresville at about 6:30. It's cute and quaint and reminded me a little of Albemarle, NC but without the mountains. With only one bar open.

(ran) The races were great. Very informal, but with timing chips. The start felt more like an old Sharksbite timed run than a race. We started the one mile a little after 7pm and headed up main street. It was hot! The sun was still out and it was about 93 degrees. The course isn't completely flat. You start out going up a small incline, then it levels out, you get a small decline and then some leveling, then a nice downhill when you turn the corner at about the half mile mark. Then you get a small incline, a tiny hill, a little flat and then the ending is up a small incline. Tough to kick it in at the end. The one mile race I ran a 7:51. I was pretty happy as it was pretty tough. The two mile I ran a 17:07 which I was really happy about because it was pretty brutal. The three mile race I was pretty much wiped out at the start. It had gotten cooler and little breeze kicked up as some serious looking clouds rolled in. I decided to just jog this one out. It was a good call. I was dying after the first loop! After the second loop, I couldn't believe I had one more to go. You don't think three miles is long until you do the same one mile loop three times! I don't know what my time was but I know I was just shy of ten minute miles.

(ached) After the second race I felt a strange ache in my left hamstring. It felt like a knot in the middle towards the left side. Luckily I have a massage scheduled today and can get it rubbed out. This was my fourth day in a row of running which is not something I normally do. I was aching in my ankles and knees after the last race. It was tough to get to sleep later that night with out Advil.

(laughed) This was a very social event. There was time between the races to meet people or talk to people you know. I really enjoyed hanging out with my friends who came to run. I even ran into a guy I met on the way back from Cincinnati. He was there with his brother but only ran the 2 mile race. He came in second. Fast guy. I stayed and had dinner at a nice place called Soiree with a couple of friends from the running club.

You see something new at every race you run. This time I was surprised to see people take water on the course at the halfway mark of the ONE MILE race. Really? Couldn't go the whole mile without water? Maybe they just like free stuff?

I already signed up to run this next month. I'm hoping to carpool next time with someone who knows the back roads.

Friday Night at the Races

2009-07-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight I'm venturing to the exciting town of Mooresville, NC. Rock on! 40 miles north of where I live to NASCAR country. Downtown Mooresville will host 3 running races tonight. A one mile race, followed shortly by a 2 mile race followed shortly by a 3 mile race. For the low, low price of $18 you can run all 3 races (or one, or two, one price for all options). There's a nice technical shirt involved and a nice band.

I typically don't run on Fridays. I run Tues-Thurs so running tonight will be the 4th day in a row. I'm tired and my left foot really hurts so I don't see this going well. But I've heard great things about this event. This is the second in a series of 3. I've heard from different people that it's fun and exciting. The band is good and it's one big party...with running.

My plan is to run all 3 races. The one mile, I'm hoping to be some where around 8:30. It wouldn't be a record for me, but given how I feel and how little I've been training, it's realistic. The second race, I'm hoping for around 18 minutes. It's sad that I'm shooting to do 2 miles in the same time that some people do a 5K, but that's my goal. The third race, the 3 miler, I don't really have a goal for. There's a good chance I'm going to be wiped out after the first two.

I'm excited that an event like this exists and I really want to support it. But Mooresville? Ugh! I really make it a point not to go to north Charlotte or above. It's just a whole different world from Charlotte. The best way to describe it is that it's what you think of when you generalize the South. Yeah, should be interesting. I'll let you know.

So...

2009-07-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

So, so, the race. It went...ok. My plan was to run 2 before, the race, then 2 after. My friend was concerned that we wouldn't run the extra 2. Ok, she had a point. I mean a finish line means only one thing; you're finished. So we ran 4 before. I knew our goal was to do 8 miles total, but for some reason I didn't plan nutritionally to run 8 miles. So mile 2 of the race and I was starving! Stomach growling starving, not just "I could eat" hungry. By the last mile of the race, which is all down hill, I started thinking I might actually have to walk part of a 4 mile race! But I managed to calm my head down, recover my breathing and get to the end. 35:55 overall or an 8:59 pace. Not bad for me really, but not planned well at all.

Post race I went for coffee and bagels while my friend went to tend to her kids. I ran into other friends and enjoyed a lively conversation with a pretty large group. One girl in the group had run the race as her first race ever. It was interesting to get her perspective on the race. She liked it but she hadn't expected the hills. I remember running races with no idea what to expect. Not that I always do now, but if they're in Charlotte I usually have a good idea of what's coming and I at least think about it now.

After breakfast I ran by the farmer's market. I'd been wanting to check it out because a friend of mine has been going and raving about it. She was so right! I was able to get all the veggies I need for the week for about 6 bucks! (I'm a vegetarian, it was a lot of food!) In my excitement and high on 2 cups of coffee, I forgot fruit. I'll have to go back. But I was in a rush to get to the gym and lift and try to meet a friend at a local fundraiser.

The fundraiser was a bust, so after arriving around 3ish and surveying the...what's the opposite of crowd?...we decided to go somewhere else. We ended the evening at Dean & Deluca drinking too much wine and eating sushi. At the late hour of 9pm (lame, I know!) my friend decided to go hit the free Vanilla Ice concert downtown at Epicenter. As a rule I don't go to the Epicenter. It's just a bunch of 20 somethings in hoochie clothes. A whole generation who weren't taught to use their indoor voice. So I rolled home early and ended the evening flipping channels between "3 Men and a Baby" and "You've Got Mail." Yes, I know "3 Men" is far superior but the commercials!!! Between the ones for lotions that promise to remove years from my face (doesn't running do that?) and stripper dance move videos that promise great legs, butt and abs while having a great time ("you won't even know you're working out!") (again doesn't running do that?) I couldn't park on one channel.

So that's the exciting life a single girl. In bed by 10:30 and up mid-morning for yoga. Seriously, this is my life?

