Running Sane

Random Kids and Training

2012-02-17T23:26:00.000-06:00

So, I'm hauled up in a hotel room with a loud banging heater which I've now turned off because it's making me crazy. Hotel is BOOKED, so no changing of rooms. Small children were instructed to unpack their suitcases and layer up because it is safer to be without heat than to deal with mommy pissed off about the heater and her subsequent lack of 4 necessary hours of sleep. Thankfully, free wi-fi so worth my $109 per night. Shithole!!

It's been awhile since I posted anything other than tagged randoms or reviews. It is February. Busy season for me as I state in every post like a broken record. I do read, I just don't post often. Eye for an eye, comment for a comment, lost a follower...

RANDOM LIFE:

My kids are having AWESOME seasons. Ryan's team just won the "Prelude to the Playoffs" tournament which was loaded up with the top 8 teams in the state of MN. This team has a real chance of winning the state championship! We will undoubtably (not likely a word as spell check is telling me) be the smallest association in the state to represent at the state tournament if we make it! Playoffs start SOON. I'm SO nervous and SO excited and SO thankful I have kids that LOVE sports to cheer on!!

Reese's team is also at the top of the district. I've been able to see a lot of her games this year and I'm having an awesome time with many of the parents on her team. Such GREAT support to me on the weekends and I'm able to run while good friends haul my kids to the rink an hour before game time, feed them, drive them back at times etc. so I can RUN but not miss any of the games. So blessed here.

I love watching Max. Little boys are awesome. The goal celebrations these boys come up with are seriously top end entertainment. Riding their sticks like a horse, shooting them like guns, blowing them out like candles, then banging their tiny chests up against the boards and pointing their fingers to the sky....I think too many games of Playstation NHL have been played by these boys....HILARIOUS! Mullets are also back in style with the high school hockey boys again (more as a joke I think) so soon I will have a small boy follower with a mullet and "steps" shaved on the side of his head....

TRAINING:

Running has been going fairly well for me. I've not been without challenges, as no one is, but things are going WELL.

Last week I ran 84 miles including this on the dreadmill due to -15 degrees or something outside.

Time rolls over at 100 minutes so 20 miles/2:35:33/7:46 pace. Finished with 8 sub MP miles and a sub 7 mile 20. This is my first long run on the TM due to the BEAUTIFUL winter we're having. In fact, I'm getting a chance to run a ton of outdoor miles unlike last year at this time. I was looking through my archives and found my last TM 20 post An ENTIRE week completely on the TM last year! YUCK!

This week I was even able to hit the track which is usually buried in snow! Took Valentine's day off to spend with my hubby while the kids were in school. He joined me on the track with a stopwatch while I did a 2 set 10X400 workout. He actually ran my warm-up and cooldown with me which was nice! We all know how much I love speedwork but this went remarkably well! I left thinking I might even LIKE the track. I've since changed my mind.

This week:

Monday-OFF, fighting a cold and due for a rest day.
Tuesday-12 miles with 2 set 10X400's at 10K-5K, 1 min AR, full recovery between sets.
Wednesday-4 recovery TM in the morning, 10.7 outside in the evening at 8:30 avg.
Thursday-6.1@7:45 outside with a friend
Friday- 9.2 miles/7:49 outside. 2x10min HM/10K 6:54, 6:33, 5 miles really easy hotel TM.

Overall, I'm really proud of myself and what I've been able to accomplish since my last marathon. I'm stronger for sure, my body is holding up well and I've hit some major milestones including a 5K race PR and unofficial PR's in both the 10K and HM in training runs. I've done it while traveling hundreds of miles nearly every weekend, working, dealing with a color coded laminated schedule for my kids activities and my husband hasn't filed papers yet which I consider a success. I'm not out to toot my own horn but sometimes I argue with myself constantly about what I could be doing MORE of when in reality, I'm doing a DAMN DAMN good job and I need to be proud of that!

Happy weekend all! Always enjoy reading my blog roll even if I don't get around as often as I would like to comment these days!

Brooks Apparel Review-Part One!

2012-02-06T12:59:00.001-06:00

So, time for some uncensored Brooks reviews! Considering I have a HUGE stack of Brooks products, it is quite obvious that I love the company and the quality of their gear. This is my third year as a member of the Brooks ID program and although I am SUPER grateful for this opportunity, I would be running in Brooks shoes and much of their apparel regardless!! As with ANY company, not every item is made for every person and I have "favorites" and some "less than favorites" but I've NEVER run into a quality issue with Brooks. A great QUALITY company! Serious gear for serious runners and tapping into the fashion market very well lately with some great new colors in both apparel and shoes. My reviews to follow are purely personal opinion based on my body type and my running use and they're honest. It will likely take me 3 posts to get through everything I want to review but I will stick to some in strictly apparel for today!

The Brooks Utopia Softshell

I ordered this as a little warmer alternative to wear in the winter. I am often running in temperatures below 20 degrees F and need something that is lightweight, allows me to move freely, but will keep me warm. This does the job WELL. In fact, it almost too warm some days and I would really not recommend it for running for anyone who consistently runs in temps over 35 degrees. The jacket itself is very lightweight, breathable, wind and water resistant-very functional. It has thumbholes with flip over cuffs and pockets with also an interior Ipod pocket. It's a really flattering jacket as well with the cut and I would love to order another one to wear for an every day jacket instead of just for running! I think it runs pretty true to size. I am 5'8.5 and I will generally order medium in a jacket because I don't want the arms to be too short and I want to be able to layer. I was very happy with this purchase and I get GREAT use out of this jacket! I'm giving this an A+ for Minnesota use.

The Brooks Infiniti tights

As can be imagined, I get good out of running tights up here! These are really a quality pair. Again, I am relatively tall, and I have a number of "knicker" tights as I call them. These are not too short even though the website states 27 inch inseam (rolled cuff) and 29 inch extended inseam which would be WAY too short for me in jeans. I have these in both a small and a medium and neither of them are too short. The cuff could be rolled up for shorter people-it's kind of loose. They do have a key/ID pocket and a zippered pocket in the back although I haven't used either. Functional and I wear them alone in temps 30-40 degrees. My only personal complaint is they seem to fit a little high in the waist and I'm finicky about waistbands.

Glycerin 2 in 1 Shorts

OK-I just mentioned waistbands which is exactly why I ordered these shorts. I am a LOVER of Lululemon shorts and their flat waistbands so when I saw these on the Brooks website, I thought perhaps they would be comparable. I thought they looked flattering in the picture (we're women, fashion over function sometimes-common knowledge) but I wasn't so sure about the boyshort lining. I SWEAT, I'm always overheated, I was concerned about the double layer for summer and I really questioned whether I would be constantly yanking the liner of these shorts down while running. First, the pros. I do like these shorts. I tried them on and I liked the way they looked for the most part. Not too bunchy, not too much material on the outer layer or too high waisted and the waistband was really comfortable. The boyshort liner has grips around the bottom to hold them in place. There is also a pocket on the liner and two pockets on the back for gels etc. I've not worn shorts yet that would allow me to carry 3 gels on me so A+ for function. I've only run in them on the treadmill but I was surprised with the fact that the liner does NOT ride up much. I am a little on the fence on how much use I will get out of these shorts and really feel I need to give them a good summer test before I will really know!

The Infiniti Bra

Taunted as Brooks most supportive bra. Now, considering my situation, support might not be of utmost concern. Lift on the other hand....perhaps. This bra comes in both an A/B and a C/D. It's priced on the higher end but you can instantly see it is of high quality. Adjustable straps, very reinforced, appears very durable. In reality, I don't need this much. It's a very nice bra and I like the way it looks. I will wear it a lot but not necessary for me. I would HIGHLY recommend this to someone who was actually looking for some support. I definitely think it would fit the bill.

Glycerin Bra

This is the first ever bra I purchased from Brooks and I have 3 of them. It has been coined as the "Perky 2" by a friend and I will testify to that. Flattering alone or under a tank, great lift, great support and just enough "umpf". This bra really fits me well. One thing I really notice about all Brooks bras is I almost never get my skin torn up or chafed when I wear them even if I don't use body glide. They sit firmly and don't move around. I am the ULTIMATE sweater and I have very sensitive skin and will often end up with "holes" in my skin from shorts tags or my ipod on my waist or especially at my bra line. Nice work Brooks!!

Women's Equilibrium LS

I ordered this primarily as a layering shirt and it works well. Great base layer. Lightweight and great moisture wicking material. I have a very difficult time with many tops including Brooks and the length. I hate "too short" and it seems as though the world is made up of 5'5 runners leaving me generally out of luck. This is a little longer than some of the tops but I still wish they made it longer. Also, I'm not a fan of the neckline. This is functional and comfortable and I will get good use out of it but I won't likely make it a staple in my closet. I can see many people loving this shirt.

Nightlife Hat

This may be the best Brooks purchase I've ever made in terms of apparel or accessories. I LOVE this hat. I love the way it fits and I LOVE it for outdoor running in the dark which is about 75% of the time for me! There are no running paths here. I run at dark after work along the side of the road. I wear reflective clothing of course, but this hat is just one added safety comfort item for me! It is equipped with an LED light that is removable for washing and has either a flat or flashing setting. While you're running, the hat shows flat red or flashing red in the back at the touch of a button. This little LED light also doubles as a pen light when removed from the hat. With or without the light I would buy this hat just due to the comfort and fit but Brooks really made a great product here. I've had MANY people tell me they loved it!

So, this concludes review post #1. Lots more especially with shoes. Happy Monday All!

Run with Jenn again and the cutest Brooks model I know:)

2012-02-03T22:24:00.004-06:00

OK-SHOCKING, I know. I am posting for the SECOND time in one day. I'm averaging about one post a month and now 2 in one day...

ANYWAY, since this is somewhat of a running blog, I took a few pics and made a quick video during my long run today! The freezing fog lifted somewhat and the weather was BEAUTIFUL. High 20's and very little wind which is glorious for February in Minnesota. Generally by this time we have HUGE snowdrifts and below zero temps constantly. We have really been blessed this year!

I generally run a 5.6 mile loop for all my winter long runs that I do when I'm home. I don't like to wear a fuel belt unless I absolutely have to so I park and then just stop every 5.6 miles quickly to drink. Sometimes I carry a bottle with me for a little bit and then leave it on the side of the road where I can pick it up when I'm done. Today, I ran 4 loops. 4 loops=22.4 miles. This is a stupid number SO to finish the run at an even 23, one could actually run back and forth in one block segments for .6 miles. This would only be if one was completely anal.....I ran 23 miles.

This is running south right after mile 2. I run this for 1 mile and then turn east. Super boring but not much traffic. Really wide open on this route so wind can be a bit of a factor.

Running back north from the hospital through residential. Still boring.

OK-it is obvious that I sound like I just ran a 5K by this video and I also have a bit of a shaky hand problem-ha! Again, pretty boring footage but you can hear me yap!

This is the final stretch over the river and back west. It was SO beautiful with the frost today!!

Down the sidewalk and back to the car. I love winter running like today.

Random run notes:

Finished 23 miles in 3:02:37 today for 7:57 overall pace. SUPER happy with this since the first and last 3 miles were SLOW!

I opted to listen to an audiobook on my sister's Ipod for the first loop to try to make sure I kept my pace a little slower to start. It was a James Patterson book "Now You See Her" Now, this would NOT be something I would have bought but she liked it and told me to try it. I was laughing out loud when I was running!!! Seriously, the narrator would change her voice with the characters and at one point was playing a male Irish cab driver which almost make me choke up a chunk of my lung.....I will stick to podcasts I think!

My plan was to work in some MP pace intervals today which I did and felt strong doing! Clear roads and no wind sure make a difference!

I wore my Brooks Launch, Utopia tights, Utopia Softshell, Nightlife hat with a fleece headband overtop, Vapor 2 gloves. Got my fabulous NEW color Launches today! Reviews coming soon:)

I drank 32 ounces of water and 20 ounces of Powerade Zero grape. Also took 3 Cliff Shot Raspberry gels. I rarely take this many in training but decided to just take one after each loop.

I felt good today. I needed a run like this. I've not been feeling fantastic all of the time lately. Physically a few struggles with some things out of my control and for the first time in my 3+ years of consistent running, I am spending a great deal of time counting down the days until I can be DONE with the structure of marathon training. This hasn't really happened to me before and I'm ALWAYS planning ahead to my next marathon. This time, I'm not....I'm not sure what is in store for me after April. I think my real real love would lie in ultra trail running but living in MN with no trails and no time make this a distant dream....Perhaps a summer of 5K's with the little peanut below will be in store!

And just in case Brooks is looking for a new athlete, I think they should sign this one. She's cute, she's fast, she's sporting Brooks gear and she DEFINES running happy!

11 random things

2012-02-03T09:26:00.001-06:00

So, Caroline has tagged me to do this 11 random things post. Considering I've yet to finish my Q and A post and I am a complete stranger now in blog land I should probably put this off too but what the heck! I really do plan to make a reappearance soon as I have some Brooks reviews of some great gear that I want to do and I also just miss being a part of the blog community. My life is so busy this winter (excuse #1) Three extensively traveling competitive athletes (excuse #2) and a mom who's working and marathon training (excuses #3 and #4) are leaving me SO little time right now.

So, here goes.

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

Yes, we all know how much I love to follow the rules.....I will go with 1-3 and then break the chain which will give me 11 years of bad luck? Or will I miss out on some get rich quick pyramid scheme...Probably both. Consider yourself tagged with Caroline's questions if you want to play along!

1. What is your favorite brand of running shoes?

Without a doubt Brooks! My first pair of Brooks Launch early 2010 sealed the deal for me. I had run in Asics Nimbus, Mizuno Wave Riders, and Nike Frees prior, all of which got me through races but nothing ever felt quite as right on my foot as the Brooks Launch. To this day, this is my favorite shoe for racing and training. I also have the PureFlow which I wore for my most recent marathon, PureGrit, Cascadia's, and T7's. Not sure I will find a better match for my foot than the Brooks Launch and if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

2. Favorite book you have read recently?

Running on Empty. Thanks to a good friend! Finished this in two sittings (through the night) while drinking jumbo mugs of BOLD coffee:)

3. Letterman or Leno?

Letterman although I rarely watch either of these. Used to love Letterman in college but this was....let me see....like 18 years ago-ha!

4. How are you today?

Well, I'm fine thank you:) I'm smiling! Thankful for life, thankful for kids who keep me on my toes, thankful for a healthy body, thankful for constant obstacles in my path that provide me with daily challenges and daily rewards when I scale them......my husband is shaking his head and telling me I'm full of shit....He is right. I am stressed out today-thereyago:)

5. Who is someone you admire?

Wow, I could write pages here. Many many people I admire for many different reasons....I'm going to say my dad. A father to 6 girls maybe not what he had in mind but at this stage of life, he's LOVING it! My dad also runs-took up distance running at age 56. Some of my greatest conversations in life have been on long runs with my dad. He is always able to put everything in perspective for me. The wisest of the wise in my eyes.

6. Reality TV: yes? no? if yes...confess the worst...I won't tell anyone

Sure. If I bump into it. I almost never watch TV though. I watch TV shows via Netflix late at night occasionally but I'm not home during Primetime to watch current shows very often. I'm very very behind in Hollywood-ha!

7. What makes you laugh?

I LOVE to laugh and I have a crazy wacky sense of humor. My sisters Keri and Christy REALLY know how to make me laugh. All we need to do is sit in the front row of a church during a service. No words are needed, nothing has to happen, we will just erupt in laughter like 12 year olds.....

8. Why are the Kardashians famous again?

OJ maybe?? Bruce Jenner? My God, what a disaster. I once ran on the treadmill while watching the Kardashian wedding only because the guy (forget his name) was a basketball player from MN....this is the only time I've seen the show.

9. Favorite Olympic moment?

Lots of these!! I'm not sure about favorite at the time..... Of course being from hockey country my favorite Olympic moment recaptured would likely be the Miracle on Ice team from 1980 in Men's hockey. Truthfully, I remember little of this when it actually happened as I was 5 years old but my dad was a huge hockey fan and I was his "boy" and I do vaguely remember this!! I know personally some of these players now and hockey tradition is huge here so lots of stories! My daughter has seen the movie "Miracle" maybe 400 times.....The Vancouver Olympics also memorable as a friend was playing on the women's Olympic hockey team. Lillehammer was when I was in college and the big figure skating scandal so I was a bit wrapped up in that. The first time I ever watched the marathon was Constantina's win. I had just started running. I had probably just found out that a marathon was 26.2 miles:)

10. What is something you cannot stand?

Drama

11. When is your next race?

Well, on paper it's Boston. I am hoping for one sooner but it will be a last minute decision with my kids and their tournament schedules.

SO, I'm off to spend a few minutes catching up on YOUR blogs as I need to wait for the "freezing fog" to lift before I can run. This is an actual thing, "freezing fog" I cannot see 2 feet in front of me and the roads are slick as can be. We have no running paths here so unless I want to meet up with a semi in the abyss, I will have to wait a little bit before I can head out. Back in the car this afternoon for another hockey filled weekend! Have a good one y'all. I will back with some Brooks reviews-maybe I'll Vlog these if I can find time to get my haircut. I do have some pride here.....A bunch of other posts going through my mind that I would like to sit down and write as well. In the meantime, I will continue to stalk my blog roll on my phone:)

Random Cell Phone memory card Dump

2012-01-13T10:20:00.000-06:00

347 pictures on my phone....

Too much sun?? It's winter?? No idea where my excruciatingly painful looking sunburn came from.

I may or may not be a 13 year old at heart and had to be put in a little "time out" after taking this xray of an implant. A tooth implant.....My 14 year old boss was also in "time out"....

All sweaty and nasty after a long run with my dad! We like to dress alike....And really, how cool is it when your dad runs marathons!!

I'm going to keep this kid, even if she's a monkey:)

My pouty faced boy who knows he generally gets his way with this sad puppy dog face.

Minnesota fun and seriously the HARDEST workout ever. This machine is amazing.

Yes mom, I would love to pose for a picture.

Training:

*I am running. I am running quite a bit and I'm running fairly well.

*I've been spending the mornings that Ryan has early morning hockey practice in the gym while I wait for her. Not running at the gym, just trying to ensure that I will be able to continue to run by keeping the rest of my body strong....

*I have been blessed with some AMAZING weather overall this winter for Minnesota. That being said, I am heading out the door here in -6 F/-21 C here in about 5 minutes. My bottom line for outdoor running is generally -5F but honestly I just can't do the treadmill today. This is the coldest temp I have run in since 2010 so we'll see how it goes:)

*I've become extremely flexible with my plan based on when and where I can fit runs in. There are pros and cons to many of my decisions and changes but I'm a recreational runner with 3 kids.

*The only race I am registered for in 2012 is Boston. I would love a HM prior to Boston and then I am making no plans until after April 16th.

I occasionally spell out my training. For the week thus far:

Monday: 9.73 miles outside/8:31 pace-recovery easy run. Gym-glutes, some plyo and core

Tuesday: 13.1 total: AM-4 miles treadmill/8:44 pace. PM-9.1 miles pm/7:47 with 4X6 min. at 6:52 (headwind), 6:28 (tailwind), 6:47 (headwind), 6:26(tailwind). Goal pace was 6:35 but this was HARD and I was gasping in the wind. P90X abripper with my husband before I went to bed.

Wednesday: 10 miles easy/recovery TM/8:34 pace. Gym-arms and shoulders and 15 minute spin

Thursday: light abs in the morning but unscheduled rest day as I went out for Pizza and out to a big HS hockey game with my family and some friends.

Today: potentially 2 miles, potentially 15 miles depending on how fast my fingers fall off or whether or not my eyelashes freeze together and blind me......

I'm MIA in blogworld, this I know. I am MIA on facebook, I am MIA at book club and Friday morning coffee.... I am fortunately still IA as a hockey mom, a runner, and a wife but clinging clinging some days...Seasons....

