Dirty Dog 10K Trail Run

On Saturday I ran in my third Dirty Dog Trail Run. This year unlike the past two years, the weather was not in the single digits (or negative with the windchill), but a balmy 30 degrees! Actually with the wind coming off the lake, I was still cold I must admit!!!

Three carloads of us met in Parkman and headed down to the run. Upon arrival we picked up our packets. Bob got a $20 gift card to Dicks and several others got random give-aways. That particular race stuffs goodies in the bags at random and does not do awards at the end. Something different that I can imagine some people appreciate...at least we don't have to wait around after the event in the cold waiting for awards!

So after picking up our stuff we headed to the car to stay warm before the start. As we lined up on the icy parking lot we were told that it was slick and to be careful. Yet with the start I saw a couple people go down before we journeyed onto the single track trail in the woods.

I started out a little faster than I had planned to go. I had been planning on treating it as a fun run, but I charged out like bull into the arena. As we ran through the woods I found that even though the snow was not deep, the icy uneven footing was really slowing me down and make me work harder than I felt like I wanted to do.

The course offers some gorgeous views of Mosquito lake where the ice fishers were out as usual. I did manage to catch a stabbing to my calf from some evil little stick...okay so it was more of a scratch, but it still hurt! As we journeyed on to the road section, even with the ice I found it to be the only time I could remotely get into a rhthym. As we encountered the long stretch next to the Route 46 where we would run through the brushy field I slowed down. I was trying to be careful of my footing and spending way too much time trying to keep my feet dry. Right before the end of this section my friend Bob caught me and I was happy to have a friendly face to run with. As we headed up the grassy hill and back down the the water stop, I was relieved to be past the worst of the footing. As we entered back into the woods we encountered a road with a slight uphill grade for some ways. Though it was uphill, I was feeling better as I finally was not jockeying so hard for foot positioning.

On the last bit of single track I was actually starting to get a nice second wind and as Bob and I came around a developement, I started picking up the pace a bit as I knew the end was near. About the half way point I had soaked my foot and from that point on I quit trying to avoid the water. That was a good thing as there was plenty of it the last mile or so.

As we hit the finish line, Bob and I finished in 50:38, which is about 5 minutes better than last year. Granted the course was changed and the snow was not deep, but I think we also ran it better. While I was not thrilled with the time, I reminded myself I was trying to run it as a fun run and I actually had managed to come in as the Overall First Female finisher!

The best part of races I have found is being done. I congratulated Bob's brother Bill who finished about 3.5 minutes ahead of us as we munched some cookies and waited for all our other pals to finish.

We had intended to all go out to breakfast in Parkman afterwards but the restaurant was closed. So we headed up the street to Middlefield to Mary Yoders for some good ole fashioned Amish cooking (which definitely trumped what I would have ate in Parkman) and then me and my full belly headed home for a lazy afternoon!

The insatiable hunger!

This AM hit the gym for 5 Miles on the treadmill with E. I was starving and after a quick shower I made it to the office to have my normal, a bowl of Kashi Go Lean Cereal, the natural sweetened muligrain clusters kind, with some organic milk. That was gone by 8:30.

By 10:30 I was hungry again so I my daily snack stand-by, some 1% lowfat cottage cheese and an apple. I usually try to have some protein and some carbs.

Then 12:00 came and I was already a bit hungry, but it was not lunch time, but time for hard bodies class.

There we are working out and this smell starting to permeate the room. Some sort of fine smelling food was starting to overwhelm us as we worked out.

The funny thing was all of us seemed to have our own idea as to what it was. The instructor thought it was a turkey club, one girl said beef, I thought for sure it had to be pizza.

All normal people are out stuffin their face with delicious food on their LUNCH breaks and here I am just working out, starving to death and just smelling it...waaa!

So with mouths drooling we continued our workout. Thank goodness the smell went away or maybe we just got used to it. Yet, my hunger did not.

I returned to the office for lunch just after 1:30 to make my normal Cambell's Select Soup. You see this is my lunch everyday as it is cheap and easy plus it satisfies the protain and carb criteria. For the last several months my way of breaking up the monotony of it all is switching back and forth between chicken noodle and vegetable. Both are around 200 calories and 2 grams of fat.

This week the store was out of vegetable. So goes my "variety" for the week.

After my 4th day in a row of eating chicken noodle soup in a row and smelling that yummy unknown food, lunch did not do it for me AT ALL! I am still starving. It is about time for another afternoon snack...maybe more cottage cheese and an apple. Thank goodness my dinners are not so boring!

Mad Monday Update 1/18

Ok so I am late again, but ya know how the saying goes! Better late than never!

M 1/21 - 4 miles treadmill at home
T 1/22 - 3 miles treadmill AM (23:45~increasing 1 min intervals 6.5 up to 8.5)
500 M Swim
45 minute kickboxing class at lunch
W 1/23 - 46 min easy run AM with E's (~4.5 miles)
2 miles easy on treadmill (~18 min), Upper Body Weight Workout
R 1/24 - 1100 M Swim AM
60 Min Hard Bodies Class at lunch
F 1/25 - 750 M Swim
S 1/26 - 50 K Winter Buckeye Run

Weekly Totals---------------

Swim 1.5 Miles
Bike 0
Run 44.5 Miles
Weighting Training - 2 sessions

Winter Buckeye 50K Report

Friday night I spent the evening carb loading at Jimmy Dadonna's in Solon with my family. Tons of penne pasta, marinara, and of course their garlic dough balls!

Thankfully I got a good night of sleep and popped up ready to go Saturday morning. As I put my waist camelback on I had the realization that I must not have shut the lid properly as water went everywhere. I was not even running but had a damp right foot. Thankfully I was more than prepared. I chucked the camelback in a bag and grabbed my water bottle belt and threw some nutrition in the back.

The morning seemed a bit warmer than I expected and I said hi to all the local trail friends I have come to know over the training and lined up ready to go. Shortly after 7, Tanya blew the whistle and we were off. Marathoners and 50 K runners out toward the Brandywine loop (approx 5 miles) and half marathoners headed toward the Pine Lane Loop (approx 8 miles). By the end of the day I would run the Brandwine loop 3 times and the Pine Lane Loop 2 times for the approximate total of 31 miles.

Thankfully with the snow and the coming sunrise, lights were not needed. Elizabeth, Amie and I started down the towpath and the talking started immediately! As we started up the first big hill we started walking. It still feels strange to get these breaks when a run is just starting, but I won't say they bother me!

Conditions on the whole were pretty good. There was a nice base of snow and ice which was not deep (thank goodness) and obviously there was no mud to contend with. The only bummer was that we could not do the river crossing on the Brandywine loop due to icy conditions. Being that I have already fell on that crossing before in icy conditions, I can totally understand why.

The first loop went by relatively quick and in that time I had worked up quite a sweat. I pitched the jacket and decided I also did not feel like carrying my water bottle as I figured I would just drink at the aid stations which were never more than 4 miles apart.

We were in good spirits and Mr. Skin thought he would be funny guy and pass us so he could say he was ahead of us...he actually remained ahead for much of the course as we took our time at the stops.

On the first trip through Boston store I had some water and caught up with my girls Beth and Melissa while A hit the RR (her first trip of many!). Beth got the line of the day as I stood around chatting and she looked at me and said, "so ughh Janet, you realize you still have a marathon to run."

E and I took off at an easy pace waiting for A to catch up. With shedding my coat and all my sweat, I needed to get running as the cold seems to catch up to me fast when I stop for a bit. We chatted along and as usual I had a little stumble which my hands hit the ground and like a sprinter I was off as if nothing had happened. So we will call that my only half fall for the day!

Upon hitting Pine Lane I hit the restroom and grabbed a half a PBJ and some water. The PBJ hit the spot!! And then A caught back to us and the us three amigas were back off again!



A had took a fall into the creek crossing and was all wet. I would later see someone almost go down just as she said she did. I particularily enjoyed the out and back nature of the course and passing everyone multiple times. It is good to see friends and also you always can tell where you are.

The course is quite hilly, some areas with steps. A few trees had come down and there was one in particular which was quite huge and on my way back from Pine Lane back to Boston store, I went to lift my right leg up over the top top and thought I had pulled my groin right there. With a few steps all was fine, but I vowed I was not about to tackle it the same way the next time through.