You're Dumber in Summer and Other Fun Facts

2009-07-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

So earlier I mentioned that the heat was brutal. And it was. But now it's not. Normally the temperature is in the high 90s with the threat of hitting 100 everyday. This summer it's turned very mild. It's hit 90 a few times, but it's mostly in the 80s and it's staying in the 70s longer. It's odd, last summer the Republicans were in office and it was sweltering, this year the Democrats are in office and it's mild and pleasant. Coincidence?

The mild temperatures have helped me to run pretty strong. Not fast, but strong. I haven't been forced to walk due to the heat in at least 3 weeks. However, I'm running at the back of the pack! Not that I'm used to running in the front, but I was running in the middle. I haven't been timing my runs and I haven't been doing speedwork, so I really shouldn't expect to be improving, but shouldn't I be maintaining? Tomorrow I'm running the RFYL 4 Miler. I previewed the course last week and if I really try, I could PR tomorrow.

I ordered a book on Amazon about Chi running. I read an article and have been told about it or been asked about it for a while now. The article was intriguing. The idea is to use Tai Chi principles while running. The result is better form and less to no pain or injuries. After my recent bouts with foot and knee injuries I'm ready to try it! From the article I learned that you should lean forward slightly from your ankles (what? think I may need a diagram) and land in the middle of your foot. I'm thinking they mean the pad of your foot and that I already do. So yay! One less thing! Then you're supposed to focus on keeping your shoulders and upper body loose so that your arms swing freely. Ok, makes sense. Then you're supposed to use your core to lift your legs by tilting your pelvis and keeping your skeleton aligned. Sounds a little like yoga...

Though I've been enjoying my runs more lately, it will be nice to have something new to focus on. It will also be nice to have a book to read instead of watching so much freakin' tv! Even when there isn't anything good on, I find I'm just sitting in my new chair-and-a-half with ottoman every night. Not really how I want to spend my summer. But you just can't drink a Bloody Mary and read a book. Hmmm, maybe there's a couple of bad habits this book will cure!

Is the heat on?

2009-06-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

It is and it's BRUTAL! I ran 10 miles with two friends on Saturday and we just melted. In 10 miles I stopped 5 times for water and it didn't feel like enough. We started at 7:30am thinking we could beat the heat, but there wasn't a breeze and the humidity was so flippin' high. But that's Charlotte. It's Miami-style heat in the summer and Canada-style cold in the winter. I hate this place.

And that brings me to another topic I hate, relationships. My Sociology Professor at UNCC once said that women at any given time are thinking about a relationship they're in or one they'd like to be in (he also said that men only think about a relationship if there's a problem in it, but that's a whole other discussion/argument/miscommunication/whatever!). I think to some extent that's true and for me right now that's really true. My goal after finishing the Flying Pig Marathon was to open up my schedule so that I'd have time to date and hopefully get into a good relationship. That hasn't happened, but I do have to admit it has been a half-hearted attempt. The only guy I'd consider a date with at the moment is the aforementioned Jarrett Bellini and he lives in Atlanta and doesn't know I exist. I'm thinking for my plan to work I should look around home a bit more, but home is Charlotte. Yuck!

But I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about other's relationships. This past weekend 4 of my FB friends broke up or admitted marital issues. Which reminded me of what a friend said after I cried to him about a recent break-up. "As much as I'd like to be in a relationship, I don't want to be where you are right now." Not exactly what I wanted to hear at the time, but after this weekend, I really got the meaning. I somewhat got the scoop on two of the four (they were dating each other) and it was just a classic case of a one-sided relationship. I've been on both sides of that and I definitely don't want to be there right now! Another friend got his heart ripped out by a girl that he was REALLY into. I'd feel bad for him, but I'm pretty sure he just went out and got laid right after. He's like that.

On the flip side two other friends celebrated 7 years of marriage this weekend. I would not want their relationship. It's totally not for me, but they are happy. My parents celebrated 40-something years of marriage last week. I have another friend who is getting married and another planning her 10th anniversary celebration. And another FB friend got engaged.

So my post-race goal hasn't quite worked out, but at least I'm not crying about a relationship that failed either. So I'm calling it a win! My next goal is to stop thinking about and looking at relationships.

Now what to do with my thoughts?

Nothing, Working, Running, Cross Training...

2009-06-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

"What's new?" It's such a common question. So common that I was asked it twice before noon today. I don't know why it always feels like it comes out of the blue or like I've been caught off-guard during an interview. I always feel I have to search my brain for something spectacular like "oh, I'm going to hike Manchu Picchu next week," or "I'm going kayaking in Costa Rica," or "I'm running for Congress, can I count on your vote?" But after searching my brain I usually come up with "Nothing, working, running, cross training..."

The truth is there is some new stuff going on in my life. For the past four years I've worked a job that changes often. There's always something new. We're currently working on upgrading a computer application to a new and improved version and I've been learning the ins and outs of it including the coding. It's exciting in a nerdy way. I've also been fixing up my condo to sell. Painting, new furniture, etc. A couple of weeks ago I placed in my age group in a 5K. I'm going to Zion National Park and then to Vegas in December. I'm going to the beach in August. I currently have a big crush on CNN's Jarrett Bellini. I'm going to see G. Love in July and Pat Mcgee Band in August.

It's a mental block. The idea that "what's new?", "NEW" means I have to come up with some so mind blowing that the person asking will go "Wow! That's unbelievable!" when all the requester really wants is for me to ask him "what's new." But that doesn't occur to me until after I've searched and come up with "Nothing, working, running, cross training..."

Run for Peace at Home

2009-06-01T11:21:00.000-07:00

The Run for Peace at Home 5K was Saturday at McAlpine Park. This was my second year running this nice small race. It was also the second year I placed in my age group at the race. Yay! I ran the race in 26:43. Not bad, but it was more than a minute slower than last year. They split the field for this race and the women start 30 minutes after the men. Weatherwise, I would have preferred to go first. The temperature was somewhere around 70 degrees in the morning, but not a breath of air was moving. The breeze did kick up around 9:30am during the awards ceremony, but it really didn't do much at that point.