Happy running! Wish I was in Houston tomorrow!

Bloggy Gift exchange and random life and training updates....

2011-12-30T10:52:00.000-06:00

So, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I may have been deleted from a lot of blogrolls but I an STILL alive-ha! Finally, a little down time with a work break and a slight hockey break and my computer chair is getting a chance to feel up my a$$ once again.

First things first, I received my gift from Jill's Christmas bloggy exchange! Not only did I get a great gift, I once again got a chance to check out another blog I wasn't familiar with! Thank you so much to Big Daddy Diesel! I LOVE it. Simple, to the point-just like ME:) In all actuality, I'm complex, rambling and not to the point but I love to exude simpleness, especially in the form of jewelry. Thankyou!

Life:

Had a most wonderful Christmas. SO blessed. All of my sisters home over the break (I'm the oldest of 6 girls) and just such a fun time with my family and kids! I'm loving spending so much time with my nieces and nephews but knowing I can give them back:)

Two little Divas making a pool hall out of Grandma's kitchen with a backdrop of booze. What a lovely picture. This is about 2 minutes before all hell broke loose and the bar room brawl broke out. One had the other's jammies over her head and we had to take the pool cues away as they had become weapons. We gave them some wine and then tucked them in.

My kids after the fight of coordinating clothing for our family pictures in which case I gave up on forcing the tie on Max and let him wear the non-matching red sweater which matched well with Joe and his non-matching blue striped shirt. I will post a professional non-matching picture of all of us later....

I also celebrated my 14th anniversary. 14 very happy years. An extremely supportive husband, an amazing dad, and really my closest friend.

Training:

Lots going on here since my last post.

Hmmmm...I got a bout of the flu that was quite debilitating. I felt awful, could hardly even function much less run efficiently. This lasted 7 days and I can honestly say I may never eat Trader Joe's Tomato Roasted Red Pepper soup again.....

I came back from a day off on Monday December 12th to feel significantly better on the 13th. Concluded the week with a 5K PR on the 17th. That race was not my sub 20 but I felt good knowing I could run at that level at that point.

I'm now officially in my training plan which many of you know means very little at times:) Hudson based for those who have asked and I haven't responded to.

I'm really having fun with running right now. For the first time in what seems like forever I feel healthy and strong. There is no grimace on my face every time I try to run up a hill, I'm not doing a shuffle with a dead leg, I'm not worrying whether I will wake up and find myself in the hurt tank after a run. I attribute MUCH of this to a dedicated strength program during the month of October. I've kept up with this and I'm definitely seeing it's benefits.

I am in the middle of running my 3rd consecutive high mileage week. I haven't taken a rest day since December 12th nor have I felt I needed one. My body is responding very well to the mileage, my mind is following and I'm feeling good about things to come in the year ahead!

I so appreciate having some amazing women to train with. We don't necessarily get to meet on the road or track and physically train, but they inspire and encourage me on a daily basis. Even when I've been down and out, a physical or mental mess, I've felt great support here. Thankyou friends:)

So, this is a bit of a typical random update post. I will post a little more training specific post and my thoughts surrounding that shortly! Hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful Holiday break with family and friends!

"War and Peace Rambling Style" aka the result of Jenn not posting for awhile.

2011-12-09T11:04:00.001-06:00

Ah, Friday morning. The time I long for ALL week. ME time. Joe is en route to the cities with Ryan for a HUGE hockey weekend, Max and Reese at school and BOTH going to parties after school. I have hours and hours to myself and I may or may not remove my ass from this couch for some time here. I haven't posted in awhile. I'm not going to apologize for it. I'm posting now:) Thank you if anyone is still around to read!!

Life:

*I'm working full time. I'm in the office and I am generally the ONLY one who answers the phone unless I am downstairs running on the treadmill (sweet deal for me) or I'm off picking up the mail. Joe will sometimes call me at work to ask me for the 45th time what time the kids have practice...He called yesterday and I was at the Clinic getting a strep screen. My sweet innocent boss's wife answered the phone to a creepy greeting of "Hey sexy"....Slight embarrassment on both parts. I'm thankful this is all he said.

*I am busy busy busy with hockey. Hockey practice, hockey tournaments, hockey fundraising, hockey community service projects, hockey emails, hockey hotel reservations, sharpening skates. Because I was feeling like I didn't have enough hockey in my life and I had an overabundance of time, I once again joined the mom's league. Sunday nights I will now be in full gear taking out my frustrations by checking another mom into the boards-ha! Honestly, this is SO much fun:)

*Ryan's team is still undefeated. They are a super great group of kids. HARD workers. Half the team has been conditioning with ANOTHER another team (different level) outside of their already taxing practices because they are THAT determined. Love to see kids want stuff and know how to work for it. They are currently near the top of the state rankings!

Ryan and some of her teammates:)

*Reese's team ALSO undefeated! SO thankful for good friends who have been helping me with her schedule this year! I haven't been able to see her play much yet but I will divide my time evenly between the kids and her turn is coming SOON!!

*Max's team is also a joy to watch. Little boys are something else! He is also the third child so I obviously have no pictures of him in his hockey gear....

Speaking of hockey gear, I've now decided to dress him in his hockey gear to even RIDE in the car with me. I have never claimed to be a good driver but I had insurance claim #24 or something (yes, my car insurance is higher than a 16 year old....) last weekend when we were trying to head off to his tournament. Somehow, I backed out of my garage and continued to back up SO far that I put my car right over the retaining wall where it sat like a teeter totter. Now, in my defense, I'm pretty sure I was looking for something essential like an M&M that may have fallen on the passenger seat floor. I figured I was safe in my own driveway, I was not.....I had to call my husband to come home and save me. 5 minutes later my car was again on the driveway. It was only missing a ground effect panel, and just a "minor" amount of landscaping damage......No eye contact was made between husband and wife. I'm sure he was trying to look at me through the window and smile and maybe mouth the words "I love you" but I must have still been searching for that M&M.

More random.....

Max after his school program yesterday.

Ryan's team after serving at the Four Seasons Center last night. I was helping to head this opportunity up for the girls and I was SICK so instead of dressing up nice and being a hostess of sorts as I had planned, I resorted myself to kitchen clean-up duty and washed dishes for 3 hours while sitting on a stool because I felt nauseous when I stood up. UGHHH! It was a great experience for the girls that was somewhat tainted by the fact that an elderly retired teacher from the school had an episode (stroke, heart attack?) during the dinner and the ambulance came for him. Tough situation.

Running:

So on to what this blog is actually about:)

First things first, I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to be a member of the Brooks ID program for the third consecutive year. This has been a most amazing opportunity for me and there is little doubt that I love the products!!!

There might be some question as to whether I like the Brooks Launch:) The Pureflow and T7's are sitting next to my work treadmill.

*As far as training, I've been in a world of hurt this week. I ran a great track workout in some FRIGID temps on Monday. I felt really great after this workout (not so great during but strong:) Tuesday morning, however, I woke up with chills, a sore throat, headache, clammy. I did manage a 6 mile recovery run but I felt purely awful. Wednesday, even worse. Tried to run twice and both times had to pull the plug with a total of 6.6 miles. Yesterday I just submitted to taking the day off and started a course of antibiotics. I'm feeling a little better today. Hoping to try to run easy later this afternoon.

*My most exciting news is that I've now got my hands on one of these lucky hats like my speedy friend! This hat will make me fast. It will make me PR in all my races and I will never lose it under a couch:)

I think this is enough jibber jabber for one day! Time to read the jibber jabber of others!!! Have a great weekend all! Good luck to all those racing!!!

Busy

2011-12-07T08:21:00.001-06:00

No time to blog but just testing the Blogger app. If you look closely, I've finally filled the frame behind the piano! Thanks Lindsay:)

Thanksgiving, running, self-imposed injuries....and whatever else comes to mind......

2011-11-28T13:48:00.001-06:00

Lots going on this past week. Thanksgiving, hockey tournaments, company, family, food, running!!! I'm not working today so a chance to get caught up on the holy tornado that went through my house this weekend. First on the to do list, restocking Max's underwear drawer with clean socks so he is not stuck wearing socks with butterflies on them to school again.....(they are not butterflies actually, they are FIERCE dragonflies...and very very small...and hardly noticeable....and I'm pretty certain he's wearing bare feet in his boots right now....)

Random week in review:

*Wrote out like 45 checks for never-ending hockey gate fees, raffle tickets, team warm-ups....I'm feeling better about this since Lindsay is going to buy a bunch of raffle tickets from me if I wear my total body zebra leotard in my next race. SO worth it!

*Headed to Grand Forks on Wednesday for a Thanksgiving meetup at my sisters and also a chance to run a mock HM with a super FAST friend. We chose the HM distance simply because I HATE it:) My HM PR is over 2 years old and I've only several since but only one real "race" attempt. Anyway, I had some idea of what I wanted to run and we decided on an attempt of 7:10-7:15 avg. I was not sure if I could run this in a RACE much less a training run at this point but this was a perfect opportunity for me to go for it.

Now, looking at these splits it's obvious that at about mile 10ish I was feeling fantastic but just decided to pull back because my training needed more 7:30ish miles.....Highly sarcastic-ha! Generally, I'm a much more progressive runner and I was NOT in shape to take off like this right now and I paid the price. To my credit, my Garmin was taped and I was just following the PACE CHALLENGED leader (I hope you read this:):) So, in a nutshell, I collapsed a bit physically and then mentally and had great difficulty with a race simulation in the last few miles. I almost "willed" my shoes untied in here. Seriously, I was staring at them cross eyed and then trying to step on my own feet so they would untie-ha ha! Very happy with this overall as my final time was the goal I was running for and I feel like I'm able to take a lot from this forward. I won't run a HM race until February but I'm quite confident I can improve on this!

*We spent Thanksgiving Day at home this year. We invited some neighbors from down the road over who are 90 and 91. They have no family here and really great to have them. They love my kids and so gracious and thankful to have been invited. I took an impromptu unscheduled day off from running when my husband put a wine glass in my hand at exactly noon after I did THIS to myself

I actually did this on purpose as to avoid having to do the dishes. It was really a small price to pay. There were A LOT of dishes-ha! We ended up spending the rest of the day playing Scrabble and Jenga and watching You Tube videos that almost made me throw up from laughing. I tell you, if you don't have a teenage daughter, go get yourself one. Crazy funny humor.

*The weekend was FILLED with hockey. Both Ryan and Reese sailed through the weekend STILL undefeated for the year. Reese's team won the championship on Sunday afternoon. She was SO excited. My whole family had come to watch this tournament and she put on a show!

*I officially started my unofficial training plan today:) This 4 weeks is pretty flexible as I'm still messing with a few things and maybe a couple of short races but the 20 week countdown has begun!!

I'm just getting a chance to catch up on blogs and all the races from last weekend but best of luck to all those racing this coming weekend at CIM, Baton Rouge, Vegas!!!! My sister is running in Vegas and I'm signed up for athlete tracking and SUPER pumped to stalk her!!!

And to close, a picture of my son eating his 4 food groups.

Just a pic:)

2011-11-24T21:23:00.000-06:00

Life is good. Very very good. Three big reasons why....

Happy Thanksgiving and congrats to some AMAZINGLY fast turkey trotters this morning! I will be thinking of a few of you as I'm running off my excessive carb fest tomorrow:)

Monday Rambles a Day Early.....

2011-11-20T11:21:00.003-06:00

Well, another week in the books. I'm finally starting to feel like I'm getting into my winter routine and forgetting LESS things...not to be confused with remembering MORE things....Last Wednesday morning, I got to work and I realized that I had forgotten to drop a hockey bag off at the rink for after school practice. I work 20 miles away from the rink... A random stranger ran an errand for me for which I was VERY thankful! I am back to driving with post it notes on my steering wheel reminding me of all the stops I must make. This is working!!

Life bullets that I'm totally pulling out of my A$$ while I type:

*My husband has been away working for 2 weeks and I've been playing hockey mom, chauffeur, maid, chef, homework helper, lunch packer, mediator, disciplinarian and marathon runner...I don't always feeling like I'm winning this game but I am so very thankful for these 3 beautiful kids that I have to play for:)

*Ryan's hockey team is right up at the very top of the state rankings. Little podunk town ranked way up above the handpicked talented teams of the metro. Really excited to see where this team goes in March. We were talking after her game last night and realized Ryan has never played on a team that hasn't made it to the state tournament. This is SO rare. Such an opportunity she has had to play with such great talent and such a joy it's been to watch her play! Have I mention I love being a hockey mom yet this year. Maybe not. Get used to it because I blab about it ALL winter...

*I was talked into late night happy hour with some friends on Thursday night and then a trip to the midnight premier of "Breaking Dawn". Now, this is totally not up my alley but being as there is actually nothing to do in this town we try to jump at any opportunity to justify a night out. I was also enticed by the thought of movie theater popcorn. Anyway, I cannot sleep at home but somehow I have NO problem sleeping through a movie about vampires and werewolves. My good friend told me she is going to bring a handtowel in her purse to put on her shoulder next time so I won't drool all over her suede coat again......

*Reese (11) lost her winter jacket. We live in Minnesota. This is just not possible. The next day she left her new Ipod Touch which she got as a birthday gift in the pocket of her jeans and it got trampled accidentally on the locker room floor.....I was a little frustrated after the Ipod incident and maybe lost my cool a little bit. I don't yell necessarily but my frustration was WELL known. We had the famous talk about responsibility and the less fortunate yada yada yada..... Anyway, prior to these unfortunate events, Reese had made her Christmas wish list and it was hung on our bulletin board. (My kids really are not demanding spoiled kids at all. They know ALL about the joy of giving and truly don't EXPECT....They are kids, however, and love and dream for things as kids do) For fun, I tell them to list EVERYTHING they would ever want even if they know I won't buy it and I often don't.....Her list included Bailey Button Ugg boots, an Ipod dock for the locker room, a new cell phone.... ANYWAY, I looked last night and saw she had now quietly revised this list. The big ticket items were crossed out and replaced with Nail art Pens and Colored Duct Tape. I am human and I actually shed a tear over this gesture (in private). She felt SO BAD about the Ipod. Not only was she upset that her prized possession was now broken, she was upset that she had disappointed ME.... It took me awhile to soak this in. Also, it's very easy in life to imagine what the right thing would be to do in terms of parenting and teaching and learning etc. but when it comes down to your own kid, it sure isn't easy sometimes. Not only do I want to replace the Ipod TODAY, I want to buy her the stupid dock to go with it even BEFORE Christmas.....This isn't a motherhood blog. I'm not sure where this holy ramble came from-ha!

*I am SO behind on Christmas. I'm usually at least halfway done mentally shopping and I even have my tree up by now. Now, my idea of fall decorating means putting a pumpkin on my front steps, so I generally put a little more effort into Christmas. We almost always have a holiday party here. I'm thinking a party elsewhere sounds wonderful this year.....

*Joe came home on Friday night. SO great to have him home. I don't believe he will travel again except for one week for the rest of the winter. Unfortunately our weekend reunion was cut short as he is traveling again today for an all day hockey coaching clinic.

Training:

About 70 miles

Monday- 5 lunch TM, 7.75 easy outside after work

Tuesday- 9 miles-6X1K @ goal 10K with about 2:30 AR. (4:17, 4:07, 4:11, 4:09, 4:13, 4:03) It was wet and snowy but not cold or windy. Hard to find pace and had trouble actually seeing my Garmin (dark) so a bit scattered but felt great after I finished. Really liked running a little faster and felt like I had a little more purpose to a run which I've been missing somewhat.

Wednesday- 5 lunch TM easy, 6 outside in the evening-brought final 3 to MP. My legs felt REALLY good the whole second run and I almost wish I would have just gone with them. I held back a little at first as I was initially planning to run a tempo on Thursday.

Thursday- 9 easy

Friday- 11.2 tempo attempt of sorts. (8:41, 8:21, 8:18, 7:24, 7:17, 7:02, 7:12, 6:48, 8:47, 6:44, 8:28, .2-1:41) I felt VERY rough during mile 7. I had slept about 2 hours the night before and this run felt WAY harder than I wanted it to. WAY harder. Was not planning to take a cutback mile at 9 but mentally, perhaps physically I had to.

Saturday-OFF

Sunday-13 this morning (1:42:41), Will run about 4 easy this afternoon.

I'm running easy tomorrow and then I will rest Tuesday before I run a HM TT on Wednesday. Not sure what I'm expecting out of this since I'm not trained for a HM but I'm trying to view it as a simulated race opportunity. Pretty hard to simulate a race without water stops and other runners etc. at least for me. Even so, I think I can run well. I have a generous speedy friend pacing me and she has a history of bringing out good things in me:) Thank you friend!

Anyone interested in a Christmas Bloggy gift exchange head over to Run with Jill to sign up!!! I did this last year! It was fun:)

Best of luck to a special friend currently at about mile 5 of a HM:) CHEERING for YOU!!!!!

Monday Mess:)

2011-11-14T13:25:00.002-06:00

So, it's Monday AGAIN. A new week and I've not yet cleaned up from the last one. 'Tis the busy winter and truthfully the only thing I want for Christmas is someone to come and clean my house.....Problem is, I would FIRST have to clean the house myself to save me the embarrassment of someone else coming to clean it.....It will just stay a mess..... Just someone please tell me, how is it that girls can live in FILTH? Boys perhaps, but girls??? Appalling to walk into my daughters' bathroom and see the disaster in there. My word, I have no idea how they even get ready there is so much hairspray and makeup and SH*T all over the mirror. OK-my kids already heard all of this this morning with a few adjectives added in there so I will stop my rant.

Moving on.

Busy weekend again! Lots of hockey. My husband has been working in Minneapolis all last week and also this week so it was nice to see him over the weekend.

The only minute these two boys settled down for the ENTIRE game was for this picture.

Ryan started early morning hockey practice this morning. This puts a bit of a crimp in my style as I have to drive her there at 5:30 am but also pick her up when she's done, bring her home, and then drive the kids back to school before work which makes it difficult for me to run some mornings. Very thankful for my work option on those days.

Speaking of running, I'm jealous of people and their trails and their reservoirs and their maple leaves and their fall colors......

True northern Minnesota Beauty and what I run DAILY:)

I tell you it is really a relief to have all these trees to block the wind around here....

I run in this weather wearing this. This is usually the heaviest jacket I wear even below zero. I LOVE this jacket even though it now stands up by itself because I have worn it for EVERY winter run and EVERY race for 2 years. I do wash it regularly but it's just at that point where I should probably BURN it. Anyway, I have approximately 50 1/2 zip pullovers I could replace this with but I only like running in this one so it's hanging around a bit longer.

I am going absolutely nowhere with this post so I'll resort to a couple of training bullets and then sign off on my Monday mess!

Finished last week with 59 miles. Less than I planned for but fine at this point.

Ran a 5K on Saturday. Interesting morning as for about the 500th time I've realized that a GPS in your car is not always the answer and it's helpful to do some research, perhaps actually look at a real map at times..... EVENTUALLY made it to the race start which was OK in a sense as I had little time to stand there and get cold and panic-ha! This was a benchmark race for me after doing almost NO speedwork so I wasn't anticipating a PR and a PR I did NOT get:) I was happy with my run though! 3.16 miles/20:26. This was pretty much where I predicted I would run.

Ran 16 miles yesterday morning at easy pace. I had a partner for about 9 miles which was nice. Ran another 4 miles late last night very slow and I must say I think I will continue to do this.

I'm planning to run both an organized speed and tempo workout this week which I haven't done since....well, since forever:) Feeling good-Bring it!!

Zebrafied:)

2011-11-13T21:19:00.001-06:00

OK, if you missed my post about my super HOT winterized shoes, Marjorie has humored me with a matching suit for my next race....

THESE shoes

With THIS

Dangit-why can't it be halloween again!!!

WINTERIZED:)

2011-11-12T11:02:00.001-06:00

Lots of questions going through my head this morning:)

Whether or not I had the HOTTEST shoes, not one of them!!!

