Tag Archive for 'running'

Five For Friday: Week in Review

Published on 7/9/2010. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , .

1. We had a lot of fun over the July 4th weekend. Spent time with friends and family, ate good food and had a generally full but low key weekend.

2. Lily has started to notice boys lately. I’m not sure whether I think this is cute or scary. She seems to have a thing for NASCAR drivers so we’ve got that going for us. She’s told us more than once that she “likes his face” in reference to a couple of different drivers and recently told me that she liked the way a couple of boys looked. I asked her what she liked about them and she said that “they look cool like the race car boys.” *groan* I was hoping we had at least a few more years before she became boy crazy.

3. In other very interesting news…we got a window air conditioner for our play room. The room is above the garage so it just doesn’t say as cool as the rest of the house. Wouldn’t really be a big deal except our treadmill is in that room and it gets quite steamy when you’re doing a workout with the door closed. Now we can turn on the window a/c while we’re exercising and keep it nice and cool.

4. Cam is so in love with his Batman and Superman jammies that I’ve started doing a load of laundry mid-week just so I can wash them and not have to fight with him to wear Buzz Lightyear two nights a week.

5. Jason and I are having a date night on Saturday and we’re going to check out this Brazilian Steak House place. Apparently there are guys walking around the dining room with swords filled with various types of meat. There is a dial on your table that you turn to green when you want more meat to be delivered. You turn it to red to say, “Whoa! That’s enough meat for now!” Then back to green, and so on. I’m not usually much of a meat person but I fully expect to have a meat hangover on Sunday.

Tempting Fate

Published on 4/19/2010. 2 Comments Tags: , .

Alright…I’ve decided to tempt fate and share a couple of things on the internet. It’s risky, I know.

1. I ran for a whole mile pain free yesterday! This whole being injured thing has really sucked. It really started with the stress reaction in October which led to a knee problem in December that has taken a long time to resolve. I finally went to the doctor last month and while x-rays didn’t reveal any major problems he diagnosed patellar tendinitis (runner’s knee). Basically, my knee cap kind of leans to the outside rather than staying centered. This, apparently, doesn’t cause any real damage but can be quite painful. He referred me to physical therapy for a few weeks and it seems to be helping. I’ve been doing some stretching and strengthening exercises and have slowly started running again. I’ve done a few run/walk intervals over the past couple of weeks but yesterday was my first prolonged run…although I hesitate to call 1 mile a prolonged run. Either way, I feel like I’m on my way to getting back to regular running. Hooray!

2. Cameron is potty trained! The sticker chart is what really got him motivated to potty train. We started off with giving him a prize after 5 successful visits to the potty. Then bumped it to 10 and then 15. (Lily even started making the charts for him!) After a few weeks we decided to do away with the charts since he was racking up prizes and we were going broke. (We also witnessed some interesting sibling dynamics during this process. Lily got quite distressed/upset a few times since Cam was getting so much attention during potty training. She would ask us why she can’t get stickers and prizes when she goes potty. We had to explain that we did all of this for her when she was Cam’s age and I think she understood that but it was still upsetting to her. We did take her out to choose a few treats in hopes of evening things up a little. She seems much happier now.)

So, Cam has been staying dry overnight for probably 2 months now and he has only had a few accidents during the day. He’s started wearing big boy underwear during the day and he’s loving that! We’re still putting him in a diaper at night but mostly because we still have several left…and he spends most of the night in our bed and we don’t need to risk any messy accidents in there.

Alright…I’ve confessed two things that are going well. Tonight I suppose I’ll tear my ACL and Cameron will start having lots of accidents.

26.2

Published on 1/22/2010. 5 Comments Tags: , , .

Alright! Race reports!

Let’s start with the kids’ races on Saturday. It was rainy and cold on Saturday but we headed to the Wide World of Sports Complex so the kids to take part in Mickey’s Marathon Kids’ Fest. Cameron was scheduled for a 100 meter run and Lily had a 200 meter run. I can’t go so far to say the kids had a good time but I think there were parts of the event that they liked. Overall, it seemed like things were pretty disorganized which really surprised me since it was a Disney event. I don’t know how much the weather had to do with it though. The different age groups were lined up at the appropriate start lines around the track; 100M, 200M, 400M. There was a lot of confusion about when a particular group should start and they had to restart some groups a couple of times. Had the weather been typical Florida weather I think it would have been better.