As we hit Boston store I chatted with the MT and BH for awhile over some blue Rockstar that I had brought. YUM!! We even took a pause for a picture. E assisted the male leader with a bandaid for a bad blister.


As we headed off toward Brandywine all things were going smoothly. It was fun watching the half marathoners finish strong (Good job Monica and Eric!)! Yet we had some quite aways to go!

As we looped back I chatted with BM from teampr for awhile and before I knew it, I was back at Boston store. After some more Rockstar, E & I started walking, waiting for A to catch up after another pitstop. I decided I was going to go ahead and start running.

I had saw Mr Skin up the way and figured I would go bug him for a bit. After catching up to him we chatted for a moment and then I just fell into my own pace. Once I hit the Pine Lane stop, I hung around a bit munching on some pretzels and decided I would have some coke too. I should note I have more trouble than anyone I know with my stomach and bathroom issues, but the whole day I just ate whatever I felt like, not my normal gels and cliff blocks. Yet, I felt great the whole time and did not even have to go to the bathroom except for #1 the whole time. I guess the ultra slower pace is a whole lot kinder to my stomach than my normal pace!

After a bit, I decided I would just start my way back on my own. I thought I would not enjoy running this by myself at all but for some reason at this point I did not mind. It is just so pretty and I was dialed in to the ground ahead of me. Sometimes my mind would wander and I would think, "geez I've already ran like 22 miles and still have 9 to go." I would try to shake that off and think just one more loop left. I was feeling fine and just kept a nice steady pace. All of a sudden I heard breathing behind me and a female passed me. She went on to win the race for the females. I knew she was tough as I watched her in the distance still runnning up some big hills.

I had gotten behind one guy and the two of us chatted the next few miles with a stop at Boston store. The Brandwine loop always seemed to go by fast and I knew the way back was mostly downhill so I was plodding along just fine. I was enjoying watching the finishers come down the other direction like Lloyd who passed with a smiile. As we climbed the last hill I saw the female who had been out in front pretty much all day...still smiling! Shortly thereafter I saw KM coming down after her and wondered who would be legging it out for the win.

As I hit the turnaround I just let things start to fly. One guy made me laugh that I kept passing. He kept telling me that I was getting stronger every time he saw me. It is amazing what a boost little comments like this can give ya. At this point I was heading into the finish line. I passed E and A, and E said if I pushed I could break 5:40. Holy crap, 5:40....I was planning to be excited about breaking 6, so that was major icing on the cake. That and the fact that I knew I was in third, so I kept running harder. By the time I hit the towpath I was thankful I did not see anyone close to me b/c I know I would have been tempted to chase, but I did not, so I just cruised it in with a time of 5:37.

As I got done I felt unbelievably fine. I did not have the aches I am used to after a marathon is this was further. Did I mention that I now really love trails???

Afterwards I grabbed my bag out of the car and came back just as E & A were finishing. I also saw Barb as she was heading out for her last Brandwine loop.

Upon finishing we got the best free race shirt ever...these green jackets!


Final thoughts-

-One thing E, A, & I talked about is that sometimes races should have an '*' by them to explain the time.

-A should get a * as that girl is tougher than nails to run a whole ultra with major bathroom issues. Even with all her stoppping, she still finished with a very respectable time of 5:53.

-E should get a * too. She put aside her competitive side for the whole race to support her friend A and with her to the finish. So sorry ladies to leave you after 18!

-Thanks to E and M, who finally inspired me to try a 50K, something I never thought I would do. There will be more of these in my future!

-Trail runners are awesome. It is amazing the support I heard and smiles nonstop I witnessed out there on the course. Training and meeting so many new people was just great and congratulations to all the other people out there on the day.

-A's boyfriend, Todd, shocked everyone with a 2nd place finish. Congrats!!! No wonder why he always left us in his dust on the trails...that kid is fast!

- Winking Lizard is a great post race venue!

The Day Before

Big day on tap for tomorrow! Weather forecast for the race is a starting temperature of 16 (supposed to feel like 8) and warm up to 23 (and feel like 13) and some snow showers of course! Yet after a few days of running recently when it has been below zero with the wind chill this should not be too bad. Actually I think it is good that we will have the frozen conditions versus the mud!

All in all I am pretty excited about the whole thing! Training is done and went good and I will be out there with my pals on the course! You get a bunch of us chatting and the miles are sure to fly by. No crazy time goals for this one, just to finish, feel good and have fun!

Tonight I got to pack up my stuff and try to make sure I bring anything I may want. I am planning to relax this evening and actually refrain from any Friday night beer. I will save the beer for after the race when we head to Winking Lizard to celebrate our conquering of the ultra distance!!!!

-------------------
Last night I hit the Don Pablos for some mexican beers/margaritas and food before heading over the check out Spirit of the Marathon. While I found it interesting and well done, my husband fell asleep a couple times. Guess it is one of those movies that mainly only runners appreciate! After watching it, I am even more pumped up about this weekend's run!!!! Bring it on!

Taper Randomness

I really wish I could run faster, so I could try to run behind Lance the whole way through Boston Marathon! Oh it was a happy moment this week when I learned my favorite man, besides my hubby, of course :-), would be at the same marathon as me!!!! I wonder if there is any possibility of meeting him.....I did not know it was possible for me to get any more excited about Boston weekend!!!!!!!!!

My typical morning is being curled up in my bed and a half hour before my alarm is set to torment my ears, I wake up only to realize I have to go to the bathroom so bad. I roll over just wanting to go back to sleep. Then PO'd I get out of bed, walk all the way downstairs, go, climb back upstairs, and pull the covers over my head. Then it seems like 30 seconds later my stupid alarm clock goes off.

I hate when I don't pack my clothes the night before. I wake up in the morning and try to figure out two workout outfits and what to wear to work while scratching my head in a total daze. It stinks even more when you are walking around trying to figure it out and you stub your toe. Then you are running late and you stub your toe again. Sh!t, at least you are awake now!

Hottubs rule! So does swimming with your friend!

Tonight my non-running husband gets bonus points. He is coming to dinner with my running friends and then we are all going to see Spirit of the Marathon! YEAH, I am excited!

National Pie Day - January 23rd

Now if there was ever a day we should be celebrating it is today!

National Pie Day - January 23rd
Created by the American Pie Council, National Pie Day is dedicated to the celebration of pie. As part of our American heritage, this day is a perfect opportunity to pass on the love and enjoyment of pie eating and pie making to future generations.

To celebrate National Pie Day share the warmth of the ultimate "comfort food" by giving the gift of pie to a friend or neighbor. Your generosity will be long remembered.

If pie making is not in your schedule, stop by your favorite pie shop or grocery store and bring home a gift of love and enjoyment for the whole family. The coldest of January days will be warmed by a special pie dessert.

I may just have to visit my favorite little Amish restauarant, Mary Yoder's in Middlefield tonight in honor of this day. They have this peanut butter pie which is fantastic. Yet, I must admit that lemon merang is my absolute favorite, followed closely by pumpkin pie, apple crumb pie and the blackberry pie. My husband usually prefers the strawberry rhubarb pie. I am a huge fan of a scoop of vanilla icecream with my pie too. Unfortunatey I am trying to eat healthy and probably should not have any pie!

"Eat pie. Whether you make it yourself, buy it at a supermarket or bakery or order it at a restaurant, perform a random act of pieness on yourself and enjoy some pie on National Pie Day – it’s great with lunch, dinner or as a late-night snack."

Mad Monday Update 1/21

Yeah so I am a day late and always a dollar short, but so goes the life of a spender!

Taper is now in full effect and it was nice to have an easy weekend!

Monday 1/14 - 7 miles Ran Treadmill, Lifted Bi's, Tri's, Shoulders
Tues 1/15- 5 miles ran outside with Salty in cold
Wed 1/16 - 6 miles ran treadmill(~51 min), 2 hours, 10 min-Excel Cycling Class
Thurs 1/17 - 5 miles ran treadmill (~43 min), 1 hour hard bodies class
(Tired legs today as ran last 7 consecutive days totaling 64 miles)
Friday 1/18 - 1 mile swim
Sat 1/19- 9 miles Buckeye Trail
Sun 1/20 - 8 miles outside at N. Chagrin in bitter cold

Taper Weekly Totals-
Ran: 40 Miles
Bike: 45 Miles
Swam: 1 mile
Lifted: 2 days

I'm out, no fun things today. I am watching this bearish stock market on CNBC with these rate cuts and am too busy shaking my head at the dismal state of affairs.

