Guilty As Charged

I don't deny it. I'm influenced by my friends and my husband. If we wake up on a Sunday morning and Eli says he doesn't really feel like going to church, I'm on board in an instant (this has only happened twice, that I know of...usually it's me and he's talking me into it). When one of the girls sends me a text message saying they can't run in the morning, I'm quick to quit, too.

This was the case this morning at 5:15 when I woke up and had a message from Kat that said something like, "Nope," and I immediately called Laura and we decided to postpone the run until Thursday. Really.

I haven't been running now in almost two weeks. And I'm not eating well at all. I just can't stand the winter and getting up early! I'm more productive in the spring when it's not so dark...and cold!

Out of the groove

There has been no running this week, and it's scary how easy that was!

My Tuesday morning run was cancelled because it was the last day of school before Thanksgiving, and we had a lot to do to get ready (at school and at home) so I didn't run. Then Wednesday we were in the car ALL day driving to Texas. Thursday, we were at my mom's house cooking and Eli and I talked about going for a walk after dinner, but it gets darker earlier in Texas than it does here, so we stayed inside. My parents live out in the country where there are no streetlights or sidewalks. We had planned to go for a long run on Saturday morning anyway, but then Eli realized he had to be back in Alabama at work, so we spent all day Friday in the car driving back (I never want to be in a car again); we got back just in time for him to go to work the closing shift at BAM, and I brought him home from work at midnight. Needless to say, there was no running today (and it was SO cold!). We need to get back in the groove, and soon, because Eli wants to run the First Light Marathon in January.

Philadelphia Half

The running bug is going around. Who knew it would be so contagious?

Yesterday, my best friend and her husband ran the Philadelphia Half Marathon, their first race. I'm so proud of them! They finished 13.1 miles in 2:24:55--an 11-minute mile! That puts the pressure on for the First Light Half Marathon I'm running in January, not to mention that it makes me feel very slow. Yikes!

On a completely separate topic, I got a subscription for Runner's World, and I also got a gift subscription for a running friend of mine. Yesterday, I got my first issues in the mail, and of course they sent me both November (which I already have--it came out October 1) and December on the same day. And to add insult to injury, the December issue has a card for a free gift subscription! I feel cheated, ripped off. Why put that in the December issue and not the November issue (which is where I got the card for a paid gift subscription, anyway)?

Ridin' on Rims

I was spoiled. When I was a part of Team In Training, we had a "routemeister" who would plan out the routes for our run, and set up water stops. At the end of our training, the "routemeister" retired. Now, the only water stop on Saturday mornings is at Cathy's house. Usually.

Yesterday was a Turkey Trot somewhere around here, so a bunch of people were absent on Saturday morning. And Cathy didn't have water at her house.

Kat and I were planning to run 12 miles -- a 7-mile loop over the Lurleen Wallace Bridge and back, and a 5-mile lap to the former AmSouth Bank Building and back. Well, when we got to Cathy's and discovered that there was no water, we decided to just do ten miles -- 2 5-miles loops. When we got back to our cars, we realized that the PowerAde that was there was now gone. And this was the end of our Saturday morning run. Kat and I decided to meet on Sunday morning and run the remaining 7 miles.

So, this morning, at 6 a.m., I'm out at the Rec Center waiting for Kat, and she doesn't show up. I decide that I'm going to wait until 6:15, and then go for a run by myself. I would have called her or checked for text messages, except that I left my phone at home. Oops.

At 6:12, a car comes down Campus Drive, and I can hear it before I see it. The guy is driving on a flat (now shredded) tire. He has his windown rolled down, so I assume that he can hear it, but maybe doesn't know what the sound is. I yell at him as he goes by that he has a flat tire, and he stops the car. He gets out and tells me that he knows, he thinks someone slashed his tire, but he was hoping he could get home on it! I asked him if he had a spare. He said no. Then I went around the passenger side to his flat and saw that the tire tread has beaten numerous black marks onto his white paint, and that he's already bent the rim up pretty badly. He said he lived at the other end of Campus.

