Last weekend I ran with a group of complete strangers for a nice 10 mile run.
Actually I knew one guy from a Facebook group and I met him briefly at a race back in August, so I guess technically he wasn't a total stranger, but I still didn't know if he'd chop me up into a million pieces in the middle of the woods. But seriously, these were some really nice people and good runners.
I was on the fence about running with the group since I didn't know any of them. I didn't know what kind of pace they would run. I needed to get in 10 miles and I was worried that I would try to hang and then end up crashing in the later miles. I was worried about trying to keep conversation and avoid the awkward silence that can come when running, especially with new people.
I woke up without my alarm Saturday morning and figured this was a sign that I needed to go run with the group. I quickly got dressed, ate some oatmeal, kissed the hubby bye and rushed out the door. I message the group leader and said that I was in and on my way.
It was a little chilly at 55 degrees and spitting rain. Perfect running weather in my book. As long as you kept moving it felt good. As soon was we finished I was freezing. Not knowing exactly what the run would entail I packed my Camelbak full of water and more than enough gels and chews to last me on a 10 mile run.
We met up at 8:00 am Saturday morning at a State Park. There was a group of 7 of us. 3 guys, 3 other girls plus myself and one dog. Some in the group needed to do 15 mile and other wanted to do about 10 so we chose a 5 mile loop run. The trails at the park are well marked, a little technical and mostly single track. I love running on trails. It keeps my mind busy looking ahead on the trail and focusing on where to step next. Running on the roads is mindless and tedious. It serves it purpose and I run on the road a lot but mainly to save time and for the convenience factor. The pace was easy, even on the slow side for me. But it felt good. We stopped periodically to let some of the slower runners catch back up with the group any time the trail split to make sure we stayed together as a group. After the first loop the guys wanted to drop the hammer and push the pace so they took off and I stayed with the other girls for another 5 mile loop. Around mile 8 we came to a really LONG hill. The hill wasn't very steep, it just seemed to go on forever. Probably close to a 1/2 mile. Since we were running a loop, we had already faced this hill once so we knew what we were in for. As we approached the hill the girl I was running with, said "Let's run all the way to the top. No stopping, no walking." I was in. I like a challenge. I am competitive. More so with other people than I am with myself. My legs were on fire, my chest was burning, my knees hurt but I would not quit. I'd look over and see her still pushing right beside me and I'd keep pushing too. We finally made it to the top and it felt great! We finished the last 2 miles with negative splits. The adrenaline rush you get from conquering something difficult. We ran 10 miles in 1:57. But it felt like nothing. It felt easy. I like that kind of running!
This group run brought 2 things to my attention.
1. I like running with other people. I need someone to hold me accountable. I would love to have a training partner to do track workouts and speed work with. Someone to keep me company on long runs. I need someone to push me. Keep me from quitting when it gets hard. So I am on a search for just that. I have some good leads on a CrossFit gym with a running endurance team, and another local running group. We'll see if its a good fit and how it turns out.
2. I want to run an Ultra Marathon. Next year. Most of the group that I ran with on Saturday are Ultra marathoner. 50 and 100 mile races. Crazy right? As we ran, they talked about different races they've done and they made it sound fun and doable. So I think I'm gonna skip right over the normal 26.2 and do a 50K (31 miles) next year.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Just one of those kinda days
I took Monday off to rest and spend the day with my girls since I was off of work and they were out of school. On Tuesday I was ready to get back to it. I packed a bag and made plans to stop at a local park on my way home from work to get in some time on the trails. I love trail running, but with the time change happening soon, I fear my time of the trails are limited. But as luck with have it, as I'm getting ready to change before leaving work I realized that I left my sports bra at home. My girls are not big by no means, but I have too much up top to be running unrestrained. So running at the park was a no go. Instead I head home to change and I'm stuck running the streets around my neighborhood. Boo!
