Looking back, planning forward

Last year around this time I was setting some goals for myself.  Here they are:  Goals for 2012

This is what I was able to do:

My original running goals for the coming year were:

• √Run 5k under 21:40 Ran 21:13 in March 5k
• Run the Flying Pig Half Marathon or the Cap City Half  in under 1:45 managed 1:51 (holy hills!)
• Run the Air Force 10k or Half in under 46:00/ under 1:45Ran Full marathon instead!
• Run the Columbus Half Marathon in under 1:45  wanted to run this...next year...

My realistic goals for 2012:

• √Run/Finish a 5k by March
• Run/Finish the Flying Pig 10k in May
• Run/Finish the AF 10k in a "decent" time 
• Finish Columbus Half

My more realistic goals for 2012:

• Increase flexibility in calves so they are at least 10 degrees
• √Walk a full day without any heel pain
• √Start running again
• Strength training and core
• √Spinning- don't go under 11 for resistance- bike at least 20 miles per class 

So what are my plans for 2013?

• Run 13 13.1s in 2013 
• I haven't fully committed to this since as of today, I still am working on my IT band issues.  But the year is long, and who knows? Last year I never would have imagined I would run 2 full marathons in 2012. 

• Run Cincinnati's Flying Pig 3 way- I've already signed up and this will be my "A" race for the spring.  5k and 10k on Saturday, 1/2 marathon on Sunday.  This is more of a challenge in training.  I'm looking forward to track workouts and speed training.
• Run Air Force 1/2 marathon in 1:45
• Run Columbus Full or Half in under 4:16/1:42 We'll see about the full...
• Run at least 5 ORRRC races and at least 2 with the boys.
• Try to run with Up and Running at least 2 times a month

I'm in a funk

I'm not motivated at all right now.  I haven't run more than once a week in ummm, I can't even tell you it's been so long.

 I blame my damn IT band. 

I went for a run after my last marathon and it seized up and it has been annoying as get out.  I've been following the typical remedies of rest, ice (well, a few times), foam rolling (not daily but more than before) and I had a massage as well. 

When I go for a run it feels fine for the first 2.5 miles then it starts to hurt.  If it doesn't, I get excited, then the next time I go for a run, it hurts again.  So frustrating!  It doesn't hurt unless I run.

 On top of the IT band, we had a crazy family schedule in Nov/Dec trying to squeeze in swim lessons for the boys (on different nights so we were at the rec 4 nights a week!).

Meanwhile, my running partner has been doing fine and got a treadmill, so I get daily reminders that I'm not running and she is.  She's going to be kicking my @ss this spring.  Grrr.. Not that I'm competitive or anything.

So my plan of 13 13.1s in 2013...might not happen.  :-( 

BUT- I decided on this Saturday night (yah, I know, I'm lame), to write up my training plan for the Flying Pig 3 way this spring.  I have 17 weeks before the race.  I have to get back in to shape before actually training!  

And how do you train for a 5k, 10k and a 1/2 all on the same weekend?

I decided to place my faith in good old Hal Higdon again.  I followed the intermediate 1/2 training plan before and he did a great job combining distance and speed, so I thought that would be the best plan.  Here it is:  Hal Higdon's Intermediate Half training plan.  I need to start training on Feb 10th, so I added a build up for the next few weeks.  That requires me to start running at least 3 times a week for 3 miles.  (Ugh, I hope I can!)  I'm also starting to lift now, so once the program starts I can go up to 3 sets.  Also, I want this to be my "A" race so I'm adding in the McMillan training paces to make sure I'm running my Tempos at the right speed.  Then again, maybe I'll still have IT band issues.  Grrrr. 

On top of that, my favorite spinning instructor has left, and a few others who are good are leaving for various reasons, so my go to workout is iffy.  I asked about getting certified to instruct but I'm not sure if that's a good way to go.  I don't think I'd get  a good workout and it's $295 to get certified and no guarantee I'd get the job. (although, the person in charge seemed to be enthusiastic that I wanted to do it.).  Hmm. 

What would you do?

What can I say?

