Tales of a wannabe runner

The cough that won't die!

2010-09-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

So, 20 days since my last post and I am finally getting over this sickness. After the first round of antibiotics I developed a cough. I have asthma so a lot of times when I get sick it gets into my chest. I tried to wait it out to see if it would go away, but no deal. So I made an appointment with my immunologist, the person I should have gone to see in the first place. I told her my symptoms, she listened to my lungs and she said she was worried about me developing pneumonia if we didn't get this cough under control! So I got another round of antibiotics, 10 days this time, plus steroids. This must have been a killer cough, because I'm almost to the end of the 10 day round of steroids and the cough is still lingering. Much better though.

I emailed my coach and have had to alter my running schedule. I tried a couple of times to run through the pain (breathing). Stupid, I know. So I took about another week off and just started back two days ago. I'm back to running a quarter mile and then walking, wash, rinse, repeat.

After running two days in a row, today is an off day. I'm hoping to be back to the normal schedule in about two weeks.

In other news, I have finally found the perfect sports bra. I have a problem with chafing while running, especially on long runs. It's super bad around my rib cage. In the past I've had to wear two sports bras to combat this or deal with the awful aftermath. You haven't really felt pain until you get in a hot shower and that water hits the raw skin on your chest (or whatever other part of you has chafed). The first time it happened I almost passed out, it was so unexpected.

Here is the bra in question: (Fiona by Moving Comfort)

I love it so much that I got two of them and will probably get more. I saved $30 by ordering from Amazon. Awesome.

coughhackwheeze

2010-09-10T07:23:00.000-07:00

Bet you thought I disappeared again! I haven't been able to run since my last post because I've been hit with a virus of some sort. I started feeling bad over the weekend and six days later I'm still not back to normal. I'm getting there though. I went to the doctor two days ago. They tested me for strep and the flu, both which came back negative. I got a steroid shot, some antibiotics (which wreak havoc on my stomach) and some cough syrup. My blood pressure was high though, which was kind of concerning to me. It's normally on the low end. They measured it at 140/95. And they did it twice just to make sure. So that's not good. They told me to do a follow up on that after I'm well again. I hope it was just stress from being sick and not something else going on.

We have another group run tomorrow and I'm hoping I'll be able to make it. I haven't run in a week and I feel myself slipping behind the group. I don't want to push it though. I have asthma so when I get sick, if it gets in my chest I'm in a for a somewhat longer recovery. We'll see how I feel in the morning!

First AM Run!

2010-09-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Today was the first AM group run. Since we're still at the beginning stages and not running very far, we met at 6:00 (instead of 5:30). The run was the same, 4 laps around the parking lots, running and walking, equaling a mile. I went it alone this morning since Eric is in training for work all this week and couldn't make it. The weather was perfect. We seem to have hit a cool snap and it was almost chilly.

A perk of being in this running group is being able to use the showers at the YMCA. I had a membership there about a year ago, but we are trying to save money to move (our house is on the market, come buy it!) so I dropped the gym membership. Maybe when I'm back and running a lot more I'll see about starting our membership back up again.

I bring my own shampoo and conditioner to the gym with me in travel size bottles and like an idiot, I left the bottles in the shower. I realized and checked the shower on my way out, but they were gone. I guess someone took them. Oh well. My loss for being forgetful.

And I hate to sound like an old person complaining about "those damn youngins", but there was a group of about 5 high school girls in the dressing room this morning. They all had to get ready together. They took over the counters and took FOREVER to get ready. Doing each other's makeup, hair, swapping clothes, etc. None of them could do anything by themselves. They had to ask each other about ten times, "does my makeup look ok?" yes "How do you like my hair" it's perfect "Are these jeans too tight?" yes, now get out of my way! That's what I wanted to say, but I kept quiet. I was there once. I'm glad I'm not anymore.

I'm back (again)!

2010-08-31T09:38:00.000-07:00

I know that my last post said the same thing, but this time it's real. Does anyone even read this thing?

I started the running program that I did three years ago this month. Run University is the name of the program. Our first run was last night. It was an easy one mile run with walk breaks. I am starting totally over from scratch. Kind of sad, when a while back I was running 20 mile long runs. I'll get back there though!

This time, the hubby is joining me on the running adventure. He has never been very excited about exercise, but he wants to get in better shape. He did this program in the past and got to where he was running 5 miles at a time so he knows he can do it. He wasn't able to make the first run last night, so we're meeting tonight and reenacting the first run.

The next group run is this Thursday morning at 6 am. I love doing workouts in the morning and getting them out of the way. Eric (husband), not so much. He's said he's planning on going to the morning run this week. We'll see what actually happens. Stay tuned for an update!

I'm back!

2009-12-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, but I'm back! For various reasons, I have taken a break from running for a month or so. But now I'm back and training for the Mercedes Half in February. It's going to be a stretch to get back up to that distance, but I think I can do it.

I met with my friend Jill last night and did an easy three miles. It was my first cold run of the year and I forgot my inhaler so there were a few more walk breaks than I intended. I learned my lesson though. My inhaler is back in my purse. We're meeting again Friday morning to run again.

Lazy

2009-08-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

I slept through my alarm this morning. I was supposed to meet some friends to go running. I was super tired though seeing as I slept through my alarm and was a walking zombie until about ten minutes after I got out of the shower.

I'll probably run on the treadmill tonight to make up for it. I really hate the treadmill, but I wasn't able to exercise all weekend (was out of town at a baby shower) and I start to go a little stir-crazy when I don't exercise more than three days in a row.

2009-07-21T06:43:00.001-07:00

Perfect day last Saturday, perfect run. The temperature was a perfect 65 degrees when we started. Previously, the longest run I'd done in a long time was 5 miles. But I was able to run the whole 7 miles and still felt great at the end. I'm sure it was because of the low humidity. It makes all the difference in the world.

2009-07-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

I got sick a few weeks ago and and still not 100% better. I don't know what it was, but I had a lot of sinus drainage and even had a fever for a few days. I didn't run at all that week. The next week, I was feeling better so I tried running one morning before work. I felt like crap afterwards and went home to sleep instead of going into work. I tried to run again last night. It ended being more of a 3 mile run/walk because it was so hot outside.

The group run this Saturday is 7 miles. A friend of mine and I are altering the route so that we only run 5 miles. We're going to take it very slowly. It's supposed to cool off on Saturday, so that should help matters.

No race plans on the horizon, just running when I feel like it.

Cahaba River Ramble 5k

2009-06-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from my most recent 5k. It was a gorgeous day, before the heat wave hit.

2009-06-22T17:01:00.000-07:00

It's officially summer. The temperature has been well into the 90s for the past week at least so now running in the morning has become a necessity. Time to break out the sunvisor and sunscreen!

2009-05-19T07:36:00.001-07:00

I was finally able to go on my first run after the marathon yesterday. The weather was gorgeous. Sunny and around 70 degrees. I met Carmen and Jill, two of my good running buddies, at the Lakeshore trail and we ran an easy three miles. I can definitely tell I've been sick. My legs felt like jelly afterwards and I was way too tired for only having run 3 miles. But it was great to be running again and to catch up with friends. I'll probably go to the Trak Shak run Wednesday night after work. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Pic from Country Music Marathon

2009-05-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Once I manage to get more I'll post them here. But here's the one I have.

It was very windy and the background was blowing over on us, that's why I look so awkward.

2009-05-11T07:02:00.001-07:00

My 7 day break from running after the marathon has turned into 16 days of no running. Right as I was feeling recovered and ready to run I got sick. I got some kind of virus, which combined with my allergies and left me feeling pretty crummy for well over a week.

I missed two days of work because of it, and the other days I've just been able to drag myself out of bed to get done what needs to get done and then fall back into it, only to not be able to sleep because of massive coughing fits.

I've tried everything under the sun to get rid of this cough. I drank a nasty concoction of ginger, cayenne pepper, apple cider vinegar and honey. Amazingly it worked. Burned like hell going down, but it calmed down the cough enough for me to get to sleep.

I went out with my cousin for her birthday this weekend and I'm sure the smoky bar environment did not do anything to help the cough. But I ordered a hot toddy, which was disgusting, but it also helped the cough somewhat.

Last night, I did a nebulizer treatment at home and then took a hot bath. For the first time since I've been sick, I went 15 minutes without coughing. As soon as I got out of the bath it came back of course, but those 15 minutes were bliss.

I think I've been through 4 or 5 bags of cough drops and need to buy more today. I called my doctor and asked if they could call me in some prescription strength cough suppressant.

I'm hoping to finally be able to run this weekend. Fingers crossed.

Marathon Recap

2009-04-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

This is going to be long, but I want to write everything down about my first marathon.

I got off work Friday and went to meet Ira, my running buddy who was running the marathon with me. We met at her office and after she got her stuff squared away we got on the road to Nashville. The drive was a lot quicker than I expected it to be. We drove straight to the Expo so we could pick up our packets. I was number 21457. I picked up my bib, got my shirt and then we walked around the Expo. We randomly ran into Danny, our running coach. We also saw Catherine, a girl who was in our Couch to 5K group. Danny told us about plans to meet up at a bar (of course, if you know Danny) later. We shopped some more after that. I got a new running skirt and top from Brooks that was 20% off.

Then we went to the bar and met with Danny, his wife, and some of the other people who were in Nashville for the race. After that, it was on to dinner. We had dinner with the group and after visiting awhile eventually headed to the hotel. We spent a little while getting all of our stuff together for the next morning since we were going to have to get up super early (4:00). Ira gave me a necklace with a 26.2 pendant on it. I'll have to take a picture of it, it's really cute.
Then we went to bed. Up until then I had been super tired and was looking forward to going to bed. But once I actually laid down, it hit me. Holy crap, I'm going to run a marathon! So I was wide awake and tossed and turned for over an hour before I fell asleep. It seemed like 10 minutes passed and it was time to get up. We showered, got all of our stuff packed up, reloaded the car and drove to LP Field where the finish line is. There were shuttles from our hotel, but they cost $20. We decided to drive to save money, and because we wanted to have immediate access to the car when we were done.

There were port-a-potties there and I thought about using one, but decided against it. That would come back to haunt me in the race. We stood in line for the shuttle to take us to the Start line. We probably waited 45 minutes before we got on a bus.

After a short drive to the start, it was time to line up. There were more port-a-potties at the start, but we decided to wait and just use one during the race since there was a pretty big line. Again, bad idea.

I was put in corral 21, but because it was going to be such a hot day, we maneuvered ourselves into corral 18. I was wearing a long-sleeve throw-away shirt because we thought it would be cooler at the beginning and I didn't want to waste any energy shivering. But it was 73 degrees already when we got there so I took the shirt off and put it on the gate that kept the racers in line. There was a lady standing there and I told her free shirt if she wanted it. I actually saw her later on in the race on the sidelines and she was carrying the shirt!