This is a great race to run for time. It's flat for about 90% of it. The first mile is completely flat on nice small gravel. There were a few soft spots, but given the amount of rain we've had lately, I was pleasantly surprised to see it was dry. When you get into mile 2 you leave the gravel and move onto dirt. But it's a well worn path with no roots and no ruts to speak of. Just when you get into a good running pace, they add a hill. A big one. It's somewhat steep and long. You even curve around and see that it continues to climb. But then it levels out (ah). Then they add another hill (oh.). Then you get a nice steep decline. At this point I just gallop down it. It may not be the best thing for the joints, but it helps me pass people! At this point you start to emerge from the woods and run around the pond.

This pic was taken by another blogger,

I'm the one in front.

At that point there are people watching and cheering you on. (And as you can see in the pic some people were just watching the geese in the pond.) After circling the pond, you head back out and circle soccer fields. This last mile of the race is again flat with one small, tiny really, hill. But it's only midly insulting and it's a very shady part of the course. You countinue back towards the pond which you circle again. The biggest challenge at this point is not stepping in the geese poop. Nasty little things!

At the end I was able to turn it on a tad for a fast finish and passed a couple of people. It felt great at the end! I knew I had worked really hard and my lungs were screaming at me. I quickly found a friend who had run it and we grabbed water and headed for the massage table. She signed up to get her calves massaged and we met several other ladies in line waiting. When results were posted I saw that I had placed 3rd in my age group and my friend had taken 2nd in hers.

I read some time ago that one of the things that can keep a race from succeeding is if it becomes 'too much about the cause.' This race was to help support victims of domestic violence and it is certainly bordering on becoming 'too much about the cause'! Prior to the awards ceremony a victim was asked to speak about her experience with domestic violence. I'll give you what this woman went through was terrible (the part I heard of it anyway) but it really was uncomfortable to hear about. I'm not saying that we should be sheltered from bad things, but I really don't feel that this was the time for these stories.

Finally, they got to the awards ceremony. My friend and I got really cool little trophies that look like little runner girls with bobbleheads. I call mine 'Bobblehead Aud.' Original, I know. They also gave out 'door prizes' and my bib number was drawn. I won a $50 gift certificate to Dilworth Bar & Grill. That more than makes up for my race entry fee!

After that we walked around and I showed my friend more of the trails in the park. She's new to Charlotte and it was her first time at the greenway. It's such a great park. I wonder why I don't go more often?

It Won't Stop Raining and I Won't Stop Eating!

2009-05-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

Didn't do a trail run on Saturday. My friend backed out due to a work issue and I ended up sleeping late. Lately I'm tired and hungry. Its like I have a cold and I'm hitting the comfort food and wanting to sleep all the time. Its not a cold, its worse, its allergies! They don't go away no matter how much medicine you take, no matter how many shots you get and no matter how much you use the neti pot. It sucks!

When I did roll my growing butt out of bed, I found I had a text from a friend asking about my running plans. I told her that I was going for a run soon and she agreed to meet me for 6 miles. It was a good run even if we did linger at the drinking fountains a little long. But in general nothing hurt. Yay! I also ran all of the course, including the hills, so again, Yay!

Later during the day we did the only Memorial Day related activity that I did the whole weekend, volunteered at the Patriot Festival. Basically you gave a $5 donation to hear some ok bands/performers and there were kiddie rides. But you had to pay extra for the kiddie rides. We were originally assigned to the stage area, but there was nothing for us to do there, so we were told to go to 'cockpit.' Cockpit it turned out is a life sized fighter jet model. You could pay $2 to sit in it and marvel at all the buttons and switches. Oh and there was a helmet you could wear (but ewwww!). After about 5 minutes I was sent to work the VIP tent where I checked to make sure people had the proper tickets to enter. It was less than thrilling but gave me a front row seat to see the Black Daggers parachute into the festival. I won't go into details about who the Black Daggers are (yeah, wasn't paying attention to that) but they parachuted from a plane (2,500 feet? maybe?) with red smoke shooting from their feet and with great precision landed in the middle of the festival. Very cool.

It was a soggy weekend in Charlotte and the rain has continued off and on throughout today and the forecast is calling for rain all week. But don't worry, we're still in a drought. At least until they realize drought is the new norm. I'd planned to go to the group trail run tonight but currently it's storming. Rain I'll run in, thunder/lightning not so much. So I'm sitting here waiting out the storm listening to Pandora. I've developed a new interest in Folk music with blues and bluegrass influences. I started a station with The Wood Brothers and added G. Love to it with The Avett Brothers and Brett Dennen. It's not exactly running music, but it really is fun to listen to.

So lately the number of miles I've run has decreased to roughly 20 a week and the amount of junk food calories I've eaten has increased to way more than I can burn in 20 miles per week. This week (if we start it on Saturday) I've pigged out on Fish Tacos, Nutter Butters, Pepsi, an entire box of Chocolate Jo-Jos, and cheese. Lots of cheese.

Whoa!! WTF?! When did Pandora start adding commercials?! Just heard something about Wendy's. Not cool! Just read a little further and apparently you have to pay to upgrade to get away from ads. As if I need another bill.

Anyway, the storm has passed and I think I'll venture out for a 4.5mile run in my 'hood. Laters.

The B*tch is Back!

2009-05-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Cleo has returned! Uneventfully Wednesday night she showed up at the back door and cried to come in. She's a bit skinnier than she was when she left, but appears to be in good health. She's her old self again and I'm happy to have her home.

My trail run Tuesday night turned out to be a 4.5 mile run through the neighborhood. I just didn't feel like driving to run by myself. However, I've talked the Tuesday night trail run organizer in my club into moving the scheduled tral run to a trail closer to me so I see running it more often in my future. Wednesday's run was rough. It was a warm night to run 6 miles. I walked a lot of mile 5, but was able to finish the last mile running. Thursday night's run went better than expected. I ran all of the almost 4 mile route. It's very hilly so I was excited even thought it was slower than I'd like. The after party at CM was a blast and while it's normally fun, it was a particularly good group. We ended up at TST to watch the hockey game, but truly just drank more beer over there. Me and a couple of other people ended up at the Penguin across the street for a late night dinner. I don't know why I thought fried pickles and black bean hummus were a good idea at midnight but I knew this morning at 7am that it was not a good idea. bleh!