My heart goes out to all the families who have lost someone precious in their lives this past Friday in Newtown, CT.  I can not imagine the pain.   RIP you sweet babies.

I did tell my boys, ages 6 and 8, since they caught me in a weak moment.  Cub was playing with his Nerf gun and I broke down and told him I didn't want to see any guns this weekend.  I'd pulled him back to his room and explained in basic terms what had happened.  I broke down and started really crying.  Then Buster popped in to the room so I had to explain to him too.  We kept the news off, and my nephew was visiting the rest of the weekend and he didn't know. I don't usually tell my kids to keep secrets, but I explained that some parents might not share the news with their children, so my boys should not bring it up. They haven't asked me any more about it and I'll address questions when/if they pop up.

Here's some information I found that might be useful to any parents out there. 

Children and Grief
Talking to children after disaster
Talking to children about death
How_to_Help_Children_Cope_with_a_Crisis


Also, Here are some places you can donate to help out the Sandy Hook community:


https://newtown.uwwesternct.org/
http://www.newtownyouthandfamilyservices.org/index.php
http://www.newtownparentconnection.org/
http://newtownmemorialfund.org/
http://www.indiegogo.com/onerepublicforsandyhook

Giving Thanks

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving.  Here at our home, we had a pretty quiet day.  We ran the local  Turkey Trot and then had my in-laws come over for Thanksgiving dinner. 

What am I thankful for:

• My amazing dear husband (dh), who is my best friend, biggest cheerleader, chief planner, laundry expert, race-watcher logistic expert, and an amazing father to our sons.
• My boys (Cub and Buster) who are sweet, caring, energetic.  They are my everything.
• Health- I'm so thankful that I can do the things I love to do and my body is not my enemy.
• My Thanksgiving dinner turned out (Vain- I know, but I'm not a cook!)
• Pinterest (found the best recipe for Cider-champagne sangria)Sangria recipe  

DH and Buster

Cub and me

Tried to get a good family pic before, Buster wasn't cooperating- find out he was sad he wasn't running the 5 mile race like his friend.

All finished!  Happy family!

 

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Race Recap

Redemption. 

I planned on running this race since I'd had a horrible race at the Air Force Marathon in September.  You can read about that here:  Air Force Marathon Recap  I'd been sick for that race and wasn't 100% and it showed.  So when my running partner wanted to do another marathon since she knew she could do better, we had the training, and we haven't injured ourselves yet that we should go for it.  She found the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on Nov 3rd.  7 weeks out from the Air Force race.  It was worth it.

We drove over on Friday, a 2 hour drive from Dayton, got ourselves settled in at the Hyatt (yards from the start line/finish line).  I'd made reservations at Buca di beppo which was close the hotel for dinner, since I wanted pasta night before the race.  I'd heard about the restaurant from former colleagues that it was fine.  It had the feel of a local Italian restaurant but I knew it was a chain, which was fine by me.  Spaghetti and meatballs were perfect. I have to say, I love Yelp and the feature of being able to make reservations from an app.

After dinner we headed off to the the Expo to grab our bibs and shirts.  We looked around the expo.  I was so good and didn't get anything.  Maybe it was because I was stuffed from all the pasta or I didn't really need anything but my wallet thanked me.  :-)  We did browse the different booths for the big races in the area for next year.  I have 13 half marathons to plan for.  See here if you're interested in the 13 13.1s in 2013 challenge.  Unfortunately, many conflicted with the Flying Pig marathon on May 4-5th.  Time for a little shopping after that at the mall nearby (can we say H&M? Yay!) then off for a nightcap a nearby bar, then off to bed. 

Race time:

Typical breakfast for me on race day, bagel and peanut butter with a half a cliff bar a bit later.  Then we packed up.  Dropped off our bags at the front desk then hung out in the lobby for another 20 minutes. Since Hyatt told me we would have a late checkout at 2 pm but when we checked in they said we couldn't.  But, we could store our bags and use the fitness room showers later.  Joy. Really, Hyatt?   No point in standing in the cold, about 35 degrees in the am, so we hung out with a bunch of runners waiting and getting more nervous.