DON'T EAT THE CHILI!!!

WELL AT LEAST NOT EVERYDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I was a kid I HATED chili. My mom would make it and I would turn up my nose. Mainly I did not like kidney beans, but I have come to learn I just didn't like my mom's chili and therefore would not try other chili. Sorry mom!

Yet mom always made me eat things I did not like and I would pick out every kidney bean in my chili and fill my bowl with crackers trying to drown out the taste of the yucky chili. I detested lima beans even more growing up and I got sick at the kitchen table after being forced to eat them....I think that was more to prove my point that I hated them!

Yet as I have aged I have started to like more things. I decided it was time to try some chili again as it sounded like a great healthy meal that was on the Body for Life program I was following a few years back. I use the leanest of meat, throw in some veggies and let's not forget the hot sauce!!! I always avoid all good things to keep it healthy--no sour cream, no cheese, no crackers!

Over the years I have perfected what I consider to be the best chili and I usually make it a couple times a month now. Friday my hubby and I made a huge pot and I had two bowls as it tasted oh-so-good! Then after Saturday's long run, the easist thing was to heat up another bowl. Then I took what was left to work on Monday and ate chili for lunch Mon, Tues and Wed.

Let's just say my system is PO'd with the amount of chili I have been eating and it is time for a break. WARNING, take my advice...don't eat chili 5 out of 6 days in a row...only bad can come of it!

Prepare for my winter time blues rant!

I think I have said it before but I will say it again. I hate winter. I hate dark. I was not made for Ohio, but this is where I am destined to live for at least the next 30 years or so.

Last week was such a tease! Salty, E , JP and I went for our lunchtime run in shorts and tanks in the 65 degree weather only to be stopped and interviewed by a news crew.

"So what do you think about this weather?" We gave some answer about it being great and like being able to get out and run with friends.

Camera pans up and down to show our legs.

"What would you say to people who can't believe the weather?" I smile and say, "You never know what happens in Cleveland" to which the camera man adds or in New Orleans...poor lil Bucs the night before!

Fast forward one week. Salty emailed Monday about running outside and I said I would go Tuesday as I has already ran Monday. Tuesday came and it was friggin nasty out. I had slept in as I just felt off Monday night as I was soooo cold for some reason and it made my body just ache! Thankfully I awoke feeling just fine after my long night of sleep and set out to brave some snowy roads during rush hour which meant one long annoying drive. Blah! Seriously folks, you live in NE OH and should be used to it by now! An hour and 15 minutes later I arrive 15 minutes late to work.

Salty emails to confirm our run and I am never the type that likes to back out on something I have committed to, so I go ahead with the plan thinking it is rather icky out. I tell my boss I am out to run and he says I am crazy that it is nasty out there today. "Yeah, I am tough, I can handle it," I think to myself.

I walk outside and the winds are just roaring off the lake. I look at my Blackberry. Maybe she'll cancel. The snow and wind just seems to keep circling where the snow that is coming down with a vengeance keeps pelting me from every angle. No message to cancel ever came.

I hit the door of my gym to go change. Aghh, that is nice! Am I really about to go back out there to run? Nutz, but let's get to it. Now changed, I run down the street to meet Salty. The wind was fierce so we headed down to the Flats. For the most part, it was not too bad. Yet, there were mutliple sections where the snow felt like it was just ferociously trying to eat my eyeballs and I could barely keep them open as they watered in pain. Several times I felt like I could barely see and my makeup ran into my eyes and burned some more. Why the heck did I leave my yellow sunglasses in the car? Idiot! I whimpered along whining about my eyes as Salty seemed so tough as though nothing could slow her down.

Thankfully Salty and I could both see the guy who didn't see us until the last minute when he locked his brakes up as he slid through the stop sign. We weren't about to chance he might actually stop at the stop sign (like he is supposed to), let alone look for pedestrians. Waht sort of nut is out running around on a day like that anyways??

Our legs were all covered up, our noses were red, our hair and clothes were covered with snow, our makeup was running....thank goodness there were no cameras today!!! Was that not a hawt picture for the news?? What a difference a week makes and what a tease! :-(

Finally we made it back and I heard from 3 other folks at the gym that it was just crazy to go outside to run that day. Yeah I am just a bad arse and can handle it....I won't tell them how I really felt! Yet, another good war story for the telling and thanks to Salty for getting my woosie butt out there! Still, I hate you winter!

My drive home took forever too thanks to more snoey roads and stupid drivers. Finally at one point I hit the right lane as was able to pass about 10 cars at once. Hello, slow people, USE THE RIGHT LANE!!!!

Mad Monday update-1/14/08

Monday again, sigh! So on to the fun stuff.

Last week was another busy week. It was my last long training week in terms of long runs before I start this week's taper!!! The last three weekends have been huge weekends and I am just not going to know what to do with myself having a long run this weekend that can be done in under two hours!

All in all, I must say that the long trail runs have been going great and feel ready for my go at the 50K. We have had all conditions, snowy, icy, and again this week, very muddy! I was an idiot and forgot to change my shoes when I got there and had the realization that I had on a pair of my retired Kayanos about 1.5 miles in. So I switched them after the first 5 mile loop. However it was too late, as they were already a muddy mess. I have learned muddy shoes=stinky shoes and icky feet and socks....no need to elaborate.

M 1/7- AM 1050 Meter Swim
Lunchtime 5 Mile Run in gorgeous warm weather with Salty & E
T 1/8- AM 60 Min Spin Class
5.25 M lunchtime run with Salty, E, and JP (we were even on the news in our
shorts and tanks in January!!!!)
W 1/9- Lunchtime 5.75 run with Salty (a pathetic attempt at a track workout on my
behalf due to lack of speedwork and dead legs!)
R 1/10 Rest
F 1/11 6 Mile treadmill run at home
S 1/12 23 Mile muddy Buckeye Trail Run
S 1/13 12 Mile ran with SERC

Weekly Totals
S~ .65 Mile
B~ 63 Miles
R~ 57 Miles
* Missed lifting / core workouts.

Other notes-Started seeing Dr. Keyes ART chiro for piliformis, hip flexor and IT. 2 sessions last week which really helped loosen things up a bit. Darn left leg always full of issues but I have have resolved in this new year have a new healthier body!

AND last but not least, kudos to my buddy, Nathan on his 2nd marathon finish at Disney and my ole roomie, Shannon on her half finish at AZ!!!

Tales of the fat cat!

First came my golden retriever, Matches. Although I like to play with Matches, he has gotten slightly overweight.

A year and a half later and with a ton of begging from me, we finally brought home a cute lil kitten and named him Zippo, in keeping with our doggie name choice.


Zippo is a funny cat who loves to lay on our clean clothes or sometimes my head as he has learned I am a sucker and will let him get away with most anything.

I always thought you left food out for the cat and that he would eat what he needs, but apparently my cat thinks he is always hungry and his belly continues to grow. Our friends often ask if we are sure he is a boy kitty and is not pregnant. "No, he is just fat," we say.

Zippo runs around the house like mad and it sounds as though our 60 pound dog is the one upstairs instead of our "dainty" lil kitty.

But the other night, I awoke about 3:30 in the morning to hit the bathroom and gave Zippo a pat on the head as I hit the top of the stairs. Still half asleep, I crawled back into my warm bed and snuggled up with the ole man.

Less than a minute later the booming crash of falling objects and broken glass jolted my husband and I up. I did not need to look. I already knew what happened.

Fat cat Zippo had jumped his prego belly up on our shelves and proceeded not only to bring down the shelf he jumped on, but completely ripped the unit out of the wall. Broken glass such as my Chili Bowl mug and candles hit the top of the stairs and some continued on down to the bottom. BAD KITTY!!!

So we cleaned and swept glass for the next 30 minutes. I think it is diet time for him!!!

(Notice holes to the left of shelfs where the second shelfing unit used to be)

Yes, it was a giant wake-up call the cat is indeed too fat!! Well as I have not figured out yet what I am going to do with his diet or the dog's for that matter, I have made some refinements in mine since 1/2/08. I have consciously been trying to make healthier choices and am now down 5 pounds. Now to just stick with it!