So then the race started. They start the corrals in waves so that everyone gets spaced out. We didn't cross the start line until about 40 minutes after the first gun went off. I started off feeling good. It was hot, but we were running for 5 minutes, walking for 1. At mile 3 I saw the first person go down. There was a girl lying on the sidewalk. Someone was with her and I heard an ambulance coming to pick her up. The first of many. Around mile 5 my stomach started grumbling. This will be tmi for a lot of you, so I apologize in advance. All of the shaking from running seems to shake up my stomach and I get some rather uncomfortable side effects, i.e. diarrhea. If I can go before I run it's normally ok, but like I said earlier, I decided against using the port-a-potty. Every set of port-a-potties we came across had long lines, so we decided to try to stick it out until mile 11, when the marathoners broke off from the people doing the half. My stomach was warning me, but it wasn't too bad. So around mile 9 my stomach said no more and I told Ira that I needed to go, line or not. Just then, we came across some and there was no line!!! I ran straight to it, and hallelujah there was toilet paper!!! I felt much better after that.
It didn't last for long though. The heat was getting to me. Around mile 8 I had started to get tired, which worried me. From all that I've been told, the first 10 miles of a marathon should be easy. The second ten, you should be pushing yourself and the last 6.2 are done on adrenaline. Being tired at mile 8 isn't a good sign. We got to the mile 11 turn off (where there was an Elvis impersonator directing people). Ira took my picture with him and we moved on to the rest of the course. By mile 13 I had changed to a run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute because I just couldn't run for 5 minutes straight. None of my training runs have been in the heat so I just wasn't acclimated to it. I started getting nauseated and dizzy. Ira had some ginger chews that helped with the nausea. I HATE the taste of ginger, but had about five of them over the course of the marathon because it was either that or yak on the side of the road.

Miles 13 to 18 are kind of a blur to me. I remember going by a river. I remember one of the water stops where a group of cheerleaders was handing out ice cold wet paper towels. Lots of people had hoses and were spraying people down. It was that hot out. Towards the end I started taking two cups of water at each stop. I would drink one and pour the other over my head. With the way I was feeling, I probably should have stopped. I was close to passing out more than once. But I wanted to finish. If Ira hadn't been there with me I wouldn't have finished. But she really helped encourage me. I was feeling so bad that she ran ahead into a gas station and bought a cold bottle of gatorade. That seemed to help me. I also ate a salt packet at one of the water stops to try to replenish my electrolytes.

At mile 18 a blister that had formed on my little toe popped. It was the most disgusting feeling. I felt it squish in my sock. And it hurt a lot. I had to limp two miles before we found a medical tent. I stopped there so they could bandage up the popped blister and they saw that I had another on my big toe so they drained that one and bandaged it up too. This was at mile 20, so 6.2 more to go.

The last 6 miles or so are an out and back loop, which is really insanity-inducing after you've been that far. I felt like crap so we were walking at that point. Any time I tried to pick up the pace and run I would feel like passing out. So we stuck to walking even though it meant we would go over the official time limit. I didn't care at that point, I just wanted to finish the damn thing.

At two miles left to go we saw Ira's friend Marcy. She just ran the Boston marathon last week so she wasn't running this race. She walked with us for a while and gave us some Powerade. It was a nice distraction to talk to her. She left us right as we were getting to the finish line. Ira ran ahead so she could get a picture of me finishing. I mustered up all the strength I had left so that I could run across the finish line. My official time was 7:21:40. I was expecting to finish in 5 1/2 hours so this was way over that. I just wasn't ready for the conditions. A lot of other people weren't either. I saw at least 8 ambulances pass me to go pick up people. One guy actually died. He collapsed after finishing the half. After hearing that, I was glad we slowed down. I'd rather have a slow marathon time and still be alive to tell about it. I'm pretty sure I was suffering from heat exhaustion. I couldn't stop shaking after the race. That lasted all day even on the drive home. I took an electrolyte pill, drank a lot of gatorade and made sure to eat some salty food for dinner that night. I wasn't hungry at all. The thought of food made my stomach turn. I even turned down a candy bar, which is just unheard of for me.

In addition to the heat exhaustion and blisters, I got really sunburned. I had on spf 75 sunscreen, but it either sweat off or wore off, we were out there so long. I also got some unfortunate chafing. Think, inner thigh, as far up as you can go. When I took a shower is when I first felt it. I almost passed out in the shower it hurt so bad! I had to sit down and just wait for the pain to go away.

So that's my first marathon story. Even with all the crappy stuff, I'm glad I did it and will definitely do another. I'll wait until cooler weather comes though. And sadly, all of the pictures that Ira took during the race got deleted. :( Her husband loaded them to the computer (or so he thought) and then deleted them from the camera. But they weren't on the computer. So I'm kind of sad about that. But there will be the official pictures that I can get. They should be online soon, so when I get those I'll post them.

I really don't believe that anyone will read this far. This is a long post, but I wanted to remember everything about the marathon.

I can honestly say that was the HARDEST thing I have ever done.

2009-03-09T14:23:00.001-07:00

I don't know why the pictures in my last post are coming out so big. If you click on them you can see the whole picture.

Snickers Marathon 2009 - Albany, Georgia

2009-03-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

This was a last-minute race for me. Ira, one of my running buddies, called me and asked if I would like to go with her. She was running the full, and the person going with her got sick. I checked with work and was able to get a half day off so I told her I would go.

Albany is about a four hour drive from Birmingham so we left around 1:00. The drive was pretty uneventful. We went straight to the expo so Ira could pick up her packet and I could register for the half marathon. Then, we went to the hotel to check in, then to dinner and then back to the hotel to get some good sleep before the run.

The weather the morning of the race was very foggy. The temperature was very comfortable, not cold at all. As soon as the race started, the half and full marathoners were separated so I pretty much ran by myself the whole time. There were three runners right by me that were walk/running the whole thing. Every time they walked I passed them. Every time they ran they passed me. It got old quickly, especially since they were almost blocking the whole road while they walked. So around mile 6 I kicked it up and got ahead and stayed ahead of them. I felt it at the end though. I was dead tired by mile 11. But I finished and felt pretty good when I was done.

Ira improved her marathon time by 12 minutes which is awesome! After the race we walked around the Mardi Gras celebration that was going on a few blocks away. Then it was time to pack up and come home.

All in all, I had a really good time with Ira. Albany is a very flat course and I think I might go back next year and do the full marathon!

Mercedes pictures

2009-03-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

Kind of late, but better late than never!

Mercedes Marathon 2009

2009-02-18T07:11:00.000-08:00

The Mercedes Marathon was this weekend. I only ran the half since my training has been so crazy lately. The weather was gorgeous. A little chilly at first, but it warmed up pretty quickly. I was able to wear shorts and short sleeves. The course changed this year and was much better than last year. I ended up doing the whole thing by myself. Two of the girls that I trained with to do the full were ahead of me and one was behind me because she was walk/running the whole thing. I’m kind of glad now that I ran the whole way by myself. It gives me confidence that I can run a full by myself if I need to.

I originally said that I didn’t like that the course was a double loop. I’m still not a big fan, but it was so cool to see the winner race by on his way to the finish (at that point I was around mile 9). There was a huge caravan of police and news vehicles surrounding him. That was pretty cool.

There was the traditional beer and donut “water” stop near the end of the race. I didn’t take any. I did have a fig newton and part of an orange during the race. I don’t even like oranges. Orange juice yes, but I don’t eat oranges. Well I ate this one and it was the best orange I’ve ever had. I had another one when I finished.

My friend Andrea was there at the finish line to greet me when I got done even though she wasn’t having the best day. I’m so glad she was there, otherwise no one would have cheered for me. (Eric was home sick, he’s still sick). She got to see the results of not using Body Glide on my inner thighs. They were bloody. It was yummy. My time was 2:40:44. Last year’s time was 2:44:48 so I improved my time by 4 minutes! Woot.

After the race I went to the Expo and got some food. Then I went back to the finish line to wait on the marathoners. Meg came in first looking strong. She and Ira started the race together. Ira showed up about 20 minutes later I think. She had some stomach problems throughout the course but she made it to the end. Linsday came in right before the six hour time limit. Her whole family was there to see her finish. She’s 60 years old and ran her first marathon. That’s awesome. Her son ran the marathon too. His first ever. And his longest training run was 8-10 miles. He finished in 4 ½ hours. Loser. He didn’t think he would finish that soon so none of his family was there.

That night we met up with the group at Sweet Bones Alabama for dinner. We had the back room of the restaurant and the service was horrible! It took 30 minutes to get our drink order . Finally we just paid for our drinks and drive down the road to Johnny Rockets. I ate way too much. A milkshake, fries and a cheeseburger. Obviously I wasn’t vegan or vegetarian that night. I need to get back on the bandwagon. I’m thinking of doing 30 days vegan again. Just need to pick a date.

I still want to run a full marathon. Right now I'm thinking of the Country Music Marathon which is in Nashville on April 25th. Still not decided about it though.

Pictures will come in the next post when I get them off of my camera and steal some that Andrea took!

2009-02-10T07:33:00.000-08:00

My running partner didn't show up this morning (got an email from her that she had a bad headache) so I ran by myself.

If you know me, you know that I HATE running by myself. If I had to do this on my own, I would have never started running. But I was up, it was 5:30 in the morning, I was 35 minutes from home so I sucked it up and did it. Five miles. It was warm outside so I actually broke a sweat. That hasn't happened in a while. We've had some very cold weather here lately. The sky was overcast, so while it wasn't very pretty, the warm temps and the chirping birds made up for it.

The first two miles were kind of rough for me. I was mentally psyching myself out the whole time. Once I got past the halfway point it was easier. I had some unpleasantness about midway through the run. A guy was coming up behind me and it was obvious that he was faster than me. But it seemed like he slowed down as he got closer to me. He sounded like a freaking clydesdale behind me. His footsteps were very heavy and he was panting very loudly. Then, when he was about five feet behind me it sounded like he hacked up part of his lung and spit it out on the sidewalk. Gross. At that point I slowed down so that he would finally pass me. Thankfully he did.

The rest of the run was uneventful. My left hamstring is still a little tight. It's not really sore anymore, but I can feel it, especially when I'm getting out of the car. It's making me feel old.

My schedule for this week is: spin tomorrow morning, pilates Thursday morning, maybe running Friday morning (or rest day), 5k Saturday morning and then the half marathon on Sunday!

2009-02-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

Again I’m bad at updating. It’s been over a month. There’s been a lot going on in that month.

I came down with strep throat which knocked me out for a while. I wasn’t able to run for about nine days. Missed my first 20 mile run. It took me awhile to recover from that.

I’ve also had some stress at wrok. My company let go 1200 people so I was super stressed out about that. Thankfully I still have a job.

The final straw came this past weekend. I ran 13 miles on Saturday. I was supposed to do 21 miles to keep up with the marathon training, but my left hip was hurting. The next day I could barely move. I did something to my hamstring. I haven’t run all week because of it. I finally took a spin class this morning and am planning on running tomorrow morning. But this means I’ll only be running the half marathon next weekend instead of the full. I’m sad, because I’ve been training for four months to do this. And it was going so well until I got sick. But there will always be other marathons. I’m going to run the half, confident that I can do it and I;ll be at the finish line to cheer my fellow runners on who are running the full.