Garmin paused when we stopped and lost satellite under a bridge 

so I'm not sure if I can use this time. 

Ok, fast forward.  Start time, great first mile or so with nice sized crowd. As my running partner said, this feels like a "real" race.  Sorry Air Force Marathon, but it was nice to have so many be people cheering you as you start off the race.  The first few miles were really crowded,  spent  time zipping around people, and got pretty warm.  I was regretting my choice clothes, since my long sleeved shirt had my number on it and so I didn't want to mess with it, ditched my gloves at least.  Once we got out of the downtown, I regretted not having them anymore.  We were going at a pretty good pace a little under 9 min per mile.  Went through the 10k in 1hr.

Around mile 10 I started to notice my knee a bit.  I tried to ignore it.  I didn't mention it to Carrie, since if it was spoken I'd notice it even more.  Passed the half marathon mark in 2:02, other than the knee feeling weird, felt great.  Then we passed through Butler University at mile 17 and that is when my knee was really not being happy.  It felt like it was going to give out every few steps.  Carrie moved ahead, which was our plan- well- to go at our own pace this time.  By mile 19,  we were out in a pretty lonely area.  I was thinking, will I be able to finish?  I've never dropped out of a race before? I can't call anyone!   Then it started sleeting hard little ice balls and it was cold.  My Garmin by now, was either off by a lot or the mile markers seemed to be off, since my watch out say it was a mile then 1/2 mile later the mile marker would be there.  Frustrating, since I wanted this to be done.

pain around 4b

The rest of the race was pretty uneventful.  I slogged through it, rain, ice and all.  I will say that my marathon mix on iphone made a difference.  It always seemed to have the right song at the right time (I'd put it on shuffle).  The last mile I ran to the Chariots of Fire theme.  It was the perfect way to end the race. 

I finished in 4:16.12.  21 minutes better than I had run at the Air Force Marathon 7 weeks earlier.  I'm totally happy with that time.  Carrie finished in amazing time of 4:04.

 Positives:

• well organized race
• (kinda)great running weather
• spi-belt worked awesome
• E-Gels by cranksports.com are amazing (no muscle cramps, lots of energy)
• PR by 21 minutes! 

Negatives:

• Hotel making us checkout early
• long drive after the race
• mile markers seemed off with my garmin
• knee pain

Overall, I'm very happy with this race.  Will I do it again?  Maybe.  That's if I do another one next year.  It was a ton of time to train for.  I could have never done it without my awesome husband who put up with all the weekends that I did my long runs, running for 3-4 hours then coming home exhausted and not wanting to do anything the rest of the day.    Now, it's time to rest up and hang out with the family!  Oh, and gear up for next year's challenge of 13 13.1s.

Injury update:  Took a week off, then attempted to run a 3 miler.  Knee acted up in the first 1/2 mile, hurting like it did in the marathon, then the IT band seized up.  Ouch!!!! I've never had IT band pain like that before- normally I just get a twinge.  I'm just so glad that it didn't happen in the race. That would have been horrible.  I'm not sure if my knee problem in the marathon was the IT band or not, since I never had pain on the side or above the knee.

Anyone dropped out of a big race before?
IT band pain?  What do you suggest?
Update:  Here's the course elevation if you are interested!

There was an area that you run under an overpass for a while and my garmin went a bit crazy- same at the end, I don't remember a hill there.

Marathon #2 training update

I've been so busy with training, soccer practices and work, I haven't had a lot of time to update.   

It's been going well.  Here was the original plan for another marathon

And here's the real training: 

Mondays had to be a rest day since both boys had soccer practice in different locations at the same time. Thursdays- I used to do spinning but decided family time is more important, Fridays- I run after work before getting the boys.   Sundays used to be my long run day but we have soccer games.

I apologize for the formating- I can't figure out what I did that makes the spacing weird with some of the weeks! 