Anyway, on to the pictures!

Race numbers!

Waiting for the 100M dash to start

Lily and Grayson lined up for their 200M race

Victory!

We spent some time at the Magic Kingdom that afternoon and all turned in early because…

Jason and I had to get up at 3:15 IN THE MORNING to catch a bus from the resort to the race at 3:45 IN THE MORNING so we could be on time for the marathon. It was kind of an odd thing to leave our sleeping kids in the hotel room when we headed to the marathon. We had connecting rooms with Nate and Kelly so we just opened the doors between the rooms so the kids could go in there when they woke up. But STILL…totally weird to leave your kids in basically the middle of the night.

Moving on…

We got to Epcot at 4:00 and settled in the pre-race area to wait for the start. It was a little surreal that morning. Again, I think the weather played a huge factor in our overall experience. There was loud music and one of the Green Army Men (from Toy Story) was trying to get everyone PUMPED UP! Most of the race participants were just huddled together trying to stay warm. I know I was despite my running tights, sweat pants, tech tee, two long sleeved tech tees, long sleeved t-shirt, trash bag, gloves and headband I was still shivering too much to take part in any of the pre-race fun.

(Please note: that is NOT a giant roll of belly fat just beneath my race number. It’s my race bag that is filled with my phone, Shot Bloks, etc)

We were herded from the pre-race area about a half mile to the actual start line. Quite a cattle like experience. Jason and I kind of screwed up with our registration and ended up being placed in the last start corral. When we registered for the race back in August we anticipated finishing the marathin in about 4 hours 30 minutes. Since we entered a time less than 5 hours we were required to substantiate this time by turning in results from another race. I had yet to run a race long enough to qualify but expected to do so during the fall. After I had the stress reaction my plans to run another race got scrapped and we never did submit substantiation. So, we were placed in the last corral. Quite a bummer, really but we ended up starting about three corrals up. I think they were being pretty lax on things due to the weather.

After about an hour in the corrals they started releasing the racers in waves. First the wheel chairs and then the elite runners. We finally got started at 6:05 which was about the same time the elite runners were crossing the 4 mile mark…about 22 minutes after their start gun. There was a general feeling of, “Well, obviously they’re going to TOTALLY smoke my ass.”

Mickey and the gang saw us off at the start line.

The first 4 or 5 miles were pretty congested and we kept about a 13 or 14 minute pace; just barely jogging, really. It was too crowded to do much else. Epcot was the first park at about the 4.2 mile mark and the feeling came back to my toes around then.

I ditched my trash bag right as we were getting into Epcot and there were a few times over the next couple of miles that I regretted it. The next few miles took us along the Disney road system (highway) en route to the Magic Kingdom at mile 10. Not much exciting for those next few miles. There were several spectators out on the course and they were fantastic at cheering for the runners! We started to fall into our pattern of walking through the water stations even if we weren’t getting anything to drink at a particular station.

The sun came up as we made our way to the Magic Kingdom which is where the fun really started! We entered the Kingdom through a back stage are and poured on to main street. We ‘lost’ a lot of time in the Magic Kingdom because we stopped to soak it in and grab some pictures with the characters.

Captain Hook and Smee

Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen and Louis

We even got to run right through the middle of Cinderella’s castle!

After leaving the Magic Kingdom we started our 4 mile trek to Animal Kingdom. Much of this leg of the race seemed to be on more behind the scenes roads. Not too much exciting here either. I remember seeing some accordian players and a piano player (not at the same time) and there were more ‘cheer stations’ for spectators to shout encouragement. We went past the half way point feeling pretty good and our pace had picked up to more like 11 or 12 minutes per mile. Pretty soon I shed my long sleeved tee and my sweat pants so I was down to respectable running gear!

I was really liking the walking through water stations strategy and we grabbed some bananas at around the 14 mile mark to try to sate our increasing hunger. Overall, it felt like the miles were ticking by pretty quickly at this point. We made our way into the back part of Animal Kingdom which was open to the public by this time. It was kind of funny running past all of the vacationing families!

