Girl on the Run

THIS is what it's all about!

2008-07-25T07:25:00.002-05:00

At least for me anyway... Oh... what is IT anyway??? Progress!!! As I've mentioned many times here (or meant to and didn't, I can't remember what's actually in my archives) I'm NOT a natural athlete!!! Running was one of the most dreaded activities in highschool!! I got winded after running 1/4 of a lap around the track (1/16 of a mile???)

Anyway, I'm in my 2nd year of running now. I did my first 5K in 34:33. I never competed against anyone but myself. That was good advice I got from some of the good people that encouraged me to do my first 5K. I never did a 5K in under 30 last year. I never ran an entire 5K either. It hurts. I got winded and side stitches.

My goals for this year were to run a 10K and do a 5K in under 30. I've done two out of 3 5Ks in under 30 this year (In all fairness my first 5K was at the zoo and very very hilly)!!

I'm spent after 5Ks though. How in the world can I do a 10K??? I can't even run an entire 5K!!

I have to admit, my training is not very consistent though. I still don't understand training although I know where to find training plans. I have learned valuable things along the way like pacing yourself. Hard for me because like most newbies, I run too fast too soon.

Anyway, this morning was a crisp 62 degree morning. I didn't think about getting to the end of my 4 mile route as fast as I could. I actually ran at a very comfortable pace. I am happy to announce that this morning for the first time in my running life, I ran consistently without walking for 3.5 miles. I started getting a side stitch at that point and my partner (who had already run 11 miles at that point) was getting a sore hip so we walked the last 1/2 mile but you don't know how stoked I am!!! This is what it's all about. Making progress. And times like this when I can definitively see the progress, that is so encouraging. Now I think I will actually reach my goal. I'm thinking my first 10K will be as part of a 5 person team at the Akron Marathon. I'm hoping to start my training on Monday if I can' figure it out.

Man runs in honor of friend who died while serving in Iraq

2008-07-24T04:59:00.003-05:00

The following article about my cousin ran in The News Herald on Monday. It's hard to believe it's almost been a year since we lost him.

Spirit of Soldier Lives On

Some ran to get into shape. Some ran because it's tradition. Brandon Alexander ran the 32nd Annual Johnnycake Jog on Sunday in memory of one of his best friends, Army Cpl. Joshua Harmon.
While other runners spent the hours before the race sleeping in, stretching or concentrating on a healthy breakfast, Alexander spent those hours at Harmon's grave at Mentor Municipal Cemetery.
Harmon, a 2005 Mentor High School graduate, died Aug. 20 at the age of 20 during his second tour in Iraq when a helicopter carrying him and 13 other soldiers crashed in Multaka.
Wearing a pair of Harmon's shoes and the number 390 - which Harmon wore the only time he competed in the Jog in 2005 - Alexander said the late soldier was with him spiritually during the competition.
"I framed that number (390) and hung it on his wall because I was so proud of him, and now it's back on my wall," the 35-year-old Mentor-on-the-Lake resident said.
Alexander was Harmon's neighbor and considered him family. He said he had given Harmon an extra set of keys to his house and his car.
"He was like a brother to me. I knew him all 20 years of his life," he said.
"He was just like anyone else in my family."
The Johnnycake Jog will always be close to Alexander's heart because he shared good memories with Harmon there.
"This was the first race that Josh ever ran," he said. "Before he left (for Iraq) I got him into running so he could lose some weight and keep in shape, so I told him he should do the Johnnycake Jog.
"I wanted him to have a sense of accomplishment, and I wanted him to enjoy the experience."
The shoes Alexander wore were Harmon's running shoes, which he wore while in Iraq.
Alexander said the shoes helped him reach his goal to finish the 5-mile run in less than 50 minutes, which he accomplished by completing it in 48 minutes.
"It just feels like his spirit was running with me," he said. "When I have his shoes on, his spirit is embraced.
"Those shoes helped me not stop," he added.
"If I didn't have these shoes on and didn't have a purpose to run today, I probably would have stopped."
This year Alexander ran the race with his brother, while his mother and sister walked.
"Like I tell my brother, you only got one shot. Josh told me he was going to run another one, and I told him I'd run it with him," he said. "It was nice to have my family with me at the race because you never know if there will be another race after this where we can all be together."