He wanted to know what I would do if I were in his position. I told him that I could call my husband. He was a little sad because he didn't have a husband to call. Haha. He asked if he could borrow my phone (which of course, I left at home). So, I told him that he should just park his car and I would give him a ride home. He said he was a AAA member, so I told him he should call them to see if they can help him out.

I'm not entirely sure this guy is sober. He's definitely acting strangely. I mean, it's now 6:20 in the morning, and he's just coming home from a party. Really? I pegged him for an undergrad. Turns out, he's a first-year business grad student. I dropped him off at his home and decided to go home.

Kat had, indeed, text messaged me about not coming. It was a situation she had told me about the morning before. I figured, I'm all dressed and ready to go, I might as well go run. So, I went back out to the Rec Center and went for a 3-mile run. I HATE RUNNING BY MYSELF! That makes me all the more proud that I finished 3 miles solo.

The Lord is funny like that. If I had gotten Kat's message, I wouldn't have been there to help that guy. Now, some people might suggest that it was a bad idea for me to pick up a strange guy and let him in my car, but, again, the Lord is funny like that, and I was mostly reassured that this would be the right thing to do.

Ladies' Night -- Oh What a Night!

Wednesday night was Ladies' Night at Southern Sole. For those of you in the Tuscaloosa area, that's the running store on the strip (University Drive). Laura and I decided to go because the e-mail we received was very enticing. Wine, hors-doerves, massages, door prizes, discounts on running apparel. Who could resist?

Laura went first and got a Thai Yoga Massage. She had had one before (in Thailand) and highly recommended it to me. I felt awesome. I'm pretty flexible, but I talked to the masseuse about my tight hamstrings. She said that they could lead to back problems in the future.

I had some wine, I ate the food (of course--I can't resist food), got a massage, talked with a nutritionist, and talked with the DCH representative about breast cancer detection, and then I was done.

It was a good time. I just wish I had won a door prize! (Free shoes, and free massages!)

In the Beginning

I've always had an interest in running, but that interest was trumped by my aversion to working out by myself. So when, in March, I get this brochure in the mail about Team In Training and how they will train you to run in a TEAM with other people, I decided to bite the bullet and at least attend the information meeting.

Going into the meeting, I was convinced that I would only be able to run a half marathon. The only event in which the Tuscaloosa TEAM was participating that had a half marathon was the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. The Marine Corps Marathon looked fun, but again, no half. At the information session, Mandy (coordinator) and Cathy (coach) made it sound so easy to run the full distance, and so I started entertaining the thought. Of course, I doubted, but I also hoped. I hadn't run since middle school, some 15-16 years before, and even then it was only the mile for the track team. I asked if there was a plan B, if I trained for the marathon if I could drop to the half, if necessary, and was assured that this was the case.

The Tiffany's necklace at the finish was honestly the main reason I was attracted to Nike. My engagement ring and my wedding ring are from Tiffany's, and I wanted a whole set! When I got home, I asked my husband if he wanted to run with me, and he said, "Sure." Not exactly enthusiasm, but a definite start. So it was, on our 4th anniversary, that we started our journey together as runners.

Back in the Saddle

We were finally back in the working out routine this week. My Tuesday/Thursday morning club was up and running again (well, walking mostly--we're still a little stiff) and I went for a long run on Saturday morning with the TNT/Track Club group. I got to show off my new Tiffany's finisher necklace that I haven't taken off since the day I got it, and I also wore my pink Nike Women's Marathon Finisher tee (Nike Dri-Fit--nice!). Kat and I ran 8-miles, and then Eli & I went to Starkville, Mississippi, for the Alabama game (we lost---boooo on the QB), where we did quite a bit of walking since we parked far away from the stadium and got lost on the way back. 3 miles, maybe?

Running Tip from Coach Cathy: Dress in layers and dress like it is 20 degrees warmer than it is.

We already have our next running goals. I'm planning on doing the First Light Half Marathon in Mobile in January, and the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham in February, though I might do the half. I have until 12/31 to decide. We'll see.