Shortly after Animal Kingdom is where I started to really feel like I was running a marathon. I suppose that makes sense given that we’d
already completed about 18 miles which made this my longest run ever. Around mile 20 is where I really started to feel it. My left knee really started to hurt during the 4 miles between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. We did a two mile out and back near the Wide World of Sports that felt endless and then we shifted our walk break so we were walking up and down the highway ramp. This was a very flat course except for those damn exit ramps. Not only were we running up an incline but the pavement was ramped which really messed with our gait. We kept running to the top or bottom of the road to try to find a more level surface.

Mile 22 brought us to Hollywood Studios but I don’t have any good pictures to share from that park. By that time we were in ‘finish this’ mode and just concentrating on placing one foot in front of the other. I’m pretty sure that the course measurements were screwed up during the last 4 miles of the race because those miles seemed A LOT longer than the first four miles. Obviously a measurement error on the course. Right? Anyway…

We left Hollywood Studios and headed along the walk way to Epcot. I was dealing with dueling pains now. My knee felt better when I was running but my muscles felt better when I was walking. And those first few steps running again after walking for a minute? HOOOBOY! I was a little bit afraid of my knee just deciding to stop working and leaving me in a huddled mess on the course. We finally made it to the World Showcase are in Epcot and ran through several countries though I can’t really remember which ones. I know we ended at Mexico and went to the front of the park. All along the way people were telling us “Only 1 more mile!”, “Just around the corner!”, “You’re almost there!” It was nice for inspiration but I was craving something more exact. Tell me how many more steps I have to take or how many more minutes. We had passed the 25 mile marker not long after entering Epcot and were were convinced that there wasn’t going to be a 26 mile marker…they would just do the finish line at 26.2. Wrong. We finally came on the 26 mile marker and got energized that we only have 2/10 of a mile to go! My muscles and mind wanted to pick up the pace but my knee wouldn’t let me.

We rounded the final corner to see the finish line and bleachers filled with spectators cheering for us. A pretty cool feeling really! I gave Goofy a high five on my way to the finish and Jason and I crossed the line with our hands together and arms in the air! We collected our medals and headed straight to the medical tent for some ice for my knee. Victory was ours! Well, kind of. Depends on what your definition of victory is. The ACTUAL victory went to a guy from Brazil who crossed the finish line at about the time we crossed the half way point. Maybe even before we were half way. We finished in 5 hours and 57 minutes which is good enough for me. Here are our split times:

5 Mile: 1:10:08
10 Mile: 2:10:28
Half Split: 2:59:59
20 Mile: 4:29:55
Finish: 5:57:08

Our goal with the race was to complete it. It was our first marathon and given my injury and lack of training for the 10 weeks leading up to the race I’m pretty pleased with the outcome. As we rode the bus back to the resort Jason turned to me and said, “I know we just finished and I’ll give it a few days but I’m never running one of those again.” At the time I completely agreed with him but a few days later I know I heard myself saying that maybe I would try the Goofy challenge next year (half marathon on Saturday and full on Sunday). I am curious to know what kind of time I could get if I was able to complete a marathon training program. We’ll see. Maybe next fall I’ll try a local marathon and see how that goes.

Return to Running

Published on 12/1/2009. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

I have three runs under my belt since taking off the boot after my stress reaction. I ran a 5K on Thanksgiving Day, 3 miles on Saturday and 4 miles on Sunday. Yesterday I did 30 minutes on the exercise bike. So far, so good and I’m digging my new shoes. I’ve been keeping my pace slow (though I don’t know exactly how slow…thanks very much SportBand for deciding to crap out on me right now)(BUT..Nike is sending me a new sensor that will hopefully get me back in business). We did the Turkey Trots at around 11:30 pace and I’ve done my other two runs on the treadmill at level 5, which is 12:00 pace, I think.

I haven’t had any pain other than the normal ‘I haven’t run in a month’ muscle pain. My shin feels a little bit achy sometimes but my understanding is that is normal after an injury. It definitely doesn’t hurt like it did a month ago. For now, I am going to go with it. I’ve modified my training plan to give me a couple of weeks of lower mileage but I’m hoping to rejoin the original program starting with 14 miles on December 12th and 20 miles the following Saturday. I feel like if I can get in those long runs in addition to the mid-range runs during the week I’ll be pretty well prepared to finish the marathon.