I said I'm missin you, uh huh!

2008-07-22T17:19:00.003-05:00

My husband is out of town for the week for work. I think he got the impression that I was all too willing and happy to let him go. I think he misunderstood my supporting spirit because of course I hate when he's gone and miss him a lot.

I just thought it would be a nice little escape for him from the regular routine he has here, not to mention that all his expenses are well paid for when he's gone.

I have to admit, that although I do miss him, can't stress that enough, it is a nice little break for me as well. Not a break from him, of course. But a break from the regular routine. You see, I usually get up at 4:30am to get to the fitness center and then from there, it's non-stop going until evening. Even if I don't make it to the gym, I feel the need to get up early to make him coffee, breakfast and lunch for the day. It's not that he expects it. But because he doesn't, it makes me want to do this for him.

I also am not as concerned about the condition of the house or having a formal dinner when he gets home. Again, not something he demands or expects, but something I expect out of myself when he's home.

I took the kids to see Wall-e at the drive-in last night with some friends. It was a fun night out. We didnt' get home until after midnight. I slept in until 10:30am today!!! How fun is that? I guess Wall-e was a good movie but I was distracted watching the lightening in the clouds in the distance past the screen.

I definitely look forward to starting my training for my first 10K when he gets home. I can't really leave to run with two little ones here.

I also watched "Mamas Boy" and "27 Dresses" and I rented another chic flick (Definitely, Maybe) to watch tonight. I never have time to watch chic flicks so I'm excited about that. So far, all good movies. I highly reccomend them.

My results...

2008-07-20T12:37:00.003-05:00

Well, I don't like to post my results because someone once warned me that anyone can figure out my real name and where I live and a girl can't be too careful.

So let's just say. there were over 1100 people there and more than half the people in the 4 mile race did better than me. But! That was my first 4 mile race and I still did almost as good as I hoped too.

Did I mention how HOT it was!!! I actually worked hard at the beginning to keep a very easy pace. I was able to run consistently for almost 2.5 miles. This is quite an accomplishment for me in a race scenerio because I usually start out too fast and use up all my oxygen before the 2 mile mark. Hubby stayed with me for the first two miles which was really nice!!! Even though I never expect anyone to hold back to run with me, it definitely helps. My sis did the same thing for me at the Race for the cure last year and I got my best 5 K time that day.

Anyway, a little after 2 miles I told him to go on without me because I was getting a stitch. I'm sure it was mental because I knew I had made it farther running and had reached a personal milestone. He tried to stay with me and encourage me to press on, which was super sweet and supportive of him, but actually, I was getting winded and so everytime he was asking me how I was doing, I was getting more and more annoyed. (poor guy).

After he took off ahead of me, I wished I had remembered to remind him to be waiting for me at the finish with ice cold water. I at least hoped that by now, after doing a few races together, that he would just know. He was right there waiting for me at the finish, pushing me to keep going but all I could do was scowl at him and doing American Sign Language for WATER and NOW.

It kind of reminded me when I was in labor with my son and he kept asking me how I was and I wanted to tear his head off!!! Yes, it was almost that painful!

We found GK after the race and hung out together trying to catch t-shirts and keyrings they were throwing off the roof of the restaurant. I kinda felt like a dog playing fetch but it was kind of fun. I almost got a keyring but I wasn't agressive enough I guess. Anyway, we stayed for awards (none of us placed but GK was 5th in his age group... CONGRATULATIONS friend!!) and then we parted ways.

My goal for the rest of the year is to certainly do the Turkey Trot 5 mile race in November. From now until September 27, I will be training to do 10K in a 5 person relay at the Akron marathon. I said last year that my goal for 2008 is to do my first 10K.

