Respect the Run: Running the Little Lovies and random training musings

Posted: 2012/02/25 | Author: | Filed under: Running | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Little Lovies Run a Mile

This  morning in the  cold, wind and  not really snow but blowing snowflakes I slogged my tight legs and body through a 5K.   I don’t know why winter always has to pick my Saturday runs to remind me that it really is February in Indiana.  We are having an incredibly mild winter here, so I really shouldn’t complain.  I’ve had plenty of Monday and Wednesday runs in capris and a long sleeve shirt, practically unheard of for the season and certainly not the bitter cold and ice I ran in last winter.   It  just seems like every time the weekend Saturday morning run comes,  I wake up to something that feels more like February is supposed to. Mileage is climbing for Mini training. Last week was 4 on Monday and 5 on Wednesday, from here on out each week will bring a new longer Wednesday distance.  I’m grateful for the ability to run, I’m grateful for an injury free body so  far. But  man I am telling you this morning I was not grateful for the weather.   The local High School sponsors what they call a Tiger Trot every year.  It is a fund raiser for their cross country and track teams.  There is a 5K for the adults and families with kids that can run that far, and a 1 mile race for the kiddos.   It is no secret to MiniMe and The Destroyer that we are trying to turn them into runners, that we desire to make this running thing a family sport.  We started them on the Rookie Run last year, followed it up with the 2 mile Freedom Festival and this morning I subjected them to  something that is likely a little more like what “real” running will be for them.   A small race, with a few participants and support coming from basically the parents of the runners.

The 5K was probably smaller than 130 runners. I say this because I clocked a 34:03 according to the race results.  Pretty darn respectable considering my 5K PR is a 33:43 I  gained last year in the Mini training series when Babu set the first miles pace at something like 9:00. The Freedom Festival I  finished under 40 minutes and I don’t even know what I did the Turkey Trot in without looking it up on Runkeeper and I am in a hurry to get this post done and too lazy to go do that.  The point is I came in on the race results sheet listed as #103 …. out of #105.    Now Babu and the kids came to the finish line to cheer me on as I entered the track for the one lap to finish, and he swears there were at least 4-5 people behind me. And we saw more coming in as we headed out to the track with the kids.  I’m not too bummed about being listed as 103/105 because an 11:06 is not too darn shabby for me thank you very much. I have been sore and tight since Wednesday, just now coming down from the Girl Scout Cookie diet and it was seriously freezing and windy this morning.   To be honest I was grateful I wasn’t doing the  normal 45 minute Saturday run because I would have been required to put another mile on the 3.2 this morning and I really don’t know if I had it in me today.

How does this tie into the  Little Lovies?  Well for starters we didn’t train them for this race, at all. They were running cold, in the cold with only the assurance from  Babu and I that they had already run 2 miles with Dad, so this should be no sweat.   The course was a basic 4 times around the track and the top finisher was a girl about 12-13 who did it in 6, yes SIX MINUTES!!!!    Both MinieMe and The Destroyer had times during those 4 laps when they struggled. Both of them had times when they started to stop and walk.  I knew The Destroyer would probably not give up, but I had some doubts about MiniMe.  She  wants me to sign her up for Girls On  The Run, and I swear I’m going to get off my butt and do it soon.   Pacing is an issue for both of them and somewhere along the 2nd lap she was seriously losing steam.   Babu and I ran back and forth across the field to catch them on both sides of the track and when I got there for lap 2, she yelled to me. “Mom, I can’t do it!”  She was already holding her side and she needed to simply slow down her pace and breathe through it, but she also needed a boost of badass.   I’ve been there so many times it isn’t even funny. There are some  runs where I call on my mantras, or use a breath trick, or some other  mind trick to make my head get it in gear and let my body keep doing its thing.  Sometimes I’m not sure which part of me is convincing the other that we can keep doing this, but somehow I pull it out of myself and just do it.  So many things in life are a mind trick, a convince yourself, an attitude or confidence thing.  Running helps fine tune those inner mind skills and part of the reason I want to turn the Little Lovies into runners is so they learn how to engage those skills early.  Running  may be the one sport where trash talk is looked down on.  In Running it is expected that you support and cheer those around you.  At least in the back of the pack where I run, that’s how we roll.  So I shouted as loud as I could to her and she headed my way, “You Absolutely CAN do it, baby” You absolutely can. Slow down and find a pace, but don’t stop running.”  And I could see her little face screw up in resolve, I could see that stubborn streak make its way out in the form of keep going.  And darn if she didn’t come in near the back of the participants, but that little 9 year old still  clocked a 10 minute mile with zero training.  Her little brother found  the whole thing a little easier and finished around 9:15.   Both of them, even when struggling, can go faster than us right now.