Officially winterized-Duct tape and all!! Anyone know where I could get a good pair of Zebra tights to go with these??

4 minute Monday morning ramble

2011-11-07T08:43:00.000-06:00

Well, I must say it felt GLORIOUS to wake up at 5 am this morning and know I could just roll over and lay in bed sipping coffee for another hour and a half. I completed my 4 week program at the gym on Friday and although I could keep up with my early morning routine here to prep for upcoming more serious training, I opted to give myself this morning off. Dang, this could become a habit. As far as what I've accomplished in my early morning sweat sessions, I really feel a strong groundwork has been set for me. I dropped pounds, I dropped inches, I gained strength and I know what to do continuing on here. I'm hoping this equates to a reduced injury risk and seconds off of my marathon!

Quick random

Hockey and travel is in full swing. Busy Busy. Constantly sharpening skates, and washing equipment and packing bags and food and water bottles, and hauling kids to and fro and my FAVORITE, fundraising. Anyone want to buy some chocolate covered almonds or mints? It is not fun staring at 150 boxes of these on my table and trying not to eat them-ha! How about a raffle ticket or some pizzas? I'm sure I will have jewelry and candles soon if anyone's interested...Kidding obviously but I hate asking people for money which is why I of course, chose to put myself currently in a job in which I deal with collection accounts.

Parent teacher conferences are tomorrow. I always look forward to these. Once again all the teachers will think I'm a single mother as Joe can't be there yet again. Reese and Max have such great teachers this year. SO thankful for that. Both of them really like school. Ryan and I talk VERY little about academics. I'm honestly not even sure what classes she's taking (I sound like a great mom here). She's always been on top of this, has more of a connection with Joe here, and if my involvement is not needed, I'm quite happy to erase that from my to do list.

There is snow on the ground. Just a taste of what's to come!! I really do love snow. Snow on the ground, 30 degrees, sunshine, no wind. Truly my winter fantasy.....Alas, this never happens in Minnesota.

Quick Training

I ran 64 total miles this week-2 doubles. Almost ALL easy except for a few 400's at a little under 5K and a 10 mile run with a pick me up in the middle. I ran 18 miles yesterday at a more comfortable non-pushing pace. I feel GOOD! I'm running both a 5K race and a HM time trial with a speedy friend this month! Really excited about both!

Minnesota runners: Anyone run the Securian Frozen 1/2 in January, Lace up 1/2 in Rochester in February, or Get Lucky 21 K in March?

So YES, I know I've been completely out of Blogworld as I try to get organized here! So many people to catch up with! Congrats to the NYC runners yesterday!

Runningsane not Ramblingsane or Ramblingrunningsane.....

2011-10-30T18:10:00.001-05:00

Had a really wonderful weekend. Maybe even better than I had hoped for....A reminder of how fortunate I am to “Like” my husband. I love him, of course, but I really do “Like” him. We are complete opposites in some respects but this weekend was a great reminder of how I married my perfect match. Our marriage isn’t perfect (no one’s is), but I do believe we match up well and to risk sounding sappy and smitten, I feel really lucky. What does it mean to marry your perfect match???…..It means I can be on a weekend getaway, have an amazing time together but yet spend over 6 hours of it APART with NO hard feelings!!! It also means I get to run this:)

This is my longest run since the marathon. Started as a 6 mile loop which turned into 8 because 8 is better than 6 and then 10 because 10 is double digits and then 13.1 because why not make it a training HM and then 15 because 15 is more like a real long run and then 16 because 16 rounds up to 20:) I loved this run, every minute of this run (lying but I like the way this sounds…...) I could feel my loss of running fitness and frankly miles 13-15 ~~sucked ass~~ were less than enjoyable but at the same time I felt motivated and READY and EXCITED and well, the rest of my day was a freakin’ PARTAY!! (My party’s include 2 hour naps and 2 hours of HBO while lying under a down comforter and drinking classy wine with a screw off lid out of the mini bar).

So, finally a bit of a running post . A LONG LONG random bullet running post because well, because I’m riding in the car for 6 hours and why not....

Quick background:

*I’ve run 4 marathons. Averaged in the 45-55mile (peak) for the 1st, 55-70 for the 2nd, 60-80 for the 3rd and then this last one was pretty much a mess although I did have 7 quality weeks…. 3:25, 3:18, 3:20, 3:31. (and if you're waiting for a race report for the 3:31, it's not coming:)

*I’ve had 3 somewhat significant injuries in 3 years. A torn hamstring stemming from running a HARD 26.2 in training 6 days after a lifetime long run of 13.1(my first HM) and then following it with a 20 miler 6 days after that(slightly overzealous???), a femoral neck stress fracture which I’m attributing to not properly recovering from Boston but in reality I’m not sure what caused it, and a gluteal strain that I think really wasn’t even a running injury. None of these scare me as far as my mileage is concerned as long as I keep my head on straight! I do realize that I’m 36 years old and I need to take care of my body here. I’m very aware of this. Today I can say I feel 98% healthy!

Where I'm at Now:

I finished this week with 55 miles-my highest in a LONG time. More than I planned for but then again I’m not following a plan! I’m mostly running easy with some VERY unorganized “stop sign, light pole, mail box” fartleks. For now, I’m mainly just allowing my body to do what it feels comfortable doing-no agenda, usually no Garmin. Some days comfortable means VERY SLOW (like EVERY day last week:) Other days, my legs almost surprise me and I go with them a bit. I’ve completed 3 weeks of my little program at the gym and I’m starting to see and feel the benefits here. One more week and then I will change my focus a little bit, maintaining core workouts, but focusing more on running. This break of unstructured running has certainly left me hungry....EXACTLY what I was hoping for.

*As I often mention, (so I can gather your sympathy it may seem) I am embarking on my extensive weekend travel season with hockey. I’m also very busy with games and practice in the evenings during the week. I refuse to miss my kids games for a training run (the occasional race perhaps) but not a training run. I’m working more and I’m also hoping to dedicate more time than EVER before to my training. I'm presented with a personal challenge here. (Little disclaimer* I certainly know many people with MUCH MORE INVOLVED jobs and equally busy lives who make it work. My issue is time, not work stress) On the upside, although the travel is a bit consuming, I actually sleep very well in hotels without the constant temptation to do other things….. I am OK to miss a few late night parent social hours on a hockey weekend for a hotel treadmill run or an early morning outside run! I’ve been incessantly teased about my role as a “party pooper” on these trips but then it only takes ONE weekend to totally redeem yourself…..Yes, I will never live that one down...I believe my picture was actually imprinted on a T-shirt....I have mean friends...Maybe I will do a giveaway!!!

This is the place where I should insert another BOLD header with a list of related points below. Yeah...It is not, but I will put it in bold so this whole post is more aesthetically pleasing to my readers.

November 7th I will start somewhat of a “pre- plan” for about 8 weeks. It will be pretty flexible but a general WRITTEN guideline of what I want to do and a good “practice” for how I will be able to manage my time and workouts come January when I will start my actual Boston plan. I will be building my mileage back up in here and also reintroducing some speed and elevation. I have been somewhat injured since August and haven’t run a high mileage week OR an actual speed workout in quite some time. I did have a strong base for the months preceding and I’ve continued to run so I’m not starting at square one here. I’m kicking this off this 8 week “pre-plan” with a 5K race:) I will likely SUCK this up but right now I’m in the perfect place to handle that. I’m excited to race, I’m excited to start having something to work on, something to “beat”, something to fire me up!! I can confidently say a 5K PR is not even REMOTELY in my sights here (I'm quite realistic and I have run, let me see…ZERO miles at 5K pace:)

I have a really awesome opportunity with my work to fit in a few extra miles some days. Or maybe not even extra miles but just a means of getting what I need to, IN. I’ve done a test and can pull out over 45 minutes on my lunch break on the treadmill and still be back to work in 1 hour. Yes, I even shower:) You can imagine how HOT I look for work in the afternoon. I’m speaking literally ….. I’m not new to doubles. I ran TONS of them in recovering from my hip but I wasn’t in a training plan then and just running by feel. I often ran a slower morning run and then my harder run later in the day. I found my legs felt REALLY good most days I did this. I’ve not done many with only a 4-6 hour turnaround though so this lunch running double will be new! I obviously won’t do this every day but a couple of days a week if it works would surely help me with fitting in my miles.

I read an article in Running Times found HERE about incorporating a second run later in the day on LR days. A slow second run that should be run not for mileage but for time-ex:20-30 minutes very easy. This makes sense to me. I used to always take the day after long runs off and then realized that my legs would not cooperate as well as I would like on Tuesday (LR Sunday) when I attempted speedwork. I found that running easy the day after a LR did WONDERS for my legs and I have done that my last 2 training cycles. I’m really buying into the fact that a really easy run later the very SAME day, very slow may leave me in an even better place in terms of recovery. I also think this will be quite helpful as I will long run on Fridays and then travel often 5-7 hours for hockey in the car. A nice shakeout later in the day will maybe work it’s magic! If I find it doesn’t work, I won’t do it!

I’m not quite ready to shoot out mileage goals or training plan specifics YET although they are definitely in the works......I have MANY hopes and potential plans but these can be adjusted if I don’t feel that I’m ready for them. I do enjoy the structure of a plan. Something to put an X over at the end of the day but I also know how much I need to incorporate flexibility. I’ve never been one to follow my plan to a T. I will definitely have key workouts I want to hit but there will be some elbow room....

Super excited to have some really dear friends also training for Boston or another spring marathon! So fun to have that camaraderie and accountability and support and encouragement and well, you know who you are!!

So-kudos to all of you who made it to the bottom of this post! No mentions of deer, hotdish, or meatloaf and you're still here. I'm grateful...

One day I will write a real post. That day is not today.

2011-10-27T19:29:00.000-05:00

What's new, what's new, what's new....

Hockey socks, hockey skates, hockey gloves, hockey STINK all over my house.....We had this wonderful idea a few years back to turn one of our guest rooms into the "hockey room". A locker room of sorts right next to my dining room! Makes sense of course....that is when your kids are 2 and 5 and 7 and they don't STINK! We most definitely need a back up plan for this....NASTY.

This is what my kids think I mean by "Go hang up your gear"

My brain is tired from thinking about running and training and Boston which is still 6 months away! At work today I caught myself using the phone keypad instead of the adding machine more than once...

Today was pumpkin carving day at school. Each kid was to bring a parent or grandparent or friend if available to help them and the cafeteria turned into a big pumpkin carving party for an hour. I rarely get to do these things at school as I work 30 minutes away so Joe took some time off and showed up for pumpkin carving duty. Apparently, he took this VERY seriously!! I was talking to my friend after work and she said ALL the mom's were jealous of Joe and his ENTIRE bag full of POWER TOOLS!!! Ha! Needless to say, Max has the best pumpkin:)

I chopped my hair off at about my shoulders. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner!! SO much easier.

I believe I will end the week in the high 40's low 50's for mileage. I'm thinkin' I'm only going up from here:) I will do a running post next week.

Getting my bags together to head out of town with Joe this weekend!! I have been looking forward to this for a month! Time for sushi that I didn't buy from the Schwann man and Caribou coffee instead of the gas station brew...Time to relax and lay in bed past 5 am with NOTHING on my agenda! I'm going to be on a cyber detox so quick shoutout to those racing this weekend!! I'll be anxious to read race reports Monday!!

Quick update:)

2011-10-23T16:55:00.000-05:00

I'm going to keep this short and stick to a quick training update:) My weekend has been a bit crazy. My plans changed at least 247 times due to constantly changing circumstances and after packing and unpacking the car 5 times, I ended up actually spending Saturday and Sunday at home. My husband was off with my son on a hunting trip and then a hockey weekend.

Things are moving along here. I am working out in the gym in the mornings Monday-Friday with a trainer/friend (he's killing me slowly). I've completed 2 weeks and I'm just beginning to be able to lift my coffee cup and start walking normally:) I've been running Garminless, only easy pace, and I'll admit it has felt much rougher than I would like.... I've been extremely fatigued especially this last week. I think a lot physical and a fair amount stress related with other things going on in my life as well. My legs are SO heavy, my chest is heavy, I feel overly tired despite more sleep, and it seems as though I want to stop and walk at about mile 2 of my runs even though I already feel like I'm running slower than 10 minute miles.....

Yesterday I was out for a 10 mile run down a desolate highway near my house. This was my longest run in a long time. There is VERY little traffic, mostly fields and a few farm houses set off from the road by about 200 yards or so. I'm about mile 6 and I need to make a stop. No cars and a big ditch (aka/MN bathroom.) Back on my way a minute later and I see the police coming toward me in which case they pull me over. Apparently I was reported as a freak hunched over in a ditch spying....Yes, a spy in broad daylight...... Nope, just a freaky runner using a PUBLIC bathroom and OFFICER, it's not my fault they plowed down the corn which was my cover!!!! I wish I would have at least had my scary robber running facemask on...

I went out for a run this morning-two 4 mile loops. My first run in which I incorporated some hills. Not hilly hilly hills but a couple of less hilly hills:) I also took the ditch trail that I've been avoiding lately due to the uneven ground and soft road approaches that have caused my PITA some grief in the past. After yesterday's run which felt like I was basically CRAWLING, I decided to wear my Garmin taped over with hockey tape so I could analyze later and get an idea of what I'm running for "easy pace" right now. I am terrible at estimating pace but I again felt rough to start (very tight lead legs) and then gradually warmed up enough. I knew I finished the last mile a little quicker as I generally do. Not HARD HARD but strong. My motto is even the SHITTIEST of runs that finish strong sit better....

OK-so this is slower than my easy pace in the past and certainly not a run worthy of posting stats but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this today. I honestly thought I was running slower than 9:30 for the first loop. I think most of my runs have been similar to this one except for a couple of quicker 4-5 milers. Reassuring in an odd sense that I'm not running as slow as I FEEL that I'm running. By the end I actually felt pretty good and my legs were starting to warm up. Better yet, I felt VERY little distress on the hills and I think I'm finally turning a corner here. Finished the week with 42 miles.

Next week I will start incorporating more doubles to get my mileage back up there a little. I have an option to get a few miles in on my lunch break at work so I'm going to do this. My primary focus is still strength for 2 more weeks and then finally I get to do some more "rewarding" running and will hopefully have more energy to do so:) I am REALLY REALLY getting excited about Boston training!

I'm heading away with my hubby for our marathon reward this coming weekend in which I PROMISED I would not pack workout attire. Sometimes my shoes just mistakenly get left in the center console of the car??......Sadly, most of my wardrobe could double as running clothes so I'm covered if I need to "sneak" out. Those who have met me know I think cowboy boots, designer jeans, 1/4 zip pullovers, and a Brooks running jacket is a perfectly acceptable look:)

OK-off to catch up with you all! Congrats to a speedy racer this morning who I just stalked in her marathon results and saw she WON the race!!! Nice nice!!!!

School pics, my video voice audition.......Yep, it's Monday

2011-10-17T14:20:00.003-05:00

Random...Aimless...Non-flowing....Disorganized thoughts...It's Monday

Got the school pictures back and I've decided to claim these kids this year. They might even go on the wall......

Speaking of kids. I had a LOAD of them spend the night here on Friday for Reese's birthday party. Loud loud giggly girls. Loud loud giggly girls who never ran out of energy. The evening started by them hauling a chaise lounge off of the deck and turning my family room into a makeshift spa. Their first client-ME! I got the WHOLE treatment. Facial, mask, nails, and then I allowed 11 year olds to do my makeup. One sweet little angel tried to curl my eyelash and severed my eyelid thus abruptly ending the spa party.....We moved on to Dance Dance Revolution in which I was the champion and then Singstar Karaoke in which I was CHEATED.....It was somewhere around this point that my husband made me leave the party. BOO! I later found him downstairs singing Dream Weaver...

Hockey season is once again upon us and this prompted me to look through my previous videos of the kids skating. This particular video I've decided to also use as my audition tape for the movie "Fargo, the sequel" OMG, my voice totally goes with the deer in the swingset. HELP!! Didnya, getcha, thereyago....ignorant redneck....Honestly, I do not talk like this (right people who've heard my voice???) Anyway, it made for some great laughs and also my son is so dang cute here. 4 years old-we would spend almost every day at the rink when I was only working one day a week and his sisters were in school......Ahhh-nostalgia.....

Other random news.....

I spent Saturday making my schedule. My beautiful color coded laminated schedule!! I FINALLY have something to hang in the frame above the piano....This schedule is what will make my life run smoothly for the next 6 months and I tell you, if even one of my family members DARES to deviate from the SCHEDULE, they will feel the wrath!! Kidding...kind of....not really.... I'm working full time, my husband works way more than full time hours(all hours, all days) and my kids are VERY involved. We will be in a hotel EVERY weekend starting next weekend until April. This is going to work SMOOTH as butter.

I did not sleep well on Saturday night AT ALL. Kind of like I was running a marathon the next morning or something...Nervous energy! SUPER Congrats to a great friend who ran an AMAZING marathon Sunday morning for which I celebrated for the rest of the day as if I had actually run the damn thing myself. My legs felt quite good this morning. I might be on to something here! Congrats also to a couple of other great friends who whipped out awesome HM's!!

This weekend is MEA which is a break for kids in Minnesota schools. Joe and Max are going on a little boys trip leaving on Wednesday and I'm heading away with my adult girlfriends for one night and then with my smaller biological girlfriends for the rest of the weekend!

Training news:

*I started week 2 of my long slow painful death at the gym this morning. I am REALLY enjoying this but it's tough. I realize the benefit of having someone push me here as I would DEFINITELY be a little easier on myself:)

*I've been running about 5-6 miles a day the last 2 weeks. No Garmin, easy effort for the most part. I am INCREDIBLY anxious to be back in training. INCREDIBLY anxious but it will come soon enough....In the meantime I'm studying and plotting and planning and reading and building....

OK-back to my desk:) Happy Monday!

One more year in the books and back to the random....

2011-10-10T11:43:00.000-05:00

I'm 36 years old today....Another year down. Looking in the mirror, it is quite obvious I'm in my 30's... Fortunately, I LOVE my 30's!!!! One day I will even be 40 and can carry a puppy purse and wear a purple sequined bikini with pride like I read in a post awhile back that made me laugh. LOTS to look forward to in the coming years!!

What am I doing for my birthday you ask?...or you don't but I tell anyway... Why I started by getting my ass WHOOPED this morning at the gym. By WHOOPED I mean WHOOPED. I will not be driving my car with my hands in the 10 and 2 position by Wednesday. This is a fact. I will likely be popping ibuprofen like skittles, using only handicapped bathrooms, and struggling to get a fork to my mouth....not all bad. (I've enjoyed my marathon recovery in terms of calories even though I ran it slower than my average long run pace-ha!) I've embarked on a 30 day journey here that will hopefully get me on the right path to tackle the next 6 months of my life as I prepare to track down and shatter my marathon PR next April.

And NOW, to the totally random.

*I need a Halloween costume. A couple's costume. IDEAS??? We've gone as Sarah Palin (I nailed this) and Joe the Plumber and Richard Simmons (Joe nailed this) and his "workout project" the last two years. We need something GOOD!

*I dug out my "keepsake" box from under the stairs that is filled with EVERYTHING my mom saved from my childhood. She finally entrusted me with this when I was 30-ha!! My girls were wanting to go through it and I tell you, this was SO fun. My mom was SO organized. She had 6 kids but even saved all of my TEETH-yes my teeth and my hair from haircuts and NEATLY filed schoolwork from every year and pictures....Reese was dying for me to go through my 5th grade folder as she's in 5th grade this year. I did and I found this journal entry. I tried to scan it in but it's hard to read so I will just type it.

"What I Look for in a Friend"
I expect my friends to be able to be trusted and be honest. I want them to expect the same out of me also. I want them to like me for who I am and to dress nice. My friends usually follow these rules.

Bahahaha!! I want them to dress nice-seriously where did this come from! We were laughing SO hard.