My next two races will probably be the OROC in August and the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure on Sept 13.

Ok ... GO!!!

2008-07-18T06:45:00.005-05:00

My first three shuffled songs this morning at the fitness center were: Fratellis : Flathead, Greenday: Hitchin a Ride and OK GO: Here it goes again.

GK, we should try this out on the treadmills (maybe we can recruit Sue and John to join us?).....

Anyway, those songs helped me run as fast as I could on the treadmill. Nothing like a good BPM song or three to keep ya moving!!!!

I ran to Walmart afterwards to get some healthy treats for the day. I love Braeburn apples dipped in completely natural, (no salt or sugar or extra oil) peanut buttah. I made a mistake and bought some white oreos a few days ago and those things are addictive. It's all the HFCS! Speaking of HFCS.... did you know it's impossible to find chocolate milk without it? I researched it this morning and I could only find one brand of choco milk sans the High Fructose Corn Syrup (Driftwood Dairy) and you can only get it if you live in CA. Good thing I love Organic Fat Free white Milk.

Hmmm .. I thought I had a point. Guess not.

Anyway, I didn't get much training in for the Winking Lizard race tomorrow. It's going to be my longest race to date (4 miles) and it's going to be hot. Good thing my friend GK will be buying the post race beers (he doesn't know it yet but he'll find out when he reads comments on HIS BLOG this morning.)

In other news... I am so fortunate to live on a major body of water and I don't even appreciate it. This morning I walked the dog on the beach and it's been months since I've done that. I love the sound of water rolling up on the shore. Its very calming. I'll have to try to do that more often.

Ok, well, this post is going nowhere. Hope you at least enjoyed the video! Have a great weekend!

Race T-shirts

2008-07-15T20:51:00.006-05:00

I registered Sean, GK and I for the Winking Lizard 4 mile race on Saturday night. We did this one last year and it was so fun, although I only did the 2 mile.

The t-shirts this year are bright lime green. When I first saw them, I thought they might be the ugliest race t-shirt to date (most boring award goes to the Bier Markets Ohio City Run and Crawl shirts because it's the same shirt every year) but when I put it on tonight (I'm wearing it to bed), it's actually pretty cute. I mean, the picture on the front is great of a Lizard running. It was the color I was concerned about. (I just tried to take a picture of it but it's too dark in here I guess).

Sean asked me if I could try to score him a Winking Lizard shot glass in lieu of another t-shirt. I didn't even bother. He is quite the charmer and had he registered himself and come home with a glass, I would not have been surprised at all.

I have several race t's now and I don't really know what to do with them. They are so boyish looking ... they never come in girly style, at least none of the races I've done. Some people say they make good workout t-shirts but personally I have to wear those moisture wicking type of shirts because I "glow" excessively when I work out.

I thought about making something out of them. T-shirt quilts and pillows are kinda gaudy (unless they got some retro prints on them maybe???). Maybe a bag? I was thinking like those little backpacks that you can carry your stuff to in a race. I don't think t-shirt material is sturdy enough to make grocery bags out of.

Any ideas??? For now, I think I will just keep wearing them to bed.

Sexy plexi ooh la la!! (<------ CLICK THAT LINK.. I dare ya!!! orrr, just play this...)

Favor for a friend?

2008-07-14T07:25:00.003-05:00

My friend Gary is a radio DJ here in my area and he has started a blog where his listeners and others can read up on the stories he talks about on his show and comment.

His blog can be found at garyakuhn.blogspot.com.

It would be cool if you would click on that link and leave a comment re: his latest post. He would like to have some comments to use on his show. If you don't want your real name to be said, just make one up.

In the meantime, let me tell you my embarrassing moment of the day....

After my workout this morning, as I headed for the door to leave the fitness center, I pulled the headphones out of the jack of my new LG Scoop phone/mp3 player. I forgot that when you pull the headphones out, the music plays through the speaker for all to hear. I couldn't help but laugh out loud, out of sheer embarrassment, as I walked through the crowd of highschool football boys, waiting to start their practice, to the lyrics, "My hump, my hump my hump my hump, my lovely lady lumps" blasting out of my phone as I frantically tried to find the stop button.