Only one major bad meal which was last night where I let myself have a cheeseburger, fries and a few beers....but come on, I did run for over 5 hours that day!

Mad Monday Update

OK so the title is a takeoff on my boy, Jim Cramer (what can I say, when you watch CNBC all day in my industry, he can bring a smile to my face with his antics!), but essentially this will be a weekly Monday post to wrap up the entire prior week. This is yet another attempt to force myself to track my mileage a bit better. I am also planning to try to start inputting all mileage into coolrunning....maybe I can track my miles all year! Now is the time to start!

M 12/31 13 M Ran with SERC
T 01/01 off
W 01/02 5 M Ran ~40 min treadmill pyramid
R 01/03 4 M Ran~31 min treadmill pyramid, Lifted Bi, Tri, Shoulders, Abs
F 01/04 45 Min Stat Bike~15 miles, Lifted Back, Chest
S 01/05 24 Mile Run (21 Buckeye Trail, 3 towpath)
S 01/06 10.5 Mile Run (North Chagrin)

Total for week-
Swim: 0
Bike: 15 Miles
Run:56.5

Ringing in the New Year

First off the cool trail pics from my last post were sent to me from my ole high school buddy, Nathan, who just started a blog. Feel free to give him a shout out here (http://running4myboys.blogspot.com).

This year we rang in the New Year over at my sister's house with a pajama party!



I sported some skull pajama bottoms and a shirt that said "WHERE'S THE AFTERPARTY?" I suppose perhaps the shirt sealed my fate for the evening as I barely made it to midnight.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone!

As I look to 2008, I am already excited about the year. First and foremost on the calendar is the Winter Buckeye 50K. The long runs are going well. This weekend was jam packed with fun filled running!

Saturday woke up before the crack if dawn to meet up with the Vertical Runner Group which planned to run-

Begin at Lock 29 at 6:30am

Head up the "Brick Hill" to Pine Lane
Via the Buckeye Trail to the Boston Store
Loop the Winter 50K Brandywine Falls Loop
Then take the Buckeye Trail north to Blue Hen Falls
Next we will head on the trail to Buttermilk Falls
Pop out behind Boston Mills Ski Resort
Take Riverview Rd back to the Boston Store
Finish up the run by taking the Valley trail back to Pine Lane
Enjoy the downhill finish back to Lock 29

For a total of 17-18. We modified the plan slightly as instead of the down hill finish we backtracked the Pine Lane loop aways and then ran down to Lock 29 and tacked on 3 miles of towpath so we could finish with approximately 22 for the day.



It was a bit dark when we started! Thank goodness I had my trusty lil flashlight!



One of the fun river crossings! You can see from the M's running pants that it was a wee bit muddy that day!



We are so dirty perhaps we should rinse off in that waterfall!

Yes, as you can perhaps tell from the pics, I am certainly enjoying this trail running! Not only is it gorgeous and working different muscles than just the road pounding, the fun of passing the time along the trails with friends just cannot be beat!

After getting in 22 Saturday, I ran an easy 6 by my lonesome Sunday and then hopped on the trainer for an easy 45 minute spin so I could catch the end of Ocean's 13 (which was pretty darn good!). Monday, I ran with my running club, serc on our 13 mile holiday run. Decked out in my shorts, tall socks and pigtails, I ran the rolling hills. Despite the bet that 3 women were supposed to try to beat one of the guys, I decided with my never ending chest cold, it was just not the day for me to press too hard. It was all good as I had the chance to run with MT and we bantered about what was new and the fact that her crazy butt went ahead and signed up for the Burning River 100. 50 K for me perfectly sane, idea of 100 miles, perfectly crazy in my mind! Funny how this logic seems to change over time!

Merry Kiss Myas Folks!!

Ho ho ho!!!!

Yes I am still saying it folks despite what all the haters may say!

So how has Miss Daisy been over the holidays you ask???

Well I tell ya....BUSY as usual!

Last week kinda blew, or at least that is what I was doing with my nose for the better part of the week. Blah! So I rested up and was off both Thursday and Friday. I think I took off more on the account of that I had stuff on rather than trying to get a rest.

Friday I met up with my ole college gal pal TriSaraTops and we drove down to Columbus to meet up with our other ole college roomie TriShannon! It was a fun filled day complete with food, laughs, smores and fun! It is good to know that some things never change as we still quote Waynes World and laugh at Shannon when she orders her plain food!

Saturday I hit the Buckeye Trail for the muddiest run yet. Wow it can be quite slippery in that thick mud and let's not even talk about what the shoes looked like afterwards. Then my muddy butt drove a little further south to hit a Excel Cycling class. I was good and tired after those 4.5 + hours of working out that morning and HUNGRY!!!

So I ate some good ole country cooking at the local Amish restaurant, Mary Yoders....yum!!! After I had a good base in my belly and cleaned the house, I was all set for the gathering at my place that night. Ole high school pals rolled on over and the beer flowed as we had shots, played cards, danced to the music!!!

And then the alarm clock rang and I hit it so hard that it fell off my night stand. Crap! It is dark and I am hungover, but I had plans to run so I rolled my butt out of bed. I met up with my group and we embarked on a very warm 8 mile trek. Sweating out the alcohol felt good but after the one huge climb I think the tequila in me was doing some sort of tribal dance in my belly! No worries though I made it home just fine to wrap some gifts and head out for some more last minute shopping!

Monday I awoke early again for another group run! My running club, Southeast Running Club had their annual 13.1 mile holiday run out at Bedford Reservation. I was dragging the minute I got up that day, but I was decked out in my holiday outfit in my red polk-a-dot tall socks and shorts in the very windy 27 degree weather. A few other folks were in shorts but none were quite as decked out as these guys.

If only they had been there, perhaps my run would have felt easier!!!!

My cold which was settling further and further down in to my chest and throat gripped my chest as I jogged up and down the rollers. Thank goodness for E and Amy who helped motivate me along as I struggled to talk. Finally many rollers and 2 descent climbs later we arrived back to the cars about 1:45 later. I was so happy to be done!!! The group headed out to breakfast and I chugged a vat of coffee to warm up. Funny thing was as soon as I got home I proceeded to fall right to sleep on the couch. I was just tuckered out!

Holidays were awesome as always. The hubby makes a mighty fine Santa and it is always good to hang with the family and my lil nieces!

Hope everyone else had a very wonderful Christmas!!!!

Ick!

Saturday morning I was flying high! I headed out to the Buckeye Trail for a fun 20 miler. Although it took us 4.5 hours and I fell on an icy rock in the creek, I felt fantastic after running in the 27 degree weather. Some days you run with a fantastic group and you talk and laugh and you realize you are done before you know it. I must be getting used to the trail as I was not unbelievably fatigued like I used to get after a long trail run as I worked muscles I was not used to using.

As the day wore on and the snow started to fall, I started to feel stuffier and stuffier. I was a bit bummed that night as the roads were so crappy that my hubby had to go plow and we had to miss not one, but two parties that were on the agenda for that evening. It was just as well, I suppose (YET I HATE TO MISS A GOOD PARTY, ESPECIALLY A DISCO PARTY WITH OLE FRIENDS!!!) as I my headcold was angry by the time I went to bed.

I awoke Sunday with my head in the clouds, as I got up to go run in Solon. The snow had turned to rain and I was not sure what the roads were like. I felt awful. Without too much delay I returned to bed to bury my pressured head beneathe the covers. I had intentions to run that morning and also to get in a trainer ride. After pushing it back and pushing it back, it never did happen.

It is Wednesday now and I still feel icky. I have managed to get workouts in the last 2 days and really it is the only time the sinus pressure feels better. I like to think that as my cold wet sweat soaks my clothes that my germs are being sweat out. I think today I finally feel a bit better than the last three days, but still not good. Why does it always seem that you get sick on the weeks that you have the most on and you are so busy when all you want to do is rest????

Hermes Road Race Series!

Another fun awards night was had by all at this years banquet!



Congrats to B & A on making it a year after meeting during last years wild banquet!

2007 Reflection

No more races for 2007! It seems a natural time to take a moment to reflect on 2007.

This year I completed 33 official events. This year included 2 full marathons, 4 half marathons, 1 full century ride, 2 metric century rides, 1 half ironman and a bunch of other stuff!