THEN Ryan comes across this little bag and is all "What's this?" and then throws it and says "Ewww, Ewww" Label says "Gall stones". I was 25 when I had my gallbladder out!!! Who's mom saves their gallstones? Probably the same mom who has my umbilical cord dried up but in tact in my baby book. I seriously had a seizure here from laughing.

*Had a BLAST stalking Kona and Chicago this weekend!!! Talk about inspiring. These women pulling 2:52 marathons AFTER like 6 hours of swimming and biking!! HARDCORE! Congrats to ALL who poured it out there this weekend in ANY race!

*I ran a non-PR 10K on Saturday morning. Not trying for a PR, my body did not have a PR in it, just trying to fix my mind.....It helped a little. I am now officially burying my Garmin for 30 days.

*My husband turns 40 tomorrow and my daughter 11. Why did I choose today to stop eating cake....

*I'm overwhelmingly thankful for some of the encouragement I've received both prior to my race last weekend and after the fact. OVERWHELMINGLY.

*I am entering the crazy stage of the life for me. My kids are back on ice with hockey. I will be constantly traveling and have over 160 games between the 3 of them this year while attempting to work full time and train for Boston. I'm not asking for pats on the back as I know MANY who make schedules tougher than mine work. It is MORE than likely I will put my blog on the backburner here for awhile. I find it easy enough to read blogs, harder to comment and even harder yet to post when my life gets busy.....it's not personal, it's not that I don't appreciate or don't desire....

Quickly before I close here, some GOOD friends and great races this coming weekend!!!! I am literally SICK excited about my "virtual" training partner and her race! Like, I honestly have butterflies when I think about her crossing that finish line and having that unmatchable feeling of pride and satisfaction that she SO deserves!!!! Greatly appreciate her friendship and encouragement and can't WAIT for a chance to smack out a training weekend in Boston with her this winter:)

Happy Monday all!

Weekend update in mainly pictures because it's MY blog and I don't feel like writing a race report quite yet:)

2011-10-04T21:33:00.001-05:00

Not according to plan:) A 6 minute PW actually!! You can see by my splits I ran two evenly paced halves-bahahaha!

Not the worst course, but no denying that 20-23 is a bitch:) I was no longer in "race" mode by this point and I walked much of this hill so I really can't complain about it.

Not overly upset about this race and still glad I chose to run it although I certainly don't feel that super "accomplishment" feeling now. I knew I was taking a chance running it both physically and mentally (if I struggled physically.) Without a doubt, I had my struggles but I finished smiling big and thankful to have completed my 4th marathon! (Smiles fade and perspective changes a little as time passes. In reality, it sucks to run a "personally" rock bottom race no matter why-ha ha!) I still qualified for Boston 2013 with a 9 minute cushion (new standards) so if I decide to shack up with a "running buddy" and do it again in 2013, I likely could:)

Went to the gym tonight and saw this written on the white board.

This will be my motto for the next 6 months. I'm back to sitting on a bag of ice here but I'm anxious to HEAL and get STRONG and get READY to finally change that DAMN PR on my sidebar next April that will be 2 YEARS OLD!!!

This made me smile when I returned home. I had never received an email confirmation and although I "knew" I was in, it was fun to see it on paper.

A few more random pics from the weekend.

Olympian Carrie Tollefson warming up for the 5K which she won in 16 something. Effortless.

Reese finishing the 5K. She crossed the finish line smiling and not at ALL how I look when I'm finishing a 5K. So much left to tap in there! I love the innocence of youth and the PURE excitement without the nerves!! Her results have changed many times and I have no idea what is going on with the website. This morning she was 14th OA female out of 1137 and now she is 8th overall out of 996 females. Either way, not bad for 10 years old.

Big hug from Dad!!

AND to conclude-I will leave you with my favorite picture below. This little guy took off like a bat outta hell and is ahead of ALL the elites. There were a ton of finishers in the 15 minute range and the poor little dude didn't end up being one of them but for a minute he held the lead in style!!

A special and SINCERE thankyou to so many of you who have continually showered me in support through this blog or email. I am truly grateful! I have been extremely self absorbed lately obsessing about my ass and this race and there are MANY comments I have wanted to respond to that meant a great deal to me.....

And completed unrelated but my laugh for today. Reese asked if she could go to a bomb fire at a friends house on Friday. I said "What?" She said "a bomb fire". Pretty sure she meant bonfire.....

Marathon Take 2

2011-09-28T19:49:00.001-05:00

OK-I'm trying take 2 on a very quick pre-marathon post! I was so tired when I typed my last one and it was SO poorly written that I pulled the plug on it.

Simple version. I'm running a marathon on Sunday. The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. LOVE the course, LOVE the atmosphere, LOVE the expo and the race shirt and gear is Brooks which I also LOVE!!! This is a fantastic marathon, touted as the most beautiful Urban marathon in America. The crowd support is as awesome and the race is VERY efficient with 2 start corrals and fantastic water stops. I LOVE this race and I'm excited just thinking about stepping out of the Metrodome on race morning and lining up in the first corral with my hubby and my sister!!!

I have moved on from planning possible strategies in my head when in all reality I just can't know what will happen right now when I really start to run so I'm concentrating on the more important parts of the race like which top will make my boobs look bigger......

Ok-decided to pull the two pictures I just posted. Let's just say this Brooks racing tank really isn't designed to accentuate those areas....

So, back to the marathon. Yes, Sunday morning 8:00 am. Online tracking provided HERE and my bib # is 1254. I'm in a super great place about this race right now. Content and ready for what it brings me. Things feel pretty good physically this week, I'm feeling some confidence about the flat sections of the race. Fitness wise, I've lost some, this I know, but I STILL think I may have a good enough base to run a 3:20 or better if my butt says YES. If not, I will STILL be OK!!! Going to give it my very best shot!

Good luck to my sister Laurie, who is out for a fun run- thinkin' maybe 8:20 pace since she hasn't really been marathon training, my Dad who is a HUGE inspiration to me especially with his attitude, my husband who has run a total of 22 miles in the last 5 weeks combined due to a cranky shin but is WAY more concerned about me and MY race than himself (I'm so damn lucky) and my little peanut Reese's Pieces who's going to run the 5K!!!!! Looking forward to a fantastic weekend of family and fun!!

Best of luck to everyone else running this weekend. Catch you on the flipside:)

SUAR in shorty shorts:)

2011-09-26T21:40:00.001-05:00

SO, my sweet dear creative friend Amanda from Runninghood has challenged my extremely uncreative mind to step out of the box a little bit and get down and dirty with art supplies! I'll admit, I am NOT artsy, I am not crafty, I am not patient. I do however, like a challenge and in all reality I found this to be a fun one which was ENTIRELY the point of this contest! Furthermore, although I'm not particularly artsy, I surely APPRECIATE art and the prize for this contest was art from Cher Odum whom I LOVE. Motivation enough!! SOOOOO, tonight I played with modeling clay with 2 of my children at the dining room table instead of paying my bills....

So, Check out her contest HERE! You still have like 3 hours if you are on CST:)

I chose to go with option #1 which states:

"If you are a runner and a blogger then you know who SUAR is. Who doesn't? And if you are a runner and not familiar with blogs, you really should go check out SUAR's blog. SUAR = Shut Up And Run. Google it if you are curious and not familiar with the blog world. As most of you know, SUAR's blog is never dull. Anything but. Shocking at times, funny, raunchy maybe, inspiring, etc. She's quite the character and so she makes a great candidate for this art project. Your job is to create a piece of art (picture, sculpture, comic strip, diorama, etc) that represents Beth from SUAR. Maybe it is a scene from a story she has told...pooping, farting, wearing her green bikini or one of the many many images you might have in your head. She's told some great stories so even if you don't know of SUAR's blog, it would be easy to go to, read for a few minutes and come away with an awesome idea for this creation.

So, I first met Beth "virtually" back in October when we were somewhat brought together after both having had a very similar debilitating injury. I was back to running by this point and she had just been diagnosed. We yapped a little back and forth about coping and recovery and at one point the discussion came up about how in the world you were even supposed to carry a ~~wine bottle~~ cup of coffee or move around the kitchen with two FREAKIN' crutches.

She wrote THIS POST and posted THIS QUICK VIDEO shortly after that conversation which made me laugh as most ALL her posts and videos do!

So, tonight my plan was to recreate Beth as CLOSE to her likeness as possible rolling around in her computer chair in her kitchen with a broken hip.

I came up with This

Now, I'm pretty sure even though Beth hasn't posted any pictures, that she has a pair of these denim hottie shorts in her closet:) Not sure about the pink furry phone but I just thought it added a nice touch. And although I looked HARD through the box of Barbies under the stairs, I could find NO Barbie sized wine bottle so coffee it is....(For the record Mattel, if you're going to give her double D's and a 12 inch waist, at least give her a bottle so Ken can take advantage of her.....)
Also, Beth, I am apologizing now as I see even though I only gave you coffee, you somehow put your shoes on backwards. Understandable.

So simple-yes, fun-yes. Was that the point. YES:)

And if there happens to be ANYONE out there in blogland who hasn't read Beth's blog but for some GOD forsaken reason reads mine, let me add she returned from this injury and has since completed MANY MANY races including the Boston marathon and a HIM!!! Seriously impressive!

So thanks Amanda! I definitely smiled hanging out with my kids tonight making a mess!!

The usual

2011-09-20T18:53:00.000-05:00

So...It's been awhile:)

Life:

I registered for Boston last week. I was in the -20 group but I have YET to receive an email confirmation. I found my name on the "entrants" list and they've charged my credit card so I'm counting this as ACCEPTED. My husband also registered when general registration opened this Monday and we are still waiting on him. Regardless of whether he gets in or not, I was thinking yesterday that it's pretty cool that my kids can say both of their parents qualified for Boston. Yes, pretty cool indeed!!

Joe sent me a flower garden to work this afternoon. I'm actually not a flowers person. They're expensive and they die and the real way to my heart is through beer and pizza (designer jeans and Lululemon also work) but today I truly appreciated these. I'm playing single mother here again for awhile and these flowers may or may not have been a result of the hissy fit pity party I threw on the phone last night.

Speaking of Joe. I miss my friend and my kids miss their dad and I am really looking forward to him being home this weekend!!

Ryan is playing volleyball this fall! I've had a blast watching her and her team is undefeated thus far! My other two kids are doing the synthetic ice skating treadmill and a speed and agility clinic. I'm back to work full time so evenings have been BUSY!!!

Training.. or running... or lack of running... or running SLOWLY rather with a stick up my ass and a wooden leg....

I have a marathon in 11 days. I have a glute strain. It's affected my training greatly. It's affected my confidence greatly. That aside, I'm going to run to the very best of my ability on October 2nd.

I get to head to the marathon with my Dad who is running his second marathon going for somewhere around 4:10 I think.

My sister who is also running and will admittedly run a 19 min. 5K split and then settle into high 8's-ha ha! We are complete opposites!! She does have a marathon PR of 3:24 but is doing this one as a fun run. I am still trying to talk her into registering for Boston again!! (Yes, I rubbed my face in a butter dish before taking this picture)

My husband who has run two 13 mile runs for long runs since July. I'm married to this weirdo. He actually wore this in little getup for his HM PR!

No, that was not his hair as can be seen here-ha!

And my daughter Reese who will run the 5k! It will be fun to just take her for the weekend. We are leaving the other two kids with family and for one weekend it's all about running and Reese!

So-this was a totally thoughtless post mainly for the purpose of just posting because I'm a poor poster and almost never post.....

Random, Reese, Races, Registration (my most capturing post title to date)

2011-09-11T21:09:00.000-05:00

RANDOM:

First week of school DOWN. I have received 47 flyers for possible activities my kids could add to their boring mundane schedules???? I've been informed than the string cheese I buy "squeeks" when you chew it and therefore is nasty, and I've already had to admit that 5th grade math ~~always~~ sometimes gets the better of me....

OK-isn't it weird how you mention something and then it happens like 100 times in the same week right after you mention it?? Example my previous post and texting: Twice this week I've been on the receiving end of funny texts that were autocorrected and freakin' hilarious!! Tonight I sent a text to a hockey parent about Ryan's hockey skates. They are Bauer Vapors. Definitely should have read my text back as somehow "Vapor" autocorrects to "Gspot" on my phone. Whaaaa????

Picture day at school this week. I decided to take pictures at home before the kids left to PROVE they looked cute when they left the house. The pictures I somehow receive back don't always reflect this-ha! Max told me this year that he had gym class and THEN they took pictures. He is a sweaty pig like his mother so I can imagine his pictures are going to be just great!

Darn-they're cute!! Thankyou Auntie Laurie for wardrobing my children:) Everybody needs an Auntie Laurie!!

Football season has started which means fantasy football has started which also means my family room may soon turn into a man cave....Joe pays MOOLAH to play in this league and since we are actually "one" through the bond of marriage I feel I should have some say when it comes to draft day, lineups etc.-ha! This is a "sore" spot since I am always right:) A couple of years ago, he got fed up with my "advice" and told me to get my own team if I wanted to be the team manager. I did. I won the league. Point made.

I have a long running related post coming....Still processing some of my thoughts. Can't write on a running blog without at least mentioning running though so instead I will give a shoutout to my 10 year old daughter who took 1st place in the 14U AG for a 5K this weekend. Here she is receiving her ribbon from Dick Beardsley. She finished 7th overall female out of 308.

And here's Reese with a running superstar and friend, Heidi, who won the half marathon race during a peak weak of training!!

And almost forgot Reese also ran a cross country mile on Thursday and smoked that as well with her fastest EVER mile outside. No really good pictures except this one right at the beginning! She's in red.

She loves the mile and 2 mile! Wish they had more of these races!

Boston registration for me tomorrow. I'm banking that it won't close before I'm done with work as I am REALLY looking forward to THIS feeling once again.

I could not have been more wet or more disgusting, or more happy:)

First Day!

2011-09-06T19:04:00.001-05:00

Two posts in two days-WOWZA! I must have too much time on my hands.....not so much so we'll just stick to pictures!

First Day of school! Yes, Reese has blue hair and yes, I paid for it. Hmmm-Ryan's clothing looks vaguely familiar in this picture...see below

She has stolen EVERYTHING out of my closet. She's even wearing my leggings which she had to roll over one time because of the 8 inch height difference. And ALSO my shoes which are a full size bigger than her feet but who cares apparently. Seriously, I have nothing left in my closet....She has to dress up for volleyball games so I'm cutting her some slack. And Lindsay, just SHUT IT about the lack of a picture on the wall-ha ha!

And for fun, some of the first day archives:)

Ryan-3rd grade, Reese-kindergarten, Max-first year preschool

Ryan-4th grade, Reese-1st, Max-2nd year preschool

Ryan-6th, Reese- 3rd, Max-kindergarten

Ryan-7th, Reese-4th, Max-lst

Sure do love these kiddos!

Back to the Ramblings:)

2011-09-05T19:56:00.001-05:00

Ahh! Monday ramblings. It's been awhile but no work today and 10 consecutive hours driving in the car gave me some time to think. Unfortunately none of my thoughts were productive as usual so COMPLETE ramblings it is.....

Saw this on my travels today while playing on my phone.

Stuff like this happens to me ALL THE TIME. I text so quickly and then read back what I've written and my autocorrect TRASHES my message. Anyway, I played on this site for about 30 minutes while reading these to my husband while he drove. We were dying laughing at some of them.

*Took my kids to the first High School football game on Friday night. Do you know how long 8th graders take to get ready for a football game??? My word, you would think it was a Rave or something. Anyway, as we were driving to town, something happened up ahead on the highway. I believe it was a deer but it caused a SLEW of slamming breaks. I had very little reaction time and no choice but to completely ditch my vehicle and ended up almost rolling in a ditch of water with all of my 3 kids. Would have been interested to see the data if I was wearing my HRM. Thank GOD, we were all OK-the kids were TERRIFIED and crying but nobody hurt, only some damage to the vehicle and a nice tow bill. I will add that Ryan was more concerned about getting to the football game than getting the car out of the ditch and managed to hitchhike herself to town for the opening kickoff. (I'm kind of serious although I did know who picked her up:)

My son had his 8th birthday this weekend! We had a very ENERGY filled weekend.

I know he is my child and I'm biased, but dang he's cute:)

*Spent Saturday night sleeping in tents in the yard per small boy's request. Actually, this is a lie. Mommy is in marathon training and has a sore ass and a sore back and sore everything and the second the small boy was sleeping, she hightailed it to her tempurpedic bed until 5 am in which case she REAPPEARED with donuts:)

*Went grocery shopping on Sunday afternoon for the party and came home with these.

Now, I have absolutely no idea how these ended up in my grocery bag. This is not a joke-I DON'T know!!! Explaining this to my husband was fun-like I was 16 telling my dad that I don't smoke and I don't know why my breath smells like smoke-probably because I was in a restaurant where people were smoking or something and I just breathed it in???? Anyway, I'm pretty sure Joe believed I wouldn't smoke L & M's if I was a smoker. I'm way more of a Virginia Slims type a gal. We've decided to let Ryan take these to junior high tomorrow. I told her the going rate is probably like at least a buck a smoke which would net her $40 on the first day:)

Training:

*So, I am still dealing with a PAIN IN THE ASS. It is very annoying, it is very frustrating, it makes me want to smash my fist into the door (I practiced this to see if it hurt, it does). I spend almost ALL my free time sitting on a bag of ice and I think I have frostbite. The bonus is, I am STILL able to run. It's not getting "better" but I actually don't think it's hindering my pace that much as I get more accustomed to running with it.

*Last week I managed 11 total miles(not consecutive) @ sub 7 and 1 mile at 7:03. I ran 24 miles total yesterday. A 20 mile long run which felt like SHIT for the first 5 miles at which point I decided I was withdrawing from the marathon. Unfortunately, I was still 5.4 miles from home so I still had to get that far. Generally, I feel better as I go and this was the case yesterday. First 10.4 in 8:09. Quick water stop and 9.6 in 7:38. My body felt better after a bit or I was able to tune out the discomfort. Either way, I would have liked to feel less fatigued but was happy with the run. After the 20, took about a 40-45 minute break and then went out for 4 more with Reese. OMG-she was running circles around me. My legs were done. Note to self-don't stop and then try to run again.

*Finished my week with 50 some miles which was an improvement from last weeks 40 (which actually sounds wonderful right now because I had previously misplaced my 15 mile LR and only thought 25) and then 0 miles the week before.

*My tentative plan is to try for my big long run 22 with 17-18 near MP next weekend. The longest consecutive MP run I've EVER done has been 16 miles. I've run many many MP miles in a week before but consecutively never more than 16. If I can complete this, I think it will shed a WHOLE new light on things for me. If not.....Well, let's just not entertain that thought right now because I WILL:)

First day of school tomorrow! I took the morning off from work so I get to take my little kiddos to school. Ryan is SO excited-ha! Even Reese won't let me walk down to her classroom. Thank God my little guy still loves me......

My encounter with a COW, the usual life and training, and a pretty cool contest!

2011-09-01T23:28:00.001-05:00

So, I haven't posted in EONS. Did I spell that wrong? Probably, and I'm much too lazy to simply google the word and fix it. I know, this is totally out of character for me..I'm usually so professional and such.

