Life update

Yes - I'm still here. Barely.

As of 04/02 we have our house up for sale (no bites yet), so that had kept me busy. Other things have been brewing as well that have been keeping me from my running and blogging. Excuses, excuses! I know. Lame.

Yesterday we did the First Annual Beach Wellness 5K Race out at the State Park. I enjoyed it, because it was the same course for Run By the Bay so I knew it. Didn't set a PR, but it was good to be out running! Ran into my trainer JH - always good to see her. Hopefully the weather will warm up and we will be able to resume our workouts like we want to.

Next weekend is the Flushing Tax Trot. Another good race. Nice residential run through a pretty neighborhood. My mom will be there to race also. Last year the Tax Trot was my first run ever. I finished in 35.22 (11.24 pace), I see no reason why I can't beat that! (keeping fingers crossed)

Off to do more laundry!

Bay City St. Pat's

If you have been checking here every day, wondering how the race went . . . wonder no more. I even have pictures!

For starters, I did not beat my best time. I was 5 seconds off. Will try again next time. J on the other hand, smoked his previous PR with a time of 25:21! I finished with a 32:32 and mom walked across the finish with a 52:29.

Here we are after the race. Thanks to our friend B for taking our picture!

Next is a picture of me, far left. The best part of this picture is the fact that J wasn't taking a picture of me, he was shooting the girl in front of me who is our friend B's niece.



J didn't even see me, nor know I had finished the race until I walked up to him after I finished. He pointed her out to me later and I told him she was either right in front of me or right behind me so I should be in the picture too - and I was! I did pass her in the end, and beat her by 11 seconds. That gives me great satisfaction, because she walk/ran the whole way. There are always people in a race that I am in that will run fast, then walk . . . then just as I catch up to them, run again . . . then walk. It is as if they hear me coming and think "OH NO, we can't let HER beat, me!"

Sorry the pictures are so dark, it was very sunny that day.

So now you ask what's next? What's next is the Flushing Tax Trot, which was the first 5K I ran (last year). It is a nice residential run that is pretty flat, and I'm pretty confidant that I'll beat last years time of 35:22. :-) At least I had better!

Besides the Tax Trot, my treadmill training from here on out will not only be rolling hills, but also inclines - since the Mackinaw Bridge Memorial Day Run is about 68 days away, and I need to start working on my 5% incline! You might think a 5% incline is not that much and you are right, but a 5% incline for around 2.5 miles which is also the Entire Beginning of the Race - then it turns into something!

Another thing I seriously want to start working on is my EATING! Yes, I know how to eat . . . too well actually! I need to forget how to eat a few hundred calories per day. So even though you've read it here before, I'm going back on the food journal. Wish me luck!

03.03.07 - Reese Winter Road Race Series

Yesterday was the last race in the series for the Reese Winter Road Races. Although I didn't get a trophy (I only competed in 3 of the 4 races) I did set a Personal Record! I had my best time for a 5K, finishing in 32:38.22, which is a 10:30 minute mile. Maybe rolling hills ARE working! Whether rolling hills are working or not, I'm going to continue to do them.

On the other hand, J did run in all 4 races and he received a trophy for 1st in his age group! Pretty impressive, since our age groups were split up by decades.

The race was pretty hard though. I was certainly glad to have my MP3 player with me to distract me from the 25 mph wind gusts. At least the temps were in the mid-20's for this one. Last race it was 6 degrees. I got a really nice side cramp around the half way point, but with the wind out of my face I got it to go away finally. Also, I pasted a gal at the end so I didn't come in last in my age group. (Insert evil grin!)

Tonight we register online for the St. Pat's race - and use our new Champion Chip numbers! Too cool! Hopefully I'll have a new PR to report after that race. It's definitely a possibility, since I know the course.

Committed

The title of this post can mean different things to different people, so I'll let you decide. :-)

For at least 6 months now, J & I have been dreaming of our first half marathon. Sounds pretty easy - distance wise. Just run the Crim (10 miles) and then a 5K on top of that. Bang - half marathon. We even have one picked out, the Walt Disney World Half Marathon at the beginning of 2008.

We have been checking the web site, and last year it said the marathon & half-marathon fill up around July since they only let a certain number of people register. Well, I went to the web site yesterday and it said that registration was already at 85% capacity. So, we went ahead and registered last night!

No one expects to visit the Mouse and get away cheap, and this is no exception. $95.00 to register for the race, $8.95 for a commemorative pin, and $38.00 for a commemorative ChampionChip - all to celebrate this is the 15th year of these races. Entrance into the park for race start and awards ceremony, Fitness Expo and t-shirt are all things included in the $95.00 fee.

Okay, now the web site says they are at 95% capacity! Looks like we snuck in just in time. You can check out the action here: Disney Marathon Weekend. So now in a week or so I can start scoping out airfare and hotel prices. We already know we are going to stay on campus, at one of the Value Resorts they have. To say we are excited is an understatement. We are committed!

02.02.07

Happy Groundhog's Day. Whatever that means.

Tomorrow is our 5K in Reese, and according to weather dot com, we are in for a doozy. The race starts at 10am, and they are predicting temperatures to be about 10 degrees F, but with the wind chill it should feel like -4 degrees F! Plus, it should also be snowing.

Tonight after work I think I'm heading to Runners to pick up some YakTrax so I don't slip and fall on my tookis. My tailbone is fragile enough, I don't need to kill it for good.

On the up-side, tonight is pizza night!

Will post results and hopefully photos tomorrow or Sunday. Wish us luck (from remaining frost-bite free!)

Happy New Year!

So here it is. I said I would do it; start a blog to track my running. Suddenly I realize it's Day 4, and I have no blog . . . and I've already ran a race this year! (See above)

J and I found a 5K race to run on 12/31/06, starting at 11:45pm. We were going to run into the new year. Only problem was that it was 3 hours away in Ohio. That was easily solved by J, he sent the check to register us for the race, printed some maps and booked us a room.

We start out running together, and since it was thru residential streets and a "Rail Trail" similar to ours at home, it was easy to know when midnight struck. Lots of people honking horns and shooting - whatever it was they were shooting. So we yelled "Happy New Year!" to each other and those around us and got off the trail for a moment to celebrate with a new years kiss. Then it was time for J to take off and go his own pace. Have I mentioned it was at least 45 degrees, raining and gusting 15 to 20 mile per hour winds?

Two guesses who got sick and the first one doesn't count. Yep, ME! I had a sore throat by the time the race was over. I was hot from my winter running clothes and soaking wet. Wonderful. The race sponsors gave prizes 7 deep, but I finished 14th in my age group and J finished 10th in his. We did finish in the top 300, so we each received a blinky necklace with the Midnight Train logo on it. I certainly didn't "pull out all the stops" like I had hoped and set the world on fire with a new PR (personal record), but I did finish with a time of 33:58 which is a 10.49 minute mile. (About my average.)

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent alternating between the couch and bed, with lots of sleeping and DayQuil. Today was my first day at work in the new year and I'm not 100% yet. Which makes me wonder, will I be ready for my next 5K race on Saturday? Only time will tell.