Week 0 (right after marathon #1)

Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: spinning class (easy)

Friday: rest

Saturday: run 1.5 hrs (9 miles on trails)

Sunday: rest

 

Week: 1

Monday: spinning class

Tuesday: run 3 m

Wednesday: run 3 m

Thursday: rest

Friday: run 6 m

Saturday: rest

Sunday: run 7 m

Week: 2

Monday: rest

Tuesday: spinning class

Wednesday: run 7m

Thursday: run 3.75 m

Friday: rest

Saturday: run 14 m

Sunday: rest

						Week: 3 Monday: run 3 m Tuesday: spinning class Wednesday: run 5 m Thursday:  rest Friday: run 3 m Saturday: run 16 m Sunday: rest
						Week: 4 Monday: run 4.5 m Tuesday: spinning class Wednesday: run 5 m Thursday: rest Friday: plan on running 4 Saturday: plan on running 18 Sunday: plan on resting Week: 5 planning on doing... Monday:  3 m Tuesday: spinning class Wednesday: 7 m Thursday: rest Friday: 3 m Saturday: 10-12 m Sunday: rest Week: 6 planning on doing Monday:  run 3 Tuesday: easy at spinning class Wednesday: run 3 Thursday: rest Friday: rest (travel day to Indy) Saturday: RACE DAY Sunday:  As I said I would, I have played around with my nutrition on the run. I've decided that the e-gels from cranksports.com work for me.  I'm not sure I really like the flavors, but since the consistency is not so thick it's easy to suck them down  quickly.  Last week I tried the Cliff shots gel- yuck- I had to chew it!  No thank you! Plus I got a side stitch every time I had one.

How to train for another marathon 6 weeks after the first?

IMM, Marathon #2 in six weeks

1.  Hit the wall early in your first marathon or get sick the week or two before or both!
2.  Have a crazy running partner that signs up for another marathon 2 days after the first.
3.  Realize how disappointed you are on how you did in you 1st race, vow to do better on the next one.
4. Sign up with 7 weeks to spare for a marathon relatively close to you and during a cooler time of year
5.  Search for a training plan for a marathon in 6 weeks!
6.  Rest for about 4 days, then start with cross training, then 9 miles one week after 1st race.
7.  Foam roll like crazy.
8. Start training again!  Hal Higdon's multiple marathons plan seems to work.
9. Relax about it.  (You've already done this, now just relax and go with it!)
10.  Be smart and listen to your body.

So how am I doing on this crazy quest?  

1. disappointing finish in 26.2 √
2. partner signed up for Indy Monumental Marathon√
3. signed myself up for the Indy Monumental Marathon (or now IMM for the rest of the blog)
4. happy about the normal temps and distance from house with IMM √
5. found Hal's training plan √
6. Rested√
7. foam rolled out all the soreness√
8. training started this week ( Tues & Weds 3 miles each, Fri 6 miles, Sun 7 miles)
9. relaxing about it  (still working on this)
10. listening to my body √

So for those of you who actually are curious on how much more running I have to do... remember I have already trained 18 weeks for the first race, and 12 weeks before that for the Pig Half...so I'm going on 30 weeks of training...what's another 6 weeks? 

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
6	Rest	2 m run	3 m run	4 m run	Rest	6 m run	1-2 hours√
5	Rest	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	Rest	6 m run	12 m run
4	Rest	4 m run	6 m run	4 m run	Rest	6 m run	14 m run
3	Rest	4 m run	6 m run	4 m run	Rest	6 m run	16 m run
2	Rest	4 m run	6 m run	4 m run	Rest	6 m run	10 m run
1	Rest	2 m run	3 m run	Rest	Rest	2 m run	Marathon

 I'm hoping that will be enough, I might bump up  the mileage for the 12 -16 miles a bit more, but depends on my schedule with kiddos on the weekends.  I remember that was one of the reasons we (Carrie and I) didn't pick the Columbus marathon which is at the end of October, back when we decided on doing the Air Force marathon.

What am I going to do differently?  