Had quite a fun little experience at work today. I work in a dental office that is located somewhat in the country next to a large farm. We aren't completely remote and it's a very busy office. I had to open the window in the op I work in today because I was actually too cold with the AC on. (I don't have AC in my house and I'm accustomed to 80 degrees not 48 degrees which is the temperature in the office. There are WAY too many menopausal women working here and our patients actually ask for blankets- no lie.) OK-back to my story. I am leaning over my little patient attempting to put sealants on her teeth when I hear a bit of a noise that makes me turn my head. What do I see?? Well, nothing out of the ordinary, just a COW sticking it's head in my window. NOT KIDDING!! A BIG flippin' COW with it's head sticking RIGHT in my window. I may or may not have yelped and my coworker came in my room and we were about dying laughing and making all these noises trying to get the cow to move but it just stayed put. I took the air/water syringe and started firing through the window in hopes it would turn and run but apparently it was a HOT cow and enjoyed the cool shower because it would NOT move. Pretty soon, all the patients in the waiting room and all of the employees were up in my room looking at this cow. One of the hygienists and I decided we somehow had to get it away from the window as perhaps it's a bit of a problem if a cow decides to trample one of the patients on their way out..... We ended up outside with both of us trying to chase this cow off the lawn and back into the pasture across the road. We were seriously running and shouting and chasing and I have honestly NEVER laughed harder in my life than watching Paula do her "Bessie" call. Moving on......

Life:

*Ryan made the volleyball team. She is the libero for the A team and had her first game tonight which I had to miss because of the cow. Not really, I would have missed it anyway.

*Max had a big tournament in the cities last weekend. They televised his game on Saturday night and then later archived it online so he has been able to see himself play. He scored the first goal, a really nice one, and the announcers made such a big deal out of it and his face practically cracks from smiling when he watches this OVER and OVER and OVER.

*Reese is going to run a cross country mile next Thursday. It is being held on the golf course. She ran a mile tonight on gravel with my Garmin in 6:40 and she hasn't been running much. She's 10, I think she's a ROCKSTAR (I'm her mother-I would think she was a ROCKSTAR if this was 9:40)

*It is Joe's 40th birthday next month, the week after my marathon. I feel like I should be planning a party or something. I'm thinking more along the lines of 4 couples and dinner but maybe this is boring for a 40th. I'm also thinking a short getaway for the 2 of us would be in order. You know because he's turning 40, not because I just ran a marathon and think I should reward myself with a few days on a beach sipping margaritas:)

*Max's birthday is on Saturday. He will be 8. I have an 8th grader and my baby is 8 years old. I'm almost 36... I'm asking for a sweatshirt with a built in collar and some songbirds on the front for my birthday. Seems fitting.

Training:

So, I've been away from blogworld a bit here. I ended up with a glute problem after a long run a while ago. This resulted in a 10 day break from running which abruptly ended when I felt I had reached the MAXIMUM allowable time off for my sanity.... When I'm NOT running, my mojo for blogging goes down the tubes a bit unfortunately.... Many of you know this from my tiny 4 month hiatus during my stress fracture last year....Anyway, I am now back at it fighting to make up lost ground while still fighting some annoying discomfort. My marathon is in 4 and 1/2 weeks. I have greatly modified my training plan since starting back, my mileage is down, and even easy pace has been SLOWER than I would like. I've also been really fighting some mental demons and obsessing about lost fitness which surely hasn't helped. Tuesday, I had a bit of a reward however as I met up with a speedy friend for a tempo run of sorts. Decided on the 10K loop in town and pulled out this:

Really hard effort. Race effort actually and the reward of completing it was just as good as that of a race. My PITA was definitely there but dulled some with the fact that I loaded up on ibuprofen for this run. I don't need lectures here. I almost never take this running and I know the risks of masking pain etc. I NEEDED a good run however and for this day it was worth it. I'm two days "ibuprofen sober" now and I took an unscheduled rest day after this run.

Tomorrow I'm attempting 6 mile repeats@10K+5 seconds which is somewhere around 6:50 for me. Planning for a long run of 20+ on Sunday. Praying my body cooperates here.

SO-one last IMPORTANT thing!!!

My dear friend Amanda@Runninghood sent me this a few weeks ago. It was created JUST FOR ME by her amAZingly talented mother Cher Odum. I was EXTREMELY touched that his was done for me and furthermore I just LOVE it!!! This lady really has a special special gift and she's developed some new really fantastic work specifically geared toward runners and athletes!!! Check out Amanda's blog for a fun contest and a chance to get your hands on some PERSONALIZED professional art!!!

OK-I know there are some BIG races this weekend. I have several that I've been keeping tabs on and will get around personally to wish you good luck in the morning!! SO much to catch up on here!

Jibberish and a few more answers!

2011-08-19T18:28:00.000-05:00

So, I came in the door from work yesterday to my family eating supper in the kitchen. Joe was cooking.....I won't even say what they were eating....Anyway, I just recently found my name tag that the wash machine "ate" like a year ago. I was wearing it on my scrub shirt when I walked in the door.

I sat down at the kitchen island and Max looks at me and reads my nametag out loud. "Jennifer, Assistant". "You're an assistant? What's an assistant?" Joe so kindly answers him and says "Mom is a "helper", to the Dentist. She assists him." Max pauses for a minute and says. "Why did you want to be an assistant? Why didn't you just be the dentist?" Ha ha ha! Smart boy!! I like this line of thinking-YOU go be the dentist kiddo!

I needed some laughs yesterday and I got them. I had a brother and sister duo come into our office. The little boy was 10 and needed to have a baby tooth extracted. He was EXTREMELY nervous. His sister was 7 and not shy at ALL. I was trying to reassure him that it would be quick and easy when his sister pipes up "I had to have these two teeth pulled out (pointing to her front, now permanent teeth). I got a bunch of shots and they just pulled them out. Now, I have these two big crooked ones. SO not worth it." I could not help it. I busted a gut as she was SO serious and her brother was just sitting there.

Summer is winding down. The kids are actually getting anxious for school to start. All sorts of back to school parties and end of the summer sleepovers! Reese is off at a lake cabin for the weekend with some of our good friends. She texted me this picture yesterday which made me laugh

Ryan at her end of summer pool party! To be in 8th grade again-I love this age. These girls are SO fun!!! (Ryan is the middle dramatic one in the front row)

Max out in the yard shooting his bow.

Did I mention I ran like 78 miles last week. Yes, I'm floating on that right now. I'm currently bringing down my average.

So, a couple of more answers to the questions.

Jess asked:

I wanna know what sports you played in high school (hockey??)!!

Actually, I did NOT play hockey. I played volleyball, basketball, and softball. Basketball was my sport of choice in high school but I played volleyball on a club team in college.

I'm not sure I want to know about the tampons...okay, yes, of course I do!

OK-finally divulging the tampon deal!! Actually not that big of a deal but hard to explain maybe that my husband actually PURCHASES urine from animals and then uses tampons as a scent wick of sorts to somehow get the big daddy's to come into his line of vision so he can bring home $700 pets to hang on my wall.

Who would play you in a movie?

That’s a tough one! I’m pretty sure I would be in a comedy. Hmmmmm...Who's a really hot sexy actress full of class with a mysterious dark side?? Yes, she would not play me-ha!

AJH asked:

I definitely want to know about the tampons. And also - is he okay with this being out there in blog world?

Ha! Tampon answer above. My husband doesn't read my blog so I can say all sorts of stuff like how he spends more time in the bathroom than I do and how he actually likes to watch Glee sometimes....I do often speak to Joe about my blog or friends I've met through it but I honestly believe he doesn't read it.

Did you do sports when you were a kid? If so what was your favorite?

So, I kind of answered this question but as a kid I also loved to ice skate and I grew up playing tennis with my dad almost every day although we did not have that as an organized sport when I was in high school.

If you were given 5 minutes to grab as much as you could in LULU what would you go for and how much do you think you would get? Let's make it 3 minutes. 5 minutes is pretty long.

I guarantee 3 minutes would be long enough for me in Lulu. If money were no option I could DRAIN this store and quickly. I love the Run swiftly long sleeve. I would grab EVERY one and I also love the Run for your life pullover-would grab EVERY one of those too and the Yoga camp pant and all the speed shorts in my size and every hoodie and tank I could grab. Yes, 3 minutes is enough!!!

OK-I will get to the last couple of answers soon. I am also going to work on a video of me doing what I was most recently using as a workout outside of running. I've been asked a few times in the past and never got around to answering so I will now. I can't do it right now because of literally a pain in my ass but I will get to it at some point. This is the workout for those of you who don't need the video. I didn't come up with it, I just use it.

Warmup:
Knee Hug Lunge X 10, Reverse Lunge & Twist X 10, Drop Lunge X 10, Lateral Lunge X 10, Inchworm X 10, Spiderman X 10, RDL X 10, Heel to Hip X 10, Heel to Butt X 10, Russian March X 10

Workout-4 times through sets as quickly as possible while maintaining quality form. Time yourself for fun:)

Prisoner Squats X 10
Lunges x 10
Step ups into Reverse Lunges x 10
Jump Squats x 10
Push-ups (feet on stability ball) x 10
Stability Ball Leg Curl x 10
Seat chops (Left hip to right shoulder) with weight x 10
Seated Chops (right hip to left shoulder) with weight x 10
Jack knife x 10
Tri-cep Dip off of bench with feet on stability ball x 10

OK-off for a night with my girlfriends. Happy weekend! Best of luck to all you racing!! RUN RUN RUN!!

I've run myself stupid and an update.

2011-08-16T00:32:00.002-05:00

So-it's a proven fact. Running KILLS brain cells. My husband has been "debating" this with me for 2 years based on some of my actions, but tonight he finally won the debate. He stopped home from work briefly to grab some food out of the fridge and there on the top shelf was a roll of toilet paper. My intention was to bring it to the downstairs bathroom but somehow I got sidetracked in the fridge......

Another week has passed and I'm still not a blogging superstar....For a little bit there I thought I was a running superstar though as I logged over 78 miles last week in my plight to make up for cutting my long run short by 6 miles last weekend. I had this flexibility email discussion with a friend recently. I'm tending to be flexible with doing "more" in training (in terms of miles not pace), but inflexible with doing less at times even if it's in my best interest.

You know, one of these days I will change my blog posts from the bullet format of life and training but for now, it is what works for me. As previously mentioned, I have a shortage of brain cells (I'm willing to trade brain cells for nice legs for the record).

LIFE:

*I have been thoroughly enjoying the past 6 weeks of NOT being bound to a spreadsheet with my kids. They have still been busy but NOTHING like they will be in just a couple of weeks. I've had a relatively easy time fitting in my runs and very little stress trying to make things work. I've also been enjoying 2 days of work and a lot of vacation time which changes as of tomorrow as I'm back full time for awhile.

*Max told me matter of factly that he would sleep better if he had a tempurpedic bed. I laughed out loud.

*Ryan has started preseason volleyball. They have tryouts this week. I'm a little nervous for her. A lot of girls trying out this year.

*My hubby took me on an overnight date last night. Much needed time for some uninterrupted conversation from ~~his work cell phone that never stops ringing~~ our kids. Beautiful night, nice dinner, beach to ourselves, a reminder of how important this is to me to make these little getaways work in our schedule.

*We came home from our little overnight to 2 kids who tested positive for strep AGAIN. UGHHH!! This is like round 47 for the year.

*Ryan is making more money babysitting than I am at my JOB! No lie, she got a somewhat desperate call to babysit the other day from 9am-3:30 pm for 3 kids, 8,6,4. We have no drop in childcare here. She had to drop a few plans to make it work and they paid her $75. Are you kidding me. I'm all for paying good babysitters well but this is seriously outrageous. I'm getting my references together....Looking at a new career here. Only I would NOT be a good babysitter....I only like my own kids-ha!

TRAINING:

*As I mentioned I'm coming off a huge week mileage wise. This may be my highest mileage ever with only one real long run. It was a good week. There were some rough spots and there were some great spots.

*I biked alongside a friend on Saturday while she ran her long run. This friend is totally out of my league here but it was fun to be a part of her run (well, for the first 16 or so until I started to feel slightly annoying lollygagging on my bike...) It was a good experience. Always fun to watch elite caliber athletes just cruise along for an easy 20 right?? Hmmmm??? I think somehow I get under this notion that if I train hard enough at some point it might just become easy....WRONG. If I train hard enough, I will get FASTER but it won't ever become easy....Saw this first hand Saturday. No drop in pace, no drop in form, no stopping, progressing to my 5K pace for extended miles but EASY??? Nope, not the right word. Running hard is tough for anyone, pace is relative as we all know but hard effort is hard effort.

*ran my 22 mile long run on Sunday. I was determined to have a good run. I knew I would have a good run before I laced up my shoes because I wasn't going to allow myself otherwise. Pace wise, it WAS a good run. I kept the first half a little slower and then started to pick up the pace. Made it pretty strong until 19 (do not know what my problem with 19 is these days) and then decided to push through mile 20 and cut myself a break and slow down for the last two. I was really tired, I was fighting some glute pain that became especially bothersome at the end but I finished with a 7:51 overall average which is my fastest LR for a 22 mile (I've run 8 in my lifetime). It was warm, the top of my waterbelt was rubbing and I ended up with a little blood on the thing. I seriously need a body glide spray tan before I run in this heat and I forgot.....

A little sweaty blood there! Just the red though. The pink is Shot Blox that I thought would somehow just sit open in that pouch without melting....more signs that I've lost brain cells. Furthermore, I actually tried one of these shot blox and they are nasty.

*I took an unscheduled rest day today, not entirely by choice. Got intimate with a tennis ball, a golf ball, a foam roller, a few other things out of the toybox. My body is still working here at rest, so I'm telling myself. It will most likely also be working tomorrow.

HUGE shoutout to Raina from Small Town Runner who totally SMOKED a 10K this last weekend!!! I could not be more happy for this super talented, super determined, super SPEEDY lady! Cheers to you Raina! OK-off to catch up!

No, I don't have another SFX, I just took a blog break!

2011-08-09T21:34:00.001-05:00

So, it has been quite some time since I posted. In a bit of a blog funk which seems to happen to me every year around this time. Every year being last year since I didn't even blog before then but whatever......

Life:

*Just home from a little getaway with my family. We weren't able to get too far this year with our schedules but spent some time down in the twin cities area hiking, biking, fishing, swimming, running, eating, shopping, and of course watching hockey games! Man, I love the lakes down here. I would swim all the time if I had these lakes around! It was SO great to run on the paths and then barrel into the water to cool off right after. Everything is a contest with my kids so I had to kick their butts in underwater handstand contests, races to the floating dock, underwater breath holding contests.....Ahh! I love winning-even against 7 year olds!

Reese with her 10 second head start out to the floating dock.

Reese and Max getting ready to head to the beach!

Had to spend the week sharing a bed with Max. This is how he sleeps. I have bruises on my cheeks from his feet.

Ryan and I trying to take a picture of ourselves which really is not an attractive way to take a picture-ha!

Ryan and Max

*Went to the Mall of America. This is not my favorite mall-I don't love malls. I'm a specific shopper and like to walk in a store and buy what I want, not walk 100 miles around a mall. My girls were anxious to shop for school clothes though.

Some purchases at the mall:

Ryan: Miss Me jeans for $100. NO lie. 100 bucks for a 13 year old. She is a babysitting fool and packrats her money, so if she wants to spend $100 on jeans and doesn't expect me to buy them for her, who am I to deny her. To her credit, she has wanted these for 6 months. Almost as bad as I wanted a Cabbage Patch doll when I was 8. I told her to save her money and she did!

Reese: Shorts from Abercrombie Kids that could be mistaken for a thong. I took one look at these suckers and said "NO" You are not getting those even if they are only $20 which apparently is cheap in this store. Ryan kindly piped up that my running shorts are at least that short. She got a filthy look from me. (they are really not that bad...so I'm telling myself)

Max: fake doublemint gum that shocks you when you grab a piece. It is supposed to be a "little" shock. It is actually a taser. He generally stands behind me very quiet in public but once he got this gum, he literally went up to complete strangers asking them if they wanted a piece. Also, fake dog poop. I paid money for fake dog poop-HELP! He has ZERO interest in clothes which is fine with me. I can shop for him in 10 minutes.

Me: nothing-I know shocking.

Joe: 14 quarters worth of hot tamales while he sat on a bench WAITING.

*Ryan played in her final hockey tournament of her AAA season, the International Cup. She has been playing on an elite team all summer. It's been fun to meet so many other kids and parents from different cities since she is the only kid from our town on this team. The talent is also fantastic at this level and fun to watch!

Training:

*I'm somewhere in my marathon training plan but honestly my brain is fried and I'm not even sure what week or how many weeks I have left. I'm too lazy to check my plan at this moment.

*things have been going well. I've been putting in the miles and hitting almost all of my speed paces. I did my first real track workout last week. 2 sets 10X400 with one minute AR. I tell you one minute is not very long after you do a few of these. Anyway, I surprised myself a bit by how much I enjoyed these (after I was DONE them) I really like using the track for speed. I'm not sure if it's just because it's something new and different but regardless, it's working for me. I should mention I had a speed queen pacing and coaching me through these which is somewhat of a help. People who run 2:10 800's and 4:20 1500's are good friends to have when you're an aspiring runner:)

*I ran 14 straight days without a rest day. I did have one day that was only an easy 5 and then some spin bike on that day so not all intensive but still a lot of days in a row for me. This last week I had an easy run on Monday, 400's Tuesday, a 14 miler that turned into somewhat of a progression run, an easy day, a TH run and then an attempt at a 22 miler on Saturday. I decided to register on a whim for a HM so I could bring my pace up a little easier in the long run. My hope was to bring maybe 10 to MP-not viewing it as a race. I woke up EXHAUSTED. Lots of activity this week outside of running. Parked 4 miles from the race start with the logic that I would have no choice but to run the 22 miles this way. I ran the 4 miles to the start-felt absolutely terrible. Humidity was over 90%, temperature was already way up there and my legs felt just wickedly awful at a first warmup mile of 8:40!!!! Hmmmmm-MP for 10 miles was sounding really fun! Mentally, I started falling apart almost immediately. Anyway, made it to race start and took off with the gun (7:12, 7:18, 7:14, 7:15, 7:23, 7:08, 7:17, 7:24) My legs rebelled big time here and my mind just wouldn't cooperate. I walked right off the course just after mile 8. I QUIT the race. I could really get into all my emotions surrounding this but I really just don't have the energy. Needless to say, I was very unhappy with myself, and finished the day with a little over 16 instead of my planned 22.

*took a rest day on Sunday. Ryan had two big hockey games and then a 7 hour drive home so lots of time sitting on my butt. Monday morning (yesterday), I woke up early to run with Reese before I sent her off to camp. We ran 4 miles at roughly 9 minute pace. My legs were still tight and tired even after a rest day.

This is Reese before she left me for a week. If you wonder what I looked like when I was 10, this is it. NO kidding, if my scanner worked I would scan a picture because we are seriously twins.

Anyway, later yesterday afternoon I opted to head out on another run since my legs were feeling much better and I was ready to get back to the grind. Plan called for 6 easy with hill sprints at the end but because of the cutback on the long run and some mental crap I was dealing with I made an alteration. Ran 14 instead

*Ran 10 very slow easy miles today. Back at the track for 800's tomorrow. The temperature has dropped a bit and I've decided to do these after work instead of at 5 am.

*I've decided I need a good race before my marathon. It doesn't have to be a PR, it just needs to be a good race where I feel like I laid it all out there and pushed my limits both physically and mentally. I'm on the search right now but I'm considering a 10K in 2 weeks. I think I will adjust my plan as to run heavy the front half of the week and allow myself a little rest to go into the race. I'm not sure what I'm capable of here right now. Just need to do it.

OK-enough word vomit for today! I am trying to catch up here since I've only signed into my blog briefly and seen only the posts that were brand new on my blogroll. I'm pretty sure I'm about 200 posts behind in my google reader. I have caught some great ones though like Beth's recap of her HIM which was fantastic and I could not be happier for her after knowing EXACTLY what she came back from to get to this point. Happy Tuesday:)

Q and A Part Two!!

2011-07-26T16:30:00.000-05:00

Midlife Cruiser asked:

Do you shave or wax your pits?

OUCH! I shave them.

Favorite make-up line?

Can’t say I have a favorite line that I use exclusively. During the week I wear very little make-up. Mascara and sometimes a mineral powder foundation since I spent too many years in my youth laying on a lawn chair trying to toast my body. (Arbonne or Mary Kay for this as when you live in a small town you are invited to ENDLESS Arbonne, Mary Kay parties) Most of my other makeup is free samples I get from my sister from all the money she spends!!! A big mixed back of tricks:)

Favorite book?