I set out on my run and I feel sluggish, I felt tight and a little sore. I felt like I was having to push my self, but I felt really slow. Then my Garmin beeps and I look down at my mile split. 8:06. What?!? I felt way slower than that. But I kept pushing along, hoping that at some point I would start to enjoy this run. The weather was fantastic. Overcast, 68 degrees, and little bit of wind, just enough to cool you off. By time my watched beeped again I was at 8:09. I still couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe I could be going so fast but felt so slow. Mile 3 was even tougher. I came to the big hill out on the dirt road. It's not a real steep hill, but it seems to go on forever. So that mile pace dropped off a bit at 8:31. Surprisingly, in mile 4 mile my legs started loosen up and bit and I felt good. However that feeling was too good to be true. While I ran mile 4 at 8:02, I started to fall apart after that. I'm really not sure what happened, but my right foot seemed to stop communicating with the rest of my leg. Despite over concentrating on making my foot hit the pavement and going heel to toe, my foot just kept landing flat-footed and I felt like it was just flopping around. It was the most bizarre thing. My arch in the right foot started to tighten up and started to get a little painful. Then I started to panic. I spent way too much time (not to mention money) in physical therapy to help with plantar fasciitis for it to come back now. Luckily, I was only about a half a mile from home and it was all down hill. As soon as my watch beeped and a hit mile 5 I stopped. I usually will kick it into the driveway even if I'm over my mile goal. But not today. I had to make the pain stop. I limped back to the house. Immediately took my shoes off and started icing my foot. I iced my arches, the top of my foot, my ankles, and all the way up my shin and even my knee. Too much ice never hurt anybody and I had no idea what happened out there on my run, so I was playing it safe. Today my arch is a little tender, but my foot in general seems fine.
On another note, my run was filled some of the most interesting smells. Some good, some bad and some very bad. I passed a cow pasture, which smelled lovely. Then someone grilling out dinner. I love the smell of a charcoal grill, especially when it has food on it. Then a few rotting road-kills. But the worst offender was the garbage truck that I got behind. They would be a little a head and stop for a pick-up, I would catch up to the truck and then they would pull ahead to another house for pick-up. This went on for probably a mile. It was horrible.
Now if I had not forgotten my sports bra I wouldn't have to face any funky smells.
But sometimes you just have one of those day.
I set out on my run and I feel sluggish, I felt tight and a little sore. I felt like I was having to push my self, but I felt really slow. Then my Garmin beeps and I look down at my mile split. 8:06. What?!? I felt way slower than that. But I kept pushing along, hoping that at some point I would start to enjoy this run. The weather was fantastic. Overcast, 68 degrees, and little bit of wind, just enough to cool you off. By time my watched beeped again I was at 8:09. I still couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe I could be going so fast but felt so slow. Mile 3 was even tougher. I came to the big hill out on the dirt road. It's not a real steep hill, but it seems to go on forever. So that mile pace dropped off a bit at 8:31. Surprisingly, in mile 4 mile my legs started loosen up and bit and I felt good. However that feeling was too good to be true. While I ran mile 4 at 8:02, I started to fall apart after that. I'm really not sure what happened, but my right foot seemed to stop communicating with the rest of my leg. Despite over concentrating on making my foot hit the pavement and going heel to toe, my foot just kept landing flat-footed and I felt like it was just flopping around. It was the most bizarre thing. My arch in the right foot started to tighten up and started to get a little painful. Then I started to panic. I spent way too much time (not to mention money) in physical therapy to help with plantar fasciitis for it to come back now. Luckily, I was only about a half a mile from home and it was all down hill. As soon as my watch beeped and a hit mile 5 I stopped. I usually will kick it into the driveway even if I'm over my mile goal. But not today. I had to make the pain stop. I limped back to the house. Immediately took my shoes off and started icing my foot. I iced my arches, the top of my foot, my ankles, and all the way up my shin and even my knee. Too much ice never hurt anybody and I had no idea what happened out there on my run, so I was playing it safe. Today my arch is a little tender, but my foot in general seems fine.
On another note, my run was filled some of the most interesting smells. Some good, some bad and some very bad. I passed a cow pasture, which smelled lovely. Then someone grilling out dinner. I love the smell of a charcoal grill, especially when it has food on it. Then a few rotting road-kills. But the worst offender was the garbage truck that I got behind. They would be a little a head and stop for a pick-up, I would catch up to the truck and then they would pull ahead to another house for pick-up. This went on for probably a mile. It was horrible.