----------------------------------------------------------------
The List --
1 3-Feb Dirty Dog 10 K - 57:36 (9:16 pace) 2nd OF
2 17-Feb Chili Bowl 20:45 (6:40 pace) 1st Age
3 4-Mar Youngstown 1/2 Mar 1:47:26 (8:11 pace) 2nd Age
4 10-Mar St Malachi 5 Mile 33:32 (6:42 pace) 2nd Age
5 31-Mar Jog Into Spring 5K 20:29 (6:35 pace) 1st OF
6 7-Apr Spring Classic Half - 1:40:21 (7:39 pace) 1st Age
7 21-Apr Old Oak Run 5K 20:28 (6:35 pace) 3rd OF
8 22-Apr Socius Search 10K (39:25-SHORT) 3rd OF
9 28-Apr Hermes 10 Miler 1:13:45 (7:23 pace) 2nd Age
10 29-Apr Buzzard Du 3M R/15M B/3M R-1:33:13 3rd OF
11 6-May Silver Springs Du Intl 5K/17.5M/5K 20:30/57:58/20:50-1:38:37 1st OF
12 20-May Cleveland Marathon 3:38:32 BQ!!!
13 9-Jun Irish Festival 5K 20:40 (6:39 pace) 1st OF
14 10-Jun Sunday in June Metric Century Had Fun!!! n/a
15 16-Jun Jim Klett 10K 44:17 (7:07 pace) 2nd OF
16 24-Jun Alum Creek Intl Du-5K/40K/5K 21:13/1:13:18/48:44-2:25:35 2nd OF
17 4-Jul North Canton YMCA 34:42 (6:56 pace) 2nd Age
18 22-Jul Columbus International Du-5K/40K/5K 21:56/1:12:05/48:44-2:26:23 2nd OF
19 29-Jul Sweet Corn Century Ride Rode 60, flats!!! n/a
20 2-Aug Twilight Trail Run Humid!!! 1st fem team
21 12-Aug Greater Cleveland Half Iron 5:34:06 5th OF, 1 AG
22 1-Sep STOMP Metric Century Ride Time Flew! n/a
23 8-Sep Mantua Potato Stomp 1:08:08 (7:34 pace) 4th OF $!
24 9-Sep Cleveland Clinic 1/2 marathon 1:48:25 (so sick) zilch
25 16-Sep Portage Lakes Duathlon Intl 1:23:27 (20:42/38:33/22:07) 1st OF
26 29-Sep Akron Marathon Relay Team Time -3:02:47 (6:58 pace) 2nd Overall female Team
27 30-Sep Powerman Ohio 3:30:05, tough! nada, but Worlds Invite
28 7-Oct Chicago Marathon Sweated & finished w/ cousin just fun!!
29 20-Oct Stomp the Grapes 1/2 marathon 1:45:41 2nd Age
30 5-Nov Autumn Leaves Run - 5M 38.11 with fun footing! 4th OF
31 17-Nov Pigskin Classic-5K 21:11 (6:52 pace) 4th OF
32 22-Nov Turkey Trot-5 Miler 34:56 (6:59 pace) 2nd Age
33 1-Dec Reindeer Run 5K 20:18 (6:35 pace) 1st Age

---------------------------------

The Highlights!!

* Fat Rabbit Racing International Battle of Ohio International Duathlon series and 1st overall female!

* Hermes Road Race Series - 3rd overall female!

* Boston Qualification!

* First half ironman and event finished 1st in my age group and 5th overall!

* Running with cousin for her first marathon!

Most of all, the biggest highlight was the truly wonderful friends and memories while training and racing these events!

Swimming update!

Are you sitting down?

I have swam two days in a row this week! Gasp!

Yes, it is true due in no small part to ESpeed who has got me swimming with her. She still zooms through the water tons faster than me but I am hoping that a little more pool time will pay off.

Last year my general swim workout was on my lunch hour when I would drive to the gym, change as quick as I could, swim 1000 yards, shower and get ready and drive back to work all in that hour.

The 1000 yards was always just a straight set at an easy to moderate pace. No drills, nothing working with speed.

Now E has me trying all sorts of things. Since we started swimming together I have learned pull drills and kick drills, worked with shorter fast sets, and I have even been enjoying it!!!

As a benchmark for me to reference later (no laughing at my times please!!!)

100 meters free 2:02 first set. Other ssets around 2:06-2:07.

200 meters free 4:17. Other sets around 4:20+

Then I tried a little test to see how my 200 free compared to my 200 pull. I have always known I had issues with my lower half dragging in the water and not being as efficient with my kick as I should be. I try to work on pushing my chest down to bring up my rear end.

200 meter pull 4:13 - Yup, faster without kicking with just my little swim floaty thing between my legs (OK, not down with the swim lingo either!!!)

All in all I have been so excited about having someone to swim with who can even teach me stuff!!!!

First Indoor Cycling Class of the winter!

Last night I hit the first class of my prepaid 17 of Pete Gladden's indoor cycling clinics as I promised I would do with money I won from Fat Rabbit.

This year the name has changed from New Vision Cycling to Excel in Cycling and the location is also different (still far, but I think it is a little more convenient for me!). Everytime I have had the opportunity to train with Pete, he has never disappointed me. These workouts include music which is choreographed to the cycling, video footage on the big screen and led by Pete with a variety of drills to help people become more proficient cyclists.

As I drove down to Akron I nibbled on some pretzels as I was sort of hungry and figured I needed something in my belly. You see I have gotten into the habbit of keeping a ziploc bagful of pretzels in my car all the time these days. It is so often I leave a workout or find myself on the road just dying for something to eat. Don't fear as now my pretzels save me!

I hopped on my trainer just around 6:20 to start warming up. It did not take long before the sweat started to form and start the disturbing puddle which would be under my bicycle by the end of class.

As I started class I knew it may be rough. I was somewhat drained from the amount of training I had put in over the last few days.

We started with spin ups. You start in a very easy gear and based upon your group you have a cadence you must hit. I seeded myself in the B/C group. So I started at 100-105 rpm for a minute and bumped it up by 5 rpm each minute to 125 and then went back down each descending minute. We rested for 3 minutes and repeated the pyramid starting 5 higher.

We did one leg drills between around 50 rpm at a hard gear making sure our pedal stroke was very even.

We did an 8 minute (which will build to 20) overgear drill. (Pedaling with about as much resistance as you can handle at a particular cadence) For some reason I like these as I think I have always been somewhat of a gear masher.

One drill we did alternating increments of big ring (work) / little ring (recovery)where I would try to get above 100 at a hard gear as we alternated 5 sec on 55 seconds recovery, 10/50, 15/45 and so on up to 50/10. I stopped at 30/30 and repeated that 3 times as I was whooped. After a recovery we repeated.

I ate some cliff blocks-the cran razz flavor as my tank was empty. Mmmm, these are delicious little gummy things!

Then in the main set, we did these sprint things. My low end was supposed to be 100 rpm (for 40 seconds) by my group and my high end was 120 rpm (for 20 seconds) We did 10 of those.

Then we did a cooldown and I hopped my sore butt off my bike at 8:30. Oh my sweat pile was big and nasty and I was so tired! My bike lingo stinks but I wanted to get it down so I can remember what we did so I can try to practice this on my own. I grabbed a gearing sheet. I vow to learn my gears this year...finally!

Ending with a PR!

Well Saturday I ended the season on a high note with another PR. Despite the fact that I feel I am not in optimal condition and my speedwork has definitely been lackluster, I managed to pull out a 10 second PR on the day!

It was a great day all and all despite being on the cold side around 27 degrees. The Reindeer Run is a nice flat fast course which is an out and back with a loop at the turnaround. I enjoyed a nice 30 minute warm up with Salty and ESpeed and then we wrapped things up with some strides which was a new thing for me and something I will try to incorporate in the future.

As we lined up I took off behind E and JP. Mile 1 6:15. It seemed that I was jockeying for position more than I wanted and I felt I needed to back off a bit as I was tiring. I came into the day with some extremely sore hamstrings from hard bodies class on Thursday and did nothing to loosen things up on Friday like I had originally planned.

During mile 2, two girls passed me and I let them go. The footing was a little rough which slowed the mile a bit but mostly it was just me slowing down. Mile 2 6:50.