Good thing I'm an old 33 year old chic and can laugh at myself, or else I might never be able to show my face at the gym again!

Ok, now go visit Gary and thanks again!

Pymatuming 5K

2008-07-13T13:27:00.001-05:00

This was a beautiful race!!! It was a hot morning but you run most of it through the woods and I had a different feeling in this race than in any other 5K race I've done so far. I just felt like I was running for pleasure. I didn't even set a goal for myself. I just ran this because I heard it was a nice race.

Towards the end, I was fading. I kept getting side stitches and it was getting hotter. But a woman I had met before the race caught up with me and said "Let's go girl" and that's all I needed to run the rest of the race. I did it in 29:43 which is not as good as my last race but it's still under 30 which makes me happy enough.

Three people I knew there placed in their age group. I love being surrounded by winners!!! It's very motivating. Actually, runners are some of the most motivating people to be around. I love it. I hope I can run for a long time even though sometimes I hate the actual running part of running :)

Madly!!!!!

2008-07-09T14:50:00.000-05:00

KLUTZ!!!

2008-07-09T10:54:00.002-05:00

I have always been a true klutzy geek to the core but yesterday was one of my best.

I took my kids to swim at my friend, Vanessa's house. I went inside to get a glass of ice water and proceeded to sit down next to Ness. As I sat, the chair, my glass of ice water and I all flipped backwards off the deck. I did a complete backwards somersault. It would have been gracefully executed until the moment I hit both of my shins, with all my weight, into the wooden border of her firepit.

OWWWW!

It hurt so bad. I rolled around on the grass, crying and laughing at the same time. If only someone had the video cam rolling. I'm sure it was hillarious!!!! I could be the $10,000 Americas Funniest Videos winner.

Today, my legs are sore, I've got two nice bruises and a really sore back. I have to heal up. I'm doing the Pymatuming 5K on Saturday morning. NO EXCUSES!!!!

In diet news, I received some very good advice from the voice of reason and I'm done following the PERFECT BODY DIET. Instead, I will incorporate all that I know to be good for me from the Abs Diet and Perfect Body and other healthy tidbits, and just do what's best for me, while still allowing myself to enjoy food. With that said, I'm off to the grocery store!!!

Clarification

2008-07-08T10:33:00.004-05:00

I hope I didn't sound too vain in my last post. I probably did and that's the problem with sharing your thoughts on a public blog. Misinterpretations happen. Let me see if I can clarify....

I know having the perfect body is, by far, NOT the most important thing in life. The concept I get from this book is that a "perfect body" means different things to different people. For me, it's all (ok, mostly) about Health.

To me, being healthy means less fat on my body. Excess fat causes all kinds of problems with your organs, joints and bones. I have a herniated disk or two and ever since I started excercising more, I haven't been out of commission like I would get when I was more inactive. In fact, a friend told me yesterday that her doctor told her that by losing just one pound, she takes 4 pounds of pressure off her bad knees. So to me, the perfect body is about maintaining a healthy body fat percentage, being close (not under) to my healthy body weight for my size frame, and eating right.

So it's not all about looks but of course, there's nothing wrong with taking pride in how you look. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. So do I want more toned looking muscles and a slimmer waist. HECK YES I DO!!!!

All the while, I intend on being the same nice chic I am now, so don't you go worrying about that.

So now that we got that all cleared up, how am I doing??? So far, the food is GROSS! You add this glucomannan to pretty much every meal. It's a tasteless calorie free fiber that expands in liquid so it turns every meal into the texture of paste!!! Being the texture freak that I am, I'm having a real problem with this.