Geez. I’m giving two weak answers in a row. Again, I couldn’t list a single book as my favorite-I like many different types depending on what I'm looking to read. I don’t read many “Nicholas Sparks” type story books (no offense) If I read a story I am more apt to pick autobiographies or memoirs. I generally read more non-fiction than fiction. I read a lot of running books or books that I can somehow relate to running. I like books that provoke me to think but aren't WAY over my head. There are MANY of these and I'm not too proud to admit that!!!

Would you rather eat in or out?

I love to go out to eat but that’s probably because we have very few options here and I rarely do! When we’re home I imagine we get takeout or eat out maybe once a month if that. Even when we’re traveling with the kids on the weekends for hockey, most of what we eat comes from the grocery store. When Joe and I travel by ourselves, it’s a different story-ha! I think on average we hit like 5 restaurants a day just to try new things!

Jamoosh asked:

What is your perfect Distance?

Well, after my last marathon, I’ve decided my perfect distance is 19 miles. I’ve actually decided that next time I am going to sign up for a 19 mile marathon and I think I will do quite well! Joking aside, for sure my favorite distance is the marathon or potentially beyond at some point. My LEAST favorite distance currently is the Half Marathon which is somewhat surprising maybe. Of course this is always changing....If I ran a good one, it would become my favorite-ha!! It actually used to be my favorite. I don’t like running 5K/10K’s necessarily but I feel less pressure with them and time goals during marathon training. The HM is the only distance I am currently fighting with McMillan on. I haven’t truly run one hard since 2009.

Lisa@Eat.Pray.Run asked:

What's your favorite food spot (locally) and what would you suggest eating there?

Definitely Jake’s pizza! Small little hole in the wall that makes a brick oven thin crust pizza TDF. I always order the Oven Combo-no meat and I could clear a whole pizza off myself-ha! My favorite spot for a date night or atmosphere is the “Brickhouse” which is a restaurant built into an old creamery. I usually only order the spinach artichoke dip (which is NOT good for you) and wine here though.

What's your favorite local running spot/route?

Hard to say I have a favorite but I have a few that I use quite often . There is a 4 mile loop around my house. It includes ditch trail and gravel and actually has a downhill and an uphill which is rare around here. I also love to go way up by the Canadian border on a somewhat deserted highway. In the winter, I always run in town because of the streetlights but I much prefer to be out in the country by my lonesome!

Jill asked:

Do you ever wish you lived elsewhere?

I try not to dwell on things I wish were different and just be content with my situation, but yes, I often wish I lived elsewhere. We moved here after my sister died to be closer to my family. It would make a lot of sense in MANY ways for us to live elsewhere and we've contemplated doing this SEVERAL times..... On the other hand, my kids are so happy, I have great friends, schools are good, my family is here. When Max graduates from high school, Joe and I have plans to move for sure...

If yes to #1, and you moved to say Colorado (yay!!) where hockey is not popular, what do you think your kids would do instead?

Hmmm…..I think soccer is a great team sport. We don’t have it here because of the short season. I would for sure encourage Reese with running, I think Ryan would be a good swimmer-very strong arms and shoulders, Max loves baseball. My younger 2 would adjust quickly. Ryan is much more invested in her sport. We would have to figure something out with her….

If moola were not an option, what race would you like to do the most?

Kind of touched on this in my last answer post. For now, I would like to knock off the other two major US marathons (Chicago and NYC). There are marathons in Maine, Idaho, Vermont, and California I would also like to run in the next few years. Outside of the United States, South Africa or Ireland are both on my list along with London and Berlin of course. Pretty specific here-ha!

How many pairs of boots are on your fall shopping budget?

Ha ha Jill! You remember my midnight shopping obsession in search of the perfect boots! I have 3 kids in traveling hockey who will play 160 games this year. My boot budget as far as fashion over function has dwindled from not much to none-ha!

What is your highest mileage?

I’m not exactly positive of this. I once ran 82 because of a Sunday then Saturday long run but as a true week, in the mid 70’s.

If you could get free coaching from like an elite marathon coach, would you do it (beings you like to do your own thang :))?

Free coaching from an elite marathon coach. That would be pretty hard to turn down. Yes, I like to do my own thing and no, I’m not willing to spend money on a coach nor have I really desired a coach at this point but this would be interesting. Yes:)

Would you pace a friend in his/her come-back marathon after being injured for like a year, even it it meant being agonizingly slow?

I don’t think you will be agonizingly slow Jill and what marathon are we running?

When are you coming to Colorado to hang with me?

I will, I promise:)

OK-I still have a few more to get to which I will eventually here! I'm pretty sure Raina is the only one who actually might have a clue why my husband would use tampons. I'm not exactly sure if it's because her husband uses them too or she's just a smart lady:)

Life, training and Oops 22.4......

2011-07-24T11:28:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally signed into my blog after a bit of a hiatus here....Sometimes we need a break if we can't keep up with everything else in life and I think that's OK:)

Life ramblings:

I was back to work full time this week which is only 4 days but long ones. The county fair was in town which meant I went pretty much directly from work to the fair every evening. This is such a big deal around here. Everything you would imagine a podunk County Fair to be. My girls pretty much take off on their own but Max needs someone over 48 inches for the rides so I had to swallow it up and ride the Ball of fire, the Zipper, the Sizzler. I HATE spinny rides. I love rollercoasters etc. but post children I CANNOT handle this spinny shit. I felt so nauseous after the Sizzler that I literally had to stand bent over with my head between my knees. Oh-the things I do for my child....

One of my duties as a hockey parent includes flipping burgers at the arena stand at the fair. It is really a lot of fun to flip burgers over a hot grill when it is already 105 degrees outside. I was SO hot and greasy and disgusting!!!! We're supposed to butter the buns and then put them on the grill (heart attack??) so after about an hour I stopped buttering them and just started wiping them across my forehead.

Max won a Goldfish on one of the games. I had been held up for the THOUSANDTH time by bumping into someone I knew and chatting away (this is hard in a small town, I know everyone and I like to talk) Joe took Max and Reese over to play this ping pong Goldfish game while I yapped. By the time I made it over Max was holding this fish in a bag of water with the biggest smile on his face! I got a big smile on my face too until Reese piped up that Joe had spent $50 to win this fish. FIFTY freakin' dollars-ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! I tell you, I spent the rest of the night prying the diamonds out of my wedding ring to go in the bottom of the fishbowl....How does my son rate here!!! I wanted Joe to buy me a bottle of water and it was $3 so he thought I could probably wait until we got home....

Weather has been absolutely CRAZY this week. Record high temps and humidity early in the week which made for a sweltering hot house. We don't have AC and I actually considered sleeping in an ice bath one night. This morning 57 degrees-GO FIGURE!! Only in Minnesota!

Yesterday I headed to the Northwest Angle which is just a gorgeous part of MN with my two best friends. Last minute plan but it worked since Joe was not traveling! We stayed overnight and spent most of the night gabbing and drinking wine. Actually, I was NOT drinking wine, just kinda pretending to drink wine....Easier than making a scene to my non running friends about how not only do I have to leave early in the morning to run but now I'm not going to participate in the wine drinking.....the things we do for our sport..... Honestly I really WANTED to drink wine-a lot of it! Anyway, I had a wonderful time.

Do you ever "fake" drink because of running or am I the only 35 year old coward here-ha!

Training:

So, I just completed week 3 of my marathon training plan. I finally feel like my legs are coming around and my confidence is climbing a bit. SO much better than last week both mentally and physically. Just over 71 miles (not what I planned for) and some good quality workouts in some DEATHLY heat and humidity (even at 5am when I run). Thank God we are finally cooling down around here!! Hitting paces (other than MP) is sometimes a challenge for me and I struggled through a hill workout on Friday but I'm managing to do OK here and I'm feeling good:)

Headed out on my long run this morning after sneaking home from the cabin by 5 am. My husband joined me. We almost NEVER run together. We are both pigheaded and do much better on our own-ha! Once I started running I couldn't even remember exactly what my plan said I was supposed to do (somewhere around 13 miles with some MP intervals) Frankly, I didn't care. The long run is generally my favorite run of the week and sometimes after following this structure all week I just want to RUN even if it means breaking away from my plan and doing my own thing. Now, I really DO plan to stick to my plan this time around and not CONSTANTLY do my own thing but I think I will be a little flexible with the long run. The route we took has options for 12, 14, 16, 18 miles or a complete loop of 22.4. Joe doesn't follow a plan so he was game for whatever although his longest run in almost a year has been only 13 miles. I anticipated we would run about 16 (funny though how when I went to throw out water bottles prior to the run, I snuck one at mile 18 of the loop....) Gorgeous weather-the humidity still at 93% but only 57 degrees which felt so AWESOME and truly made a huge difference in my pace vs. effort. I knew by mile 15 that we were going the whole loop. Just one of those days and I capitalized on it whether it was stupid or not.

SO-that's all my news. I'm back to only 2 days of work this week so hopefully I will have a little more free time. I still plan to get out my answers to the Q and A post but a little behind here:)

Some big races this weekend. IM Lake Placid today, a couple of HM's and I'm sure many others! So excited to see how they go!!

Q and A Part One!!!

2011-07-18T21:23:00.000-05:00

OK-I'm taking a couple minutes from sweating my skin off to post part one of these questions and answers! If anyone was wondering, we are in a HEAT advisory with real feel temps of near 120 in parts of Minnesota and horribly humidity. Also, I have read MANY posts the last two days that I haven't gotten around to getting comments on. For example SHAWN who already posted his answers before I got out my questions so NOW I have to ask him questions so he can write a specific answer post dedicated entirely to me....Also, XLMIC who wore a loincloth to her HS reunion, Caroline who had a great 9 miler, Kristin who's rockin' out P90X, Britt who's completed 6 or maybe 7-ha! weeks of training and who is ALSO suffering through this midwest HEATfest, naked Jess, and AJH and Marcia who have also posted answers!! The list goes on and on. Darn, how do I get so behind so fast!! So here goes. I just threw these out and perhaps I even disagree with myself on some of them-ha!

Caroline asked:

Do you miss Canada? How long have you been in the US? Are you a citizen?

No, I don’t miss Canada per se. It’s 10 miles from my house if I NEED MacIntosh’s Toffee and easily accessible. I’ve lived in the US for 25 years but I am still not a citizen. I’m a permanent resident and I have a Canadian Passport. I am working on my citizenship now.

Do you have a middle name? I don't.

Middle name is Lynn. Very unique and original.

What is the one thing you wish for your fantastic kids?

Geez-one thing! I want EVERYTHING for them! Integrity, self respect, happiness, success, health, financial security and all the other cliché things a mother wishes for her children! (I know this is a copout answer-ha)

What makes you mad?

When people judge my parenting. When people hurt my kids. When people tell me what to do.

What is the hardest part of motherhood so far?

Sitting back and letting my kids make mistakes. Mistakes I could maybe prevent but ones they need to make…..Letting them fight their own battles. Staying out of what in essence does NOT pertain to me and letting them learn how to deal with tough situations…….Seeing them disappointed. Truly disappointed. This BREAKS me……

Did you start by running shorter distances in races before trying the marathon?

Yes, I started running right after Reese was born. 2 miles or less at a time and very intermittently. My first race was a 5K in 2007. The fall of 2008 was my first HM. October of 2009, my first marathon.

Money is not a problem: what is your dream race?

Wow, this is tough. I’m not sure I have a single dream race! So many that I would love to run! As far as a dream course, I am so oblivious to my surroundings half the time while I’m racing that I’m not sure I have a dream race as much as dream places in which I would love to run!

Who would you like to meet?

You:)

Guilty pleasure? Come on....you can say you are a fan of Snookie. We will not judge...well maybe...

Ha ha! I have many guilty pleasures:) Not a fan of Snookie though! I’ve been sucked in by this creation called Cherry Coke Zero. I haven’t drank pop/soda for years. For some reason I had one of these about 8 weeks ago and now I’ve added a can of it a day to my diet. I’m not sure I can give it up!!!

Julie asked:

Do people always comment on your amazing legs? Do people ever call you "legs"? What are your nicknames?

I need to stroke my ego for a bit before I answer this!! Thankyou Julie! I’m currently looking at my legs and seeing that I should probably shave them. My husband often comments on this-ha! I have never been called “legs”! Joe calls me “babe” . My sister Christy calls me “Nenny”. Everyone else calls me Jenn. I almost never go by Jennifer or Jenny.

Ana Maria asked:

If you could not run, what would you do instead?

In terms of exercise…… If I could still bike, I would likely pour myself into that. Many other options but at this point I still want a competitive outlet. Can’t really see myself being fulfilled this way by Zumba (I’m not a hater people, just not for me)!!

Would you still run/exercise even if it would not affect how you look?

Yes. I definitely get way more benefits from running than just the way it affects my body. It’s more of a goal setting, accomplishment, competitive outlet for me at this point. It’s also been great balance for me-this physical thing for myself so that I don’t get caught up living vicariously through my kids and their athletic endeavors. That being said, I DO for sure have a vanity card. Much of the strength training I’ve done has probably been less for actual strength and more for vanity….. What if…What if I had a magic fairy that gave me the perfect body regardless? Thinking out loud. Nope, I would run/workout anyway. I like the challenge, I love training (I love to bitch about it too but I love it)

Any thoughts on retirement, when kids are off to college? Any big or small dreams for those years?

Ahh! I will be 46 when my son goes off to college. My husband 50. My oldest, Ryan, will be 24. I could essentially be a grandma by this point (I’m not encouraging this!!!!) Anyway, we have many many dreams but most of them simple. We will move for sure, downsize, travel…I see us biking together a lot…some might depend on our kids...I know, I'm not overly specific here.

When are you moving to Arlington MA, so we could run together on the Minuteman bikepath?

I WISH!!

What do you do at night since you obviously sleep so little?

I work on Q and A posts! Sometimes fill online shopping carts that I never buy. When I ban myself from the computer, often times I sit in my living room on the couch in front of the picture window and read or just think…..You would think I would be considerably smarter for how much thinking I do-ha ha!! I’ve been sleeping quite well this last couple of weeks-knock on wood.

How did you pick your kids names (love them!).

Ryan was the name of a female DJ on the radio when I was pregnant. I liked it but it was just one of many names I was considering. I mentioned it to my MIL. She HATED it so that pretty much sealed the deal-ha ha! Joe picked Reese’s name. He was separated from us for 5 months when I was pregnant with her. I called him after my ultrasound and he mentioned the name. (I’m pretty sure I had mentioned it before and he DIDN’T like it until it was HIS idea) Max’s name is Carson Maxwell. We were going through a big flood here when I was pregnant with him and our house was like an island. I was flipping through a baby name book and came across Carson which meant “son of the marshdwellers” Seemed fitting! We called him Carson for 6 weeks until my MIL decided he needed a nickname and started calling him “Sonny” I changed his name to Max. See a theme here-ha! (*disclaimer-I do love my MIL)

Have you ever been a blond?

I have been a blond! Very blonde-One time. I came home after my hairstylist talked me into it and asked Joe his opinion. He paused, then laughed and told me I looked like a low budget porn star. I responded that if he was watching low budget porn, he had a whole helluva lot more to worry about than the color of my hair….

What's your running dream?

Moving to Arlington and running on the bikepath with you-ha! Hmmm-not sure if I have but one dream right now. I would love to run the other 4 marathon majors. Hopefully starting with Chicago next fall, NYC the following year. I’m fairly content with gradually working toward smaller more immediate dreams at this point specifically my elusive 3:15 this fall.

XLMIC asked:

Do you guys share tampons? What is his favorite brand? Is that also yours?

Sometimes we share. He always takes all the super absorbency and leaves me with the others…..I think he likes Tampax pearl but I usually just buy him the Equate Walmart brand.

Have you ever watched a pornographic movie…even a 'tame' one…in its entirety? Which one? What did you think?

I’m SO shocked by your question! Not really-ha! I knew you would give me one of these!! Truthfully-you want the dirt!! Here it is. No, I have never watched even a tame pornographic movie in it’s entirety.... I did once see a monkey sucking on his WANG when I was googling something about the zoo. Does this count? Being blatently honest, yes, I've seen porn (not in it's entirety) in my lifetime. It's TOTALLY not my thing. Truly, NOT my thing.

Did you ever play hockey on a team like your kids do?

I have never played hockey on a team like my kids. I did play on a Mom’s team, the last 2 winters. We had a blast and WOW did we gain some respect for our kids. This is a ridiculously tough physical sport. Even in my best shape, I can’t keep up with a 10 year old on the ice!!

When you first ran, did just love it or did you hate it?

The first time I ran I for a purpose was the mile in gym class. I hated it. There was absolutely nothing about running that sounded appealing to me.

Were just relatively speedy from the start…or were you ever butt-slow?

Butt-slow and speedy-both relative! I did not wear a watch when I first started running. I had NO idea of my pace. In 2007 I ran a 5k but I think my longest run was maybe 2.8 miles prior to the race. My time was 24:54. That was a DANG hard effort.

What ingredients are in your favorite flavor of hotdish? And if I ever ate dinner at your house, would you make it for me?

Tator hots, hamburger, and cream of mushroom soup. KIDDING-blech…. No, I will not make you hotdish. My kids are SO Minnesotan. I never make hotdish but if we hit a potluck they cram this crap on their plates! Maybe Ryan would make it for you!

Part two coming AT SOME POINT!

My spectating Race Report and Kudos to my kiddo!!

2011-07-16T19:09:00.000-05:00

I wimped out of a 10K this morning because of the projected heat. I hadn't mentioned it on my blog which was wimping out before even wimping out-ha! I'm not entirely sorry I didn't run because I wasn't in the right place with it anyway. I'm quite certain I would not have had a good race today. For me to race well, I need to feel confident, excited, motivated....not tired, scared, and reluctant and I just couldn't shake this yuck (somewhat brought on by my EXTREME distaste for racing in heat)....I'm still learning to grasp the concept that races can be run and serve a BIG purpose even when they are not PR attempts. Tough conditions produce tough runners-right?? I know this, I just don't like to accept it. I've got to swallow my pride and get over myself...In fact, I'm going to make myself a challenge here....I'm not usually one to back down from a challenge...Babble babble

Moving on....I assumed my 10 year old daughter Reese might also want to wimp out (5k) since she had just run a mother of a heat race on the 4th of July (which was a bit of a disappointment for her) but NO, she's tougher than mom!

87 degrees, heat index 99, 94% humidity by 8:00 am (race start at 9). I had the patio door open in my kitchen overnight and the hardwood floor was soaking wet from all the humidity in the air. I wiped out walking to get the cereal out of the cupboard.

Took this picture before leaving the house. You can see how thick the air is. I could hardly breath. Drove to the race with Reese and Max and started my "mom" speech trying to prep my little peanut for the possibility of this not being the "best" race. Add to the fact, she has not run one time since July 4th with a busy summer schedule!(Yes, I need to mow my lawn)

This is Reese a few minutes before the start. Small town race starting and finishing on the track. 5K/10K start together and I think maybe 100 runners total. My friend Heidi is behind her in the light blue tank. She runs a 2:54 marathon which is not even her specialty yet! She is also a totally ripped, freakin' machine and the most beautiful runner I've ever seen. Skipping running today to just watch her along the course was worth it!!

Coming off the track after the opening lap!

Poor Reese! All by her lonesome by this point!! Hard to run without anyone pushing you on either side. I was able to catch her on my bike throughout the race which was fun!!

I love this picture. She is so HOT and just sweating bullets and poor baby still has like .75 miles to go!!

Coming up to the track to finish. My vehicle is the one with the lights on. I left it parked there since Max was throwing up in the back seat. As she ran by he stuck his hand out the window and she ran over and gave him a high five! God, I love my kids!!