After they were done, we both hugged them and told them how proud we were, but they were both grumpy and not happy about the cold or the run.  In fact  he was crying about how he hated running and there was nothing good about it.  I’ve been there after a run or 5, but I also have the benefit of knowing that training makes it easier.  If we keep them doing this, if we continue to set an example for them with our own runs, we maybe just maybe can accomplish that family of runners dream I have. After some hot chocolate and another ribbon/medal to add to their collection they were feeling pretty proud of themselves.   By the time we got home they were already talking about doing the Rookie Run again in May.   Don’t tell Babu but I just had an idea that maybe I will sign us up for the St. Patrick’s Day run as a family. After all the whole idea of turning them into runners started because it is hard to get babysitting at 6:30 in the morning so both Mom and Dad can run 5K’s.  If we run them as a family, no babysitting needed!

PS-  IPhone Runkeeper  access and OCD to the rescue! Turkey Trot was 36:20, that totally had to be from trying to keep up with Martini Curls b/c I was so out of shape in that race it was ridic.  So my worst 5K is still Freedom Festival at 39:06, that was heat and humidity for sure.

Respect the Run: Running for Sherry Arnold this morning

Posted: 2012/02/11 | Author: | Filed under: Running | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Saturday  Lovies.   In the middle of all the exciting things I have to do today like, make valentines and pay bills I wanted to sit down and focus for a few moments on telling you about my run this am.

Several months ago the plan for this morning’s run was to compete in the Indianapolis 500 Mini marathon Festival training Series 5K.  I found out last week that our sitter was not going to be here and that my husband was going to choose to go see a band in Chicago for an overnight boys trip.  The training program canceled our regular Saturday morning run b/c we all should of been downtown in the 5K anyway.   In response to these events I made plans on Monday night with one of my group running buddies to meet and run together on Saturday at the usual time.  On Wed night re firmed those plans up. See you Saturday at 9am we both committed to each other on the way out Wednesday night.

I don’t know what kind of winter you are having where you live but in Indianapolis we have been having Spring in January and February. That is we WERE having spring in January and February until roughly yesterday.   Sure we seem to always be running in wind and ice and snow/sleet etc but honestly in spite of all of that temps have been quite mild.  As a seasoned Midwesterner i knew this had to come to a screeching end at any minute and when I checked the phone while still in my nice warm bed  at roughly 8am  this was confirmed.  16 degrees outside feels like 2!!!!!!  Ugh! I am tired, it is cold, my bed is warm and my children and still sleeping.   All I want to do is roll over and go back to sleep, even if it is alone minus the cat, for another few hours.   I start to ponder this idea in my head. I have committed to Not Kathy that I will meet her at the Y and run at exactly 9am.  I do not have her phone number and if I bail I will have to do it via email, possibly leaving her alone to work out.  This would be a serious put a $1 in the douchebag jar move and definitely would not fit in with my new mantra of respect the run.   It won’t respect my run if I lie in bed, it won’t respect my runner,  me or my running buddy.

Click below to learn more about Sherry and her story. The day isn’t over  Lovies, go run for Sherry!!!

Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold

Now i’m not going to lie here, that is pretty much a theme of my blog anyway, tell you way more truth than you ever bargained for.   I planned to run today for Sherry, I thought about it for several weeks , I knew last night my miles would be for her today.  But I didn’t remember that when I  force myself out of bed at least 15 minutes later than I should of.  Begin the frenetic dance of yelling, rushing and trying to  get everything ready and out  the door in time.   I manage to arrive at the Y with both kids in tow and there sitting waiting for me is Not Kathy, all ready to go.    If I had been more together I would of/should of printed out the bibs for both Not Kathy and I to wear. I should of told Not Kathy at the beginning of our run that we were doing it for Sherry and I should of been thankful and God/Sherry centered on every one of those steps, but I wasn’t.  I was just  another rushed Mom trying to get her run in and not let her running buddy down.

We started out  on the route  and the first thing I noticed is how my face was frozen before we hit the first cross walk.  How about we circle the park and come back , buddy suggests. Deal, I say, but we need to add  Farley/Turkel b/c we need the mileage.  Agreed.  We are set on our path.   Not Kathy is one of my pace mentors in the group. As In she is ever so slightly better than me and I push to keep up with her and another girl on our runs, by the end I have usually dropped back and they go on to finish a bit ahead of me.   between the 3 of us in that small group I am the elder woman, Not Kathy is in the middle and Cute Hat is the baby.   We represent 20,30 and 40 quite well.   Not Kathy tells me early that she is going to stay with me the whole time today and I tease her that she is getting as easy morning b/c she is with me and I am slower.

Except today…. I am not slower.   There is absolutely no reason for this.  But this am in the awful chilling cold and wind, in the loneliness of just the two of us on a route usually populated with 30+ other runners, I am setting the pace and we seem to be rocking it.  At first my runkeeper is being screwy and it tells us roughly half a mile in that we have already a mile in 6 minutes. I tell her what it is saying and we both get a laugh.   It helps that we don’t know each other well at all and so we are talking.  We talk about marriage and life and other things that women share.  I am running hard but I am not really feeling like I am running hard, I am just kind of doing it and  my body is rewarding me with the strength to just keep doing it.  As we round the large mile circle of park and start to approach the tree line of the turn it hits me.   SHERRY!    So I tell Not Kathy about Sherry and today and how she died. She went out for a run alone and never came back.  We talk about safety, confidence, being a woman.  How there are evil men and people in this world and that you have to be careful not to get too cocky or comfortable because… you just never know.   As we are completing the final half of that run I notice that the runkeeper seems to be adjusting itself and that it also seems we have something like a 10:12 pace.

I’ve thought about Sherry’s story a lot since it came to my attention. She seemed strong, confident, secure. She was what I would call a real athlete. A woman dedicated to the run.  A woman who absolutely respected the run.   A woman who may have even inspired others to run prior to  that horrible morning when evil men crossed her path and she did not prevail.  I went on a solo run on my usual around the country block route shortly after she came into my frame of reference. And I was scared shitless the entire time.  There are multiple registered sex offenders close enough to my house to drive by my solo run.  There are a thousand things that could go wrong. I am feisty but I bet Sherry was too. Sherry is considered dead and I am blessed to be alive.   I don’t even know her and I cried for her this morning.

I cannot stress to you how much I am NOT a 10:12 runner.  I am apparently becoming one, but swear to  6 lb 4 oz  little baby Jesus I am just NOT.  This morning though. I absolutely was.   Sherry, girl? Did you bless me with that kick ass badass  feisty pace this morning in spite of all that cold and wind?  I don’t want to discount my own hard work, my own newly renewed dedication to this sport and to my own health. I don’t want to discount the role Not Kathy played in keeping us on pace,  but I think maybe Sherry did play a part even in some small way to getting me to that 10:12.

So Sherry, I want you to know that I never knew you, but you have moved me. And for that, this morning I moved the earth for you today. Not nearly as astoundingly as you deserved girl, but know that your legacy will live on. I and countless others than never even met you  moved the earth for you today and in us your legacy will live on!  I hope you had a great run in  Heaven this morning girl. Rest in Peace!