I ate half a Luna bar before my run this morning (it's not on the plan but it's the only thing I can get down at 4:30am to have something in me). GK and I did 4 miles but as he put it, my heart just wasn't in it. I alternated running and walking. It was extremely humid and we all know how much I LOVE humidity. After my shower I went back to bed and slept for a couple more hours. I watch Enchanted with my 4 year old and didn't eat until 11am. That's bad. You are supposed to eat every 2-3 hours but visions of paste did not entice me. I finally got up and made the stuffed red pepper with tuna salad. I forced it down. It wasn't horrible. Not pastey this time. Just wierd. I'm not used to eating like this, plus I was already shakey from not eating all morning. I didn't eat all the food on the plan for yesterday so I didn't have enough calories needed but I just wasn't hungry after a whole day of different flavored paste.

55 more days!!! Can I do it? I'm already starting to think that I might have to come up with my own recipes. What a pain but as GK's dad always says "If it was easy, everyone would do it". And as I told GK yesterday in response... I wanna be the minority!! Green Day style!!!

Ok, that's enough diet rant for today. 55 more days! 55 more days!

Now I'm a believer.....

2008-07-07T06:21:00.003-05:00

So I made it to the gym... it was 65 degrees this morning and I was really looking forward to an outside run but I was disappointed when I got there to find that my running pal was nowhere to be found. I must cut him some slack though. He did a 5K on the 4th, coming in 1st place in his age group (Congratulations GK!!!! Click here to see his blog) and then 17 miles yesterday after a long weekend of yard work and chasing kids.

I proceeded on inside. This week I am only supposed to do 2 days of muscle training and I wasn't prepared for the plan that is layed out in the book, so I knew I would be heading for the treadmill for some cardio.

I started out at a 6mph pace. It felt comfortable. Only moments after running at that pace, I SAW IT!!!! MY PERFECT BODY!!!

Except... it wasn't on me... it was on some 20 year old hottie in heather gray terry short shorts and a pink tank top (oh.... need I mention... the PERFECT TAN to boot?) She stepped onto the eliptical machine right in front of me. Suddenly, I was humbled. I sized her up as she started running. Us girls do that, you know.... Yes, we do check out other women. Not for the same reason men do it. Well, I mean, not all of us.

Anyway, looking at her, I realized then that I have a ways to go before I reach my goal. Ok, actually, I felt like a fat pig. An OLD fat pig. Thoughts flooded my mind as I amped my speed up to 6.8 mph. I don't care how bad I sweat, I must reach my goal. Sweat is my friend. Then I started justifying.... this chic hasn't had two 9+ pound babies. Of course she looks amazing!!!

OH! Who am I kidding??? I never even looked that good at 20. I was always on the thin side, but working out was never a real priority to me in my younger years. And watching what I eat??? No, it really wasn't something I was concerned with, unless, of course, you mean looking at the food before I ate it....

As Jack Johnson whispered sweet nothings in my ear, I pressed forward, speeding up to 7.0 and contimplating 9mph. The Racounteurs almost made it happen but then when they were done screaming for me to salute my solution, I just got mad. I gave up. I had only run 1.31 miles, the gym was too stinking hot and I was sick of looking at MY perfect body on someone else.

I hit the cool down button, then the stop button, cleaned off my treadmill, said goodbye to Bud, and headed outside for the track. I only made it around twice and decided that was good enough for my first day.

On the positive side, I now know what my perfect body looks like. I know how I'm going to get it and according to this book, it's only 56 days away.

Anxious

2008-07-07T03:39:00.003-05:00

It's 4:39am and I'm killing some minutes because it's still to early to leave for my 5am gym date.

I had a hard time sleeping. I think it was anxiety... but over what?

The only thing I can think of is that I start I first of my 8 weeks on a diet that I'm determined to stick to. It's only 56 days right?

My plan is to try to follow the suggested meals to the T. I only looked at the meal plan for the first time last night. The meal part of a diet/excercise regime is always the hardest. I see fish oil capsules and sugar subsitutes in the plan.

OH. I don't know.

Yet, just a little self discipline for 2 short months out of my life. I can do it. I want to do it because I want to prove to myself that I can. Plus, I'm dying to see what this "perfect body" would look like.