Hot sweaty mess but finally done!!

Heidi winning the 10K by a mile even though it was just part of a regular workout for her, not a race. I think 38 something-not bad for a fun run! She WILL run 2:50 in Chicago. NICE legs:)

First place in my age group was 47 something.....I tell you EVERY race I don't run ends up like this.

I was SO proud of Reese for this race. I was like a spectator cheater and handed her a wet frozen washcloth at like mile 2. She wrapped it around the back of her neck and just kept pushing forward. She pulled out a massive kick on the track and finished 4 seconds short of a PR according to my watch which was set with the gun. 23min. They had a bit of a finish clock malfunction as it didn't start with the gun or something and they had to start it at 1 minute elapsed or something odd and they were still working on adjusting times. For now, I'm going by my watch which is fantastic considering the conditions out there!! SO happy for her and really a good confidence builder as she beat a girl by over a minute who had beaten her the race before. Reese TOTALLY remembers these things and I LOVE it!!

I am working on my answers for my Q and A post. I think I will have to make more than one post to get through these! Ask until Monday and then I will close up and try to finish my responses!

Have a great weekend everyone! I'm heading out for 18-my longest since the marathon tomorrow morning. I'm hoping to be running by around 5 am to beat at least the blazing sun. This whole week projected to be 90's and sunny. I'm almost thankful to be in air conditioning at work every day!!

Ask away! Q and A with Jenn!

2011-07-15T18:08:00.002-05:00

So, anyone heard of this Q and A thing going around. I'm sure not. It's VERY rare.... Well, I guess I'm in. Time to play:)

WITH JENN

I've been tagged by XLMIC for one of three reasons. I'm either an already known oversharer, she thinks I will actually play along and not blush and walk away, or the more boring alternative, she just wants to know more about me....

SO, just this one time I am allowing, actually inviting, and promising to answer ANY question that comes my way whether I have to down two bottles of Cab before I work on the post or not. Questions welcomed but not limited to running. Wanna know why I actually buy tampons for my husband and how he uses them, or how many perogies I once ate in one sitting, or what sports I played in high school? Unlike XLMIC, your questions will not likely elicit a video or ~~pornographic~~ photographic response! I will save that for my other blog....Fire Away!!

I am working full time next week so I will leave the questions open but likely not start answering until the weekend.

So, I also need to tag 5 more people. This is all in fun. If you don't want to do it, DON'T! If you want to do it but make your own specifics, I don't care!! Pretty random with my selection here! Have fun:)

Amanda@runninghood
Kristin@Will Run for Wine
Quinton@Q on the Move
Shawn@Chasing Immortality 1 mile at a time
Lindsay@Chasing the Kenyans

In other quick news.

*I'm posting my training info. on my side bar above my blog roll, today anyway. I'm not sure if I will leave this up or not. I'm wishy washy on this. And yes, I have done a few runs between October 1, 2008 and today but I've not yet imported my data:)

*My son got an invite to play on the Northern Wings Select Hockey team. He is SO excited. I am excited for him. He's so much fun to watch!!

*Like I said, I'm back to work next week. I've been enjoying this extra time off and free time to catch up with some of you and finally get through my inbox but I also get anxious for my routine. I'm way more organized when I'm busy and I waste WAY less time doing NOTHING....

Little trip, little training:)

2011-07-14T18:51:00.000-05:00

Finally back home! I always look forward to getting away and then can't wait to get home! I've decided to let my suitcases unpack themselves here and sit back for a few minutes.

I actually wrote a really good long deep blog post in my mind on my run this morning. Apparently, when I stop running, I lose all logical thought so it's tucked away until one day when perhaps I will do a "Run with Jenn while getting inside her mind" post-ha! Hmmm-may lose a few followers after that one but I'm OK with that as I noticed I've already lost a few lately...Not of great concern to me.

Random Trip Tidbits

*Had a really fantastic time with my own family and my sister and her family. Fishing, picnics, hiking, exploring, Frisbee, baseball, walks, sushi, wine, running, even waterslides....FYI-swimwear companies. There should be a tag on ALL swimwear stating *This item is appropriate for waterslides. It will NOT ride up or fall off!!

*Went to the movie Bridesmaids with my sister finally. Oh Wow, we were bellering SO loud in the theater. I'm laughing just thinking about it....

*Got to spend a ton of time with my adorable 2 and 1 year old niece and nephew which reinforced to me how thankful I am that I had no more children! Gosh-I forgot how much work little kids are!! We were having some trouble having a conversation so we set my niece Liza up with 17 pairs of underwear to keep her busy. It worked.

Random Training Tidbits

*Since my last post, I've managed to stick to my training plan pretty well. I run 6 days a week and although I rarely take a full rest day I usually give my legs a full day off anyway. Last Saturday was a scheduled day off but I ended up on an impromptu bike ride with a friend. What I thought was going to be a short joyride turned into a 32 mile ride at much harder effort than I was imagining. It's been over 8 weeks since I rode more than 20 miles. I really enjoyed this and since my scheduled long run was only 13 miles on Sunday it was OK.

*I ran early on Sunday morning before we left. I was WAY short on time as I didn't plan very well. Decided to ignore my planned workout and ended up pushing my pace for time. Felt rough for the first 5 but then able to bring my pace up and avg 7:36 for all 13.

*The last 4 days have been a lot of hills! Not long hills but short constant hills. Up down up down up down.

*Managed a speed workout on Tuesday. A little over 8 miles with 5X3 min@5K uphill. Well, the numbers on my Garmin were NOT agreeing with McMillan's. This run was SO tough for me. I felt like I was pushing HARD and man I felt rough!! My following easy run was indicative of my effort though because I was SLOW as molasses and tired on that run.

*I went to set up a RunningAhead account. I follow some people's training through this site and thought I would be interested in doing it. Upon trying to register my email, I was alerted that I already had an account. An account which I had logged like over 50 runs in 2008. Am I completely losing it!!! I have no memory of this!! I know it's me as 2 of my races are logged and the times are right!!

*Planned to run a track race tonight when we got home. I'm tired, my legs are tired, my butt and my hamstrings are tight. I was actually in running clothes in my car and decided at the last minute not to do it. I'm kinda pissed at myself right now since there is no track next week because of the fair.

*Got my new race shoes in the mail. I've never worn racing flats. I wear almost exclusively Brooks Launch these days just rotating pairs. I usually have about 4 pairs going at once. I ordered these for shorter distance and I'm considering giving them a whirl soon.

OK-off to organize and catch up with all of you after dark!! Peace out

Not dead, just kidnapped by sunshine:)

2011-07-08T21:10:00.003-05:00

So-I am not dead. I FEEL dead today and I think I smell like a dead body after sweating to death all afternoon on the beach but NOPE, not dead. I have been really absent lately but the two weeks of summer we get in Minnesota can do that to a person! Also, the fact that I've had a normal family this week with my husband home!! I could try to organize here but instead I'm resorting to my typical format of unproofed unorganized pictures and thoughts.

*Had a great 4th of July weekend!

(seriously don't know how this girl next to Reese could be wearing black tights in over 90 degrees. I considered running naked it was so hot)

*Ran a 5K with my daughter Reese. This was a tough race for her with the heat but still ended up a good day as the 3 runners in this family all came home with AG medals. A 1st, 2nd, and 3rd:)

*Officially started my marathon training plan on Monday-the 4th. I was SUPER excited to actually start this! I'm using a modified Hudson plan that tops out in the low 70's.

*Almost through week one which will net me 61 miles mostly at easy pace. Good stuff starts next week:)

*I'm back to running early mornings which I LOVE in the summer. Winter, not so much but summer, just starts my day off right!!!!

We are heading out on a little family trip leaving on Sunday! I'm so excited to have some time with my kids doing stuff like this:

I will also get opportunity to run this again:

Instead of my typical this:

And to be truly random a picture from mile 20 of my marathon. Yes, I'm walking and yes, this is one of my better moments:) Death captured on camera....(and why is this guy in the cotton t-shirt beating me....perhaps because he's still running and I'm WALKING)

That's a wrap! Seriously off to catch up with some of you here while I lay on the floor typing and my husband (aka cheap massage therapist) tries to murder me by working on my right hamstring! Have a great weekend:)

Shoutouts via video!

2011-07-02T18:08:00.000-05:00

So, two posts in one day now! If you missed your chance to go on a simulated video run with me through desolate barren blech, you can check out my last post. Here's my video shoutout! Hope you all have a great 4th!!!!

Run with Jenn via video-First and Final episode!

2011-07-02T09:04:00.000-05:00

Morning! Crazy wild weekend around these parts! No time to blog so tried to multitask here. WARNING! Extremely boring scenery and babbling rambling runner in links below......ha!

I DO have a Shoutout video to post later today when I get home and can get it uploaded. Less heavy breathing in that one:)

Hope everyone woke up to the BEAUTIFUL sunshine we have here!!!

ALMOST marathon training and of course unrelated other stuff......

2011-06-29T23:31:00.000-05:00

Two posts in one week! I know, SHOCKING!! Sorry to disappoint but this one won't be any less random than the last! I'm coming to the realization that my blog is like "swamp water" or "suicide pop". A mix of everything in the same glass. I sometimes start to fill it with just one flavor but by the end, a big old mix and on a good day or after midnight you guys might even get some vodka thrown in with it!!! At least the glass is usually half full:)

TO THE BULLETS!!!

*Apparently majority has ruled against the hair flip....I just can't imagine why.

*Found this little note on the counter the other morning next to my coffee maker. Honestly, I have the GREATEST kid (who also wanted to go to a sleepover but I will pretend I don't understand ulterior motives because this card was so sweet)

*Both of my girls volunteer at the nursing home in a program called Junior Volunteers during the school year. They ride the bus from school on Mondays and hang out with the residents playing games, visiting etc. for about an hour. It's a great program, many kids do it, and they both really enjoy it. Anyway, school has been out for a couple of weeks and Reese has been asking me to take her to see Dorothy because Dorothy made her PROMISE to come and visit in the summer. Sometimes I get caught up with the busyness of life and I'm not sure I had actually heard Dorothy's name specifically before but I agreed to run her in to say "hi" quickly after work this evening. Upon entering Dorothy's room, I saw a bulletin board with about 7-8 pictures of MY daughter, no one else.....This woman's face lit up like a LIGHT BULB when she saw Reese, honestly brought me to tears INSTANTLY! Those of you with kids who have an opportunity to have them be involved in a program like this, DO it!!!!!!

*I am getting EXCITED to start marathon training again on Sunday. REALLY EXCITED!!! I know, I just finished marathon training and 2 weeks ago I was anxious for it to be over.....I'm honestly not even sure why I'm so excited this time around. Maybe the longer days, the calm mornings, summer track, the fact that I'm NOT over scheduled with life for the next two months.....I don't know what it is but I'm goin' with it!!! Reading Run Faster for like the 4th time since I obviously have no memory retention and getting my plan together here! I'm over that last mishap AKA Grandma's marathon and ready to move on to Twin Cities in 13 in a half weeks!!!

*Went for a short run tonight. Only 4.7 miles but brought my pace up quite a bit for the first time since the race. Planning to run about 50 miles this week with 45.3 of them easy:) My legs are a little sore after avoiding lower body strength for about 6 weeks and then pretending I hadn't lost a beat....my legs and my BUTT!! Note to self-DO NOT avoid lower body strength.

*Temp was over 80 and the heat index in the 90's today. I am planning for 9-10 miles before work tomorrow since the heat index will be over 100 by the time I'm home from work. It was 54 degrees two days ago. Gotta love Minnesota weather!!

*Big party on Friday night! Dress up, makeup, hair down, big people party! Hmmm-can I wear Lulu pants to a big people party?

So thereyahavit! A little midweek update! Happy Wednesday!

I'm BAACK!! Monday Ramblings:)

2011-06-27T17:29:00.151-05:00

Ahhhh Recovery!! What does this mean?? Why, it means posts related to very important topics like why I have a $700 deer head mount now hanging on my wall (Whaa??), and what I should do with my hair at my MUCH NEEDED appointment on Friday of course!!!!

First things first-The Deer head...

I came home from work the week before last to find this lovely stuffed creature hanging on my family room wall.... My husband is seriously IN LOVE with it!!! I am constantly catching him averting my eyes and stealing a quick glance at his newfound PRIZED possession. When I downloaded my marathon pictures that he took there were 9 TOTAL pictures of me. There were 17 pictures of the deer head...... Last week, I was typing at the computer late at night, kids in bed, stuffed animal hanging behind me.... Joe comes downstairs and says out of the blue "I LOVE YOU" in a really meaningful thoughtful purposeful way. I turn around and he is stroking both sides of this freakin' deer head and gazing into it's eyes....Freak!! As if it's not bad enough that I have to even have this on my wall, it's hanging RIGHT NEXT to my treadmill! Like, Bambi's creepy, glassy eyed, dead daddy is my now my new running partner!!! Well, I've decided to put him to good use...

*And again the disclaimer if anyone should not know me by now. I DON'T think my husband is really a freak....

Moving on to the equally important topic of haircuts!

My hair is long. I haven't had more than a trim in over a year. I sweat like a pig and during the marathon I almost put my ponytail in my mouth and started gnawing it off with my teeth because it was driving me crazy slapping against my back. I don't know what to do with it. Looking back at past pictures, I can find a few that quite obviously show what I SHOULD NOT do with it. I was thinking about going back to this length but not wearing 5 inch hot rollers to bed??? WHAT IS UP WITH THE SUPER FLIP!! Sadly, this was only 1 year ago. I'm trapped in Northern Minnesota-we are a little behind.....

Seems like forever since I've done a weekend update so a few random bullets to go with the rest of this captivating post...

*On the road again this weekend. Ryan's hockey team won the North American Pepsi Cup AAA hockey tournament. 16 wins in a row for these girls. FANTASTIC team and fun to watch. She took a big hit on Sunday and lay crumpled for awhile while the EMT's tested her for a concussion. Not sure that's my favorite part of the game...

*Ended up in the ER with Max for an ear infection on our travels. I generally let these run their course and he doesn't have many anymore but this one was just making him MISERABLE. Poor little guy.

*Reese played her final volleyball tournament of the J.O. season today. Another day in the car but after this week we finally get to enjoy summer!!!! I say this as it's 54 degrees and raining outside....

*I only ran 12 easy miles last week. BY FAR, the biggest recovery I've ever done but sickness, fear of injury again perhaps, forced me to just relax a bit this time. I went out for 10 miles/8:08 avg. late this afternoon and my legs feel great and ready to go. I will run without a plan this week and then barrel into a 13 week modified Hudson training plan for my fall marathon.

Off to the gym to meet up with my workout buddies who will taunt me for my weakness and reprimand me for my absense the last few weeks......

So Thereyago, Don't Cha Know!! Apparently, I have a bit of a Minnesota accent as noted by a friend who has known me only through blogging and email until recently. I won't be too offended as this friend also thinks Fargo is in Minnesota:) Happy Monday!

Finally the RR....

2011-06-24T08:44:00.001-05:00

So, to the actual LONG LONG report. Part of me would like to just sweep this under the rug and talk about how I should get my hair cut instead, but here goes:

To my unspoken goals....
A goal: 3:14:59
B goal: PR-3:18:36
C goal: get my ass to Boston
Actual time: 3:20:16

Prerace:

*traveled overnight on Friday to Duluth from Ryan's hockey tournament. We were prepared to sleep in the car (due to my cheapness and my unwillingness to pay $400 for a 2 night required hotel stay when I only needed 3 hours). An unexpected act of kindness from some hockey parents on the opposing team Friday night and a leap of faith outside of my comfort zone found me sleeping in the house of a COMPLETE stranger ONE block from the shuttle pickup! SINGLE GREATEST WEEKEND BLESSING!

*Woke up race morning after 2 and a half solid hours of sleep not feeling too hot-bloated! HEIGHT of PMS since for the one time in like FOREVER my clockwork cycle decided to fail me-TMI....I did however feel mentally ready to run! I was EXCITED, a little nervous, but confident! It was RAINING HARD, the air was still humid/thick, and windy but NOT sweltering hot like I initially feared!! Reminded myself that rain was better than blazing sun!!!! I was apparently the ONLY unprepared marathoner waiting for the shuttle as I had no garbage bag over me, no bags on my race shoes which I was wearing (Everyone else had their race shoes in their check bags) Fortunately, I had on a lightweight jacket that kept my shirt pretty dry but by the time I got on the bus, my shoes were soaked and I was WET! The bus ride was good! I was super annoying Chatty Cathy and I'm pretty sure everyone just wanted me to shutup.... Reminded me so much of Boston since Grandma's is also a point to point course!! The bus arrived to the race start about 6 am. STILL raining and race didn't start until 7:30 am. I had an hour and a half to kill standing in the rain-no shelter.

*Adapt and Problem solve as Ana Maria says!!!! There were no lines for the port o potties being I was on one of the first buses. They were clean and unused. I set up shop in one and hung out protected from the rain reading blogs on my phone and thinking of AM starting her race! By the time I finally came out, the rain was stopped and all in all the weather was much more desirable. Not ideal by any means with the humidity in the air but actually quite unexpectedly cool and much more desirable!!!

*Checked my bag and made my way up the start corral to line up. After pushing through LOADS of people to get there, I realized I had checked my handheld water bottle in my bag which had some of my gels in the pocket. I generally take 5 in a marathon and drink TONS of water. I have a SYSTEM and I find COMFORT in it. I tried to make my way back to retrieve it and realized I would never make it. I had 2 Gu's with me still and started to plan a strategy for using them.

TO THE RACE:

I lined up a bit in front of the 3:20 pacer. My unwritten secret plan was to run approximately a 1:39 first half and then bring up the pace for a 1:35-1:36 second half. I felt this was TOTALLY doable based on the course, my training paces, my races, and my history of running quite well progressively. I'm not the type to overestimate my abilities and I almost ALWAYS reach goals I set for myself.

To the best of my memory which may have failed me a bit here....
Miles 1-5

The gun went off and I started running. Planned to go out as relaxed as possible in the first mile and hopefully end up between 7:45 and 8:00. Clocked a 7:47 and it felt just right. First water stop at mile 3 where I downed two cups of it. Just before the 5 mile mark, I decided to take one of my 2 Gu's. My logic was that I could take one at 5, one at 10, this would bring me strong to 15 and I would try to drink Powerade (which I NEVER drink) to get me through. I was MORE afraid of crashing early and then mentally struggling and know that I process Gu much better before I feel that I need it. Felt very strong and easy through mile 5. Weather was not bothering me too much and I felt good. Weird feeling right at mile 5 after I had taken the Gu. My heart just started fluttering and breathing was all awkward for a few seconds but then it passed and I felt fine.

Miles 5-10

Slightly rolling course but by far the "easiest" course I've run. No monster climbs and about mile 8 or 9 you began running right along Lake Superior which is beautiful. I had another weird short yuck feeling around mile 7 but again it passed as quickly as it came. Took another Gu around the 9 mile water stop and subsequently ran a 7:12 mile 10. Dang this stuff works good for me!!! Things were feeling great

Miles 10-15.

Starting at mile 11, I stopped drinking water. I decided to try for Powerade only which was in retrospect not the best decision. I HATE these kinds of sportsdrinks (I rarely drink anything other than water and once in a blue moon Heed which is easier on my stomach). I tried to drink too much here I think. I crossed the half in 1:38:42 feeling great and just where I would have liked to be at this point. My husband surprised me at 14, I wasn't expecting to see him yet and I can see myself running over this bridge with a huge smile. At this point I think I really felt like this was going to be a good race and things would come together for me. As soon as I entertained this feeling I started feeling something not so awesome going on in my stomach. It didn't slow my pace too much but it was noticeable. I skipped water and powerade at 15.

Miles 15-20.