Ouch, 6:50 disappointed me a bit as I thought it would be next to impossible to break 20. Oh well there would be other days, but I did try to pick it up a bit knowing there was only a mile to go.

Mile 3 6:34. Final 0.1, 39 sec. I finished in 20:18 (~6:35 pace), a PR by 10 seconds! While it was not below 20, it was a PR, so who can complain!

To make things better ESpeed, JP, Salty, and JT all PR'd and ran fantastic races!!! There was much to cheer for at the awards ceremony as Salty claimed 3rd overall female with a smoking fast time of 18:49, E got 1st in Age Group (HUGE PR with a 19:23!!), JT got 3rd in AG, JP got 1st AG and I got 1st AG. Luckily for this group of gals we have our ages spread out nicely between the 25-39 groups!!!

Friday Fun

Friday is here and I am looking forward to the weekend as usual! As of now, it should be pretty low key and I am looking forward to taking care of some things at home like Christmas decorating and finally getting my motorcyle cleaned up and ready for winter! Saturday I will be racing my last race for 2007!

For now I will leave ya with some fun Friday pics!


Halloween pic of hubby and I as Drew Carey and Mimi!


Sis, hubby and my lil ladies at Halloween!!


Cousin Michelle and Terry




Alyysa and Erin with troll hair!!!


Thanksgiving Pic with all my crazy cousins!!!


Chicks Rule!!

Slacking

So it appears I am realy slacking on my posts lately!

Last Saturday 12/17 I ran the Pigskin Classic 5K. It was my second slowest 5K of the year. Thankfully the fun factor of this race more than made up for my time!!

First off, there were lots of friends all out there running this race. The good guys were wearing red of course!!! I headed out behind JP, who always beats me. I hung with her for a mile before the inevitable slowdown started.

Mile 1 6:12

My super light weight Nike shoes were bothering me as I had my chip bouncing around and I kept looking down for fear that it would fall off. Funny, that my warm up did not show this but I suppose the speed was quite different.

Mile 2 6:54
Mile 3 7:15 I had made the mistake of opting for my headphones which quit working at the start of mile 3. :-( Then I had to head up a hill which I run regularily which seemed so much steeper and longer than usual at this point in the race!

Finish Time 21:11 (6:52 pace). Time for beer now! After the race watched everyone else come in and grabbed a beer. The best part was that they gave away these really cool Bud Light Cooler bags with built in speakers that you can plug your ipod into to the top 5 men and top 5 female. Luckily I was able to snag one of those at the award ceremony during the tailgate party!!! Sweet! And to top it all off, the good guys won! Go Buckeyes!!

-------------------------

Sunday I woke up sore from the 5K and had a rather pathetic "long run" day. I had intended to hit a swim clinic Sunday but I just felt crappy and decided to keep my suffering to the morning and skip the afternoon swim clinic.

Monday and Tuesday, I enjoyed some easy 5-6 mile runs with Salty. Every run is better with company and I was thankful to have some to get my butt outside in these cooler weather temps.

Wednesday took it easy with a very social swim with ESpeed. There was much more talking than swimming!

Thursday I ran the 5 mile turkey trot in downtown Cleveland. I lost my splits but ended with a time of 34:56 for a 6:59 pace. Again I wore stupid headphones that quit mid-race! Frustrating! Some races I opt for the music, some I don't. I just hate when I plan to have music and then my dumb ipod acts up (which has been happening frequently lately!!!). I felt better for the turkey trot than I had for the Pigskin. It was a little longer and my pace just felt more even, even up the same hill from the prior weekend! About 75 yards from the end a lady tried to pass me and I was not going to have it. We started sprinting and I gave it all I could to maintain the lead. I guess I should have applied that extra a little more evenly the last mile as I came across the line gasping for air! In the end, that lady must have started behind me with her chip time as she finised 2 seconds ahead of me in my age group so I took second place.

It was the highest I have ever placed in the big race and it will be good enough to get some free Malley's chocolate! On a side note it was a windy sleet/rainy/snowy day and I was chilled to the bone. Some days it is just an accomplishment to get out and run in those icky conditions!

Friday, my training consisted of power shopping. I left the house by 4:15 AM with sis and arrived home at 3:30 PM. Despite crowds, we got lots of deals, people seemed friendly and we enjoyed good girl time! That night I hit my mom's side of the family Thanksgiving and Chicago marathon cousin, Ar and I "A Team" cleaned up on the pool table. It was one fun evening with the family!

Saturday morning I dragged my tired butt out of bed for a long run with A & T. I was dragging...! We set out for our 14 mile run on the Buckeye Trail. I decided I could go that long without water. As we headed up and down the trail, again my clumsy butt caught a rock under some leaves and managed to take a tumble. My tuck and roll was less painful than my fall the prior time that knocked the wind right out of me.

We ended up taking a wrong turn somewhere at one point and realized we were off course. We hit this road and tried to figure out which way to run and ended up heading the wrong direction we would later find out. I was so thirsty at this point. I had too many beers the prior night and the two small sips of water I stole from T was not nearly adequate. The snow was looking tasty! As we hit Brecksville Rd at least we knew we were finally heading in the right direction. YEAH! Then we found Snowville and had some nice downhill. As we finally hit Riverview we had two miles to go and I opted for the road as I figured it would be faster and I was ready to be done and get something to drink! We arrived back to our cars 2 hours and 58 minutes later. I figure we ended up with around 17 miles on the day. Water never tasted so good!!!

Borrowed time-Autumn Leaves Report

So I just can't seem to find time to blog lately. I often will steal a couple minutes to quickly read my blogger peeps latest, but have rarely found time to comment!

Even now, I really am quite buried with work but will try to make this fast. So time for some updates.

-Had a kick-arse time at our annual Halloween party. I need to get some pictures up but I looked less than cute as my hubby and I dressed up as Drew Carey and Mimi, and yes I was Mimi. It is hard to play ping pong well if you are big I think!

-The Battle of Ohio Duathlon Series. Well finally they announced the results and to be honest there was not a ton of participants to put it mildly, but I ended up winning Overall Female in the Olympic Duathlon Series. Yeah, that means I get some money which will probably go towards a New Vision Cycling package and some new shoes.

-I ran the autumn leaves race on Sunday. I was a bit tired from the runnning I had been putting in over the prior days, but my friend Bob had conned me into coming out to this race. What a tough, yet very different race. It was all ran on this farm out in Kirtland through a couple barns, a ton of hilly cow pasture and different roads and trails. It was unbelievably difficult to get into a rhythm in the grassy, uneven pasture and the hills kept coming.

Mile 1 6:58
Mile 2 7:30--cow pasture slowing things down
Mile 3 8:23--why does this entire mile seem up hill in crappy footing?
Mile 4 8:06
Mile 5 7:14

Total time 38:11 It was not the fastest 5 miler, but it was fun! I took 4th overall female and 1st in my age group. I knew going in I did not have a shot at top 3 as Salty and two other Team GR chicks were out there, who are just plain faster than me. It was great to see so many friends out there cheering and running. It was a tough course, but definitely unique and a nice one to wind down the year!

I am trying to log more miles and still trying to do some different things to avoid boredom. I am starting to ramp up for hopes of my first 50K in January.

I want to try to track workouts better than I have been.

Monday 10/29 --6 mile bicycle ride with hubby ---His first road bike ride ever. I think his seat area is not looking forward to attempting a second. :-(
Tuesday 10/30 - 6 miles ran, 30 min trainer ride
Wednesday 10/31 - 7 miles ran (hilly and windy!)
Thursday 11/1 - 10 miles ran, 1 hour hard bodies class
Friday 11/2 - 5 miles ran (one minute ascending intervals), yoga class (1st ever, jury still out on what I think, but my poor piliformis could use anything helpful)
Saturday 11/3 - 15 miles on Buckeye Trail (ate serious dirt as I tripped over a root, just a bruised knee. My first fall on the trail, guess I am in the club now!)
Sunday 11/4 - 6 miles ran (1 mile w/u, 5 mile autumn leaves race), 1.5 hour spinerval trainer ride with JT

Weekly Mileage (10/29-11/4) --49 miles

Monday 11/5 - 2.5 miles ran, 30 min stationary bike, kick boxing class (1st time--thumbs up in my book!)