I weighed myself last night on one of those scales that also tells you your body fat percentage. I'm too vain to post my weight and percentage here but lets just say, a diet is not going to hurt.

Well, it's 4:43am and time to head to the gym. I'm running this morning. I was a lazy girl all last week so here's hoping the break did me some good and I'll have a great run this morning.

Beware, the next 56 posts will most likely be me talking about this.

Lazy

2008-07-05T10:00:00.001-05:00

I was pathetic this past week but it felt so good. I slept in pretty much every morning. No running. No working out. No guilt. I will be starting my new plan on Monday and I'm looking forward to it and to being serious about it. I can't wait to run on Monday. That's all for now.

The Perfect Body Diet

2008-07-03T08:08:00.003-05:00

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/perfectbody

So this is my lastest venture in trying to shed a few extra pounds. I had seen this book online and at a Borders store this past winter but I was pretty geeked up about the Abs Diet (from Mens Health Magazine) at the time. I still think the Abs Diet is a great healthy way of life but I was looking for something a little more customed to fit the female gender.

My first thoughts as I skimmed through the book the first time, was that it seemed too complicated as you had to figure out your body shape and do a few other equations to get your custom plan. At the time, I was unwilling to read any further.

Being the sucker I am for advertising, however, I recently saw another ad for it in Womens Health Magazine and decided that without further hesitation, I would give it a shot. I bought the book for $24.95 at Borders (they didn't have it in stock at Barnes and Nobles) and I started reading that night.

I have mostly read through the important stuff (I haven't looked at the recipes or excercise section yet) and it's not as complicated as I first thought. In fact, the equations are pretty simple to determine what my ideal weight is and which plan I should follow.

I plan to start no later than Monday July 7th. It's an 8 week plan so if I stick to it faithfully, I will have my perfect body by my birthday!!!!

I asked a girlfriend of mine to do it with me and I was met with a very un-enthusiastic response. So I am doing this on my own, unless any of you want to try it too. Get your book today, read up this weekend, and start with me on Monday. Any takers???

Anyone out there tried it yet??? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Thanks.

I love her even more now!!!

2008-07-01T09:53:00.005-05:00

I like to consider myself someone who doesn't feed into the tabloids but I came across some pictures of Heidi Klum on Yahoos OMG and had to comment on them.

I love Heidi Klum. How can you NOT love her???? She's so adorable with her cute little accent and Project Runway inspired me to buy my very own sewing machine last year.

What I love even more is finding real pictures of celebrities. Ok ok ok.... maybe having 3 nannies for your 3 children isn't a reality for the majority of us moms. But I'm not looking at her nannies. I'm looking at her legs!!!

You see, I hate my legs with a passion, especially my knees. So I was so happy to see this candid shot of Heidis legs and knees. They look just like mine!!!!!

I love her all the more now!!!!

Ohio City Run and Crawl results.

2008-06-29T17:20:00.003-05:00

It's a week later and I'm finally blogging about it. I wasn't going to since it's been a whole week but then I found some other bloggers who wrote about their experience and since this is my running blog, I guess I should document it.

Especially since I did it in my best time ever!!! I did it in 34 flat last year and 27:32 this year!!! I had two goals.... I've never done a 5K in less than 30 so I had to do this in 30 or less... and I also had to beat my friend Becky who is very athletic. Even though she hasn't ever run or even trained, I have been telling her how fun 5Ks are and she finally agreed to do it. I beat her by 11 seconds!!! So I reached my goals.

We didn't think there would be a race. On our way downtown, the sky turned dark and the rain was coming down hard. I felt bad for some of my friends because this was going to be their first race. We waited it out though and a few minutes after 7, the rain stopped and the race was on.

I started out feeling so great and ran the first mile in a little over 8 minutes but then I did the next in 9 and the 3rd mile in 10. I guess it took me 32 seconds to do the .1

Did I mention it was hubby and my 12 year anniversary!! What a great way to celebrate. Afterwards, we went to a cookout at a friends. We were going to wait for our .25 beer but I just read on someone elses blog that Bier Market actually ran out so I'm glad we didn't hang around.