17 miles!

2009-01-05T09:10:00.001-08:00

Wow, long time no post! I haven't really felt like there was a lot to post about. But this weekend was another milestone. My first 17 mile run. And like my other long runs I felt great until about mile 13 and then I started to go downhill. But I'll start from the beginning.

I met my marathon partners at 5:45 so we could run 5 miles before the big group was running 12. About halfway there it started pouring down rain. But I kept driving and amazingly everyone showed up even though it was pouring. It didn't let up so we decided to wait it out and do the extra five miles after the 12 instead of before. I'll never do that again! I think I would rather run in the rain and get it over with!

Like I said, the first 12 miles were great. I was feeling good. Even though I need new shoes and it was a grey, misty, dreary day it was a good run. Then we started our last five miles. My legs started to feel heavy and my feet started to drag. But we all finished. And I could still stand and walk around which is always a bonus.

I've ordered some new shoes and should have them by tomorrow which means I'll get to break them in a bit before the long run of 19 miles this Saturday.

I kind of feel like I'm getting sick though, which is not good. I've had a stuffy nose and a tickle in my throat since yesterday. I might stop by the drug store on the way home and stock up on Vitamin C and Zycam to hold it at bay. I really don't need to get sick right now!

2008-12-09T14:38:00.001-08:00

It's been very cold for Alabama the past couple of weeks. On one of my morning runs I had frost in my hair at the end. That's cold.

First 15 Mile Run!

2008-11-17T17:59:00.000-08:00

I ran my first ever 15 mile run this past Saturday. It was not an ideal morning for running. It was cold and wet and just plain old dreary. I felt really good for about the first 13 miles. At that point though, I was definitely ready to be done. There were a lot of hills on the route we took, and I was feeling it on the last big hill.

I came home and took an ice bath and then hopped straight into the shower because I was so cold. I was sore the rest of the day and pretty much all day on Sunday.

This weekend is a cut-back week, which is good timing for me since we're going to my grandfather's to have Thanksgiving with that side of the family.

Vulcan Run 2008

2008-11-04T07:53:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was the Vulcan Run. I ran it last year and had a great time. It was the first time for me to ever run a 10k. My time this year was 1:12:14 which is an 11:38/mile pace. This is a huge improvement over last year where I ran 1:20:04 which is a 12:54/mile pace. I've definitely improved a lot over the year. I had the pleasure of running with my good friend Andrea who was running her first ever 10k. She's training for the Mercedes Half Marathon in February (I'm still training for the full).

Time for winter running clothes!

2008-10-29T06:58:00.000-07:00

The cold is here a bit early this year! I ran this mornnig and the temperature was hovering around 32. I broke out my long pants and long-sleeve running shirts and put on my earwarmers and was off. Other than the cold, it was a great run. I did not want to get out of the shower because the hot water felt so nice. I'm still freezing here at work. Maybe I need to bring some gloves to the office...

This weekend is the Vulcan Run. This was my first 10k last year. Hopefully I'll be able to get a better time this year!

2008-10-27T10:24:00.001-07:00

Once again, I'm bad at updating. I'm five weeks into training for the Mercedes marathon. I can't believe it's going by so fast.

I met one of my regular running partners this morning to run 5 miles before work. It just recently got cold (well, cold for Alabama) and there was a lake wind advisory. That along with the darkness and clouds overhead and the Halloween decorations made for a spooky run. I'm glad there was someone else running with me!

Up this weekend is the Vulcan Run. This was my first ever 10k last year. This year, I think I'm running 6 miles before the race, and then doing the run. I would have never believed that had you told me that at the start line last year!

2008-10-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, a month since the last post! This week was the official start of marathon training. However, I've been under the weather with a sinus infection. Fun stuff! I'm finally feeling somewhat back to normal.

Tomorrow morning I'm running a 10k, extending it to 7 miles, instead of doing 9 like the schedule calls for. I've got to ease back into it. Since going on a cruise last week and being sick, I haven't been able to run like I should. But I should be back into it soon and back here with some updates. I'll try to remember to take my camera tomorrow so I can post pictures.

And just as an aside, the fall weather is finally getting here! It should be around 65 degrees tomorrow morning when the race starts. Almost time to unpack the cold weather running gear!!

Marathon!

2008-09-02T13:06:00.001-07:00

I've finally decided that I'm going to run the Mercedes Marathon in February here in Birmingham. I spend a lot of the morning coming up with a training schedule. Click here if you want to see the schedule.

Eric's trail run injury in all it's glory...

2008-08-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

26.2 Ways You Know You Are A Runner

2008-08-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

1. You know how many miles there are in a marathon.
2. Your weekly mileage is how much you run, not your commute to work.
3. You know how many miles you get out of a pair of running shoes.
4. You can convert Kilometers to Miles in your head.
5. You measure your running route in your car to get the exact mileage.
6. When someone tells you their age, you automatically know their Boston qualifying time.
7. You know Grandma's as the route from Two Harbors to Duluth, not the person.
8. You can drink, blow your nose and pee on the run.
9. The problem with the treadmill is there's no place to spit.
10. You have less than ten toenails and that's normal for you.
11. Body Glide is your friend.
12. Ibuprofen is affectionately known as "Vitamin I".
13. Navigating walkers, dogs and baby strollers annoys you because it interrupts your pace.
14. When you participate in an organized event, you know not to run in your race t-shirt.
15. You have a favorite energy gel and flavor.
16. The "Picasso" above your fireplace is last year's TCM poster.
17. You have pre and post race rituals.
18. The journal you keep is in miles and pace not feelings or thoughts.
19. When you look at the weather conditions, you calculate how many layers to wear.
20. The pride you feel after a good run is worth the pain it took to get there.
21. You have more t-shirts than you could possibly wear.
22. When you hear the word "bib", you think of race numbers not babies and Gerber food.
23. The "no carbohydrate diet" does not apply to you.
24. You know that Fartlek is not vulgar terminology.
25. A hill is an opportunity just waiting to be challenged.
26. You know the phrase "you're almost there" only applies when the finish line is in sight.
.2 Your vacation destination is determined by your race schedule.

Trail running...probably not for me!

2008-08-21T07:47:00.001-07:00

My husband and I went on our first trail run last night. It was a 4 mile run with his group. This was the first time that either of us had attempted a trail run. It was definitely a workout as my legs are sore this morning. I think though, that overall, I'm not a fan of the trails.

You have to constantly look down to make sure that you're not going to trip. And even then you might still trip anyway. I could have been about to be mauled by a bear, but I wouldn't have noticed because I was looking so intently at the ground. The pace was slowed down a lot in an attempt to stay upright.

Things were going well until we had about five minutes left. Eric was running in front of me, and all of a sudden, down he went. He tripped on a rock or root or something. It looked like he was sliding into homebase, but instead of a base there was a lot of rocks and dirt and roots. His left wrist and left thigh took most of the impact. Nothing is broken, but we think he sprained his wrist. It had a couple of puncture marks too where rocks got him.

Trooper that he was though, he picked himself up and finished the trail. He didn't have much of a choice since we were in the woods, but he did it and then went to La Paz with the group to eat.

I don't think he'll be doing trail runs again. As for me, I will try it again, if only for the extra workout, but it's not something I'll be doing on a regular basis!

2008-07-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

The run last Saturday started out like any other summer run. Hot and humid. The route we were taking with the group was 6 miles and we were thinking about doing it twice. I really didn't want to, but knew that I probably needed to. About halfway through I started noticing some dark clouds. It was sunny when we started and I forgot to check the weather forecast before I left for the run.

About ten minutes after we saw the clouds it started sprinkling. It wasn't long before it was a downpour. Now I've run in the rain before, but this time there was lightning and thunder. And it was pretty close. A few cars stopped and offered us rides, but we only had about two miles to go (I think) so we stuck it out and just ran a little faster.

We ran by a fire department in Homewood and the firemen told us we were dedicated. It wasn't raining when we started, I think if it had been, I would have rolled over and gone back to bed! But we got thoroughly soaked.

I went to the YMCA to shower and change and made the mistake of leaving my wet shoes and running clothes in the trunk of my car for 2 days which was not a good idea! It was pretty rank in there when I took them out and washed them. I washed them twice just for good measure!

New shoes

2008-07-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

Blogger ate my post! That's what I get for trying to update while at work. So let's try again.

Probably no one cares about this, but I've been on the search for a running shoe that I actually like and I think I found it. My last pair was New Balance, the pair before that was Saucony. I don't remember what was before that. But this time I got Mizuno Wave Alchemy 8. If I still like them in a month or so, I'll probably get another pair!

2008-07-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

As promised, pictures from Eric's first 5k race:

Race to the Courthouse

2008-07-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the Race to the Courthouse 5k. It was my husband's first 5k race. I ran the race too and had a PR (personal record). It was a hot and humid morning already at 8:00 am so I'm surprised that I was so fast (for me).

My official time was 31:59 which is about a 10:45 pace per mile. Slow for a lot, but lightning speed for me since my normal pace is a 12 minute mile. Eric's time was 36:38, which was faster than my first 5k race time of 37:13.

All in all it was a great day. I headed to the beach right after the race and Eric went to the post-race party and then I think he went home and took a nap. I've got pictures, but will have to wait to post them tonight.

I'm healed!

2008-06-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

Whatever the doctor gave me for my jaw helped whatever was wrong with my leg! I just realized that I haven't had any pain there since Saturday, which was when my jaw stopped hurting. The TMJ was pretty awful, but I'm kind of glad I got it now in a weird way. I have a follow up appointment with the doctor today to see about getting a mouth guard for night so that I won't grind my teeth.

I didn't meet my usual Tuesday morning running partner since she had to be at work early today so I'm going to spin class after work. I used to absolutely hate spin class, but now I get sad when I miss it!

I should take painkillers before running more often!

2008-06-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

This past week was a little rough on the running front. I apparently have TMJ and it was really bad this week so I was hopped up on painkillers for a couple of days. I wanted to go to a 5k in Fultondale on Saturday morning, but it didn't happens because I was still kind of loopy. I did get up Sunday thought and met a few people to run 10 miles. I took a painkiller the night before to make sure I would be able to sleep and therefore be able to run the next day.

We met at 6:30 at the Brownell building near Brookwood Mall. The first four miles were pretty hard on my shins. I haven't had shin pain like that in a long time. I'm thinking it might be time for some new shoes. But after mile 4 they were pretty warmed up and felt good. I experimented this run with having some gel before running and during the run. I get pretty bad stomach problems during a run if I eat beforehand, but this seemed to work pretty well. I might have to start investing in Gu. We started the run at the Brownell building and ran by Brookwood Mall, all the way down Lakeshore trail, then back to Brownell and a little bit of the Jemison trail. I was feeling really good at the end of the run and was even able to pick up the pace a bit, but stopped at 10. I've got at least two runs planned this week, and will probably need to fit in another two.