Now if I had not forgotten my sports bra I wouldn't have to face any funky smells.
But sometimes you just have one of those day.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Merrell Down & Dirty Recap
I drug the whole family plus my mom out to Conyers, GA so I could run the Down & Dirty Mud Run on Sunday. I was signed up for the 10K which started at 8:30. They also had several waves for the 5K starting at 9:00. I typically like to get to my races an hour early so I can check-in, take care of business, warm up and catch-up with friends and fellow runners. When you take the entire family things do not go as planned. Getting the family up and out the door at 5:30 on Sunday proved to be a lot harder than I planned. I packed the car with blankets, chairs, the cooler, extra clothes all the night before to help make the morning a smooth as possible. Smooth did not happen. We left late. We forgot to stop at the ATM cause you never know if these remote races will have cell or internet service for credit cards. We got caught in traffic, at 6:30 on a Sunday morning, can you believe it? Luckily we had VIP parking, so we were able to park a little closer than most participants. As soon as my husband threw it in park I hopped out of the car, grabbed my bag and took off running for packet pick-up. At least I didn't have to warm-up now. After I picked up my packet, I stopped by the porta-potty's, now with 10 minutes to spare, I felt like I could breath.
I made my way to the starting corrals and quickly found some familiar faces. I positioned myself in the 1st start wave along with the rest of my friends. After the national anthem the gun went off with Military and First Responders in the very first wave. A few moments later our wave was off.
The race was rather nice. Lots of running as you might assume with it being a longer race. There were lots of grassy fields, and dirt paths. Very few single track and technical trails which are my favorite. The course was not too difficult, some hills, but not very steep. The obstacles in my opinion, lacking. Nothing difficult or challenging in any way. Two inflatable slides, several sets of short walls, a balance beam, a tunnel to crawl through, tires.
The only somewhat original obstacle was the "Monster" (I think that's what I heard the volunteer call it). It was a vertical cargo climb across a horizontal cargo net to another vertical cargo climb across another horizontal and now down vertical. While not a challenge, it was something different.
In the last 200 yards of the races they had the "gauntlet" of obstacles, a 10 foot rock climbing wall, to a slippery wall that you could only use your arms for. This kind of threw me off for a second cause every slippery wall I've ever done you use your feet and arms to climb up, but the volunteer at the top kept yelling at me to get on my belly and just use my arms.
Once over the wall, it was the mud pit. If you want to call it that. It was black mulch watered down. Here in Georgia I am use to red Georgia clay, but this was black and chunky. Then the glorious finish line.
My time, 1:01:51. I finished 1st in my age group. Which won me $110 in Merrell merchandise. Very cool.
The showers were great. Lots of water hoses with sprayers attached to them. There was even tables with shampoo for you to use. (The benefits of having Paul Mitchell as a sponsor.) A changing tent with tables and chairs inside. After I cleaned up I found my way to the food tent that I somehow missed at the finish line. There were oranges, cookies, muffins, trail mix and of course water.
The atmosphere was great in the festival area. There were tons on sponsor tents set up that allowed you to get samples, free swag or other fun activities for the kids. I left with tons of new flavors of Larabars, some bright orange sunglasses, shampoo, and a Subaru bag.
So the whole reason I drug the whole family out so early in the morning was so the girls could run too. They have been bugging me to let them run "one of those races" with me. For many different reasons, it just never worked out. But Sunday, the star aligned and the girls were able to come with me and run the Kid's Adventure Race.
They had a blast running their first race. I'm pretty sure they are hooked. Madilyn hasn't taken her medal off since Sunday. She even wore it to school today.
Overall, I had a good time at Down & Dirty Mud Run. It was a well organized race, a fun family event. It had everything I could have wanted in an event. It would make a great first mud run to get your feet wet. If you're looking for a challenge, this is definitely not the race. I'll probably be back next year when the Down & Dirty come back to town. I'm a sucker for a good mud run!