I've really noticed that my hamstrings are incredibly tight. They're always tight, but lately there's a lot more resistance. I know I should stretch more, but it's just not fun. I've only been going to yoga once a week and even that hasn't been regularly. I'm planning to start going to a spin class once a week and I'm hoping that will help. I'm not sure I can break any personal records this summer if they don't loosen up.

So it's a 3 day weekend and my plans are a mixture of exercise, painting the last room in my condo and socializing. I plan to practice the Run for Peace course in the morning with a friend or two. I'm hoping it goes well but it's been a good 9 or 10 months since I've hit the trail. This could be ugly...

Recovery, Runaway Cat and Rabies

2009-05-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

I've been recovering well after the Flying Pig Marathon. Actually I've been pretty lazy. I imagined I'd get a lot done after the marathon. At least all the things I'd been putting off. I did manage to get my den painted. However, I'd hired that done! I also got new den furniture. But again, that really didn't take much on my part.

Sadly as the painters were taking their stuff out after they finished, they propped open the front door and Cleo, my indoor cat, escaped. Unbelievably it was 4 days before I found her under the porch of a condo in the neighborhood. She approached me cautiously when I called her. I was able to get hold of the back of her neck, which she wasn't thrilled about, but then a nearby A/C unit kicked on and she FREAKED and bit my arm until I had to let her go. I couldn't get hold of her again after several attempts and more bites. The viciousness of the bites is due to her being outside, but being that she's a feral cat, biting is not out of the norm for her. The bite on my right pointer swelled up and I couldn't bend the finger. So I had to go to my doctor's for antibiotics. My doctor had to report this to animal control. Animal control had to report it to the health department. While I'm confident that she isn't a rabies threat, they aren't. I'm waiting now for directions on next steps and will have to research my rights on this. I'm really against unnecessary medications.

To date, Cleo's still 'in the wild.' I haven't seen her in more than a week now. This has been incredibly difficult because she's been with me for 13 years. It's really been a life changing experience not having her home. It's not unlike being dumped. I keep running to the back door hoping she's come back. I call for her randomly during the day. Wonder if I missed her calling me to the back door when I'm out. There's now new furniture in my den that's she's never sniffed, claimed or slept on. It feels really wrong. But I remain hopeful that she'll return. There are people in my neighborhood who feed strays so I'm confident she isn't starving. I've also heard of cats returning from these sabbaticals, sometimes months later and acting as if nothing happened. And they say cats are like women, tsk!

But back to recovery. I've started running again. I've run twice and plan to run this evening. Tonight I'm running a trail run and I'm excited to get back on the trail. I plan to run about 3 miles. My next race is a 5K trail race, the Run for Peace at McAlpine Greenway. Last year I placed in my age group and I'm hoping to do well again this year. Of course that will take some speed work and I have less than 2 weeks to get that done. Glad there's no pressure =).

At Least I'm Not Laying on the Side of the Road Thinking I'm in Memphis!

2009-05-06T06:29:00.001-07:00

Cincinnati is a very hilly town. The elevation map on the race website is less than accurate. I certainly broke a record for how many hills I've run in a long run. It was a brutal course. But it was also very beautiful. It was very green and very interesting. The houses were unique and the crowd support was great. They weren't lined up like in Chicago and other large cities, but where there were people, they were very enthusiastic. There were bands randomly along the course. Other people played stereos to encourage you. I saw one group grilling out even though it was only 8am.

Of the signs I saw along the course, the funniest ones were 'Run Skinny Bitch' and 'These Nuts Got Guts.'

I saw a couple of houses that were about 3 or 4 stories high that were burned out. I found out later that the race last year was postponed 20 minutes due to a fire on the course. I also saw a house whose front porch was being braced by 2x4s! This may not have been in the best area of town.

The rain really wasn't an issue during the race. Luckily it stayed overcast the whole race which helped keep the heat away. It was about 56 when we woke up and it was probably that temperature for most of the race. The last 6 miles I ran in just my bra top as it was pretty warm at that point.

The first 5 miles I maintained a 9 minute pace. It was tough, but I was able to keep a good pace. Then I got a side stitch. I was able to work it out and get running again pretty quickly, but that was when I started slowing down. By mile 11, I switched my watch to time instead of chrono. I didn't even want to know and was fairly disappointed to get to the half at a time of 2:07. It was a struggle threw most of the race but particularly the last 8 miles. Even though miles 21-25 contained a lot of downhill, it was still a tough stretch. It was also the warmest part!

Just before mile 23, an ambulance passed me on the right. I saw up ahead a guy laying on the left side of the road with a bag of ice under his head and people holding his legs up. He looked like a pretty strong and fit guy, in his late 20s or early 30s. As I got closer I heard the ambulance driver ask the guy if he knew where he was 'Yes sir' the guy replied. The ambulance driver asked 'Where are you?' and the guy replied 'Uhhhh, (mumble)" I couldn't quite make out what he said, but I swear it sounded like 'Memphis.' A few steps later I saw mile marker 23 and saw that I was only 4 minutes short of my overall goal of 4 hours, but I thought 'at least I'm not laying on the side of the road, thinking I'm in Memphis!' And that became my mantra through the next 3 miles. If I had to walk, if I wanted to give up, if I whined about my time, at least I was still running!

At mile 25, I realized I was going to finish close to the same time that I ran Chicago in October. Which means that I ran a really hilly course in the same time I ran a really flat course (in extreme heat). So I really think that shows some improvement and strength. When I got home I saw that I was actually about 15 seconds faster in Cincinnati. It's something anyway!

Flu Masks and a Rainy Forecast

2009-05-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

Sooo the weather in Cinci for Sunday couldn't be more promising! A low of 49 (6:30am start, so that will be the temp) and rain. Normally I would think it bites to spend a weekend day like that, but what better weather to run in?! That was the same scenario for my 19 mile run. My first 20 was rainy as well, but a bit warmer. So I'm prepared. It's actually the optimal conditions for me to PR!