Stomp the Grapes Half Marathon

Saturday morning I woke up early to make the drive down to Navarre, the last long race in the Hermes Road Race Series. I figured at the very least, I could pick up some nice participation points, but as usual I had my own goal set a little higher than that.

Carol, an ole running friend of mine, rode down with me and we arrived to this cute lil winery out in the country. It was a bit cool as I shed my jacket but I knew I would be fine in my tank top before long. My stomach was feeling a bit off as it had the entire evening before.

As I started off, I was feeling pretty good and staying with the lead group of women for the first couple miles.

Mile 1, 6:35 (Downhill)
Mile 2 & 3, 14:29

It did not take long before I started to feel like I was working harder than I wanted to be. I let the lead women go. I had my headphones just cranking but I was already sort of bored and ready to be done, even on this beautiful morning.

Mile 4, 7:37 I drank some gatorade...so thirsty already!
Mile 5, 7:32
Mile 6, 7:57

As we made the turn on to the towpath, I thought I was upping the pace but when I looked at my watch I found it must have just felt like it!

Mile 7, 7:47

At this point people started to pass me and I was losing the battle in my head.

Mile 8, 8:11
Mile 9, 8:12
Mile 10, 8:43

I think mentally I started to give up. The hill after 10 seemed so long and all into a stiff wind. I walked a couple times. Then I was mad at myself for not sucking in up. My stomach hurt and I just wanted to be down already. Unfortunately I knew there were more hills.

Mile 11, 9:37
Mile 12, 8:50 Ughh, I am discouraged. Again people who don't normally beat me are beating me and I know I have down training runs faster.

Last 1.1 10:05

Total time 1:45:41, which put me in second place for my age group.

About a mile before the end, this one girl passed me who ended up snagging first. As it turned out they were giving a cash award to those breaking the record in their age groups and she had with a time of 1:45:01. Even though I had no idea what the cash award even was, I was mad at myself as there was no reason that I could not have beat her and took first other than the fact I was lazy. Sigh!

After the race I headed directly to the restroom to take care of my stomach issues. I was pooped. My feet were trashed. For some reason I had a bloody toe nail and a really bad blister. However as I quickly changed after the race, so did my mood.

My favortite part of the race is being done and watching the others come in. I had an opportunity to talk to one of the other ladies who I always seem to be in competition with and it was the first time we actually had the chance to talk and she seemed like a fun gal. There was also quite a spread of food and free wine after the race. How can you go wrong with that?

Even though I was mad about my pathetic performance, I got the coolest award. Apparently the race was trying to make unique awards and when they replaced the slate roof off their chicken coup they saved the slate and had it all cleaned and cut into 1 foot square pieces. Then an artisit placed a really cool winery design and Stomp the Grapes Award Winner on them. The slate was drilled and a pretty purple ribbon to hang it up with was also put on there. This is now one of my favorite awards I have collected!

So after having the chance to chat with friends such as Jen C and her hubby (who both ran well), fellow ER peeps (the Gorris's) and my road race series friends I headed home after having a great time at the after party!

At the end of the day, I highly recommend this race. It definitely is challenging, but totally worth it. Now I am looking forward to doing a couple of short races to end the year, which are to my liking. I like the fact the in a 5 mile race or 5K race, the suffering is limited! Also I am looking forward to spending time with my ladies doing the long runs in perparation for the 2008 year!

Left Foot, Right Foot, Repeat

It was a whirlwind weekend all to support my girl, Arlene!!!

Joey and I left out first thing Saturday morning to go out there. Thankfully Arlene had already picked up my stuff so I just had to get there and relax. We did do some arts and crafts upon my arrival.


I thought we would call ourselves A-Team for Arlene, as it would just make us laugh to hear people cheer for that!

Arlene was dreading the weather as she is not a hot weather fan and pretty much prefers not to really even train in it, let along run a marathon.

But we did not have a choice, so we boarded the L and arrived downtown to the start. Needless to say, even at this early hour, it was warm and humid and were already plenty warm outside in our shorts and a tank.

Insanity!!!

There were so many people, small walkways and I learned what hearded cattle must feel like. Finally we got all things taken care of--drop bag dropped, restroom hit and then we lined up with the 9:30 pace group.

The excitement was overwhelming! With a hug about 5 and a half minutes later after the official start, surprisingly we started to move forward!


Mile 1 8:51
Mile 2 10:00

We saw the family!! My husband Joey, my aunt and uncle (Arlene's parents), and her roommate were all out spectating and taking pictures!!! I think this was the only time they saw Arlene smiling!!! We had almost missed them as it is hard to pick out people from the crowd. Some people made signs so they could be easily spotted....like this one which my hubby thought was so funny that we needed a picture!



As we passed through the city, every street was stuffed full of spectators. The bank sign read 74 degrees as we passed and fortunately the city buildings provided shade.

Mile 3 9:27
Mile 4 9:34
Mile 5 9:44

Arlene had not been talking much and I was trying my best not to annoy her but to try to keep her mind off how much further we had to go. As we headed out towards Wrigley there was a long stretch out by the high way in the bright sun and it was really starting to warm things up. By mile 6 we walked through the water stop so Arlene could take in a gel and get some water. We talked about with it being so hot today that is was going to be important to take in plenty of fluid even if it meant falling off your pace goal. Already Ar was so hot, that it was going to be plenty fine by her!!

Mile 6 11:01
Mile 7 10:31
Mile 8 10:37
Mile 9 12:43

As we tracked through boystown I was cheering and laughing. It was men cheerleaders, men in drag, men in army fatigues with their fakes guns singing and dancing slamming their guns on the stage while sticking there butts out!!!! I howled with laughter.

Mile 10 11:14
Mile 11 15:42 -- Arlene had finally found that bathroom she was looking for! I took this time to sit down on the sidewalk to stretch out my piliformis (as yet the butt pain is forver there!!) It was at this point that I really started to notice just how much everyone was really suffering. I saw several people just littering the med tent and streets who looked as though they were just done, some with IV's. I had been hearing the sirens all morning and obviously many were not dealing with the heat well.

Mile 12 12:24
Mile 13 11:35

Half way 2:24:38 - At this point, it hit home that this was going to be one heck of a long run and we were going to go over 5 hours! Just after half way we saw the family again. Seeing them always brought a smile to my face and I would wave and Arlene struggled to acknowledge them at this point. Actually I think I was doing a ton of smiling through the race. Although I was focused on getting Ar through her first mary, I was so preoccupies with all the entertainment and spectators---SO AMAZING!!!

Mile 14 13:08
Mile 15 & 16 25:49

We were walking all water stops often for at least a minute or 2. I was pretty much drinking one gatorade and two waters per stop as was Arlene. Fortunately for us, we have always drank a lot together...only this time there was no alcohol involved. Ar was struggling with the heat. I remember E's trick with ice in the sports bra which turned out to be one of Ar's favorite tricks for the day. She was melting and made the extra effort to hit every hose and sprayer while dumping water over her head. I knew she was struggling but she continued on.

Mile 17 12:15 As we came back through town I read another temperature sign which said 93 degrees...or we will just call it friggin HAWT!!

Mile 18 16:07 About this time she looked at me with a look of misery to say "Marathons aren't easy!" My response was that I don't think anyone ever thinks a marathon is easy, even the great athletes.

Mile 19 13:27

Fire hydrants were popped and we were told the marathon was officially over due to the unsafe heat. "Please walk to the nearest water area where buses will begin transporting people back to the start."

At first Arlene did not think they were serious. I had been watching through the day. Sirens were constant, people were struggling and I said "They're serious."

We were not sure what to do exactly we walked some as we were told not sure what the heck was going on.

Mile 20--FINALLY!!! 14:48

How long was this process going to take? I was so disappointed for Ar. She had worked so hard and had been hydrating well. She had trained all summer. She deserved to finish. We decided to keep moving forward for now while we seen how this way playing out.

Mile 21 - 12:05

Then Ar started to get mad, "F this, I am finishing this thing!!"

Thatz my girl and I was proud!!!

Mile 22 - 10:45!!! Fastest mile in a long time!

You could see the state of confusion all over the course. Announcers and police were yelling at people to stop running. We would walk momentarily when passing and start to run again. The thing was almost everyone was now walking. We weaved through the people now just wanting to get to the finish.