My husband and I are running the Race to the Courthouse 5k on Saturday morning. It is his "graduation" 5k from his Couch to 5k running program. They are going on to a 10k after this and he says that he's going to stick with it. Maybe he'll get obsessed with running like I am! After the race I'm going to be headed to the beach with a friend of mine. I haven't been to the beach in forever so I'm pretty excited about it! I'm also supposed to run 13 miles that weekend, so we'll see how that works out!

2008-06-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor about my leg, and he doesn't know what's wrong with it. They took x-rays, and there are no stress fractures so that's good. It's some kind of muscle thing, and he said that I could keep running, but if it got worse to come back in. My running coach suggested a massage to see if that would work out a knot or whatever is causing the pain. I was at my mom's yesterday and had her massage it for a bit. It hurt like crap, but I guess that's a good thing.

As far as running, I had a group run on Saturday morning that I slept through. I went to bed at 9:00, set my alarm for 4:30 am. I woke up at 6:15 not having heard my alarm at all. My husband didn't either, so I'm assuming I turned it off in my sleep. I was so mad that I missed the run!

I tried to run yesterday, but only got 4 miles in. We ran in the middle of the day with the sun right above us. I got a little burned too, which isn't good.

2008-06-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

I think I've sustained my first running injury. It's not bad, but I'm going to have the doctor check it out anyway. For the past few weeks, my left thigh would hurt when I sat a certain way in my chair at work. So, I just didn't sit that way. Then it started hurting when I walked about a week ago. It's just a twinge, not that bad. I'm still able to run, but I can definitely feel it.

Because of my leg, I only ran 6 miles of our 11 mile run last Saturday. I'm calling tomorrow to get an appointment to have it looked at. The doctor will probably tell me to ice and take ibuprofen, but I would rather be safe than sorry!

2008-05-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

I ran in the rain for the first time today. I feel like a real runner.

It was another early morning run. On the drive up it started sprinkling a bit and I debated calling my running partner and cancelling, but as soon as I thought that it stopped. So we get there and notice there are dark clouds one direction and clear sky the other. (It was dark on the drive up, so I couldn't see the clouds). We could either do the 5 mile Hill Run in the directions of the dark clouds, or go with the other group that was running the Sunrise Run, 6 miles in the opposite direction. We decided that we didn't want to run 6 miles and did the Hill Run.

It was going pretty well until we got about a mile in. Then it started sprinkling. It was actually kind of refreshing since it was a very humid morning and we were pretty hot. It steadily rained harder until it was pouring. I didn't have a hat so it was raining on my face and sweat was getting into my eyes which was uncomfortable at first. But then I got used to it and actually enjoyed myself.

It stopped raining for about the last ten minutes of our run. As we were going up the last hill a transformer on the street we were on exploded which gave us a pretty big scare. Maybe it was a sign that we shouldn't be running in rain like crazies. Or maybe not.

2008-05-17T16:08:00.001-07:00

Today was a gorgeous day for running! Last week's run of 6 miles almost killed me. Today we did 8, and I felt like I could have done a few more. It was a bit chilly when we first started out (54 degrees), but with the sun out, we soon warmed up. I was armed with directions since last time I got lost along with two other girls.

We ran through some gorgeous neighborhoods in Homewood and Mountain Brook. The beautiful houses were a nice distraction from the many hills. After the run, a group of us went to Demetri's, a barbecue restaurant that also serves breakfast. I had some of the best french toast I've ever had and some ham. I don't know if it was so good because I just ran 8 miles, or if it was really that good. I hope it's the latter.

I'm going running again tomorrow at the Lakeshore Trail with my husband's running group. This is their third week of running. Depending on how my legs feel, I'll either run 5 miles on my own, or run their training run which includes some walking breaks.

2008-05-15T06:44:00.001-07:00

The insanely cheerful girl was not at spin class this morning. Instead she was replaced by smelly girl. She comes in and sits on the bike right next to me. Before we even started class I noticed a smell. It was sour. Either she's got some awful body odor, or she didn't brush her teeth before class and has some atrocious morning breath. It was disgusting. I know it's really early morning, and I don't expect people to shower beforehand since you're only going to get sweaty and have to shower again, but really! If you smell that bad, do something about it! There' s no way she couldn't have known that she was so stinky. Unless she smells like that all the time. And that's just sad.

I was so glad when class was over. There is a pub run this evening that I'm planning on going to. It's a 4 mile run, but it looks like it might get rained out. If that's the case, we're just going straight to the pub! Either way we can't lose!

2008-05-09T14:18:00.001-07:00

As I posted earlier, I went to spin class this morning. In order to go to this class I have to wake up at 4:00 am to give me enough time to wake up, brush my teeth, dress, and get out the door to make it to the class on time. I'm not really a morning person, but I like getting my exercise done and out of the way for the day.

This morning there was a girl in the class that was way too chipper and cheery for so early in the morning. She brought her hairdresser with her so he could take his first spin class. I'll set the scene for you. She's a little blonde thing, probably 5 feet tall, 90 pounds soaking wet. He's your typical gay male hair stylist. In great shape, tan, with better hair than I'll ever have.

So we get started with the class. The first song comes on after the warm-up and we start going uphill. Apparently she likes going uphill so she lets out this whoop. It sounds like the noise white girls make when they've had too much to drink and are dancing (stumbling) on the bar (Whooooo!!!!!!!!). Got that? She did this continually throughout the class. Then a song came on that her friend really liked. So he started bouncing in his seat and clapping along to the beat. WTH? This is spin class, not a dance club! It got really annoying really fast and I wanted to punch both of them by the time class was over. But maybe it's just me and I need to get the stick out of my butt.
I don't think so though. I hope she doesn't come to the next class…

I did get a good workout though, and I guess that's all that matters.

2008-05-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

I’ve been slowly easing my way back into running. I ran a couple of times on the treadmill this week, went to spin class this morning, and am going for a 6 mile run tomorrow morning with my running group. Some are doing 10 miles (this is the marathon training group), but I’m just going to do 6. I think 10 at this point would do me in. So it’s another early morning for me tomorrow!

2008-04-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well I haven't been posting lately, because honestly, I haven't been running much. I've been averaging about one run a week and one spin class a week, which is not so good for the waistline. :) However, today I ran a 5k race, and I got a personal best time for that distance!

The race was Casey's Cause in Trussville. I woke up this morning to rain, but got up anyway and got ready. The drive to Trussville takes me about an hour so I had to get up pretty early. It rained the whole way there, but when it was time for the race to start it stopped raining. The course was very pretty, going through neighborhoods. The first mile had a killer hill, but other than that was pretty flat (and even had some good downhills). It took me about two miles to really warm up, so that by the time I was feeling good and had gotten into a groove, the race was over.

There was one party pooper during the race. And older man in a red pickup truck was not very happy about the roads being closed. He stopped at a stop sign and some people ran in front of his car at which point he got out of the car and started yelling at one of the runners. This was a guy running with his five year old son. The runner just explained that it was a road race, and that the roads were closed and we had every right to be there. The man kept yelling so the runner just said, "have a nice day" and kept going. The man then sped through the stop sign, not waiting on the other people who had been stopped at the intersection.

Other than that it was a great race. I don't have the official time, but I think my time was 34:41. My first ever 5k time was 37:13, which is a pretty big improvement!

2008-03-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

I've just confirmed what I've thought all along. If I don't have a race that I'm training for, I don't run at all. I just took two weeks off of running. Didn't run at all. The only type of exercise I did during this time was one spin class. I feel like a blob. So last night I went to the Wednesday evening group run at the Trak Shak in Homewood. It's the first run after Daylight Saving Time so it was still light out and the weather was gorgeous. So there were a lot of people. I chose to just do the three mile route, since it's been so long. I felt like I was going to die towards the end. I think the heat was affecting me too. I'm just not used to running in it.

I'm meeting some people to run again this afternoon after work. There are group runs scheduled on Saturday and Sunday that I'm going to try to make.

My friend Katie is thinking about running a half marathon on April 12th in Charlotte. She kind of got behind in her training, so she's not sure if she'll be ready. If she's not, then she'll run one there in June. Whichever one she chooses, I'm going to drive up there and run it with her.

Sweets - my downfall

2008-02-15T08:59:00.001-08:00

Well, this has nothing to do with running, but it does have something to do with health/fitness, so I'm posting it here. I ate way too many sugar cookies and cupcakes yesterday for Valentines Day. I can't resist sweets, and we have a "room-mom" in our office who brings cookies and candy all the time. So I've decided to go thirty days without sweets. That includes candy, cookies, cake, chocolate. None at all. Here goes day one. Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it!

2008-02-12T14:03:00.001-08:00

Funny thing just happened. I was walking back to work after lunch. I wore a skirt today since it's so warm out. As I'm crossing the street, a car is going by and the driver's side window rolls down. This guy says some comment about my legs and asks if I'm a runner. As sexist and innappropriate that the comment was, it made my day!

2008-02-11T17:31:00.000-08:00

I had an awesome weekend! First on Saturday was the BE&K 5k. I was running it as a last training run during my taper week before the half. I got there and met up with my friend Andrea and Chez, who was in the original Couch to 5k group with me, but we never officially met. We took some pictures before the race.

All three of us:

Garmin nerds!

After the race

The 5k was great! I ran with two other girls from our group and we talked the whole time and it just flew by! It was so cool to remember back to Race for the Cure, which was the same course, and how much easier it was this time. But the 5k was just a warm-up to Sunday.

I couldn't sleep at all Saturday night before the race. I kept waking up every hour on the hour. Finally at 5:00 I got up and got dressed, ate breakfast, made sure I had all my things together and headed out the door. Our running group was meeting at 6:15 to take a group picture. After the picture I had just enough time to go stand in line for the bathroom one last time before starting. Then it was time to line up. I went towards the back, since I'm pretty slow runner and my main goal was finishing. I didn't have any kind of time goal in mind.

The gun went off and we were off. The weather could not have been better. It was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the 40s. By the time I finished it was in the 50s. The first 4 miles went by so fast. I felt like I was floating which I'm sure was because of the adrenaline. I knew that some major hills were coming so I made sure to keep my pace in check and not go too fast. Here's the elevation report for the course:

The first hill is a mile long. I was glad that we actually ran it during training, that helped to prepare me mentally. And there was a drum corps at the top of the hill which definitely helped with motivating you to get to the top. Originally I was going to walk this hill so that I wouldn't be worn out at the end, but I was running with two other girls and they ran it so I just went along. I got to the top and was so proud of myself! However, the hills weren't over with, just the longest one. The next stretch of road was up and down hills for about three miles with a really short but really steep one at the end. I felt like walking at one point, but one of the girls made us keep going and I'm glad she did! The rest of the course was pretty much downhill which felt great after what seemed like going up a mountain!

I found that the last mile and a half were the hardest for me. My feet started to hurt really bad, but I kept telling myself that I got that far, I could go one more mile. And then before I knew it, I was at the finish line. They gave me a medal and one of those silver wraps, but it was so warm out that I didn't need it. I was famished so I went and got a bottle of water and some orange slices that were nearby. I don't even eat oranges, but I can say that it was delicious!