Anyway, my next race is the Pymatuming on July 12th. I haven't done this but a couple of my friends have and said it's a beautiful run around the lake and through the woods.

I'm also doing the Winking Lizard the weekend after. I'm a little nervous now that I have a new PR to beat. Can she do it???

I still intend on doing my first 10K sometime this season. We shall see. Which will it be???

Jack Johnson at Blossom

2008-06-20T11:05:00.003-05:00

I had a great time at the concert. 7th row. Not too shabby. My friend and I waited in line to try to win seats on the stage but we were missing Money Marks set and decided our chances were slim and our seats were good enough. Money Mark and Mason Jennings opened and they were amazing. Mason Jennings inspired me to start writing again if I can find a little time.

The only really unpleasant thing is that Jacks big message to be green and love the earth apparently fell on thousands of deaf ears because as we left the show, the lawn was covered, and I mean COVERED in trash. I know they have people to clean up but how much easier would it have been if everyone had grabbed their own garbage. It took us 3 hours to get home because there was construction traffic and because as I was sitting still in traffic, a young girl rearended me and so we had to deal with the police and all that fun stuff. Good news is nobody was seriously injured. My girlfriend has a very sore neck because when she heard squealing tires, she freaked and braced herself. I just have some red paint on the back of my white car.

I already got a letter from an ambulance chasing attorney in the mail today.

Anyway, that's all I really have to say about the show.

I know... boring. I guess I'm not that into these huge venues. I prefer smaller ones like House of Blues. Still, it was a great concert.

I'm excited to do my 2nd 5K of the season tomorrow night. I posted a map of it below. I know several people doing it so it should be a good time.

That's all for now.

Ohio City Run and Crawl

2008-06-20T11:04:00.001-05:00

Ohio City Run and Crawl
Find more Runs in Cleveland, Ohio

Running - no walking

2008-06-16T09:05:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post because I have lots to do today.

I got up and ran this moring at 6:30am. My goal again was to run 3 miles without walking. I made it 1 mile and tried to remind myself how it was the perfect morning, but my legs were feeling tired and I took a short walk break.

I was mad at myself for walking and decided I was going to cut my run short and do the 2.38 mile course. I tried to run as much as I could but I notice that when I start feeling good, I run faster. That's a big part of my problem. My brain tells me that if I run faster, I'll be done faster. Problem is, I tire faster when I run as fast as I can.

The good news here is that at mile 2, Salute your Solution by the Raconteurs came on and I was inspired to run to 3.08!!!!

My next 5K is Saturday night so my goal is to keep trying to reach my goal and run without stopping.

Gotta go. Kids want the computer ;) If you don't know the song, here it is!!!

Running Duds on sale at Macys

2008-06-14T23:18:00.004-05:00

I'm out of town right now staying with some very good friends of mine. It's been a very relaxing weekend.

Most excitingly, we went clothes shopping today. I literally have NO clothes. Seriously. I'm not one of those girls who has a huge walk-in closet full of clothes, while claiming to have none. I have a teeny closet and it's practically bare. I went to look for real clothes today and we hit Macy's first. My friend took me right to the running section and NIKE was having 50% off everything, plus my friend had a card for an additional 20% off your order.

I got 6 new Nike Running outfits. Check it out!!! Now is the time to go if you need stuff and your a chic. They actually didn't have anything on sale in guys running gear.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow because we are going to her club and I'm gonna be livin' it up at the pool, sippin somethin yummy and being waited on hand and foot.

Ahhh, life is ghut... and then Monday, it's back to reality. But in a good way because I will be refreshed and rejeuvenated from my little hiatus.

I'm getting up early in the morning to run with my friend. She's always been very athletic and so I know she'll endure a lot longer than me but I've got high hopes of pushing myself in the mental discipline needed to keep on running.