Archives

When I first started running, I kept track of my progress on my Team In Training fundraising website. Now that I've run my first marathon, I decided to start a blog. But, before I get started, I want to archive the memories from those six months. Here they are:

Monday, October 22, 2007
It is finished! The marathon started at 7am and we didn't get to the starting line until 7:21 a.m. 20,000 people (only 900 of them men) take a while to move. I passed Eli at a port-a-potty, and he caught up at the top of the big hill, mile 8. He passed me and I didn't see him again until mile 12.5 when we was running the opposite direction on a turn-around. Finally, at mile 23, I caught up with him. He was walking and was in pain, and we decided to finish together. 6.5 hours. (approximately). It was a
picture-perfect ending with husband and wife hand-in-hand. (Especially since he
tells people that I MADE him to this!) Haha. We're tired. We're sore. And we
have one question: When's the next one?


Thursday, October 18, 2007
Well, we leave tomorrow for San Francisco. I had a traumatic nose injury at school today, but it didn't end up being broken (thank you, Lord, for small miracles!) . I will, however, have a headache for a while, and as Officer Selman was sure to remind me, I'll remember it as I'm running and it starts throbbing as my heart beats. I think I'm ready. People keep asking me if I'm excited, but right now I'm stilll having to deal with the stress of getting ready for a sub for the two days I'll be gone. It takes more work to prepare for a sub than to actually be present to teach a class. Add that to the fact that I'm not as organized as I would like to be (understatement of the year). I'll be up at school late tonight getting ready, but then I'm just going to leave. Say a
prayer for us, for travel, for health, for rest, and for recovery. Oh, yeah, and
for the race. :)


Monday, October 8, 2007
We have 13 days left until the marathon, and we're kicking fund raising into high gear. We still have a ways to go. Right now, we're at the beginning of our taper. I didn't go for a long run this weekend because of a huge cross country meet up in Moulton. We left early, and came back just as the Bama game was ending, so going for a run was not going to happen. And Sunday, I went to a co-workers' daughters' birthday party and got eaten alive by mosquitoes. On the positive side, I'm feeling much better. I can breathe again--and I didn't have to pay a doctor to fix me!

Saturday, September 29, 2007
Today is my parents' 35th Anniversary! Wow! And in celebration, I woke up at 3:30 this morning in order to get my miles in before the cross country meet. Turns out that I can't get 18 miles done in 3 hours. I've been sick, so I walked the whole thing and completed about 11 miles. Then I went to the meet and walked half the course with my athletes, so that was another mile. Again, everyone finished and no one gave up. I am a success!!! And I have three weeks left until the marathon. I hope that I
will be feeling 100% by Sunday, October 21. Keep me in your prayers.


Sunday, September 23, 2007
This weekend was a strange weekend for training. Saturday morning we were up early (5:30 a.m.) helping set up for the Team In Training 10K race. At 8 a.m., I was all the way on the opposite end of Tuscaloosa getting ready for our first cross country meet for TMS. By 2, I was back out on the strip raising money for LLS, and at 7 was in the stands watching UA lose in overtime to UGA. So, we went running this morning instead. I think we did about 9 miles. Next weekend we do 18, which should be our last long run before the marathon, but I might not get them all in before our second cross country meet of the year!


Saturday, September 15, 2007
I know that I can finish the marathon. We went 21 miles this weekend. The majority of it was walking, but on race day, I think I can run a little more and finish in
the requisite 6.5 hours. That's a long time to be on my feet! Hopefully, I can find someone to keep pace with for a little while and maybe knock out the first 10 miles pretty quickly. We'll see. I'm still working on fundraising. Eli really needs help in this area. The good news this weeks is that I finished 21 miles in less time than it took us to run 18 two weeks ago! Hooray!