Then we went to the post-race party where we had barbecue, beer and massages. I was definitely hurting afterwards. It's so funny how you can go from running without a problem to hobbling along five minutes later. I was a bit stiff this morning, but I'm feeling much better now. I hung around for the drawing for the Mercedes M-Class, but I didn't get it. :( Oh well, my medal was enough.

Some highlights from the race that I recall:

The drum corps at the top of Greensprings (the mountain) was awesome! We cheered them on as we ran by. It was so awesome to see that they took time out of their Sunday morning to help motivate us.
At some point in Homewood, we heard some more music. We turned a corner and it was a live jazz band! Again, so awesome to see the people that came out to support us.
There was a group of runners dressed up as prisoners and I saw them throughout the course taking pictures playing like they were breaking out of jail.
There was an older grandfatherly type who lived in the Highland area and he was out on the sidewalk cheering on each individual runner.
There was one "water" stop right at the end offering donuts and beer. I passed on that one.
An Elvis impersonator was at the last mile cheering people on.

All in all, it was definitely worth it and I never would have believed six months ago that I would be running a half marathon. I started out from nothing. And our coach is willing to stick with us and train us for a marathon. He mentioned one in Alaska which sounds like it would be a lot of fun!

Here are some of the pictures I took after:

The sweet blister I got!

Our coach Danny! i couldn't have done this without him!

I completed the course in 2 hours, 44 minutes, 48 seconds which is a 12:35 pace!

2008-02-05T08:19:00.000-08:00

Less than a week until the half marathon, the day I've been training for these past 6 months. I really can't believe it's almost here. I still really don't think of myself as a runner. I guess I need to change that mentality.

Some of the girls from the group were talking about what we're going to be doing after the half marathon. I already have another half scheduled for April 12th in Charlotte, NC. A high school friend of mine lives there and we're going to run it together. Then I think that I'm going to start training for a marathon. My high school friend and the girls in my running group want to run the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. next October. I don't know if I'm up to the challenge, but I'm going to start training for it and go from there...

The next post will probably be a recap from the half marathon! :)

Two posts in one day!

2008-01-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

Apparently I have freakishly warm hands when I run. Anytime I try to use gloves they come off soon after running because my hands start sweating. At the same time though, I almost always have on earwarmers, because my ears can't stand the cold.

Over the weekend I thought that I had hit my cold threshold and would have to use gloves (remember, the wind chill was in the single digits at one point). I put some on, and sure enough, after ten minutes I had to take them off.

I guess I'll try again when (if) we get into the negatives. :) Until then, my gloves will stay packed away.

2008-01-22T13:44:00.000-08:00

The 39 degree weather this morning felt almost tropical after the frigid temperatures over the weekend! It was another early morning group run, but this time we only went 5 miles. I'm glad too, because I was dragging the whole way. I felt bad for a couple of hours after the run too. I really hope I'm not getting sick. There's been something going around our office and I really don't need to get it. Only three weeks until Mercedes. I can get sick after!

2008-01-21T05:53:00.000-08:00

It did end up snowing over the weekend. We got about an inch, but by that evening it had all melted. Because of the snow, our group run was cancelled.

So, I ran on my own yesterday. It was even colder yesterday than on the day it snowed. I think it was 19 or 20 degrees when I set out for my 12 mile run. In the end I only did 10 miles. But I was all on my own, so I'm amazed that I made it that far. I definitely need to have the group to keep me motivated on those long runs!

2008-01-18T06:57:00.000-08:00

We have a 12 mile group run scheduled tomorrow morning. But the forecast is calling for snow in the morning. I'm in Alabama where it never snows. I seriously don't think we've had any snowfall that's stuck for at least 10 years. At least not that I can remember. So if it's snowing in the morning I won't make it to the group run. Which means I'll have to either run inside on the treadmill or do a million laps around my neighborhood. That might be cool though, to run while it's snowing. Hmmm....

If it does snow I'll definitely post pictures to document it since it happens so rarely!

2008-01-16T06:42:00.000-08:00

My right calf muscle is still extremely sore after the 10 mile run on Saturday. I thought it would be better by now, but it's not. I almost have to limp it's so bad. Tonight I'm going to try some moist heat on it to see if it helps.

I was supposed to go running with another girl last night, but her daughter got sick so she couldn't make it. Normally that would be signal to me to flake out and not run, but I made myself go. Since I was running on a trail outside, I got changed at work before I left. I tend to get hot when I run, so I was wearing a running skirt. I think it was in the low 40s temperature wise. I work at a corporate headquarters for a bank downtown and am on the 11th floor. So after I changed I had to ride the elevator down filled with people who were dressed in formal business suits. I got some weird looks, especially when we walked outside and I was basically wearing shorts.

I got to the trail and started running. Since my calf was hurting so much and I forgot my inhaler, I only ran two miles. But two is better than nothing I guess.

I went to a spin class this morning and my calf was still bothering me during the first part, but once it warmed up it was ok. I'm glad that's out of the way and I don't have to worry about any kind of exercise until tomorrow night.

Red Nose Run - 10 miles

2008-01-12T10:53:00.001-08:00

The Red Nose Run is a 10 mile run that benefits the Ronald McDonald House. It was held right by the Ronald McDonald House in downtown Birmingham. Because the police did not want to block off 10 miles worth of intersections we had to run a loop three times to equal ten miles. I did better with that than I thought I would. There were two water stations, but because of the three laps, there were six, so plenty of water. I used a gel about halfway through. This time I tried Powerade brand that was latte flavored. It was definitely better than the first one I tried that was mango flavored. I would almost say that it tasted good!

When I finished the second lap, I saw that the clock said it had been 1 hour 19 minutes. I decided that I was going to try to finish in under 2 hours. Then I stopped at a water stop, had some water and started off too fast. I got a stitch in my right side and had to walk. Once it was gone, I started again making sure I kept a good pace, but not too fast. The stitch came back 2 or 3 times, but it was small enough that I could breathe through it and get rid of it. It helped when I got to the last mile marker and had only one mile to go. I kept telling myself, "you can do it for one more mile". I picked it up when I rounded the corner to the finish line and was done with one minute to spare!

We hung around a bit afterwards. There was a lot of food there and I had a doughnut. That was the best tasting doughnut I have ever had! So I had another. And a coke. I rarely drink soft drinks and if I do, never a "real" one. I couldn't finish it because it was so sweet.

A lot of our group went to a sports bar afterwards to celebrate, but I came home. Got home and immediately got in the ice bath. It's still extremely hard to get into that thing! I stayed in for 15 minutes and then took a long hot shower.

Here are some pictures from the race:

2008-01-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

I am definitely not someone who functions well on little sleep. After getting up early and running those 7 miles yesterday morning, I was worn out when I got home after work. I think I fell asleep at 8:00. My husband brought me the dog a little while later because he (the dog, not my husband) was scared of the thunder outside. The poor thing was just shaking. I'm afraid I wasn't much comfort to him because I fell back asleep about five minutes later. Yes, I slept through a thunderstorm. I could probably sleep through an earthquake.

But back to running. Today's run is only supposed to be 3 miles, and since there's a chance for rain again this evening, I think I'm going to run on the treadmill inside. Maybe I can catch up on my tv shows. :)

2008-01-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

Long time no post. The holidays had me pretty busy, but I kept up with running for the most part.

Another group run early this morning. I'm still amazed at just how many people are on the road at 4:45 am! The schedule said we were running 6 miles, but it was actually 7. Our coach always manages to sneak in something, be it an extra mile, or some awful hills. I started out feeling like I wanted to quit, but after about a mile I loosened up a bit and actually enjoyed the rest of the run.

This weekend is the Red Nose Run, which is 10 miles. The schedule says we need to run 12, so I'm running two miles in addition to the race! We're going to On Tap afterwards for a post-race celebration.

Only 5 more weeks until Mercedes!

I must be crazy, running on Christmas Eve...

2007-12-24T07:23:00.000-08:00

Another early morning. Got to sleep in an hour though, since we met at 6:00 this morning. We went through some neighborhoods in the Highland area downtown and saw some beautiful houses and Christmas decorations while the sun came up. There were two major hills though that about killed me. We kept looking at all the houses to distract ourselves from the awful incline. All told, we went almost 6 miles.

My knees are a bit swollen after Saturday's run. I've taken some Aleve and then I iced them after the run this morning. I was pretty stiff all day yesterday, and aside from the swelling feel totally back to normal.

I'm taking tomorrow off since it's Christmas, then a group of us are meeting on Wednesday after work to go 4 miles.

First time for everything...

2007-12-22T09:55:00.000-08:00


Today was a day of firsts:

First 10 mile run
First run with my new Garmin Forerunner 305
First time to use a gel on a long run
First ice bath after a long run

I'll devote a paragraph to each to elaborate.

We were scheduled to run 10 miles today, but in the end I actually wound up running 10.95 miles. We ran part of the way on the course of the Mercedes Half Marathon. I've mapped it out on www.mapmyrun.com and again, if I did it correctly, it should show up at the end of the post.

The Garmin Forerunner was a gift from my husband for Christmas. We exchanged gifts
yesterday and I was so excited when I got it. It showed my pace during the whole run and kept
up with the mileage. Definitely a worthwhile investment. I'm excited about reading the manual
and finding out what else it can do.

I also used a gel for the first time on this run. I got a Clif Shot in mango flavor. We had a water
stop around five miles so that's where I stopped to do the gel. It tasted pretty awful and I had to
choke it down taking a sip of water and then another chunk of gel. I was worried about it
upsetting my stomach, but once it was down, I was good. I wondered if it would really help me.
About a mile later we started up a long hill (about a mile long) and I could definitely feel it working.
I'm glad I had it with me. I just need to find a flavor that isn't so horrendous.

I felt relatively good the entire run, which surprised me. I've been trying to psych myself up all
week telling myself that I could go this far and I guess it worked. I was the last person to finish
(again) but I felt so good when it was over that I didn't care! I was just glad to be done. A few of
us went over to Starbucks to get some coffee and warm up and then I drove home.

Now it's time to talk about the ice bath. Our coach told us we should do this after our long runs,
but I was a bit skeptical. I think I was more nervous about the ice bath than the actual run! I got
home and filled up the tub. That took a while since we have a big garden tub. More time to delay
the pain of getting in. Finally it was time. I called my husband into the bathroom so he could
distract me while I was in the tub. Getting in was excruciating! I let out a few choice expletives
while submerging my lower half in the water. After two minutes though, as long as I didn't move, it
felt like I was in warm water. I stayed in for 15 minutes and then got out of the tub into a warm
shower. The shower felt like heaven! And I could already tell that my legs were feeling better
than they normally do after a run. I could bend down to get the shampoo and it didn't hurt at all!
I think I'm a believer in ice baths now!

Now I think I'm going to take a nap for awhile. I think I've deserved it. :)

2007-12-22T09:54:00.000-08:00

10-11 miles downtown Birmingham
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Brrr...