If you don't count that I've been injured. As for the injuries, they've seriously subsided. I ran/walked 4.5 miles last night just to see how I'd feel. My only issue was the heavy amounts of pollen in the air! It did remind me to pack my proventil inhaler. Always good to breathe in a marathon.

A friend asked me if I'm nervous about my flight. She was alluding to the Swine Flu pandemic. Another friend recommended a mask. I'm not nervous about the flight. I've had the flu, how much worse can it be? I'm not going to wear a mask, unless they're passing them out at the airport. The I'd take it as a sign. I am taking hand sanitizer and plan to use it often.

I don't know how I'm going to feel at 5am Sunday, but at the moment, I'm looking forward to the race. I think it will be my best one yet!

Flying Pig and Swine

2009-04-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

So the big day (pig day?) is 4 days away and I sit here half hoping for a catastrophe to at least postpone the race. I'd settle for the CDC grounding all planes over the recent swine flu epidemic, but it doesn't look like I'll get my wish.

It's not that I'm not ready. In spite of my injuries, I'm ready. And truthfully if the race were postponed, I wouldn't be anymore ready. It's just that at this point, I know that I won't beat 4 hours, not even by a couple of seconds. But I still won't be able to relax and enjoy the race. Because it's a marathon, not a half, not a 5K, 10K, etc, it's the big one (yeah, there's bigger, but you won't catch me at them!). It took 4 months to train for this and it takes time to recover afterwards. So there's no picking another one the next weekend and trying it again. This is it. Sunday is it.

So I'll start the day exhausted and with butterflies. Probably have to choke down my breakfast bars because nothing sits well with butterflies and stress walk to the starting line. Push my way as close as I can to the front of my corral and get annoyed at all the people pushing around me. Impatiently wait through the National Anthem and then through all the other corrals starting and finally start the race. Then the butterflies become a pit in my stomach and it takes real effort not to hyperventilate. And no matter how much slower than my goal I get with each passing marker, I won't relax and just enjoy it.

But Sunday is it. And I'm really looking forward to Monday.

Last Run for Pig

2009-04-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

So I ran my last run this weekend for training for the marathon. I plotted a tough course, I think I was still dreaming of hills. I forgot to drink some tea before the run. I'd been testing the effect of caffeine on my run. The good news is that I did prove that caffeine was not the source of my side stitches. So yay! The bad news is it sort of proved that caffeine doesn't have as much effect on my performance.

The problem with walking instead of running during the week is that I'm out of practice for preparing for a run. It's funny how fast that happens! I started my run an hour later deciding to take advantage of the shorter distance and sleep in. It was not a good decision. It was a very hot weekend. Unfortunately I didn't plan enough water stops and ran the last 4 without a water stop. It was tough, but I only walked a couple of times and it was more out of boredom than necessity. My foot injury seems to have taken a back seat to a serious knot in my calf on the opposite leg. The post run massage seemed to help it, but I see many ice baths in my future.

So the plan for the week is to continue walking instead of running and at some point form a good plan for the race. I still haven't looked up the weather. I'm a bit nervouse about that!

Dreaming of Hills

2009-04-21T05:57:00.000-07:00

I walked about 3 miles last night instead of speed training. It was less boring because another injured friend walked with me. But it's getting old. I miss running! I find myself craving a tough run. I start imagining a route with all the hills that I hate. I can see the hill infront of me so clearly and remember the feeling of glutes and calves engaging as I start the ascent. The feeling of my shoe gripping the asphalt and pushing it behind me. This has to be what it's like to quit crack.

Southpark Racefest and Other NonEvents

2009-04-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

Sooo, it was a LONG COLD winter. I hate those. There were very few relief days and a lot more snow this year. And I'm tired. Very tired. I've been training for the Flying Pig Marathon for a...long time and it's in two weeks. And I'm injured. It started after my first weekday 10 miler. But not right after. I was getting out of my car and I thought maybe I twisted my right knee and that's why it hurt. It wasn't too bad. I began icing it. About two or three weeks later it seemed to move to my left foot. Odd. I've now surmised that the issue is an old soleus muscle injury which is causing tightness and pain the the Achilles and arch. But I'm still going to run the marathon! I'm just walking the weekday runs and running on Saturdays.

Today's run was the Southpark Racefest Half Marathon. I've never run the half before, always the 10K. This year it fit nicely into my schedule to run the half. It was a great feeling going into the race knowing that no matter what time I did, I'd get a course PR. At the start, my left foot felt tender. But it always feels that way until it loosens up. It was about a mile and a half into the race before it loosened up. The start of this race is tough. Not course-wise, just the number of people in the small lane. There's roughly 2,500 people who run the races combined. So if you want a good time, there's a lot of darting around other runners. I didn't care about my time because of my injury. But I still had to dart around a lot of walkers and other runners just to maintain a steady pace. It's not that I didn't seed well, it's that others didn't.

The course is tough. When I got out to Providence road for miles 3-6 I was getting into a good gait. Then I felt a sudden pang in my right calf. The street is seriously bevelled. Bevelled is pretty on a table top but an ugly surface for running. By the time I hit mile six, it was a pretty serious pain. But the pain that stopped me was the side cramp on my right side. Y-ouch! Haven't had one of those in a while. I walked trying to stretch it and started back running when the pain subsided. But of course it started again immediately. I spent the next two miles running until I couldn't stand it and then walking. Luckily I ran into Shashi and he recommended I push my stomach out when I breath and force the muscle into a stretch. It worked! It was sore after that, but using the technique I was able to keep it from stopping me again. Then I could focus on my aching calf. Lucky me.