• Nutrition during the race- I have always used Clff Shot Blox but I found that I didn't eat as many as I should have during the race, since they were gummies and hard to eat on the run, so I'm going to experiment with gels. One of my coworkers gave me Crank Sports e-gel to try on a long run.  Have yet to try it but I liked what I saw on their website Crank Sports 
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate before!  I drank a ton of water during the Air Force Marathon and I didn't pee until 4 pm after the race.  Yikes! 
• Rest more during training.  I tend to get 6.5 hrs a sleep a night, definitely need more.
• Take my vitamins! I don't know if I can avoid getting sick again, but here's to hoping! 
• Different socks- I had a nasty blister from socks (that I've worn on long runs before and never had problems with!- must be my callous- still dealing with Bob the blister)  

  

  Surprise! I thought my toe hurt!

  Warning, gross picture ahead!

Race Recap: Air Force Marathon

WARNING SUPER LONG POST

That. was. so. hard.  I have never had such a sucky race.  Granted, that was only the second time I've ran a marathon, but that was more difficult than anything I have ever done.  Childbirth was easier. 

Let's backtrack:  2 weeks before the marathon, I got a lovely cold.  A week later, the cold turns into a cough.  I head to the Dr and get a zpac and Hydrocodone for my cough.  I've never really taken anything stronger than Aleve, so little did I know that I'd have such a horrible reaction to Hydrocodone.  I had a terrible headache, nauseous, and light headed for about 36 hours until that stuff got out of my system.  I have never been so sick- I couldn't get out of bed, except to run the bathroom to throw up.  Yuck.  I missed basically one week of working out- even though it was taper time.

Last week, I was feeling much better, still a bit of a cough but nothing major.  I was really hoping it would be out of my system by race day.

Expo:  I went with a friend of mine from work who is just starting out running.  It was fun to help her out and guide her through the expo.  She got a great deal on a pair of "real" running shoes (as she put it).  I could see her excitement building...no doubts next year she'll be running one of the races.

Needed this for Spinning class

I managed to hold on to most of my money!  Success! I only got 2  shirts  from the "one more mile" store.  My new favorite t-shirt says:

FRONT: You know you're a runner when...
BACK:

• You can recite the dialogue from chariots of fire.
• Your vacations are planned around marathons.
• You lube up to get into your clothes to prevent chafing.
• Your friends don't call you anymore to go out on Saturday nights.
• The majority of t-shirts in your closet have sponsors and race dates on them.
• You consider gels a food group.
• You consider a half marathon a good "training" run.
• You can say fartlek without laughing.
• You buy advil and Epsom salts in bulk.
• You can correctly spell plantar fasciitis.

Ready to go! High vis outfit.

Race Day:

Carrie and I got there with plenty of time to spare.  We had time to kill in the car so we managed to get on all of our silly bands.  One of co-workers gave us this idea...take one off each mile.  I have to say, it worked.  There was something nice about flinging one off every mile.  We kept the last one though...

heading towards the start of the race

Finally headed over to the start line, there were tons of people walking around the Air Force museum in the dark/first rays of dawn.  There was a nice mist on the ground which made for a surreal setting walking past all of the static display planes on the runway outside the museum.  
As the sun came up, the energy around the start line grew.  It was fun to see all the people in all shapes and sizes ready to run the marathon or 10k (which started at the same time).  Eventually, after the opening ceremonies the B-2 flew over!  Wow!  It went right over head and it was just incredible to see it in person.  I took a recording of it on my phone but I must of deleted it some how...grrr since it wasn't there later.  Finally the canon went off-scared the crap out of me BTW and we were off.

The gory details (as much as I can remember!)
Mile 1-We had planted ourselves in between the 4:15 and 4:30 pace groups so we were with people running our pace which was nice difference from shorter races where you have to jockey for position.  We passed a group of ROTC guys (and girl) from University of Dayton running in full gear- I really hope they were running the 10k!  Totally impressive none the less!

Mile 5 and I was feeling good!

Miles 2-8 were uneventful.  Felt pretty good, quads were a bit sore, nothing I thought I needed to worry about.  DH, kiddos and my mom were at mile 5 with their cowbells. I loved the Alien themed water stop around mile 8 or 9. 

Feeling pretty good around mile 10!

Miles 9-10 were awesome!  The City of Fairborn and the Mile 10 group made it a fantastic oasis of energy.  Saw my dh and kiddos again! 