 

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Found my running mojo- Respect the Run

Posted: 2012/02/01 | Author: | Filed under: Running | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

I’ve had this running post in my head since Wednesday of last week, and only just have a few minutes to sit down and get it out. I’m training for my 2nd Indianapolis 500 Mini Marathon.  Indianapolis is my city and  “The Mini” as we call it around here is always a topic of conversation every year.  Last year was my first one and it was very enjoyable. It is 13.1 miles of people cheering for you along the sidelines as bands  set up playing along the way.  The route takes you onto the  actual track for a loop and part of our downtown.   I followed up  that first 13.1 last year with the inaugural Women’s Half Marathon. Similar route but MUCH different in the support and entertainment arena.  It is probably more like what  most Half Marathons are like, you are running for yourself without much benefit of sideline support outside of the water and fuel stops and the handful of  husbands and friends on the sidelines.  

This year I signed up for both of those halfs again, and in my last running post I wrote about feeling kind of meh this  year about training. Partially it was the been there done that aspect,  last winter was pretty brutal and being a very beginner runner all of that outside training in the cold, wind, ice and snow served to  fuel my inner badass. This year it just felt like,  how soon will it get warm again?!? My right foot has been bothering me a little and I was afraid I was getting another stress fracture.   So far I have still not called Dr.  Hate because I am able to run with no pain and the pain I’m experiencing after has lessened.  I picked up new shoes after Monday’s run and tonight I will be running on them for the first time.

Running is 20% physical and 80% mental.  If you want to be able t push yourself and your body all of the miles needed to properly train and then race, you have to have something inside of you keeping you going.  Some runners adopt a mantra, a phrase they can repeat to themselves to help them through the rough spots.   Last year I had several, most of them were  resolute tirades aimed toward all of the crap that I went through during the Almost Divorce. This year, I had nothing.  I  had nothing so badly I had even forgotten about the need or want of a mantra.  I started this training program a few weeks ago woefully out of shape, as in struggle to even get a mile without walking out of shape.   As I run more it gets better by leaps and bounds. Last Wednesday was pace trials. Our first 3 miler and  a timed start.  I followed through on my plan to drop from the advanced group to the beginner group and let both coaches know.   Once they let us begin I started my run. If you haven’t ever trained with a group I highly recommend it. It is nice to have so many people around you, even if you start to spread out as the miles climb there is the comfort of knowing that even if there are LOTS of people ahead of you, there is usually also someone behind you. There are people you don’t know very well to talk to, there is always someone to give you some encouragement to just keep going.  I started in a  pack with about 8 other girls in my pace range and we kept up at about a 12 min pace for the first 2 miles.    I ran without walking no problems for those first two miles, the street was ice from sleet and the rainy icy pellets were hitting me in the face.  Cars were sliding on the streets we were running on and I started to feel it. The badass feeling was returning. I am conquering nature.  We turned onto the part of the route I call Farley/Tukle home, because it represents the last mile or so and I started to slow down. This was pace trials I  wanted to have as good of a time as I could, I wanted to be sub 12, not 12+.  Then it just sort of popped into my head,  run without walking. If I can just keep running without walking I can rock this to the best of my  ability. For the next mile as our group started to spread out  I ran that mantra through my head. Run without walking, run without walking, RUN WITHOUT WALKING!  And before I knew it I was headed down the stretch of the last tenth of a mile and to a time of 32:36.  I had found my mojo, I am conquering myself! It was an absolute breakthrough on several fronts. One it reminded me that I lacked a mantra. Two it reminded me that if you train, your body will respond. That you will never be as weak as you are in any given moment if you just keep moving. That your body is capable of so much more than you routinely ask of it and if you put the work in, it will reward you by responding.  I walked  away from that pace run knowing that I wouldn’t have to worry about walking anymore during training.  If I do the miles and keep up the training, if I fuel and water my body properly then I will perhaps even  be able to finish  in a better time that last year, set a new half PR.