Shashi and I ran the last 5 miles together and it was great having him for company. Before the race I had run into my friend Jody who was running the race wearing an ipod which would be her first race to music. I told her that I had thought of doing that, but then decided since I'd paid a fee to run around people that I would just try and talk to people along the way. I had totally forgotten how stupid the conversations at races in Charlotte are! When you do large races outside of Charlotte, you get a melting pot of people who've had so many different experiences. You hear about other great races, other great cities, other great countries and amazing feats of strength and endurance. Here's some of the stupid things I overheard today:

girl1: ...so I told him to bring his own flower. He said 'oh I'm bringing (*muffled*)'
girl2: aw!
girl1: I know! How amazing is it going to be that she shows up at the airport and he's there holding flowers....

me thinking: kill me now.

guy1: ...so many girls got elbowed in the boob at Cooper. I was like sorry, sorry,
guy2: (inaudible) dude (*snicker*)
guy1: I know! I can't help it.

me thinking: kill me, kill me now

girl3: ...and I know I'm a control freak, but maybe he can help me with that.
girl4: well, I drink every day in Vegas.
girl3: yeah, but he passed out on the couch
girl4: oh, that's different.
girl3: yeah, so I'm hoping he can help me work through this.
girl4: (*inaudible*)
girl3: I know and we fight about it all the time.

me thinking: wtf? kill me, kill me, kill me now.

From now on noise cancelling headphone and ipod for all long Charlotte races and thank God for Shashi. He had interesting races to talk about and experiences and a gps watch that told us our pace each mile. What more could you want?!

So the race is over. A course PR of 2:03. Hopefully next year, I'm not injured.

As for the condo saga, I called a guy about a painting estimate for the den and he came by and looked at it. Haven't heard from him since. Is that bad?

Monday

2009-01-12T13:32:00.000-08:00

Shower doors gone. Ez-Peezy! I couldn't believe how easy they came off! Of course getting all the adhesive off was a pain. I'm still working on how to patch the holes... With any luck I'll be painting that room this weekend. Ah the life of a single gal!

Tonight I start the monthly Greekfest 5K practice with the group. I started this as a way to motivate the group during speed workouts. Looks like it'll be a small group tonight. Hopefully, it's just a coincidence. I had a great swim today. I did my routine mixing swimming and drills and left feeling a bit sore in the stomach area. YAY! My shoulders are a bit sore, too. I did some lifting Saturday, yoga and swimming Sunday and now swimming today. Hopefully this won't be a problem for the workout tonight.

Off to do some stretching and get ready to run. l8r

2009 New Year, New Plans...or just old plans implemented

2009-01-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

54 Runners showed up to run the meetup run last night. It was so exciting! I went around and got everyone's name. We had a lot of new people. I know it's just New Year's Resolutioners, but it's still exciting. Potentially there could be more people who come each run. There potentially could be more people at the theme runs. The new year is full of potential! And in 12 months we'll be looking forward to it being over.

Currently my running has been about average. Some runs are good, some are bad, but none have been extremely good. I have enjoyed running with two new members who've come out to the last few runs. I'm not sure what it is. It could be the couple of extra pounds from the holidays weighing me down. It could be all the rain has the mold count up and my allergies are kicking! I keep losing my voice, so that could be hindering my run. I just hope I figure it out soon!

So I've decided to run the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon in May. I'm really looking forward to it, because I've heard really great things. It also counts as two states because it starts in Ohio and dips into Kentucky. Yay! I'm not doing 50 Marathons in 50 States, I'm doing a race in each state. Any distance counts. My goal, my rules. So I have two weeks before I have to start training.

What to do with myself for two weeks?! Ah yes, the condo. I could paint my small spare bathroom in the meantime. The problem is that I'd really like to remove the shower doors first. They are so hideous! And then wth do I do with them? Ok, one problem at a time. See the shower doors need to be removed so that I can get a shower curtain. Then I can match the paint to the curtain. I know I want orange. I know I want a shower curtain with orange gerber daisies. Do I have this curtain? No. Have I ever seen one? Nope. But I'm sure it exists! So I guess the next step is to remove the shower doors. This should be fun! I'll keep you posted.

Back to the training plan. In addition to running, I've started swimming longer. I go 2-3 times a week and my goal is 25 mins of swimming, 5 mins running in pool, 5 mins side steps, and 5 mins kickboard. I'm hoping this builds strength in addition to my lifting. Additionally I really need to work on hills. I'm still losing speed on the hills. And Cincy is apparently hilly. Lovely. I usually plot my routes to avoid hills, but will have to change that this go around.

So I just did some googling about the shower doors. One site said, it's a hard job and that I should be prepared to refinish the whole tub. Another site had a bunch of DIYers report that it's ez-peezy. I'm going to go with the site that says it's easy. Mostly because they mention that there is such a thing as caulk remover and a patch for the screw holes. Yay! I'll check the home improvement stores this weekend. Not sure how this fits with my current yen to set and stick to a budget. Ugh!

NYE in NYC

2009-01-06T14:12:00.001-08:00

So back in October me and two friends decided to go to New York for New Year's and spend 5 days. We lucked out big time when we got a free place to stay (friend of one of the friends) by agreeing to cat sit for the first 3 nights and then we checked into a hotel the last night. The free apartment was in the upper east side and the hotel was in Midtown. nice.

New York is amazing! We had plans to see a Broadway show, run in Central Park, go to the MOMA, maybe the Met. We did none of that. The first night we stocked up on groceries and some alcohol for the apartment.

The apartment. I'm guessing it was 1,000 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath. There was a queen in one bedroom and bunks in the other. I took the bottom bunk. I had bunk beds when I was a kid, but haven't slept in one since.

The cats. Gus was the sweetest thing! He was a grey tabby and you could tell he was the runt. He would kneed on us and his claws would get stuck in our clothes. Bori was a tuxedo cat who hid most of the time.

So the first night we went to a bar called Tonic. It was down from Rodeo, which is where we wanted to go, but it was too packed. Tonic on Tuesday nights has $3 draft including Guinness. Yum. I think that's the least I've paid for a Guinness. We then went to a really cool bar called Puck Fair. It was Irish, I think. Awesome. Great people, great food, great time.