I made my way to the starting corrals and quickly found some familiar faces. I positioned myself in the 1st start wave along with the rest of my friends. After the national anthem the gun went off with Military and First Responders in the very first wave. A few moments later our wave was off.
The race was rather nice. Lots of running as you might assume with it being a longer race. There were lots of grassy fields, and dirt paths. Very few single track and technical trails which are my favorite. The course was not too difficult, some hills, but not very steep. The obstacles in my opinion, lacking. Nothing difficult or challenging in any way. Two inflatable slides, several sets of short walls, a balance beam, a tunnel to crawl through, tires. The only somewhat original obstacle was the "Monster" (I think that's what I heard the volunteer call it). It was a vertical cargo climb across a horizontal cargo net to another vertical cargo climb across another horizontal and now down vertical. While not a challenge, it was something different.
In the last 200 yards of the races they had the "gauntlet" of obstacles, a 10 foot rock climbing wall, to a slippery wall that you could only use your arms for. This kind of threw me off for a second cause every slippery wall I've ever done you use your feet and arms to climb up, but the volunteer at the top kept yelling at me to get on my belly and just use my arms.
My time, 1:01:51. I finished 1st in my age group. Which won me $110 in Merrell merchandise. Very cool.
 |
| Teammate Shenoa with our 1st place medals |
The atmosphere was great in the festival area. There were tons on sponsor tents set up that allowed you to get samples, free swag or other fun activities for the kids. I left with tons of new flavors of Larabars, some bright orange sunglasses, shampoo, and a Subaru bag.
So the whole reason I drug the whole family out so early in the morning was so the girls could run too. They have been bugging me to let them run "one of those races" with me. For many different reasons, it just never worked out. But Sunday, the star aligned and the girls were able to come with me and run the Kid's Adventure Race.
Overall, I had a good time at Down & Dirty Mud Run. It was a well organized race, a fun family event. It had everything I could have wanted in an event. It would make a great first mud run to get your feet wet. If you're looking for a challenge, this is definitely not the race. I'll probably be back next year when the Down & Dirty come back to town. I'm a sucker for a good mud run!
Friday, October 11, 2013
M.I.A.
Yes, I've been Missing In Action for a while now.
I have a ton of excuses as to why I stopped blogging.
Work got really busy.
The kids softball schedule was hectic.
I was running and training pretty hardcore.
I got injured. And went through PT.
I was disappointed that no one even read my blogs, so why write.
The list is endless.
I really did miss putting my thoughts downon paper on the computer. Regardless of who read this, or who doesn't. I can make sense of my thoughts, actions and future goals if they are written out. So for those lucky few that do read this, then congratulations; you get insight into my crazy life.
So, to catch you up real quick on what's been going on the last 7 or so months.
I've ran a lot of races. More than my husband would have liked. I was super nervous going into the race season starting with the Spartan Sprint back in March, but I killed it at that race and it was on like Donkey Kong from that point. I've had a lot of success in my first year doing Obstacle Course Races (OCR's). I finished 3rd in a lot of races, always 3rd. I got picked up to run on a sponsored competitive team with Obstacle Racing Media. I injured my knee in May/June and had a flare up of plantar fasciitis. I finally broke down and went to the Dr. who promptly ordered 6 weeks on physical therapy. The racing year is not over yet, I have a few more races, including The Spartan Beast in South Carolina next month to earn my Trifecta.
The girls continued to play softball through the spring on their teams. The Warriors went undefeated and the Jr. Aces lost only one game all season, but both teams come home with the Championship Trophy at the End of Season Tournament. Madilyn continued on and played tournaments all summer with the Warriors. We took some much needed time off from softball this fall to re-connect with the family.
And the main reason we needed time to re-connect is that my step-son Andrew has come to live with us full-time. It's been a blessing but a challenge. Having a boy in the house is something totally new to me. He keeps me on my toes with all his little antics that I never in a million years would have expected from 2 girls. I mean, never would girls lick the walls in my house or poop in the front yard.
I hope to keep my writing a little more frequent. I can't promise everyday. (I honestly don't see how some of these bloggers can write everyday, have a full time job and be a mom. WOW!) But I will be better.