Miles 11-20 are where the wheels fell off for me.  Once we passed the craziness of Mile 10 and we were back on WPAFB it was just us.  Time to think about everything... everything that was starting to get sore.  It started with my toes, my darn callouses which sometimes hurt when running were screaming at me, and my quads were feeling tired and heavy....then it just kept getting harder and harder.  Carrie seemed to keep speeding up, but in reality I was slowing down. By mile 13 we decided to walk through the water stops so we/I could get more energy to slog through it.  Also, I kept trying to drink Gatorade and eat my Cliff Blox.  Carrie could go at my slower pace, since her legs would cramp up going so slow, so she'd run ahead then stop and wait for me. (Correct me if I'm wrong, Carrie, I swear I was in some fog/zone  of pain).

I wanted to crawl by this time, mile 22.

Darn Garmin- it was paused not stopped at finish so it took a walk back to the car, and brief drive before I stopped it

Miles 22-26.2- I actually felt a bit better once we could see the 1/2 marathoners on another part of the course, somehow, just seeing a bunch of walkers (the end of the 1/2 marathoners) lit a bit of fire under me, I wanted to crawl, but I knew I could beat some of them.  I stopped walking through parts and just kept shuffling, afraid if I stopped I wouldn't be able to start up again.  By mile 25, I was getting really annoyed and tired of the half marathoners, since they were walking and I had to zigzag around them- I didn't want to run any more than I had to at that point!   I was so excited to see the AF museum again and the looooooonnnnggggg straightway- that I swear was at least a mile- but really more like 300 meters, but once we turned the corner and had a straight shot of the finish line and got to run by all the air planes on display it was worth it.  We finished together in 4 hrs 37 mins and 25 sec.

Waiting for DH after the race.

I felt out of it/kind of sick afterwards, I just wanted shade (none around!) and salty pretzels.  I only got water, gatorade and a banana after the medal.  (They had an option of pizza- but that made me gag right after running- 20 mins later it would have been awesome- but we couldn't get back in the tent afterwards).  I would recommend giving runners a bag to put their food in, I ran out of hands, but would have liked other stuff a bit later.
Overall, the Air Force Marathon was great.  They did such a great job with everything.  The water stations/aid stations were awesome, the volunteers were so enthusiastic.  I will definitely be running this again!

I couldn't have done it with out Carrie being there for me.  She was an awesome cheerleader and I know that she felt good and probably could have done much better without me, but she stuck by me.  Thanks, Carrie!  I owe you a good marathon! 
And of course, I could have never done the training with out my super patient husband who never says a thing, as I go out for a long run or train at the Rec center.  I also think he does a great job in race photography!  Love you sweetie.

So, there it is.  My 2nd marathon, but my first in 11 years.  It was painful, but I don't regret it, in fact, we've already signed up for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on Nov 3.  I hope not to repeat my performance!

In Hal Higdon we trust

Hopefully, Hal, this is going to work! 

I can't believe theAir Force Marathon is this week.  Holy Crap!  I'm really excited and I'm scared at the same time.  I know I can do it.  I can. I have - a long time ago, but I have. 

my worries:

• never ran more then 20 miles- how am I going to do 6.2 more to run?
• I altered my training plan- with an extra day of xtraining instead of running- will I regret that?
• I'm not 100%- I have a stuffy nose and cough :-(
• not having crowd support (most of the run will be on the Air Force base)
• rain, or too much sun - most of our runs have been done before the sun got too high in the sky and hardly ever in the rain
• I didn't get my last 8 miler in. I found out Codeine and I don't get along- sick as a dog this past weekend.

On the positive side:

• I'm healthy (leg wise)
• My running buddy, Carrie, is healthy so we should be able to run it all together! 
• The weather looks decent 70s as a high 50s as a low (still 30% chance of rain)
• I'm going probably PR- I have to break 5hrs 52 mins. I ran 20 in 3 hrs 18 a few weeks ago- so...
•  I don't have crowd support on my normal runs, so really can be too bad, right?
• My mom and nephew are coming to watch, along with my dear hubby and kiddos. Yay! Family!!!  