Saturday’s ran came and it was  super  windy, Saturdays are a times run, 45 minutes as far as you can go, a simple 22.5 minutes out and 22.5 minutes back.  So group seems to stay a little tighter on Saturdays and I did a lot of talking about my weekend plans so I didn’t really need to call upon a mantra.

Monday’s run came and as I suspected the head coach placed me in the beginner group with the other girls and guys above 10 min miles.  We did a 3 and I turned onto Farley/Turkle home I knew I would have to dig for that last mile.  I didn’t feel like I needed to walk  but I knew I needed to go inside myself and find a mental place that would propel me to the end.  Then it came to me, respect the run. My mantra for this year will be respect the run and in extension respect the runner.  A reminder to myself that what I am giving my body and mind via running is nothing but good and pure. That  it is a gift to  be able to run, to  be alive to have the struggle of breath, to be married to have the support of my husband. It is a gift, this body God gave me,  and I will respect it via the run. I will use the run to mold it. I will respect and cherish the clarity and endorphin rush running brings me. I will  remember that The RUN isn’t something to be trifled with. RESPECT THE RUN!!!!

Happy running Lovies!

Random musings on running and beating myself up

Posted: 2012/01/24 | Author: | Filed under: Running | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Running season started again for me last week.  I signed up for my 2nd Indianapolis 500 Mini Marathon and the lengthy  training program at our local Y.  I haven’t run much since I finished the inaugural Women’s  Half Marathon over Labor Day weekend.  It started out innocently enough, taking a break to rest and bask in the glory of completing two halfs within a year.  Initially I had plans in my head to run a third half in either October or November. But as the weeks progressed I found that i just wasn’t doing any training to get the job done.   I hadn’t  registered for either, so there was no immediacy to the situation and i just chose not to train.  I ran a  5k Turkey Trot over Thanksgiving and hoped it would motivate me to to at the very least start a regular work out schedule of running 3 times a week and add in some cross and strength training.  But it was the holidays and I was busy and full of excuses. I had also started smoking regularly again and the next I knew it was Christmas. I knew training would start on the 16th of January and that become I’ll just enjoy and slack off until running season gets here.  I put about ten pounds back on during that time, not to mention  the hard earned muscles I’d garnered from earlier training had turned to mush.  I began last week very excited but knowing I am terribly out of shape.

The thing is, I am excited to be training again, and even though that first run last week in the cold and wind was brutal, I enjoyed it.  Mentally this time is different. I’m not getting that runners’ high from these limited runs because at this point they are a struggle to finish without walking.   I also sort of feel like I’m in a don’t really belong anywhere no man’s land.   This year they are offering two levels of training, beginner and advanced.  I didn’t want to mentally put myself in either of those places. I don’t feel like a beginner, I’ve done this before. I know what I’m doing and how my body will respond.  The advanced program calls for higher mileage, and I am woefully out of shape. At first I was like, It’s no big deal, it is just more miles, I know I can do this so I signed both of us up for the advanced knowing it was all the same group and we could talk to the coaches and make the right  choices on a run by run basis.  Except for I don’t like living in case by case basis world, I like to have a set plan and stick to it.  The Husband recently suffered a back injury that revealed he has disc problems in 3 places.  He has gone through rest, has had one epidural injection to ease his pain and he agreed to  sign up for the race and training program so we could do it together again. He probably shouldn’t be doing extra mileage and so far has declined to do so.   His pace could be much faster than mine, when left  to his own devices he runs about a ten minute or slightly less pace and I am still in the 12+ range, that is a pretty slow pace for a runner.   None of the other runners in our advanced group are that slow. No no one is telling me I shouldn’t be in the advanced group, the advanced coach is one of my personal hero’s. He always comes back to the end for me and helps me finish my run, doesn’t admonish me when I have to walk for a bit and always gently coaches me to the end and pushes me further than I planned to push myself.   But in spite of that I found myself choosing the 2 mile options vs the 3 mile advanced option last night.  I  made this decision mid run for reasons I will outline in a moment, but he was expecting to see me do 3, and had to go back and look for me when I didn’t do it. I inconvenienced him and caused him concern, I felt really badly about this.   Though it only re-iterated what I already  knew.  If I choose to pursue the advanced path, if I choose to declare myself and advanced runner in this training group, I am always going to finish last on probably every training run.