2007-12-18T18:41:00.001-08:00

It was another cold one this morning. I think it was 30 degrees when we started out at 5:30. The group was considerable smaller since all the sane people were still in bed. We went longer today, 6.5 miles. Normally the runs during the week are around 5 miles. I was feeling good at the end. It takes me awhile to really get going in the morning. By the time I'm warmed up and feeling good the run is almost over. Tomorrow is spin class, then the Christmas Light run on Thursday night.

Cut back week

2007-12-15T07:53:00.000-08:00

Today the long run was only 6 miles since it's a cut back week. Only. I can't believe I'm using that word along with the words "6 miles". That's a short run for us now. I remember when we started gong 5 minutes at once felt like climbing Mt. Everest. We've come a long way, with a bit still to go.

I think if I can get through the holidays while keeping up my running I can do it indefinitely. There are so many parties and social events to go to, but if I want to do my long run on Saturday morning and feel good about it, I have to go to bed early. Same thing for those early morning runs during the week.

I have to make sure that I get all my runs in this week. Next week's long run is 10 miles. That will be our first double-digit run. I'm excited and apprehensive at the same time. Linus will be staying home for that run. I'm sure that he can go the distance, but I think that he would be more of a distraction to me. I just have to make sure that he doesn't see me with my running clothes on because he'll get all excited about running and I'll feel bad about not taking him.

In other news, I got my first comment about my weight this morning. I haven't really been losing weight since I started running in August. I lose a few pounds and then gain them back. Running makes me so much hungrier, and while I try to choose good foods, sometimes I just eat really badly. In the past few weeks though, I feel like I've been losing inches even though the scale hasn't necessarily been going down. I should measure and see what my measurements actually are.

Stupid blisters!

2007-12-11T06:50:00.000-08:00

My blister has returned. If you recall, a while back I had two blisters. One was really big, the other was small and barely even bothered me. The big one healed a while ago. You can still see where it was, but it's all healed up. The smaller one has returned with a vengeance. While the big one was peeling off, the small one calloused. I thought I would just have a bump there, but about a week ago, the callous peeled off. It didn't really bother me until today. I had an early morning run of 5 miles. I noticed a twinge where the blister was, and when I got done running and looked at it, it looked pretty bad. It was bubbled up again and this time it's red. I drained it and put a band aid over it. Does the red mean that it's infected? I need to look into that. I'm supposed to be getting a new pair of shoes soon, since I've getting close to 300 miles on the ones I have. Hopefully the new pair won't give me blisters!

2007-12-05T10:52:00.000-08:00

This past weekend our long run was 8 miles. My ankle was all better, but I had only run once during the week so I was a little apprehensive. Luckily I found another person in the same boat (they hadn't run all that much during the week) so we ran together. We ran non-stop for the first 4 miles or so. Then we took a couple of walking breaks. I think all in all, I ran 6..5 or 7 miles which isn't too bad, considering how behind I was. I'm determined not to get behind this week. The next long run is 9 miles. They're not getting any easier, so I need to suck it up and make sure I get all my runs in. I've been really good about going to all the group runs, but not as good when running on my own. On Monday morning I got up to go to an early spin class before work. The instructor was someone I had never been to before and she kicked our butts! I didn't like how she increased the tension. Most instructors tell you how many times to spin the tension dial. She just told us to do easy medium or hard (or hard medium, easy medium, etc). I had a hard time figuring out where that was for me. Maybe I just need to take more classes to get the hang of it. Tuesday morning was another 4 am day. I met a girl from our group at a running trail. We couldn't decided if we were going to run 4 or 5 miles. I mentioned that if we did 5, we would reach the water fountain and get a water break. We got to the end of the trail and tried the water fountain and it was frozen! No water would come out. I guess I should have expected that since it was 29 degrees. That's definitely the coldest weather I've run in yet. Today was a sleep in day since I'm running after work instead of before. It was definitely nice to not have to get up before the crack of dawn. The plan for the rest of the week is 4 miles today, spin class tomorrow morning, 4 mile Friday morning, and then the long run on Saturday. I'm sure I'll be taking a long nap Saturday after the run.

Ankle

2007-11-28T10:56:00.000-08:00

I got up yesterday at 4:30 am for another early run. This time the course was much flatter which was nice. About a mile in, I tripped and rolled my ankle. I almost fell, but righted myself in time to save myself from further embarassment. My ankle felt fine after the fact so I kept running and finished the 5.5 mile route. It felt fine up until lunchtime. I left to go run some errands and while in the car I noticed that my ankle was hurting a bit when I moved my toes. By the time I got done with errands and back to work I could barely walk. I'm sure the heels I was wearing wasn't helping matters. By the afternoon it was starting to swell.

This morning the pain had lessened and the swelling had gone down. It still hurts, but only when I bend it a certain way. I can walk without a limp now. It's started swelling again, but that makes sense. Once I get home I need to prop it up and ice it to see if that helps. I emailed my coach about it and I'm going to take a spin class tonight and not do anything tomorrow. I'll reevaluate on Friday to see how it's feeling. We have an 8 mile long run on Saturday that I really don't want to miss. I took a picture of my swollen ankle last night. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Turkey Trot

2007-11-24T06:53:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is over, and for the first time, I didn't overindulge on the food. And to make it better, I ran a 10k on Thanksgiving morning! I still can't believe I got up that early to go run 6(.2) miles. But I did. We had family at our house who were originally going to come and watch me, but the forecast was calling for rain, and I didn't want them to get wet and cold while waiting on me. Especially since I'm a very slow runner and they would be there for over an hour waiting on me.

It was drizzling when I woke up and the temperature was in the 40s. Every time it gets cold I debate with myself as to how much I should wear. Somehow I forget how hot I get when I start running. I wore a skirt and short-sleeved shirt, and then put a long-sleeve shirt over it. I'm glad I had it, but about 5 minutes into the run I had to take it off and tie it around my waist. My normal running partner was doing really well and ran on ahead of me. I knew that the course was uphill for the last half, so I wasn't pushing myself. Another guy from our group ran at about my pace so we stayed together for pretty much the whole time.

This was my second 10k, but my first one to run the whole way since I walked/ran the Vulcan Run. The time on my watch said 1 hour 14 minutes exactly. My time at Vulcan was 1:20:04, so I decreased my time by 6 minutes! Of course, this is because I ran the whole time.

There was stuff going on after the race, but I didn't stick around. I didn't take any pictures at the race, but here are a couple from after when I got home.

AM Running

2007-11-20T07:55:00.000-08:00

My alarm clock went off at 4:30 this morning so that I could meet everyone for a group run at 5:30. Yes, that's AM. This run was called the "No whining" run and with good reason. The first 2.5 miles were uphill. But that meant that the last 2.5 were downhill (mostly). I ran with the same girl that I ran with at the last group run. Of course we were last again. I'm glad she was there, because it was dark for the first part of the run. The course went through an old neighborhood with absolutely beautiful houses. I'm sure I couldn't afford to live in any of them. They overlooked downtown Birmingham. The view of the city with the sun coming up was worth it to be running 5 miles that early. I don't think I would do it every day, but I'm glad I found the energy to climb out of my warm cozy bed this morning.

Brrrrr!!!!!!!

2007-11-16T07:46:00.001-08:00

We had a group run last night that was a preview of the 10k I'm doing on Thanksgiving. It was pretty cold, in the 40s. I wore shorts and a long-sleeve shirt so I was pretty cold to begin with, but after about 2 miles I was feeling good. For most of the run I ran with a girl who runs the same pace as me. I think she might become my pace partner after this. We talked most of the way which was great since I didn't have my ipod to distract me. We were running on the side of a busy road and I thought it might be too risky to use my ipod. There was a sidewalk the whole way, but still. I also got one of those lights that you clip on to your shorts and it flashes so that cars can see you.

I got home around 8:00 after the run. I bought some butternut squash weeks ago that I never got around to eating so I put that in the oven. By the time it was finally done, I was worn out. I took it out of the oven, asked Eric to put it in the fridge for me when it cooled off some and went to bed. I think I passed out pretty quickly because I don't remember anything until this morning when Eric got up. I'm still tired today, I could have slept a lot more. My right calf muscle is kind of sore. I thought I might have strained something, but it's gotten better as the day goes on. There's another group run on Saturday to go 7 miles, but I'm going to be out of town so I'm doing 7 on my own on Sunday.

Spin Class

2007-11-15T07:47:00.003-08:00

I went to a spin class after work yesterday. It's part of me trying to spare my knees somewhat. I'm taking my short run day during the week and swapping it out for a spin class. It turned out that my running coach was teaching the class so that was kind of funny. I have to say that my butt is really sore this morning! And it's not the muscles either, it's my actual butt bone from the bike seat. I think I'm going to have to get some of those bike shorts with the padding inside to spare my butt some pain!

Spin Class

2007-11-15T07:47:00.001-08:00

AM Running

2007-11-12T08:08:00.000-08:00

I was very motivated this morning and got up at 5:00 and drove to the Y. I did 3 miles on the treadmill and then did a good deep stretch for about 15 minutes. I've been neglecting stretching lately, and I can tell a big difference already. I'm not as stiff and sore as I normally am after running. I need to make sure that I do a proper cool down/stretching session after every run. Who knew that when you do what the professionals recommend it actually works?

2007-11-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

Today was a group run. We met downtown at Five Points and ran 6 miles. Linus went with me and thoroughly enjoyed himself. He was definitely a hit. He always gets lots of attention when we go out.

About halfway through the run I almost fell and twisted my ankle. I was running on the sidewalk because the road was really uneven. I must have not been paying enough attention and tripped on something. My ankle rolled, but luckily I was able to catch it before I fell down. We had a water stop soon after that where I stopped and got some. I offered some water to Linus but he just wanted to keep running so we were off again. There were about five girls that turned off because they were only running 5 miles. Then it was me, Linus and one other guy. At that point I think we had about two miles left. We talked to each other the whole way so that was a good distraction from the last couple of hills.

I finished feeling pretty good. I mapped the route on http://www.mapmyrun.com/ and if I've done this right, it will show up in the post.

6 Mile - Mercedes Training
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Next week's running schedule:

Day 1: 3
Day 2: 5
Day 3: 3
Day 4: 5
Day 5: 7

I'm going to go ahead and do day 1 tomorrow. Some people from our group are running on the Lakeshore running trail and doing three miles. So that's the plan for tomorrow.

Mercedes Half Marathon

2007-11-05T07:50:00.001-08:00

Now that the Vulcan Run is over, it's time to start concentrating on the Mercedes Half Marathon here in Birmingham. I've wanted to run this race for a few years now, but have never actually started the training for it. Our Couch to 10k running coach is coaching people who want to move on to this free of charge. Assuming my knees can keep up with the increased mileage, I'm going to do it.

My brother-in-law has run it for the past few years and everytime he does I tell myself, "Next year that will be me too". Well the time has finally come to step up and actually follow through with it. I'm out of school so I have no more excuses. I work, but plenty of people work full-time and have kids and still manage to find time to run.