Ok, enough for now, more to come.  Expo on Thursday, race on Saturday.

 Good luck everyone!!!!!!!

Not now!

Don't judge, we just ran 20 miles!

• 20 mile run - check
• 12 mile taper run- check
• lots of sleep- check
• GETTING A COLD A WEEK OUT FROM 26.2- check!!!!

my new BFFs

Totally panicking here.  I've gone from sore throat, to head cold, to coughing to now huge frog in my throat.  I'm hoping my dr appt will help.  I generally wouldn't care. But really? one week before my big race- not cool at all.   I figure I'll be fine to run it, it just might not be a good as it could be.  It's still a week out, and who knows, hopefully I'll be completely over it!

In other news:

• Check out my Run 13 13.1s in 2013 Challenge

• Buster and Cub ran a kids cross country race at our local high school.  They had a 1000 m XC race for kids in 4th grade or younger.  Cub was cool with it but Buster was a bit nervous and almost backed out last minute but wise words from the big brother convinced him it was going to be ok.  He's always watched Cub run in little races but he's never had a chance to do it.  

I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Buster and Cub with Weebee

Cub getting starting instructions

Surprise! Cub in the lead!

Surprise- little guy, is 4th!

Water and ribbons at the end!

love this shot of Buster

I did it!

13 13.1s in 2013 Challenge

 

Random thought in the shower tonight about next year's running goals- yes- I'm aware that is only the beginning of September.  My marathon is next week and I know that I'll be at a loss to what to train for after.  So here is my idea:

  Run 13  half marathons in 2013  

Right now I'm thinking that here in Ohio the majority of the halves are in the early Spring or Fall. I thought about doing a 1/2 a month but realized that finding a race close by in Jan/Feb would be pretty tough to do.  

So, I am wondering...is anyone else up for the challenge?  Take a look and see if there are any half marathons in your neck of the woods.  Find a race 

Please let me know what you think!  My initial idea is that we can do a check in and if you'd like to do a race recap or link to your blog that would be cool too.  There is plenty of time to work out how it will work.  

If you're interested, please think about following me (not required) and/or comment with any suggestions.  Any links back to my page would also be appreciated!!  

***EDITED***  Here's the link to sign up for the challenge  13 13.1s in 2013 Challenge

Where did my time go?!

I can't believe I haven't updated in so long!  I guess heading back to work, kids starting back to school, soccer season for the boys and oh, marathon training, has kept me pretty busy!!!!


Getting back into the routine of school and soccer season has messed a little with my training schedule.  I've been enjoying (even if I'm not a morning person) running in the AM before the heat.  Now that I'm back to work, I can't do it.  I have to leave my house at 7am and I hate getting up at 5:30 so that I'm out the door on time.  I can't imagine getting up even earlier.  So that leaves me running after work and before I pick up the boys from school, which means 3 o'clock runs in August.  Ugh.  Thank goodness,I'm nearing the end of the marathon training tunnel.  My mid week runs are now on the short side (5 miles max).  Also, soccer season is among us, and both boys now have soccer on Monday nights.  Buster from 5:30-6:30, Cub from 6-7:30 and in different parts of the city.  Monday nights were my favorite spinning class. Boo.  I'll be back in 8 weeks everyone! 

Marathon training is going well. (knocking on wood). 

 2 weeks ago, I ran 19 miles with my running partner. Our only problem on the run, was a creeper who followed us in his car for about a mile.  He kept turning around in driveways to keep driving past us.  We were on a a pretty busy road, 6:30 am, on a Friday.  Really, dude, don't you have a job or something?  Anyways, we noticed him.  We were going towards a busy area so we popped in a BP station and stayed inside for a while.  He actually parked at a pump, facing the building, and waited in his car for us.  (He never got out of his car to pump gas) We told the worker that we were going to  hangout in there for awhile.  We tried to get his plate from inside the building but he must have noticed that we were watching him and trying to get his plate, so he took off.  We were debating calling the police...but we figured he hadn't actually done anything.  We ran the rest of long run without incident but we definitely had a good talk on what we would do if we saw him again. 
What would you have done?