Then there is the stubborn and injury factor.  Last year I started out of shape and by mid February had run myself into a stress fracture on my right foot.  I was in a boot, dealt with the mental and physical set backs and went on to run  my very first half  marathon with no problems.  One of our coaches is very familiar with my stubbornness and it has been a topic already this year, spoken out loud in front of everyone.  I don’t mind it, I know it is true and for me it is sort of a badge of honor. A lot can be overcome with stubbornness, but it can also cause a lot of problems.  When I was training for the  Women’s half I started to notice a familiar feeling in my left foot.  I simply ignored it.  I wear heels a LOT, my appetite for shoes and especially heels is not secret to those that know me.  I wear them to work, I wear them  on GNO.  I like them high, the higher the better and most of my heels I wear on a regular basis are 4″ or taller.  I’m already 5’8″ and I like being even taller in heels.  I notice when I wear them that sometimes by left foot does not like this, especially  in the part of my foot where the big toe meets the foot.   This  same spot started talking to me almost immediately last week after that first run.  I’ve been ignoring it. Thinking maybe I will try to solve the problem with new shoes and the inserts I  already wear to help prevent further stress fracture injuries.   last nigh when I headed out for the 3, it started in the first half mile. I made the decision at the turn to do the 2  because it would be better for my foot. Maybe my foot would reward my scaled  back effort by not hurting after.   Bad news, my foot is unaware or unwilling to accept this plan.

So here I sit, not even two full weeks into another running season, wrestling  emotionally with what all this means. I KNOW it means I should make an appointment to go see Dr.  Hate, that I should start mentally planning to be in that damn boot on another foot for 4+ weeks and find a way to NOT repeat the mental pit party and slacking I indulged in last year.  I’m already in  a much better place. There isn’t a lot I’m wrestling with emotionally this year. I’m not hiding a 3rd chat career from my husband, I’m over PJ and all of the Almost Divorce shenanigans.  All in all things in my life are quite good. So why don’t I feel more  empowered and strong and badass right now?   I’ve quit smoking all things, and I feel so much better having done so.  There is limited nicotine and  THC working itself out of my body. I’m mentally and physically healthier than I have been in the last 3+ years.   I’m getting my brain back as each week passes and my mental acuity and focus continues to climb. I’m more focused and plugged in at work and home.  By all accounts I should be feeling pretty good about myself right now.  I don’t have anything mental to wrestle on runs other than daily life and work stressors. By all accounts I should be setup to push my body to even higher limits and bring  my pace time down closer to the sub 11 minute mark.   I  should be in super runner ninja kick-ass mode, but I’m just not.   Instead I just feel sort of meh about the whole thing.  I sit here hiding from the pain in my foot, the feeling that I don’t really belong in that advanced group and  wondering why on earth at almost 41 years old after everything I have   triumphed over that I still feel the need to beat myself up as harshly as possible when  things don’t go just like I expected.

I don’t have an answer.  But I do know what needs to be done, it’s the same basic answer to all problems, put on my BGP and  own it.   So tomorrow I will call Dr. Hate and  make an appointment, but I will also complete my scheduled 3 mile pace time trial and push myself as hard as my body and lungs will go. I’m going to downgrade myself to the beginner category and if later in training I feel like I can and should take on more mileage I will. There isn’t anything wrong with me if I choose to be smart instead of stubborn for once.   If he says it’s boot time again I will do it without the pity party that accompanied last year.  I can do upper body strength work outs while The Husband runs and I can pick up mileage as soon as he clears me.  Rather than hide from the problem I can face it and make my contingency plan.  Maybe it won’t be a new stress fracture and everything  can continue as planned. In the meantime  I will simply choose to BREATHE and not wallow in the meh.   I’ll probably still be wearing 5″  heels on Saturday night though, a girl has to hold on to some stubbornness.