The next day was New Year's Eve. It was in the 30s I think and there were snow flurries. It was beautiful. We walked through Central Park to 5th avenue, where we took pictures o all the buildings decorated for Christmas and shopped. And shopped and shopped...There were people waiting in line to get into shops. Crazy. Charlotte has most of the stores along 5th, so we skipped most of them. I bought a shirt in Zara for my sister's birthday, but other than that I was able to pass up the bargains. It's funny the difference in clothing needs in NYC vs Clt. In NYC, you need a very warm coat, hat, gloves, and scarf, but under that you need thin shirts and sweaters. Because while it's 20s-40s outside the buildings it's 75-80 inside the buildings. In Charlotte, you need a light jacket, occasionally a hat, gloves and scarf, but you need heavier sweaters underneath. Because it's 40s-60s outside the buildings and 50s-60s inside the buildings. That's why I like working from home.

We did go into Bergdorf's which was having a 60% off shoe sale. What is 60% off of a $2,955.00 pair of boots? Ans. Still too freakin much. But there were people in their trying them on like they were free. Please. If I'm going to pay that much, they better be motorized.

That evening we went to Bryant Park Bar & Grill. We didn't upgrade to VIP. Not a huge deal, but it was mostly kids. I felt like I was chaperoning prom. There were people older than us, but not many of them. But it was open bar. I decided to stick to Cranberry and Vodkas all night. Fattening yes, but it's New Year's and I didn't feel like thinking about other drinks. We got there after 10 so midnight hit fast. We were in the area that was under a tent with a clear ceiling and was a lot less crowded when we toasted New Years. The cool part was that the confetti from Time's Square managed to float around the tall buildings between Bryant and Times and landed on our tent ceiling. It was a really, really cool site. The most interesting part to me was that they did stop the music and do a countdown, but they didn't have tvs all over the place showing the ball drop. I guess they figure if you want to see it, you can just walk over and see it.

After midnight we made our way back to the dance floor and found a spot. We met quite a few people, but I don't remember any names at this point. There was a guy from Australia who told me he loved 'your country' and a girl who had moved to NYC from NC.

After about 2:30, the very drunk crowd got very interesting. Of course all the guys who hadn't secured a hookup yet were on the prowl. Puh-lease! At this point you see a lot of drunken staring and a lot of 'desparate coupling.' But that's their problem. We took off and grabbed a cab (it was -10 with windchill so the subway was out) back to the apt around 3:30. I had a great time!

The next day started late and slowly...Oddly, I couldn't sleep. I think I was out of bed by 9, but the day was far from started. It was a clear day, but the high was only 26. At some point, me and one friend went and got pizza and gatorade. YUMMY pizza! Lots of toppings, just like I like it. But they could have heated it a little longer. The gatorade brought me back to life and the day was fully started. We walked through Central Park, but not far. It wasn't only cold, it was windy and cold. It was interesting seeing the few dedicated runners out. One girl was even doing repeats on what passes for a hill in NYC.

That evening we went in search of the traditional New Year's day meal of black-eyed peas and corn bread. We agreed to meet a friend by Columbia at a soul food restaurant. When we got there, they were out of food. So no black-eyed peas to start the year. We ended up at a French restaurant around the corner, Le Monde, I think. Yummy food. Early night as we had all had our fill.

The next day was the perfect day to get in our run at Central Park. But we had to pack and leave the apartment and check in at the hotel. Not sure why this took all day. Time stands still in Mexico, but it flies in New York. The hotel was the Affinia Gardens and I highly recommend it. The room was huge and layed out very well. After checking in we went to SoHo to walk around and see NYU. Beautiful. What a great area! I'm pretty sure we went to a bar in this area, too, but I don't remember it. I do know we spent some time at the Soho Grand which is very chic. And then we walked through some packed bar (looked and smelled like a frat party) and then back to Midtown for eats. Good eats at 2am. Where else can you find that?

It was an awesome trip and I've never been sadder to leave a place.

Savannah

2009-01-06T14:00:00.001-08:00

So obviously, I lost the costume contest. The competition was tough and none of the winners were in holiday gear.

I went as a Christmas tree. I wore a gold tree skirt around my waist, a green sweatshirt that i added ornaments and garland to and glued a crystal angel to the hood. It was hideous, but festive. Many others had my idea. There were two ladies dressed as trees. They wore red tree skirts, green turtlenecks with working lights attached to them. They had on green stockings, brown leg warmers and little packages twist-tied onto their shoes. Then they had yellow headbands with stars on them. Not a last minute job. There were of course Santa clauses and the normal super heroes as well. Three little boys came as gas pumps (Enmark Gas Stations is the big sponsor, way to suck up). They painted their torsos; one yellow, one silver, one gold and in black wrote their octane number.

But the winners...Third place went to a couple who came as turtles. They had shells and everything. Second place was the cutest little girl you ever saw. She was a sandwhich. She had two very large pieces of foam (about as tall as her and 6 times wider) that were brown for the bread, she used construction paper to make lettuce, tomato, etc. And on her head was a pickle slice with something that looked like a toothpick with plastic tassles on the end. Very well done. First place was a woman that came as a pink ribbon. It was a big black foam thing with a pink ribbon painted on.

Other than not winning, I did enjoy the race. I ran the first half with my friend Amy, but despite being really freakin hot in my sweatshirt (I think the temp was in the 60's), I got a second wind on the bridge coming back and took off. I still finished under and hour, which wasn't the best or worst I've done at this race.

Savannah at Christmas is gorgeous and fun! We enjoyed eating out at some of the restaurants and of course walking with our beer. We found a couple of sports bars and caught the big bama-gator game. And relaxed. Awesome weekend!

Tired

2008-11-24T09:54:00.000-08:00

I haven't run in 3 days. I plan on doing a hill workout tonight but I'm kinda dreading it. It's 50 degrees and overcast. Not a bad forecast, but my body feels beat up. I spent all weekend painting 3 rooms in my place. One room took 4 coats of paint. I was up late two nights and not for fun reasons. Friday night at midnight I went outside to clean the rollers and brushes and it was 18 balmy degrees. I couldn't get any water pressure and just decided to throw away the roller pads and pan liner. The next day I went outside again to clean the rollers and again no water pressure. Then suddenly cylindars of ice shot out of hose and then there was really good water pressure. It was pretty funny. Steam was rising from the water.