Distance: 21.0 miles

Time: 5 hours 17 minutes


Saturday, September 8, 2007
We were supposed to go 15 miles today, however, this was the worst day I have ever had. Starting at 4am was probably part of the problem. Being tired was another part. The final part was that I am not feeling well. I ran 5 miles with Eli, faster than my usual pace, then slept in the car until he got back from his run. I felt horrible. I thought about going to the Student Rec Center this afternoon, but my stomach is not feeling any better. Yikes. We're in for 21 miles next weekend. I hope it goes better.

Distance: 5.0 miles
Time: 1 hours 20 minutes


Saturday, September 1, 2007
We walked most of 18 miles today (ran the first 5 or so). I still have legs. That's the good news. The bad news is that it took 5.5 hours. I won't even crunch those numbers, because it's too painful to talk about. And then we went to a football game and stood the whole time. I probably have total mileage of over 20 miles for the
day. I found that I feel much better if I keep moving than if I just stop altogether (such as when I take a nap). I need to run more. I have the finish the marathon before they close doown the finish line!

Distance: 18.0 miles
Time: 5 hours 30 minutes


Saturday, August 25, 2007
Fifteen miles really isn't so much anymore. I told Eli last night that at this point, I could do 26.2. It might take me forever, but I could do it. Today, I ran most of the first 5, walked 2.5 with Laura, and then embarked on my own adventure up to Lloyd Wood/Echols Middle Schools. Running by myself stinks, but I beat my last time. I really am competetive, I just like to suppress that side. Of course, I forgot to start my stopwatch, so it's all approximation. Next week we go for 18. Hopefully my hip will feel better and my foot will not have a dull throbbing pain. Here's hoping! Oh, and today I saw the mayor out running, and I said, "Morning, Mayor." My own little encounter with celebrity!

Distance: 15.0 miles
Time: Just under 4 hours (approximation)


Saturday, August 18, 2007
I generally like to run, but today it was just Laura and me, and since I'm not in it for time, we walked almost all of the 12 miles (I think Laura's planning to walk all 26.2 miles, starting an hour earlier than everyone else). I'm really in it for the fun and fitness. And while running by myself improves fitness, it is NOT FUN. And so we walked. I almost feel bad about myself because Kat and I did a lot of running last week and finished with a 16-minute mile. We walked all but the first mile or so today and finished with a 16-minute mile. Same result. I can't win.

Distance: 12.0 miles
Time: 192 minutes (mostly walk)
Pace per mile: 16 min 0 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 6 hours 59 minutes


Saturday, August 11, 2007
I'm back in Tuscaloosa now, and school started this week, so I've been a little stressed and haven't run as much as I would have liked. Today's fifteen mile run was tough, but this time I did not suffer from salt deficiencies and had some gel with me. I still was pretty slow. We walked a total of about 5 miles, due to various pains and injuries. Alabama is also experiencing the hottest days of the year this week (so far), so we went out running at 5 this morning rather than waiting until 6. That turned out to be good, because it took me exactly 4 hours to complete the course. I ended up with some tan lines from my tank. The big news is that we have officially crossed the
mileage halfway point, and that next week's 12-miler will feel like nothing much!

Distance: 15.0 miles
Time: 240 minutes (walk/run)
Pace per mile: 16 min 0 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 6 hours 59 minutes


Saturday, August 4, 2007
I'm still in Texas (Eli is here now) but we didn't run with the FW Team because the farthest distance they were running this morning was 10 miles. So, I mapped out a route from my mom's house to my sister's house and back, which was 12 miles round trip. I think I have learned my lesson this week, and hope I never have to learn it again: When you don't keep up with your daily runs, anything over 10 miles SUCKS! I did great up to 10 miles. It was the last two that killed me, and I ended up walking them. If only we had gone running more than once during this lazy week, I don't think I would be hurting as much. On the bright side, I almost completed a
half-marathon!

Distance: 12.0 miles
Time: 166 minutes (walk/run)
Pace per mile: 13 min 50 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 6 hours 2 minutes


Saturday, July 28, 2007
I went running with the Fort Worth TNT this morning. They have a HUGE group of people. I made strides and ran the entire first 4 miles except for a steep hill and I stopped at the 2-mile water stop. They do things a little differently. Every stop there were gummies and oranges and other snacks as well as water and Gatorade. There were also volunteers at every stop. Something else they do is sign in when they
arrive in the morning and sign out when they return from their run so that the coaches know who is still out. I think that's a good idea. One thing that I think I might not like is that they run the same course every week, just lengthen it--out and back. Either way, I feel good about what I did today.