Chevrun skirt

 Last week, for our long run (12 miles) we decided to run the Little Miami Half marathon, in Morrow, OH.  It was a perfect day for a run, 50ish degrees at start time.  It was a bit crowded in the beginning (begin on a bike path also made it challenging - no passing space) so we upped our pace from 9:30 training pace to 8:30 pace.  Near the end I was done, but Carrie thought she could PR so I told her to go for it.  I had nothing in the tank at the end.  We're just too competitive to run a race as an actually training run.  Official time:  1:52:43 or an 8:36 ave pace.  My Garmin had me at 1:51:51 or 8:34 ave pace. Oh, we tested out our new running skirts for THE RACE.   I loved it and we got tons of complements!

This week, well, tomorrow, we're doing our last long run before the marathon.
 20 miles.  Gulp.  I'm actually ready to get it done.  This is a super busy weekend for us:  My dad and stepmom are visiting, my hubby is out of town, 20 miles to run, and a soccer game right after.   At least the grocery shopping and laundry is done! 

Injury update:  Hip has been feeling fine.  Stretching it has done the trick.  WooYoo! :-)

marathon training, hips, and 3 way

Air Force Training Week 12

Yes, that actually is Pitbull.

Monday- Spinning- tired from the weekend festivities (although Pitbull's concert was lots of fun!- nothing like a road trip with girlfriends!)

Tuesday- 5 miles

Wednesday- 8 miles

Thursday- Spinning

Friday-rest

Saturday- 6 on the trails with Carrie, then 4 more when I got home.  I realized after I sync'd my Garmin that I'd run 496 miles so decided to do another 4 for a nice even 500 miles.  My goal since I got my Garmin was to run 1000 miles in a year (starting in the beginning of Feb.) 

Sunday- rest 

Training Week 13

Monday-spinning (tired again- maybe it's the instructor- he's killer)

Tuesday- 5 miles

The rest is the plan for the week:

Wednesday- 5

Thursday-rest (PT- more on that down below)

Friday- 19 miles! (gulp!)

Saturday- rest/spinning?

Sunday- rest 

Then next week- I go back to work.  Boo.  No, I'm just going to miss running in the am, instead it will be right after work in the blazing heat. 

Injuries...boo.

 So the last few weeks, my hip/glute area has been super tight.  Last week, after one of my runs, I'd gone into work (to get ready) and I could hardly walk up the stairs.  I was ok if I was going downstairs or if I walked on flat surface. When I run, it hurts a bit but gets better after I've been running for awhile.  I decided to get an appointment with a sports doc, to make sure that I wasn't doing damage by continuing to run.  No need for a repeat performance of last year.  

So pretty much, my butt hurts.

They wanted to do an x-ray since my mileage was pretty high.  They ruled out a stress fracture in the hip area.  Thank goodness that was negative.   I would have freaked out.  Doc thinks it's just the IT band.  I'll be heading to PT to learn more IT band stretches.  joy. oh joy.  Hoping this will go away soon.  Also, hoping that the massage I have planned for today is going to help.  
Edit:  Massage therapist worked my leg and didn't find any tightness in my IB band at all.  But my upper hamstring had a gap and knot- which she worked on.  I had hope that that would be it, but it still hurts today (one day later).  Hoping one day more day off and then run this 19 miles.  Grrrr.  

In other news, just signed up for another 1/2 mary (Edit: regretting this already)- this one is going to be instead of a training run.  It's down in Morrow, OH.  I did it last year, it was flat (good for my hip) and out and back on a bike trail.  Here's the race recap Little Miami 10k

Oh- very cool news from the Flying Pig marathon for next year.  They are going to have multi-race competition.  The 3 way is going to be the 5k, 10k on Saturday, 13.1 on Sunday.  The 4 way will be 5k, 10k on Sat. with 26.2 on Sunday.  I think we're going to do the 3 way.  It should be fun to train for, since you'll need mileage and speed workouts.  I'm signing up early.  

Check it out:  http://www.facebook.com/flyingpigmarathon