I'm also very excited because Tuesday night, I get to see Jack Johnson in concert, along with Mason Jennings and Money Mark.

And then Saturday, the Ohio City race. Lots of my friends will be running this one. I did it last year and it was a blast. Afterwards we're going to a cookout in Tremont. Fun fun fun.

Oh, I went bikini shopping today and realized that I really really need to cut back on the chips and dip. Nothing will get me motivated faster than a day of bikini shopping.

New motivation

2008-06-10T07:10:00.002-05:00

So last night I was going to run 3 miles but after I started running, I spotted lightening and decided to shorten my run. It was still a lot more humid than I realized.

I ended up running 1.33 in 12:03 which works out to be a 9:03 minute mile. Not too bad. I have new motivation.

I just found out that I have successfully convinced one of my running-hating friends to train for the Ohio City race on June 21. Even though she's only just started running, I know she's a lot more athletic than I am and will probably kick my butt if I don't get serious. It's that competitive side in me. I normally don't compete with anyone but myself in races but for some reason, I really want to beat her. Maybe just because I'm the "experienced" one who convinced her to do it??? Well, whatever the reason, it's working to get me pushing myself harder.

Humidity

2008-06-08T11:40:00.006-05:00

Well, I just watched a video called Evolution Running that my friend Gary loaned me. It was very enlightening and educational and I was very excited to try out my new stride and step ASAP.

I even dreamed about running last night and in my dream, with my new techniques, I could run forever without fatigue or loss of breath.

Wake up call!! 6:30am this morning, I woke up ready to make my dream come true, except that instead of forever, I mapped out a 3 mile run. I put on my lightest clothes, tied up my new Mizunos, and headed out. I didn't make it .10 mile before the extreme humidity kicked me straight in the arse. I was focused on my new landing, which hurt like heck, incidentally, and I immediately lost my breath in the thick air.

I walked to the .25 mile mark and turned back around. I tried to run back towards my house but just didn't have it in me.

The only thing I can say that was going against me, beside the humidity, of course, was the fact that I woke up with a really sick stomach this morning. But I thought I could push through it.

Needless to say, I'm completely bummed out and have resorted to sinking into my couch under the comforter with the laptop to read up about running in the humidity. What I'm hoping to find is that I am NOT limited physically, but mentally. I can deal with mental limitations. I think that would be easier to fight through and overcome.

In happier news, I think these are going to be the newest addition to my running apparel. They are even 44% off at Amazon!!!

I actually like the pink ones better but the teal matches my new Mizunos. What do you think?

Crocs are ugly!!!!!

2008-06-03T07:08:00.007-05:00

I admit, Crocs on kids... the look has grown on me. They are pretty cute but I think the cheapies are just as adorable. Crocs on adults??? I don't get it. I really don't. Maybe I haven't seen them on someone who is able to pull of the look. Rubber shoes just are not attractive.

How did they get so popular??? I've seen them on shelves for years. I first saw them at a discount store and thought they were gardening shoes. Then I started seeing them in high-end department stores and I was baffled. Did everyone get brainwashed into thinking you'll be the coolest kid on the block if you own a pair?? Please fill me in!!

It's a rainy gloomy day and my closets are bare and so I'm shopping (browsing) online and I just happened to notice that Crocs now make a ballerina flat.

Still ugly.

This has been a public service announcement from your friendly August Godess ;)

Hectic

2008-05-30T06:20:00.005-05:00

I haven't run like I hoped I would. Being a "single" mom (while hubby is outta town, that is) and doing a garage sale are both a lot more work than I ever imagined.

I need it too because 1)I'm dying to try out my new Mizunos and 2) I've been feeling down ditty down down down and I don't like it.

But I'll be back up.

Mañana es otro dia. That's what I always say.

Did I mention I'm having a garage sale? You should come buy stuff. One of my blogfriends stopped by yesterday. I have made a whole whopping $80 but at least my 2 other garage sale partners are making a killing on their "junk".