Mile 23 17:58

She was doing great and we even started to cheese it up for the cameras as the camera guys were surprised to see some smiles at that point!


Mile 24 13:59

At this time Arlene said she did not want to walk anymore because it hurt too bad to start again. We skipped the first water stop in forever!

Mile 25 & 26, I missed the splits.

As we entered the final stretch, Arlene was moving!!!! She practically sprinted the last two hundred and crossed the finish line in 5:21:36!!!

I am not sure which miles were the toughest for her. My guess is 12-20, when she knew how far she had left to go. After the race announcement, she was so angry, that I think she got a second wind and anger pushed her through those final miles. She had even started talking to me!!

At the end of the day as we collected our medals and I was so happy to have had the opportunity to experience this crazy marathon day! I will forever be proud of Ar's determination to finish in the heat which she hated!

Morals of the story to others-Stay hydrated to finish
Train in all conditions as you never know what weather will get thrown at you on race day!

Bringing Sweaty Back!

The title was my favorite shirt I saw on the course!!!!

The long and the short of it was my cousin (who hates the heat and never runs in it) rised above the insane heat of the day to complete her first marathon ever!!! I AM SO PROUD OF HER!!!

Well for all those who were looking up my name, there was a chip issue, so my chip did not register. However lucky for me I have the chip results as I hung tight with my girl throughout the long hot day!

START 0:06:38
5K 0:29:15
10K 1:00:57
15K 1:36:06
20K 2:16:50
HALF 2:24:38
25K 2:54:13
30K 3:39:30
35K 4:19:03
40K 5:04:09
FINISH 5:21:35

TIME Chip Time: 5:21:35 Clock: 5:28:13 Pace: 12:15

More details later on this crazy day of marathon shutdown due to the heat.....

Mr. Matches

My doggies name is Matches. The husband thought it would be funny to say 'We were playing with Matches' and the name took. Originally we thought he may be a show dog as my mother in law breeds and shows golden retrievers...but Matches (Burning Down the House-formal name) ended up on the short side, so he is just our lil buddy!

When Matches was younger he used to run with me. However the runs got longer and it was too much for him, so I left him at home. He got lazier and lazier. Now I can barely get him to walk a half mile before deciding it is break time when he lays down on me. Sometimes a belly rub can coax him to move on but it is only a matter of time before he lays down again!

So this week I have been working from home and decided to spend some time with him. Monday we went for a walk to the post office. In total it was about a 3/4 mile walk. 3 breaks.

Then Tuesday I jogged him 1/2 mile up the road to the park. It was just me and the township worker who was mowing the grasss. I tied Matches to the fence as I started into my scheduled workout. It was supposed to be 6 400's. I ran around the path which circled all the baseball fields. My guess is that it is closer to 600 meters. I ran 4 loops easy to warm up and then started into my sprints. After my sprints I would grab some water and Matches would get excited as I would come over and untangle the leash he always manages to get wrapped around his paws.

Every lap you could see he was just begging to come but I knew it was too much for him. After I was finished with my sprints I untied Matches to take him with me for the cool-down...or so I thought.

He sprinted two laps as fast as he could as if to show me he could do it too. It was all I could do to keep up while I held him back some. As we jogged towards home he was tiring fast. I tried to encourage him on when he looked like he was about to lay down. About 150 yards from the house it was enough. He laid down in the middle of the road. After some time we finally made it home. Mr. Matches then proceeded to collapse on the floor after draining his water dish for a nap.

***************************************************
PS---Leaving for Chicago soon!!! I am looking forward to just enjoying the course with the cousin, Arlene!!! Even though Arlene did go to OU, (Ewww for us Miami U folk) this chick is da bomb! We just need to make sure there is beer at the finish line as we run for beer!!!

The forecast is calling for Mostly Sunny with a low 67 and a high of 88....guess we will not have to worry about being cold!!! I think we are planning to line up around the 9:30 pace group so hopefully we will finish in 4:15 or so!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!

PSS--GO TRIBE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH KENNY!!!!

Win Some, Lose Some

Saturday the 5 Fast Femme Fatale Freaks walked away with second place in the Akron Marathon Relay with a time of 3:02:47, with a 6:58 pace!!! They only lost to Kent State cross county...but we will be back next year to go after them!!!! It was quite a morning! Beautiful day, lots of friends, and free beer! All I can say about this relay team is CHICKS RULE!!! It was an absulute blast and I highly recommend this race.

Congrats to all the other finishers that day...Salty with your sick fast relay, Brian and Adam with their mary's, Brandon with your half mary, running friends Bob, Pat and Jen on their halfs, my cousin and high school friend completing their first mary's in under 5 hours, and so many others!!!
--------------------------------------------
After the relay, I headed downtown Cleveland for a picnic with the Cleveland tri Club!!
-------------------------------------------

Sunday I had another wake up call in the 4 o clock hour. This day was just plagued from the start I think. I had a major panic attack upon arrival to my destination. I had checked in and went to put on the numbers only to find out my helmet was not in my bag. I was so screwed and I had drove over 100 minutes to get to this race.

I had taken everything out of my bag earlier this week to let things dry out. I have no idea how my helmet never made it back to my bag!

Luckily I walked by one of the bicycle support vehicles, John from Trek Bicycles out of Columbus was handing out free water bottles and asked if I needed one, and I asked if there were any chancce he had any extra helmets. My little savior for the day said he had personal ones in the car and let me borrow one!!!

So I waited around and finally it was time to start. The 8K run started with a steep one mile ascent and then the descent sized rollers just kept on coming. This was the last chance du to qualify for worlds and the field was amazing. The women in my wave were moving. They had the course marked in KM and I really could not think what the conversion was to figure out how my pace was at the time. Only the last mile seemed kind...definitely a very challenging run course. As I came into transition in 37:25 (7:07 pace) I grabbbed the bike and took off.

I took in a gel which ended up on my aerobar pads and all over me somehow! A few miles into the course and onto the chip and seal. 3/4 of the course was crappy chip and seal. It was jarring everything like my aerobottle like crazy and it just felt like I could not keep speed up as well on this surface. Several of the chicks came blowing by me on their sweet bikes with race wheels and disc wheels and I just kept thinking, my bicycle is not even in the same league. Oh well, I was doing my best to keep up.

After the grade 8 climb I was sailing down one of the descents and I dropped my chain...crap! After greasing up the fingers I was off again. But then I ended up dropping my chain again .....and again! By the third time I was frustrated. It was costing quite a bit of time and several women had passed while I was pulled over.

My back was killing me!!! The rollers and hills kept coming. I was hating the road surface for much of the course.

And then things went from bad to worse. I screamed ouch in pain. I had been stung by a bee in the inside of my bike shorts on my groin. I was not sure if the bee was inside or outside my shorts. I had compression shorts on so I did not think it could be inside but I could not get it out of my head that the bee was trapped in there and would be stinging me more. I was having issues my chest felt tight immediately. I thought about stopping in transition for some Benadryl just to make sure I would be OK but then I just wanted to get this stupid course done even if my time was going to be a real disappointment at this point.

Finally I pulled into the transition 2:07 later...a pitiful time which averages out to 17 mph. I suppose all my issues had taken their toll.

Out for the run. Only problem was at this point, I was not in it. I was tired, pissed, and my leg kept hurting from the stupid bee sting. There was a girl ahead of me and everytime she would walk, I started walking up these big hills. My chest felt so tight and I was so dehydrated as I had run out of water on my bicycle and I was just dying for the water stops. It was one of the most miserable runs of the year. One volunteer was so great with inspiration. Seriously I ran one section of the course by the turnaround just for him as he was saying to keep up the pace,I would pass at least 5 people. I started to get some motivation back. Volunteers really can make a difference. I legged out that last mile descent well but I had such a pathetic start the first 4K that it did not help my time that much. I finished the second 5K in 45:29 (~9:08 pace) and a total time of 3:30:07.

I am a Powerman...only thing is I just felt so crappy about the whole performance. Oh well, I kept going and finished what I started. Also I finished out the Battle of Ohio Long Course Du Series. Now it is just a waiting game to see if this performance will knock me out of first. We shall see!

For now my leg is still killing me from my second stupid bee sting on the bicycle this year. It is nice and red and swollen!

This week will be a nice easy week leading up to Chicago marathon with my cousin!! I am so excited!!!!