Here's to more writing and more blogs.
Have a great weekend everybody!
I have a ton of excuses as to why I stopped blogging.
Work got really busy.
The kids softball schedule was hectic.
I was running and training pretty hardcore.
I got injured. And went through PT.
I was disappointed that no one even read my blogs, so why write.
The list is endless.
I really did miss putting my thoughts down
So, to catch you up real quick on what's been going on the last 7 or so months.
I've ran a lot of races. More than my husband would have liked. I was super nervous going into the race season starting with the Spartan Sprint back in March, but I killed it at that race and it was on like Donkey Kong from that point. I've had a lot of success in my first year doing Obstacle Course Races (OCR's). I finished 3rd in a lot of races, always 3rd. I got picked up to run on a sponsored competitive team with Obstacle Racing Media. I injured my knee in May/June and had a flare up of plantar fasciitis. I finally broke down and went to the Dr. who promptly ordered 6 weeks on physical therapy. The racing year is not over yet, I have a few more races, including The Spartan Beast in South Carolina next month to earn my Trifecta.
The girls continued to play softball through the spring on their teams. The Warriors went undefeated and the Jr. Aces lost only one game all season, but both teams come home with the Championship Trophy at the End of Season Tournament. Madilyn continued on and played tournaments all summer with the Warriors. We took some much needed time off from softball this fall to re-connect with the family.
And the main reason we needed time to re-connect is that my step-son Andrew has come to live with us full-time. It's been a blessing but a challenge. Having a boy in the house is something totally new to me. He keeps me on my toes with all his little antics that I never in a million years would have expected from 2 girls. I mean, never would girls lick the walls in my house or poop in the front yard.
I hope to keep my writing a little more frequent. I can't promise everyday. (I honestly don't see how some of these bloggers can write everyday, have a full time job and be a mom. WOW!) But I will be better.
Here's to more writing and more blogs.
Have a great weekend everybody!
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Bucket List
So after reading about Heather's 40 by 40 list this morning, I felt like such a follower and decided to create my own Bucket List.
I've always thought Bucket List's was so clique, but deep down I like the idea of having goals and crossing them off. I know a lot of my Bucket List ideas will probably never happen. Unless I win the lottery or I have a rich uncle that I don't know about and I get left a sizable inheritance. So here you go...
I can say that I have crossed a few very cool, Bucket List items off my list recently.
What kind of things are on your Bucket List?
I've always thought Bucket List's was so clique, but deep down I like the idea of having goals and crossing them off. I know a lot of my Bucket List ideas will probably never happen. Unless I win the lottery or I have a rich uncle that I don't know about and I get left a sizable inheritance. So here you go...
- Run a Full Marathon
- Graduate from college
- Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
- Visit France and see the Eiffel Tower
- Learn to surf, preferably somewhere in the Pacific where they have real waves.
- See the Northern Lights
- Skydive
- Run the Boston Marathon
- Complete a triathlon, maybe even a big one like The Half Ironman. All 70.3 miles.
- Visit all 50 states
- See a baseball game at Fenway and Wrigley Field
- Learn to play the guitar
- Visit New York City, Manhattan. And do all the touristy things like see a Broadway play, ice skate at Rockefeller Center, go to the top of the Empire State Building.
- Run an Ultra trail Marathon - either 50 or 100 mile would be okay with me.
- Scuba Dive - preferably somewhere tropical with beautiful coral reefs
- Go Zip lining
- Go to the Olympics, as a spectator of course. I missed my chance in 1996 when the Olympics was right here in my backyard, but I was only 14 then and could have cared less.
- Ride a motorcycle on the road, like in the mountains during the fall. Riding our dirt bikes in the yard doesn't really count.
- Learn to make really good buttermilk biscuits
- Visit London. See Big Ben and the London Bridge.
- Walk on the Great Wall of China
I can say that I have crossed a few very cool, Bucket List items off my list recently.
Swim with dolphinsPaddleboard in the Ocean.Technically it was the Gulf of Mexico.Participate in a Color Run
What kind of things are on your Bucket List?
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