The schedule for this week is more laid back since we just got done with the race.

Day 1: 3 miles

Day 2: 3 miles

Day 4: 4 miles

Day 5: Not sure, possible group run.

I'll be taking today off and then starting up again tomorrow. I also joined the local YMCA. On my days off from running I plan to go there and start doing some strength training. Also, I'll be able to use their showers and get ready for work after running in the am.

2007-11-04T14:25:00.001-08:00

I've thought of some more highlights from the race yesterday.
The woman who was about seven months pregnant and running the 10k. I hope I'm still in good shape like that when I'm pregnant.
In the same vein, I talked a little bit with a woman who was pushing her daughter in a jogging stroller. She said it was harder,especially as her daughter got older, but she wanted to be a good influence and teach her how to live a healthy lifestyle.
A policewoman was encouraging everyone who passed by her stop. She said to me as I went by, "You're still in it, that's all that matters!" Obviously at this point it was towards the end.
Lots of random people parked on the course and clapped and cheered for everyone that went by.

All of the volunteers were great too. People at the water stations encouraged us as we went by. I think I'm going to start volunteering for races that I don't run in. They really do make a huge difference in the whole experience!

Vulcan Run

2007-11-04T07:12:00.001-08:00

Well yesterday was the Vulcan Run 10k.I couldn't sleep that well the night before because I was paranoid about oversleeping. I woke up an hour before my alarm clock went off so I just laid in bed for a while. I finally got up and took a shower and got all my stuff together and just kind of waited until I could wake Eric up and tell him to get ready. We left at 6:30 in the morning and it was still dark outside. We got to the race site and went and to the finish line to take a group picture with the group I've been training with. We hung out there for a while and then Eric went with me to the port-a-potty line. I really had to pee and didn't want to race like that.

After that, we went to the starting line and had to wait for about 15 minutes for the start. I was pretty cold since it was in the late 40s and I was wearing a running skirt and short sleeves. Finally the gun went off and it was time to go. I think it took me about three minutes to actually cross the starting line. Since my problems with knees and blisters the plan was to run 5 minutes and walk 1 until I got to around mile 4 and then run the rest of the way since it's pretty much downhill from there. I remember getting to the 1 mile mark at 12 minutes by my watch which was including the walking. The first water break was at mile 2 I think. I slowed down to walking and took a cup. I didn't really feel like I needed water, but took some anyway just in case. The water tasted like it came out of a fire hydrant, but it was water so I wasn't complaining. I kept up with the run 5 walk 1 which really helped on the big hill around Highland Avenue. There was another water stop at the top of the hill. I got some water and one of the volunteers complimented my running skirt. When I got to 20th Street I knew it was the home stretch. Only a little over one mile to go. I walked down one big hill so that I wouldn't wreck my knees and then ran the rest of the way. At this point I was passing a lot of walkers. It reminded me of how slow I am, but also kind of made me feel good that I was actually passing people.

I rounded the corner to the finish line and saw Eric standing there cheering me on. I also heard my coach yell my name as I crossed the finish. The official results aren't up yet, but the time on my watch said 1 hour 20 minutes.

One more day to Vulcan Run!

2007-11-02T07:22:00.000-07:00

Last night I had my last run before the 10k tomorrow. It was a 6 mile group run, but I was only going to do 4 because of the blisters and knee issues. We ran downtown on the actual race course. I was the next to last person in the group and when I turned off at the 4 mile route, I would have been by myself. Luckily, a guy in the back of the pack ran with me since he didn't know the 6 mile route and we couldn't see the rest of the group. It was pretty dark in a couple of places so I'm glad he went with me. It gave me someone to talk to. We got back to the starting point and by that time it had only been 45 minutes, and at my pace I knew I probably hadn't gone 4 miles, so we kept going for another 10 minutes. I think it ended up being a little less than 5 miles.

I thought my blister was healed, but it's back. I put some body glide on it and I think that helped. I drained it last night and put some bandaids on it. I'm thinking about getting some moleskin tonight and rigging it up so that it won't be so bothersome tomorrow morning. I'm kind of hesitant to do that though, because I've never done it before and everyone knows you shouldn't do anything new on race day. Any suggestions? My right knee is still feeling a little stiff. Today is a rest day and I think I'm going to run/walk the 10k. 5 minutes of running then 1 minute of walking with the water stops as bonus walking points. The plan is to do that until I get to 20th Street, where it's about two miles to the end, and just run from there (it's downhill the last couple of miles).

Blisters and other fun things!

2007-10-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have been sidelined, at least temporarily. By what you ask? A blister. The (very expensive) inserts that I bought for my running shoes have given me two blisters on my left foot.

The arch of one of the inserts was really rough so it rubbed on my foot. I ran three miles on Friday night. I felt it rubbing and probably should have stopped, but I didn't. I put duct tape over it to smooth it out, so hopefully that will fix the problem. Duct tape fixes everything, right? I tried to put a band-aid over the blisters and go to the group run Saturday morning, but that didn't work. I ended up running two miles and then turning around and walking the two miles back to my car. And my right knee was killing me! I guess I can't do anymore back-to-back runs. Learned my lesson. The big blister has gone down significantly, but I don't want to run again until it's completely gone. The Vulcan Run 10k is this Saturday. I don't think I'll lose a lot of fitness in one week, but I haven't done the 10k distance yet. I guess race day will be the first time I do the whole distance. I think I'm going to ride my bike today with Eric so that I at least get some exercise in, even though I really hate biking. The good news is that my knee is feeling much better. I'm not sure if it's the new shoes that don't fit correctly, or the increase in mileage, or running during the evening and then immediately again the next morning. The pain I had was different than any pain I've ever had, which made me wonder if the bone spur the doctor said I was developing is causing the pain. I guess I just need to take it easy this week to make sure I can participate in the race on Saturday.

2007-10-26T09:40:00.001-07:00

Eight days until the Vulcan Run 10k. I'm getting kind of nervous about it. I've missed a day of running this week and I'm going to try to make up for it over the weekend.

I didn’t get any running in last night, but I did go by Academy and buy some winter running gear. It’s getting kind of cool here, and that’s normally when I slack off because I don’t have the right kind of clothes. I spent $200 last night, so that in itself is motivation to keep me running. Don’t want all of that to be a waste. I got some gloves, a headband/earwarmer thing, running tights, compression shorts (not really winter, but I’ve needed some for a while), a short-sleeve and a long-sleeve running shirt. That should be enough to tide me over for now.

I also found out that I need new running shoes. I just bought some a few weeks ago at the Trak Shak in Homewood. They looked at how I walk and told me which shoe to buy. My arches were hurting though when I ran in them. When I was in Tuscaloosa running witha friend, we went by a running store there to see if I could get some inserts. The guy there actually watched me run on a treadmill. I was still overpronating with the new shoes so he got some inserts and watched me run again. Even with the most corrective inserts, I still am overpronating a little bit. I’ll probably go get new ones once I’ve gotten a few more paychecks. I can keep the shoes I have now for walking and working in the yard I guess. I’ll be going to Tuscaloosa to buy my running shoes from now on. Apparently I have really bizarre feet, but that’s not really anything new.

2007-10-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a week since the 5k race, and we're gearing up for the Vulcan Run 10k. Today we ran four miles and next week it's going to be 5 miles! I'm still a little nervous about increasing distances. I better get used to it because I want to run a half-marathon in February.

We met at Five Points downtown. I took Linus with me and he was very excited since it's been a couple of weeks since he's been running with me. We ran on the course for the Vulcan run. Part of the course is a small gradual hill, but it's so long that it gets to you. My legs started feeling like lead so I had to stop and walk for about two minutes. I really didn't want to, but I didn't feel like I could pick my feet up anymore. After we got to the top it was downhill for about the last half mile which was nice. I was feeling pretty good by the end, and might have even been able to go longer.

The schedule for this upcoming week is:

Day 1: 4 miles
Day 2: 3 miles
Day 3: 5 miles
Day 4: 4 miles
Day 5: 5 miles

I will try to actually post during the week, but we'll see how that goes.

2007-10-20T15:12:00.000-07:00

I'm just now getting a chance to post about the 5k.

I got up really early because I didn't want to be late to my first race and I wanted to get a good parking spot. I got downtown around 7:15. I went by the Birmingham Track Club tent and got my registration packet. I still haven't looked through all the stuff, but I got a race shirt, a long-sleeved t-shirt and coupons and things like that. At 7:30 all of the "Couch" group got together with our coach for a picture. After that my mom called and said she was there so I made my way to her. There were so many people there so it took awhile. Over 10,000 people signed up to race, and that doesn't include all the spectators. I hung out with my mom a bit and gave her my camera to take pictures.

Pretty soon it was time to line up. We got about 100 feet back from the starting line so that we wouldn't be mowed down by all the elites. I think we stood lined up for about 10 or 15 minutes, it took awhile for everyone to get organized. But soon we were off. I didn't cross the starting line until 2:00 after the official start. My group and I started off slow. My main goal was just to get through the thing without walking. The second goal was to do it in under 40 minutes, which was pretty generous. During the first half, we had to dodge and weave through a lot of walkers. They're supposed to get in the back, but inevitably there are always some who want to be up front with the action.

After about a mile, we rounded a corner that was at the top of a hill and I could see thousands of people in front of me just filling up the road. It was pretty amazing. Part of the route went under the interstate and a trucker honked his horn as he drove by. There were also a lot of spectators along the route cheering us on. I almost cried a couple of times. Kind of ridiculous, I know, but I couldn't help it.

As we got close to the finish line, the number of spectators grew. As soon as I saw the finish line used a little burst of extra energy and ran as fast as I could. My official time was 37:13, so I made both of my goals. I ranked 454 overall, and 228 out of the females. My average pace was 12:01 which is pretty darn slow. But I finished it!

My next race is November 3rd, the Vulcan Run which is a 10k. Eep!

Ok, here are the pictures:

All the serious runners up front

There's me! Looks like I'm just strolling here. Notice my pink running skirt? I love it!

Nearing the finish!

I made it!

Me with one of the guys in our training group

# 1024

Me and my mom, a two-time breast cancer survivor!

Dr. update

2007-10-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor two days ago for my knees. They took some x-rays. He told me that as young as I am, I've got some really bad knees. Even with the dancing and running I've done, it wouldn't have done as much damage as I have. He showed me the x-rays where he can see the arthritis starting. My femurs are squared off on one side instead of being rounded. I've got the beginnings of a bone spur on one the right one (I think). My self-diagnosis of chondromalacia was correct, I've got softening of the cartilage under the kneecaps. I'm going back today for the physical therapist to show me some exercises to do at home that will strengthen my quads and help stabilize my kneecaps which will hopefully cut down on the pain. I asked about the running, and he said that I could safely continue to train for the 10k and even a half-marathon, but that I might want to reconsider running marathons. He said my knees were only going to get worse, but he couldn't say if it would be in 5-10 years or 20-30 years. I have a life goal of running at least one marathon, so I think I'm going to do that, and then maybe cut back depending on how my knees feel. My boss here has bad knees too, and he's given me a lot of homepathic things that he has used with success so I'm going to try some of those too.