Sunday my parents came to help me paint. My place is really too small though and we mostly got in each other's way. I've now hit Walmart 3 times and Lowes once. My goal was to do everything before New Year's. My new goal is to stretch it out thru February. It's starting to look nice though.

I'm expecting this to be a slow week at work and I'm hoping I'm right. Tomorrow night I plan to attend a benefit for the Red Cross which should be a blast and Wednesday night I planned a happy hour for Thanksgiving. I will stay sober Wednesday night. I will stay sober Wednesday night. I will stay sober Wednesday night. I really want to have a good run on Thanksgiving day.

Still no costume for the Dec. 6th race. It's really coming down to the wire. I don't even have a good idea! I don't even have a bad idea. I've been googling on the internet, but really haven't had any luck. I saw something with tinsel that looked promising. I do like shiny things.

TR Preview

2008-11-15T14:20:00.000-08:00

Today I ran the course preview for the Thunder Road Half Marathon. I ran mostly with my friend Janea who I haven't run with in at least a year. She and her bf decided 3 weeks ago after finishing the Dowd half to do the full at TR. They want the special 39.3 medal that you get for running both. LOL!

My friends Julie and Kathleen ran it as well. Julie and I usually run together, but today she was hanging back. Kathleen ran most of the way with us until her knees gave out. Kathleen will be running her first full marathon as well. She was also sucked in by the special medal. Unbelievable that this marketing gimmick worked!

I remember the course being very hilly and tough, but today it seemed bearable. Then again I wasn't racing it. I'm leaning more towards not doing the race this year. I don't think I really want to push it on that course. It is a beautiful course, though. The houses in Eastover, Myers Park and Dilworth are so beautiful. The streets are tree lined and the leaves have all changed colors and they're almost bare. Everywhere you turn it looks like a Thomas Kincade picture.

After spending some time talking with my friends I went home to move everything out of my closet and bedroom. It was not fun. I have entirely too much stuff. I do go through it constantly and get rid of stuff, but it seems to be multiplying on its own! I have so many t-shirts at this point it's absurd. I don't know why I keep them. Why was that ever my motivation for running a race?!

Tomorrow I'm planning to do yoga in the morning, move my dressers (the last of it) and then watch the panthers play. If I can pull myself out of bed tomorrow!

l8r

Rainy Friday

2008-11-14T12:52:00.000-08:00

Last night's run was awesome! It was a cool night, but once we got going, it was HOT. There were probably 40 ppl at Common Market ready to run when I got there right at 6:30. My friend Cantey showed up which was great because I haven't run with her in a very long time. She was surprised at the number of runners. I'm not sure what our pace was, but it was pretty fast. Two other ladies stayed close behind us. Later they told us they were new and afraid of getting lost. After the run we hung out at the Common Market and I drank way too much. I'm never going to get my butt and abs in shape if I keep that up! But it's the end of the year and there's much to celebrate!

Today I took a day off from all things exercise. I went to the Southern Christmas Show with my mom and a couple of her friends. I wasn't in much of a shopping mood. But I did find some nice wine themed decorations for the kitchen and the worlds strongest catnip toy. Cleo loves it. Not only the toy, but the bag it came in! That is powerful stuff. She rubbed all over it and now her head smells like catnip. I also found a great new running hat. It's a new invention from a small company called Chicadoo. Its similar to a toboggan, but it doesn't cover your whole head so your hair isn't all matted down in the hat. Very chic.

Its currently raining and the forecast calls for storms tonight and then a dry morning. I hope they're right because I don't want to run a half marathon practice run in the rain!

l8r

Getting Organized

2008-11-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

Its tough to get anything done when you're training for a marathon. Now that I'm finished with the Chicago Marathon its time to get to all those projects I've let fall to the wayside. And did they pile up! I got an estimate today to fix a leak in a wall (been there for 5 years now so it wasn't completely the marathon training's fault that I've procrastinated). So next week my bedroom and walk-in closet will be in complete disarray and I'll be living in my 'living' room. Of course now I want to paint the whole place, fix up the kitchen, update the bathrooms...this could get ugly. But it will be nice to get my place in order and live like a big girl for a change.

In addition to fixing up my home space, I have upcoming races and some training to do. Not a marathon, but I still have some lofty goals. The next race I'll be doing is the Charlotte Turkey Trot. I've done this race 3 of the last 5 years and its a tough race. Very hilly. My goal is to average a 9 min/mile pace. Last year, I was doing ok until close to the end when my hangover got to me. This year I do plan to go to happy hour with my friends the night before, but will remain sober. That's the plan anyway...

My next race will be the Savannah Bridge Run 10K in beautiful Savannah, Ga. The South's Toughest Bridge Run. This will be my fourth time running this race. I set my 10K PR there in 2005 and then beat it in 2007 running a 52:59 an 8:32 pace. My goal this year is to place in the costume contest. The competition is stiff. Past winners have included people who ran tandem in a 'bridge costume' and two cute little girls who ran as reindeer pulling a stuffed santa in a wagon decorated to look like a sleigh. So creativity is key here. My original plan to run as a Christmas Goose was shelved when I went to Party City and couldn't find any feathers or beaks. Not sure how their buyers missed this essential Christmas prop, but it creates a problem for me. There is a Peppermint Peasant outfit that might work, but it's hardly original. I'll have to keeping thinking about this one.

This weekend I'm doing the course preview for the Thunder Road Half Marathon. Not sure I'm going to shell out the $45 entry fee to run a race in my own town, but it is enticing as it doesn't require travel. Last year I set my Charlotte PR on the course and ran a 1:57 and some change. It's tempting to try and beat that this year. But I won't have Tim motivating me this year and that was key last year.

Tonight I'm running with a group through Commonwealth area. It's a tough 4 mile course, but it's excellent training. I pushed it somewhat on a 6 miler last night so I'll be taking it easy tonight. I'm off from work tomorrow so I'll be hanging out longer than normal. And maybe I'll do the midnight 4miler with some of the other runners. l8r