Running after a break, time to train harder and smarter

Posted: 2011/10/12 | Author: | Filed under: Running | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Medal #2

The last time I wrote about running was right after finishing my 2nd half marathon.   I had plans for a third in 4 weeks , but that is probably not going to happen.  I have run approximately 3x in the last 6 weeks.  The list of excuses is long. School is in full swing and 3rd grade home work is plentiful. Work has picked up and I am currently running 3 of the largest projects in out company, all program and  2 with regulatory deadlines.   At first I was just resting on my laurels, then  the time just kind of snuck up on me and I started noticing this week especially that my body ( I’m sure the out until 4:30 am Saturday night shenanigans had nothing to do with this)  and energy levels  (I’m sure the lack of water and huge amount of Diet Mt Dew had nothing to do with this) were jacked up, my loose jeans were getting better fitting and my skinny jeans were getting unwearable.   Time to hit the pavement.  So this afternoon I stole some time from work to make up for the lunch I didn’t get to eat and I strapped on the brooks and went out for a 3 mile run.   This was very spur of the moment as I’ve been beating myself up for days that I need to run.  I was properly fueled nutrition wise, but  the only liquid I have consumed before sitting down to bang this out , was a giant 44oz of  Dt. Mountain Dew. The weather here right now is fabulous and has been for the last 10 days or so.  The leaves are on the path already and as I started my run/walk/run pattern i got to enjoy the crunch and the cadence of my pace.  I was pleased to find that pacing wise I am still about where I was 6 weeks ago.  I was dismayed but not surprised to discover that my body had to work much harder than it should of to make this a happen.  The phone call I had to take in the middle of the run didn’t help matters much but at least I can  cross one more to do from my list.  I’m crossing “lunch” off right now with and apple and a string cheese and some water.

Hood running buddy has already signed up for the Half  in 4 weeks, but I had not.  She hasn’t been training either and no one has been keeping the other accountable.  Earlier this week I finally just decided that I am juggling right now another race in 4 weeks is probably not feasible. BUT, that doesn’t  mean continued slacking.   The days are much shorter here right now than they were last summer so I am going to have to set some  hard goals and get to it.  I’m still working through the details of the master plan but it looks something like this.  get back out on the pavement or treadmill and add in 2 times a week of cross training and  at least one strength training.  This is going to allow me to strengthen my core some more (adding back in yopi), build up some more muscle and tone and if I am crazy enough allow me to re-learn my swim stroke in the hopes of adding tri-athalons at some point in this journey.  So I need to sit down with the Y schedule and map out my spinning and turbo kick classes, sign-up for that awesome yopi class I grumble all the way through and then wow at the results I get and negotiate with The Husband on who gets to run and when.   I’m glad I’m doing this now because the Holidays are coming and I want to get ahead of the,  another 20 pounds weight loss goal.   BookBitch and I are making plans to meet and run  a  Half , we wanted to to do Disney Tinkerbell or Princess Half. Tinkerbell is sold out and The Husband says I can’t go to Disney without MiniMe and The Destroyer. So we will have to pick a state in between us and make it a girls weekend. Shorty has also shown some interest in running halfs as well.  This would be awesome because we could plan our long runs together to get alone and girl time, she would get much needed away from the kids time and then I’d have another running buddy for races.  I love it when my getting off my butt and moving to manage my grief and anger, and then keeping it up past the initial burst of fuck you,  gives rise to not only things I can be proud of, but also motivates others to tackle running as well.  I mean it when I say anyone can do this.  trust me, if I can, you can too.

Even though today’s run was a bit stilted and rough it felt amazing to be back out there on a such a sunny beautiful day with a smile on my huffing and puffing red sweaty face.   My ass look amazing in these jeans therapy has once again commenced.

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