2007-10-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning was a trial run for Race for the Cure. We ran the 5k course in downtown Birmingham. It's a pretty flat route, so it wasn't that bad at all. I'm getting pretty excited for my first race. I'm going to have to make sure that I get there pretty early since there are going to be a lot of people downtown at the same time. Parking is going to be kind of tight.

My husband is going to be out of town on a business trip so I've got a friend of mine and my mom going with me to cheer me on.

A rant

2007-10-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know, I've had knee problems for a few years now. Come to think of it, I had knee pain growing up, but the doctor always told me it was because I was growing so fast. In the past four or five years, my knees have started to make a crunching/grinding noise. They hurt when I go up and down stairs and do squats or lunges. I went to my general pracitioner about a year ago and she did x-rays of my knees. She said that I have the early signs of arthritis and gave me some neoprene braces to use while exercising.

Now on to my rant. My mom went to an orthopedist yesterday to get her knees looked at. She's had knee problems for many years now, much worse than mine. The doctor said that there is 100% chance that she will need a knee replacement within the next 10 years. She told the doctor about my knee problems and he told her that I needed to stop running immediately, or I would need a knee replacement too. How can a doctor diagnose me without even seeing me?

So, I talked to my running coach, and he gave me the name of a runner-friendly orthopedist. I'll quit running if that's what I really need to do, but I have heard so many people tell me that I shouldn't run, because it will kill my knees, or something else like that. And most of the people who tell me this are people who never exercise at all. Because sitting on the couch watching tv and stuffing your face is sooooo much better for you! From researching online, it looks like I have this: Chondromalacia Patellae. This website describes my symptoms exactly. I'm going to the doctor next Wednesday so I should know something by then. I really hope that it can be treated with simple exercises and surgery won't be necessary.

2007-10-02T20:20:00.001-07:00

Today was a group run at Spain Park High School. There's a really nice running trail there that is 3 miles long. It goes around a pound, under the road and into the woods. It was really pretty, but by the time I got to the woods it was getting dark. That was kind of creepy. The very last part of the course is a really steep hill. I kept going though and toughed it out. I have a feeling that I'm going to be pretty sore tomorrow.

2007-10-01T17:17:00.001-07:00

Another week of running begins. Today after work the dog and I ran three miles. I ran the whole time without stopping and made pretty good time. My first official 5k is on October 13th. It's the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. My mom has had breast cancer twice, so I think it's neat that this will be my first 5k.

Runs this week:

Day 1: 3 miles

Day 2: 3 miles

Day 3: 2.5 miles

Day 4: 2 miles

Day 5: 3 miles

2007-09-25T19:13:00.001-07:00

Today's run was a group run in downtown Birmingham. We met at the fountain in Southside. There were only three other 101 runners making us a pretty small group. The run was 2.5 miles, uphill the first half, downhill the second half. The route went through the old neighborhoods near Highland Avenue. It was very pretty, there are a lot of old houses through there. I passed a park where a lot of people had their dogs and I wished I had Linus with me.

The next group run is on Saturday, but we're going camping this weekend, so I won't be going to that one.

2007-09-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been an update in a while because I went on a cruise, and then I was sick for a little while, so I'm just now getting back into running. I did run while on the cruise, but only twice. That was an interesting experience. The boat had a track on the top level so you could run while looking out at the ocean. It was a bit difficult to run while the boat was swaying back and forth. The wind also was blowing pretty hard so while running one way you were going into the wind and the other way it was helping you run faster.

I got sick on the day we came home from the cruise so I didn't run for about a week, and then Aunt Flo came and I'm just now getting my energy back.

Yesterday I went on my first group run in a while. I was running with the 102 group, but since it's been so long, I put myself in 101. Good thing too. 102 was running 4 miles and there's now way I could have done that. Instead I did 2.5 miles. Linus went with me and thoroughly enjoyed himself. Today was another 2.5 miles. I ran at home this time and got charged by a neighbor's dog. That was not fun. Eric's going to go with me next time.

Here's the running schedule for next week:

Day 1: 2 miles

Day 2: 2.5

Day 3: 2 miles

Day 4: 2.5

Day 5: 2.5

2007-09-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday was Labor Day and since we both had off work, Eric and I drove to Tennessee to visit his parents for the weekend. I took my running gear, but never actually made it outside for a run. But it's a new week, and I have already gotten one run out of the way.

There was a group run tonight at 6:00 on the Lakeshore Trail. I ran three miles. I actually stopped during the middle for a short one minute walk. My legs were hurting at the very beginning. I'm almost positive that it's due to my running shoes being old and worn out. After my first paycheck I'm going to go to the running store and get fitted for new shoes. Also, my left foot went numb towards the end of the run. I think I tied my shoelaces too tightly.

There is another group run tomorrow night at the Trak Shak. This one is at 5:30 though, and I don't know if I can make it there in time. If not, I'll just run when I get home.

2007-08-29T18:32:00.001-07:00

Well I've forgotten to post in the past few days. I ran two miles today after work. Tomorrow is a group run in the evening. It's 3 miles, the first time I've done that long. After that we're all going to Golden Rule to have a post run get-together. That should be fun. We're going to Jackson, Tennessee to see my husband's parents so I'm going to have to take my running gear and run while I'm up there. The dog is going with us, so he'll be running with me too.

2007-08-22T17:12:00.001-07:00

My run yesterday wasn't much of a success. It was supposed to be 2 miles, but for some reason after 1.25, I had to stop and walk. I was pretty disappointed, but oh well.

I think I might have been running too many days in a row, so I took today off. Tomorrow is a 6 am group run so I have to go to bed early tonight. Joy.

2007-08-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

Since the group run today is in the evening, I ran on my own this morning. I can't go tonight because we're going shopping for new work clothes. I finally got a job and it starts next Monday so I need some new clothes.

The run today was 2.5 miles. The last .5 seemed to last forever! Linus went with me and he loved it, like always.

After we got back home, I decided to conduct an experiment. Whenever I run, I always have to wait about 30 minutes before I shower. If I don't, I'll still be sweating when I get out. So instead of waiting, I hopped into a freezing cold shower to see if that stopped the sweating. I think it slowed it down a little, but not completely. And it was way too cold to be worth it. So I won't be doing that again.

Tomorrow is only a 2 mile run.

2007-08-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

There was a group run scheduled this morning, but I didn't make it up there. It thundered and rained all night here, so Linus (my dog) whined and kept waking us up. This morning it was still kind of sprinkling here, I just decided to stay at home.

Instead I ran through the neighborhood with Linus. I didn't go until about 10:00, but it's been cooling off (only 86 degrees) so it wasn't that bad. Linus loved it too. I haven't been taking him in the 100 degree weather since he doesn't know enough to drink a lot of water beforehand.

Today was day 5 of week 1, so I get a rest day tomorrow. The schedule for next week is:

Day 1: 2.5 miles
Day 2: 2 miles
Day 3: 2.5 miles
Day 4: 2 miles
Day 5: 2.5 miles

We're going to Six Flags next Saturday, so it looks like I'm going to be running 5 days in a row. Unless I run tomorrow and then take off in the middle of the week. We'll see how I feel tomorrow I guess.

Just for kicks, I've included a picture of Linus.

2007-08-17T08:29:00.001-07:00

I went to another group run yesterday at 6:00 pm. It was around 100 degrees out, so it was pretty painful. Ran another two miles. I am proud to say though, that this time I was not the last to finish, but the second to last! One of the trainers was nice enough to run with me at my pace. It was nice to have someone to talk to, it made it not so painful. I really wanted to quit soon after the first mile, but made myself keep going. Again, I felt great after it was over.

I'm taking today off and then going to a group run tomorrow morning. The run should be much better then. I might take Linus with me since it will be early and he'll be able to run without getting overheated.

Couch to 10k

2007-08-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

I decided to start a blog to chronicle my journey through the world of running. First an intro post. I always said that I hated running. Growing up, I took a lot of dance, and thought that running was boring. After school, I stopped dancing, and gained some weight and lost a lot of fitness. It's almost ten years later and I've decided to do something about it.

I dabbled in running a few years ago. I did really great and got up at 5:00 in the morning for a few months in the summertime. Then I stopped for some reason. This last May, I finished grad school and decided that it was time to start again. I had no school, and hadn't found a job yet, so there was no excuse not to do it. So, I decided to use the Couch to 5k program from coolrunning.com. I successfully finished the program about a month ago.

The problem is, I live in Alabama where it is extremely hot. This past week the temperature has been in the 100s. So I kind of slacked off. I ran a bit on the treadmill indoors, but it's just not the same. Somehow I found out about Danny Haralson's Couch to 10k running program. I wen to the informational meeting last week and decided to join. The plan is to run a 5k race, the 10k Vulcan Run and then eventually the Mercedes Half Marathon in February.

I've done three runs so far this week.:

The first was on Sunday at 4:30 in the afternoon. It was 100 degrees, literally. There are two training groups, 101 and 102. I'm doing 102 since I've been running for a short while. This week we're supposed to run 2 miles each time. It was so hot on Sunday that I could only finish about 1.25 and then had to walk the rest of the way. I was the last of the group to finish along with one other girl.
My second run was at home on Monday afternoon. I waited until 7:00 pm to run when it was only 95 degrees. It's amazing how much difference those 5 degrees make. I was able to complete the 2 miles still feeling pretty good.
I took Tuesday off and went to the group run at 6 am Wednesday morning. It was dark when I got up, but the sun had come up by the time we began running. It almost felt chilly outside compared to the heat we've been having! Again, I was able to finish the two miles. And again, I was the last person of the group to finish, by a long way. There weren't as many people at the morning session.

I try not to let it get to me that I'm the last one to finish. The important thing is that I'm out there doing it. There is another group run today at 6:00 pm. Here's to hoping I'm able to finish this one too.

Tales of a wannabe runner

The cough that won't die!

*cough*hack*wheeze*

First AM Run!

I'm back (again)!

I'm back!

Lazy

Cahaba River Ramble 5k

Pic from Country Music Marathon

Marathon Recap

Snickers Marathon 2009 - Albany, Georgia

Mercedes pictures

Mercedes Marathon 2009

17 miles!

First 15 Mile Run!

Vulcan Run 2008

Time for winter running clothes!

Marathon!

Eric's trail run injury in all it's glory...

26.2 Ways You Know You Are A Runner

Trail running...probably not for me!

New shoes

Race to the Courthouse

I'm healed!

I should take painkillers before running more often!

Sweets - my downfall

Two posts in one day!

Red Nose Run - 10 miles

I must be crazy, running on Christmas Eve...

First time for everything...

Brrr...

Cut back week

Stupid blisters!

Ankle

Turkey Trot

AM Running

Brrrrr!!!!!!!

Spin Class

Spin Class

AM Running

Mercedes Half Marathon

Vulcan Run

One more day to Vulcan Run!

Blisters and other fun things!

Dr. update

A rant

Couch to 10k

coughhackwheeze