Distance: 10.6 miles
Time: 136 minutes (mostly run)
Pace per mile: 12 min 50 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 5 hours 36 minutes



Thursday, July 26, 2007
SPECIAL UPDATE -- Trinity 5000 -- Fort Worth Texas
I drove around FW going to running stores and at one of them I found information for a 5k that is run every Thursday night, downtown in Trinity Park. I said to myself, "Today's Thursday!" So, I went and picked up Grandma, took her home, made dinner, ate dinner, and then headed back out. I didn't place or anything, but I did run a pretty fast race (for me). The best part was the wind and the rain, and the beautifully intense full rainbow over the downtown skyline as I ran the last half. It evolved into a full double rainbow. It was gorgeous and vivid, and it took my mind off the race. I ran most of it, except for the two places I took water and had to walk to drink it, and somewere around the 2.5-mile mark when I had to walk for about .1 mile. I almost got beat by a lady pushing a stroller, but I saved it at the end with my famous sprint. Maybe Eli will run it with me when he comes to Texas next week. (hint hint)

Distance: 3.1 miles
Time: 30 minutes 59 seconds (mostly run)
Pace per mile: 10 min 0 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 4 hours 22 minutes


Saturday, July 21, 2007
Harry Potter 7 was released last night. And of course, I had to be at the bookstore to get mine at 12:01 a.m. When I finally got home at 1 a.m. there were still little kids playing baseball at the field in the parking lot of my apartment. And the parents were cheering like it wasn't after midnight. Anyway, I ran a good 8 miles this morning, even though I was sleep deprived. And now I have Harry Potter!

Distance: 8.0 miles
Time: 111 minutes (walk/run)
Pace per mile: 13 min 53 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 6 hours 4 minutes


Saturday, July 14, 2007
We were back on home turf today--for 10 miles! My knee/quad has been killing me this week. I stepped in a hole 3 weeks ago when I was running and this is the result. It was feeling better, and then I went to tap class on Monday night and tapped my heart out. So...It's been hurting. We took it easy today, and did quite a bit of walking,
and my knee doesn't hurt [as much as it did]. We ran right by my school, down
Jack Warner Parkway, around the Tuscaloosa News building, through Capitol Park,
across Lurleen Wallace and 15th Street, behind Central High School, down sororority row, next to the stadium and back to the rec center. Whew! But can you believe it? We went 10 MILES!!!

Distance: 10.0 miles
Time: 152 minutes (walk/run)
Pace per mile: 15 min 12 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 6 hours 38 minutes


Saturday, July 7, 2007
We're in Huntsville today for Matt & Stephanie's wedding, so this morning we went running with the Huntsville TNT. What a nice group of people! Turns out that they meet to run right outside our hotel! I wasn't able to keep track of time, but I felt really good about today. We walked the first half-mile or so as a warm-up, and I ran most of the rest. There was a HUGE hill in a neighborhood that we walked up, and then were so winded we felt like we needed to walk to recover. Yikes! The weather was perfect: overcast, misty, humid.

Distance: 8.0 miles


Saturday, June 30, 2007
We took a different route for the 8 miles today. I think I liked the other route better. The good news is that I cut 20 minutes off my time from last week! My toes
hurt--my shoes might be too small. But on the bright side, my "spare tire" is
disappearing, and I have muscles in my legs! A new girl ran with us today, and
she was a back-of-the-packer (woohoo!). She also had a nifty Garmin GPS wrist
gadget. I think that pushed us along at the end. Anyone want to donate one to me? Also, I only have 2 more Music Man shows to do, then I'm back to a "normal" sleep pattern.