If The Shoe Fits

Published on 11/27/2009. 1 Comment Tags: .

So now I kind of feel like a great big dummy.

Went back to the doctor on Wednesday afternoon and was given the OK to ditch the boot and start running again. Of course, he advised me to ease back into running and start off slow with low mileage. This was great news to me since I’m eager to start getting back in shape for the marathon.

Jason and I had been looking forward to running in the Turkey Trots 5K on Thanksgiving morning. What a fun event! It’s hosted by the local bagel restaurant. No entry fee, no prizes, no timing. Just 300+ runners getting together for a 5K run around campus on Thanksgiving morning. Definitely a fun way to start the holiday weekend! We bundled the kids up in the jogging stroller (it was only about 30 degrees!) and headed out. I felt really, really great! We kept it slow and finshed with an average pace of about 11 minutes/mile. My legs felt great and we had a lot of fun!

As the day went on I kept getting nervous that my shin would start to hurt. It still doesn’t hurt but my legs are a little sore. I guess taking a month off of running will do that. The exercise bike just isn’t the same. I did notice that my ankles were a little sore though.

This morning we headed to the local running store so I could make sure my shoes are appropriate. I planned to do this as soon as I got out of the boot and I’m so glad I went today. I wore Nike Moto 6 starting in May and they seemed to work pretty well for me but I felt like I wanted more cushioning. In October I ordered some Nike Vomeros thinking that I’m a pretty neutral runner. According to the nice kid at the running store I actually overpronate pretty badly. Who knew? So, the Vomeros were basically a pretty bad choice for me. Thus…why I feel kind of stupid now. I feel like if I had just stuck with the Motos instead of switching to the Vomeros I may have never even been injured. Oh well. What’s done is done. Now I have a pretty pair of Brooks Adrenaline that have a good deal of motion control. The feel so much better than the Vomeros. Really looking forward to running in them tomorrow!

Now I have just over 6 weeks to get in shape for the marathon. Should be interesting to find the balance between getting in enough mileage and overdoing it.

In Other News…

Published on 11/24/2009. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , .

Again with the blog slacking! We’ve had a few fun event type things over the past several weeks. Here is a brief overview to catch everyone up.

Per Lily’s request, we had a birthday party for the dogs.

We went to a homecoming parade and the kids got a ton of candy…

…and got to have their picture taken with blood (from the blood bank). Random but whatever works to get people to donate blood, I guess.

Lily learned to skip!!! She had been practicing this for awhile and finally nailed it a few weeks ago! So cute! Video to come once I download the camera…in other words, don’t hold your breath.

Cameron has had another language explosion! He’s making huge complex sentences and overall just being hilarious. Lily called him a ’stinker’ the other day and he looked at her and said, “I not stinker…YOU stinker!” He also tells us that when it’s dark outside it makes him, “so, so sleepy” while he rubs his arms across his eyes!

We got to meet our new nephew who was born at the end of October! Cooper Wayne. Tiny. Adorable. Little bean. *sigh* He’s perfect!

I go back to the doctor on Wednesday and hopefully will ditch the boot at that time. I’m really hoping to do a 5K run on Thanksgiving morning and I would love to pick up my training plan with a 12 mile run on Saturday. We’ll see… don’t want to re-injure myself. I’ve been doing a pretty good job on the exercise bike but it will definitely be interesting the first time I hit the pavement for a run.

What else has been going on in my incredibly exciting life? I saw New Moon this weekend! Yeah…I’m totally going to write about Twilight. SHUT UP! Yes, I’m 32 years old and YES, I was giddy like a school girl walking into the theater! I liked this movie better than the first one and I felt like it stuck to the book but also changed things around enough to make it work for a movie. I did feel like they should have made Bella and Edward seem at least a little happier when they were together at the start of the movie. They were too angsty and it felt like they hardly enjoyed each others company at all. I could be wrong on that though…so maybe I’ll need to see it AGAIN just to make sure I’m interpreting things correctly!!! Jason has refused to go with me. His argument is that I won’t go to scary movies with him so he won’t go to this with me. My argument: It’s not the same AT ALL…scary movies would mean that I couldn’t be alone in the house or even upstairs by myself after dark for probably 3 months.