Distance: 8.0 miles
Time: 106 minutes (walk/run)
Pace per mile: 13 min 15 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 5 hours 47 minutes


Saturday, June 23, 2007
Today was the big 8-miler, and I have made more progress. First, I ran all the way to the first water stop without walking (hooray!). Then, I ran all the way across the bridge into Northport to the next water stop without walking. Then I ran up to the turn-around point at FBC Northport and back to the same water spot without walking! And then I made it back across the bridge (which from the other direction is almost all uphill) without walking! That was about 5-ish miles. And then I walked. For a while. All the way back to the first water stop and back to campus. And I ran the last leg. I feel really good about how I did today, but I feel my time could have been better. Eli's law school friend was running with me, and she chastised me for being the "[dang] Energizer Bunny!"

Distance: 8.0 miles
Time: 125 minutes (walk/run)
Pace per mile: 15 min 38 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 6 hours 49 minutes


Saturday, June 16, 2007
I ran a full 6.5 today. I figured out that last week was only 6.2 (www.mapmyrun.com). The last time I was the only back-of-the-packer present for the Saturday run, Cathy, our coach, ran with me. Today, however, I was ALL ALONE. Eli is in Indianapolis and Laura was at a wedding. It was lonely, and I decided that I really enjoy running for the social aspect. Kinda' like group exercise classes, I like to know that there's at least one other person who is having a hard time. Today, it was just me. Dead last. But, on the brighter side, I beat last week's time by 10 minutes and ran .3 miles further. That, my friends, is progress.

Distance: 6.5 miles
Time: 72 minutes (walk/run)
Pace per mile: 11 min 4 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 4 hours 50 minutes


Saturday, June 9, 2007
We did a long run today. It was supposed to be 6.5 miles, but the three of us at the back of the pack (one of Eli's friends from law school came out) forgot the route after "get to Queen City" and turned down University for the long haul back. But, we also got a little lost in one of the neighborhoods, so we probably (?) made up for the mileage we missed by taking a wrong turn. Oh, well. I had a good time. Next week, I'll be the only back-of-the-packer, so maybe I can challenge myself to run a little harder. We'll see. Another 6.5 next week (and maybe this time I'll follow the right course)!

Distance: 6.2 miles
Time: 83 minutes (walk/run)
Pace per mile: 13 min 39 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 5 hours 51 minutes


Saturday, June 2, 2007
Today we did a five-miler. I had a running buddy today, and her pace was a little slower than mine (I ran with her for the 3-miler two weeks ago) so we ran a little, walked a little, ran a little, walked a little. By the end we probably walked about a third of it. I don't care though. I finished five miles today! I'm not really in it for the time--I'm in it to finish! I felt really good afterwards--not too tired, but also as if I didn't push myself as much as I could have. Next week we're in for 6.5!

Distance: 5 miles
Time: 68 minutes (walk/run)
Pace per mile: 13 min 36 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 5 hours 56 minutes


Saturday, May 26, 2007
Yesterday was the last day of school, so I had a lot to celebrate on my run this morning! I'm the slowest in the group, but there's no way I'm going to let that get me down. My daily runs are going well. I feel my legs getting stronger and my stamina is improving. Because of our schedules, Eli & I can't run together, but he's faster than me, anway. Haha! I can't believe I ran four miles today!

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 43 minutes (walk/run)
Pace per mile: 10 min 45 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 4 hours 41 minutes


Saturday, May 19, 2007
Eli and I went for our first long run this morning at 6am. What a way to celebrate our 4-year anniversary! There's a large group of people who run in the mornings in Tuscaloosa, most of the them former Team In Training participants. Our team this season looks to be five strong. Four are training for Nike, one is training for Marine Corps in DC. Eli was admired for his willingness to be "one of like twenty men" at the Nike Women's Marathon in October.

A note of interest: I found out today that ABC's Bachelor, Andy Baldwin, got his start doing triathlons through Team in Training!

Distance: 3 miles
Time: 37 minutes (walk/run)
Pace per mile: 12 min 24 sec
Projected Marathon Finish (at this pace): 5 hrs 24 mins