This is somewhat of a blur. I know I was starting to feel a bit yucky mainly in my stomach by around 16 or so but my pace wasn't suffering too much (wasn't increasing as I had hoped but not overly suffering) Started feeling like I could hold pace but maybe not have the super finish kick I planned...... I remember grabbing the course Clif Shot at mile 17. Again I skipped the Powerade stop because I thought I would take the gel instead. I hadn't drank anything since 13 and was now drenched in sweat. My stomach was churning and I thought I would try to make it until 18 before I took the gel. Somewhere around 18 I started opening it and dropped it. EVERY part of me wishes I had stopped to pick it up. Instead at the mile 19 water stop, I chugged TOO much Powerade trying to make sure I wouldn't fall apart. Still managed to run mile 19 in 7:19 but shortly after, a HUGE projectile fountain erupted all over the side of the road and I really started feeling terrible. I went from a 7:19 to a FULL stop and then a brief walk somewhere around mile 20 when I saw my husband on the side of the road. He offered me my other handheld but I couldn't take it. It was filled with Heed and even the word HEED made me gag. He came right on the course with me and told me I was on pace for a really good PR and to just bring in the last 6. He was saying stuff about how many texts he was getting from my family and friends etc. and how they were all cheering and I remember looking and telling him to call them and tell them I was FALLING APART. I felt positively AWFUL. When I started running again, my legs did NOT want to cooperate. They enjoyed stopping WAY too much.

Miles 20-26.2.

Honestly I don't have a bunch of memories here except it felt like I was running into a major headwind many of these miles. Kind of a blur of dry heaves, no drinking as I knew I couldn't handle it. I was forcing out my pace and then walking seconds later. Walk, run, gag, repeat. My legs felt rough. They felt heavy and drained and unlike they've ever felt in either of my previous marathons or EVER actually. I'm pretty sure this was "the wall" which I claim to have never experienced. There was a climb "Lemondrop Hill" at mile 22. Some tattooed guy slapped me on the back and we ran up the hill together. The downhill that followed POUNDED my quads. I have strong legs, I LOVE hilly courses, downhills have generally been AWESOME for me. This was NOTHING like the downhills in Boston (this was just short and easy) but I literally grabbed both of my legs with my hands running down this hill. Somewhere after mile 25 the 3:20 pacer passed me. He had lost his ENTIRE posse. Running completely solo as far as I could tell. I thought in retrospect that if I was a pacer and had lost my WHOLE group and saw a few strugglers (me and others) right on the 3:20 barrier that perhaps I would try to encourage them to run it in with him. NOPE. Didn't matter, I had nothing.

Afterthoughts-

This is a fantastic course. Lightly rolling but most would consider it FLAT. Only one real hill at mile 22. I'm not sure flat courses play to my strengths....I believe I perform better with the muscle recovery of hills. Twin Cities is MUCH more rolling than Grandmas....

The course was extremely well organized. Very efficient with water, sponges, ice, etc. It truly is a beautiful course with a great atmosphere! I am ABSOLUTELY putting in for the half marathon here next year which is run on the back half of the course. The shirt and medal were really nice and I got a water bottle and bag as well!

*I spent a lot of time trying to process everything about this marathon. I don't feel my pacing was off at all, I do know I was having hydration and fueling issues. Even so, I just can't explain how I could feel SO awful late in the race. I've run this pace for LONG distances, I run higher mileage, I've run MULTIPLE 20's at a reasonably quick pace...There is NO doubt in my mind that my training is better, I'm faster, I'm stronger but yet on an EASIER course than Boston, I absolutely FOLDED. Furthermore, I can run a 22 mile in sub 8 and still be able to run the next day and experience little to no DOMS but 2 days later, I was struggling with stairs here. WTF!!! I need concrete answers! Ha ha! Sounds like I'm a schizo digging for reassurance. Not at all!!!!! I'm pretty sure these are just normal processings of a competitive mind. I'm really not upset. I can run a 3:20 marathon even feeling like SHIT and I need to be proud of that!!!

*For the record, I'm not about excuses.....Things could have gone PERFECTLY for me and I would have experienced the same issues. I can speculate, I can wonder but I can't state that I could run any faster than 3:20 in ANY conditions until I've proven that in a race!

*I DO have some race pictures. Wow, does pride come into play here! Not sure ANY of these will make it to the blog-HA!

So, I've been completely separated from blogland for a few days. I came down with strep throat which resulted in a 102 degree fever and MANY hours on the couch. When I wasn't on the couch, I was still running my kids around and trying to get my ducks in a row. I've managed two short 4 mile runs the last two days and my legs are feeling fine.

Again, special Thankyou to the MANY people who encouraged and supported me before, during, after the race. Was so awesome to get my check bag and look at my phone and see all the texts and and emails and FB comments and well wishes! I felt the love BIG TIME!!!!

Back to the ramblings soon and I promise to make my rounds here! Been on a bit of a prescribed computer break and just now starting to catch up! Good luck to all those racing this weekend!!!

Grandma's Marathon Mini Update

2011-06-20T10:58:00.000-05:00

***I find it easy to find encouraging words for others at times.....I find it much more difficult to find encouraging words for myself....****

I will pop this data up here IMMEDIATELY for those of you who have NO interest in reading a race report. No waiting for the second installment, or a bunch of bullshit about my race feelings yada yada yada without putting this time out there....

Am I proud of this time-YES!!! Is it what I was secretly hoping for-NO!! Am I headed back to Boston-YES!!! Did I get my PR-NO!!! Did I run hard-YES!! Did my body cooperate-NO!! Will I need to process this for some time-YES!!! Do I think I'm a failure-NO!!

I will detail my thoughts in my upcoming actual race report. I got home VERY late last night, I'm currently laid up with a fever and strep throat that I caught from my kids (did not affect me during my race) and plan to lay on the couch which I haven't done in MONTHS and watch CRAP TV!!

A few prerace pics!

I know, you're thinking I should drop this running gig and pick up a modeling job with Victoria's Secret....a preteen training bra modeling job-ha!!

Not exactly sure what this pose with the swollen slit eyes was all about....creepy!

More to come:)

Hardcore, Badass, BEOTCH!!

2011-06-16T11:47:00.000-05:00

SO, there's NO secret how much I admire this woman!! Definitely one of the most motivating people for me in this virtual world! So often I've wished I could train with her, or maybe she could just BE my trainer rather-ha!! Not only is she an AMAZING athlete with crazy wicked determination, she's an EXCELLENT training resource, a great encourager and a generous friend as she has offered to allow me to be her human fuel belt in Boston next year.... I will put on my shoe chip, then ride on her back, carry her gels and water, and finish the Boston marathon in sub 3:10!!! I'm confident that although I weigh more than her, her killer quads can handle it!!! (My memory is a little skewed here, maybe I just volunteered and she didn't offer.....)

ANYWAY, this weekend she's racing the Patriot HIM. She has worked SO hard for this, is TOTALLY ready and I'm SO EXCITED FOR HER!!!! If my math is correct for a short time we will actually be running at the same time! Kinda like running with a good friend only she will be kicking my ass after already completing 57 some odd miles of crosstraining!!

In true fashion Max and I got working on our mural. If you look closely there is a teeny tiny Ana Maria running and another teeny tiny Ana Maria swimming! I'm not sure this is a tri-bike and it kinda looks like it should have a big padded seat, a basket and a horn on the front but it came from the heart-ha ha!!!

BEST OF LUCK Ana Maria!

*Oh-and hoping you don't meet any animals in your path like the one next to me. I was too fortunate to come home from work to see it hanging on my wall yesterday! Yeah-that's a story in itself......

Reflections and Gratitude!

2011-06-14T00:51:00.000-05:00

So, 5 days left....time to reflect, time to be still, time to be thankful...

A FEW REFLECTIONS....

*One year ago this coming Thursday I laid in an MRI machine after literally being carried in there by my husband because I couldn't walk. I knew by this point I had a somewhat severe injury but wasn't altogether prepared for what was about to unfold. One year....I was told one year would be a realistic time frame to consider running another marathon.....This year has passed.

*A lot learned this year.... I am not invincible, I am not slow, I am not "too old", fast is relative, it is never too late, my body can only handle so much, I can still improve, I need to be proud of MY accomplishments, I am capable, I need only to measure myself against myself....

*I have learned that one mile running can be as rewarding as 26 under certain circumstances. An 8 minute mile on lungs that feel like they are about to explode but legs that have been ACHING to finally go is as satisfying and rewarding as a race well run.

*I've run 4 races in 2011 (not including the track). 3 PR's and a successful HM training race. I have NOT had a bad race.

*On January 2, 2011, I ran a trial marathon, not for time, in 3:37.

*In total, I've run 900+ miles the last 16 weeks (don't feel like tallying this). Higher mileage than I've run for either of my previous marathons and faster speed than I've EVER run. I am strong, I am fit, I am ready.

*I have but 3 hours and some odd minutes to showcase this 900 miles of training. Only ONE RUN....

*A finish time will not define me. My value as a person does not hinge on a finish time. I can only control what I can control. I owe it to myself to challenge myself however, to not just ACCEPT my fate but to CREATE my fate!

A LITTLE GRATITUDE.....

Driving home from one of my seemingly daily traveling expeditions this evening I just started feeling overwhelmingly grateful for my life. Watching my daughter sleep in the seat next to me....listening to music, processing my thoughts. So many things and so many people to be thankful for. I've been abundantly blessed

*I'm thankful for my husband. I'm thankful for his incredible support of my passions in life. I'm thankful for the nights when I walk in the door from work and he's got EVERYTHING taken care of because he knows I NEED to run. I'm thankful for his friendship.

*I'm thankful for my kids. So very thankful for my kids....

*I'm thankful for my parents, my sisters, my extended family and how fortunate I am to have such a close relationship with them.

*I'm thankful for the basics-health, food, shelter, financial security....

*I'm thankful for my current state of mind-the contentedness, the peace.

*I'm thankful for my body. Thankful for my strength, my power, my ability.

*I'm thankful for my two DEAR friends J and B who although they are not "runners", they understand what it means to me. I'm thankful for belly laughs, duct tape, patience and the "safety" I find in them. I'm thankful for an upcoming girls weekend with NO WORKING OUT!!

*Thankful for friends who send me things like this before a marathon. I have read this a thousand times Joni! Even when life gets crazy and busy and we don't always connect, I am so thankful for the friend I've found in you:)

*I'm thankful for the many friends I've made through this blog. So many people who have continually encouraged me. I read MANY blogs for MANY different reasons. I'm INSPIRED and MOTIVATED by MANY people for MANY different reasons!!!!! I am so grateful for EVERYONE who reads this blog and has taken the time to support me through it!

*A really extra special Thankyou to YOU, and YOU, and YOU who have made a HUGE impact both on my training, my motivation, my life.....Could NEVER thank you enough:)

I'll post one last quick shoutout post on Thursday and then that's all she wrote for awhile:)

More taper, my overscheduled life. a track race, and my race bib!!

2011-06-10T00:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I promise not to bore you with over analyzed facts and numbers tonight! Instead, I will jump right back into the unorganized randomness that IS my blog outside of tapering! Once again, I have absolutely NO flowing thought and I'm actually clipping my toenails and eating a popsicle while I type...A God forsaken no sugar added Popsicle that is totally not doing it for me.....If I get out of this taper gaining only 3-5 pounds it will be a freakin' miracle.

So in typical format the random updates:

LIFE:

I am seriously running on empty here right now, at least for the month of June. I have resorted to a color coded spreadsheet just to try to keep my kids activities organized. I am now only working 2 days a week because that is all I can make work. Considering we live about 5 miles out in the country I could be a permanent chauffeur. The kids are going NONSTOP. This stresses me out in a sense as I feel like I'm just wishing the summer away....Everything has gotten so intense. Hockey is no longer just hockey. It is skating treadmill, and speed and agility training, and strength programs. The world has become such a competitive place. To compete, many of these things aren't optional anymore....There are days I would love to just pull the plug and move out into the wilderness and just detach from EVERYTHING. Simply a vent here-I truly LOVE my life!

I am SO behind on blogs. I've had VERY little time to spend on the computer as of late. I still read on my phone but I think this will be one of my last blog posts before my marathon so I'm cramming in a lot of stuff here! Thankyou so many of you for your continued support!!!! I feel like a shitty blog friend but it's either a shitty blog friend or a shitty wife or a shitty mother or a shitty runner......It's almost over! One more week!!!

Seriously excited for recovery for the first time ever. ENJOYING summer. Time off from work, NOT ON CRUTCHES, hangin' on the boat, waterskiing, wakeboarding, sipping cocktails around the fire. This may only last 2 weeks but I'm going to just eat it up this time around!!!!!

RUNNING:

Taper is going WELL!! Perfect timing for a slash in miles with our crazy June! I'm loving just lacing up my shoes and knowing I have a 6 mile run on the docket and not 15. My legs are also enjoying the rest as my easy pace is creeping up faster and faster feels GOOD.

I went to my first track night tonight!! FREE races! I can honestly say I think I was more nervous for this than almost any race I've run. I had NO idea what to expect. Things were not really going super smoothly either as I was LATE getting out of work and hightailed it over 30 miles to the track in which I changed out of my work scrubs into my shorts in my car and RAN to the track just to make it in time. So, approximately a 100 meter warmup for a mile race which is maybe not the best for a distance minded runner. I've never run a specifically timed mile on a track and I had NO idea who would show up to run. There were 15 total people signed up for the 1600 and they broke it into two separate races tonight. First heat was for projected sub 7 which I signed up for. Well, I finished 3rd. I think this sounds quite impressive. I'm not sure it's necessary to mention there were 5 of us total and one dropped out, so technically I was second to last. I think third sounds better so if anyone asks, I was third, GOT IT!!! I never thought I could have so much fun coming in second to last. I knew of the girl who won. She runs a 17 something 5K, I was definitely the only 30 something in this heat. Total learning experience as once I got to the starting line, I was completely not concerned about my pace and only concerned about NOT BEING LAST. I finished in 6:11. I know I can do better. I didn't pace myself the best. I was really thrilled with this though! I really thought at 35 years of age the chance of me ever even getting close to running a mile with a 5 in front of it was impossible. I've never believed in my speed. I am SO EXCITED to do this again. I wish they did it twice a week. I can't describe how much fun I had! I also ended up doing a 4X800 relay to fill out a team. OMG-I suck at the 800 but I still had a blast and realized I love running as part of a team as well. I don't even know my split here but we came in second. Again, this was a BLAST!!!! And THANKYOU for the good luck wishes via email!! So fortunate to have some people who I feel genuinely want me to succeed and go out of their way to encourage me! I had two projections and failed on both of them-ha!! Still smilin'

I received my Grandma's marathon packet in the mail today!! I am not able to make it to the expo so I had to pay and have them ship my stuff out ahead of time. Actually, I will be going to a hockey game at 8:00 pm on Friday night (marathon Saturday) for my daughter. I anticipate her being off the ice by around 10 pm in which case we've made arrangements for someone to take care of her and my other two kids overnight so Joe can drive me through the night to get to Duluth so I can hop on the shuttle to get to the race start. Ideal situation for the night before a marathon. I will likely get no sleep but being as my body is accustomed to 4 hours or less, I'm really not worried about this. I also have no choice but to finish this race in 4 hours or less since I have to then hop back in the car IMMEDIATELY and make it back to pick up my kids. I'm slightly bummed not to have them on the course cheering and I'm slightly bummed that I have to miss out on the post race festivities with my high school friends who are running (8 of them)!! Being as I'm not sure when or if I will actually post again, I am staging this picture of my race outfit-ha! (And yes, my visor is all sweaty because I just took it off before the picture)

I'm already looking ahead to my fall marathon in which I am somewhat training with my husband for the first time. We RARELY run together and although we have a fantastic marriage, we've mostly kept our running separate. I'm sure there will be some interesting verbal dialogue during these runs but I am actually really looking forward to it.

I'm also doing my first duathlon in August. I'm a bit of a rookie on the bike as far as knowledge and racing but I've got good leg strength and I actually think I could do well with this. I'm excited to try anyway!

So, this overly interesting post must now come to an end so I can pack up my car to drive roundtrip 8 hours tomorrow for a volleyball tournament and then turn around and drive 6 hours for a hockey tournament on Saturday!

Best of Luck to all those racing this weekend! I'm truly anxious to catch up here. ONE MORE WEEK!!!!!!

Taper, numbers, strategy-for today anyway.....

2011-06-07T13:21:00.001-05:00

OK-marathon babble....Be prepared for BORING numbers and thoughts and therefore, no need to comment. No humorous ramblings or pictures of erect rocks. Processing running aloud once again.....

I'll repost my "subject to change" unorthodox marathon taper plan that I posted, then pulled. It's not overly specific but I'm not overly specific at this point either and complete open to modifications. As can be seen I am HUGELY slashing my miles. I'm trusting that my body will perform better off of rest at this point. Still having some unexplained nerve/ankle whatever issues (that I'm not stressing about) and less is more....

THE PLAN THUS FAR

Week 3- 56 miles
M-11 miles@8:30 with my sister (slow but I ran a 10K the day before)
T-15 miles@8:04
W-OFF-body/ankle said rest
T-OFF again-did not want to rest but talked myself into it-damn aging body....
F-20-first 10 avg. 8:11/second 10 avg. 7:48 but felt HORRIBLE-final 4 were run on the air conditioned gym treadmill
S-2 mile slow warmup with Joe before his race
S-8 miles (8:18,7:58,7:52, 6:34(800recovery@8:32)6:37(800recovery@8:34)6:35, 8:20

Week 2-projected 37 miles
M-4 miles 7:54
T-6 steady
W-off
T-6 total with one mile track race and probably a fartlek of sorts for the rest.
F-5 easy
S-6 progressive
S-10 miles 2X3 miles at MP

Week 1-projected- 14 miles before race (40.2 with race)
M-5 easy
T-6 with 4X800
W-off
T-3 progressing to final mile quite fast (I need to finish my last mile before a race fast)
F-off
S-Race-26.2 miles:)

I also came across this lovely piece of info while googling yesterday. Damn google....

Grandmas is tougher than Twin Cities and apparently Boston is a super fast race??? Hmmmm???

On to strategy....

I've run two marathons. You can't practice a marathon per se so I have two sets of data to analyze and decide what kind of approach I want to take this time around.

First-Twin Cities Marathon in October of 2009
Crappy speedwork in this training cycle but trained for the distance. I had a ballpark goal of 3:40 to BQ. I STUDIED this course like a book and literally knew every detail. Rolling hills throughout with a steady 2 mile climb from 21-23 (quite a b*tch actually). This is a BEAUTIFUL course-a must run!!

Big time negative split this race with a VERY SLOW start. I finished STRONG! My super awesome sisters were spectating at mile 20 at the ALARC wall. I was feeling good enough at this point to actually moonwalk under the wall for their benefit:) I love the feeling I had running this race. I felt stronger every mile. That being said, I may have left too much in the tank...

Second-Boston Marathon
Better training and more specific goal of 3:20. I still wanted the slow start but knew I couldn't go as slow as Twin Cities and make up the time knowing the difficulty of the back half of the Boston Course. I attempted an 8:00 mile one and came a little under but still felt confident that I had taken it slow enough. I feel like I ran a completely steady pace throughout the rest of this race. My splits vary with the course elevation but even effort straight across. I didn't negative split but my 2 halves were only 39 seconds different. I felt truly FANTASTIC the first half of this race and especially fantastic about mile 15. By mile 23 I did not feel so fantastic....I actually stopped at a water stop to regroup which is the first and only time I stopped running in both marathons. I still felt like I could finish on pace although not nearly as good as my first marathon.

So, my plan for sure will be to stick to my guns and start this race slow. It has proven to work for me TWICE to ease into the race and I need to be disciplined enough to do this. I can start mile 1 25 seconds slower than goal pace if I want and still only have to increase pace by one second per mile....

At this point, I'm not overly stressed about this race (Grandma's). I haven't even begun to study the course. I seem to not be overwhelmed with pressure as I'm not spending $6000 on the trip like last time. Because of my age I need 3:45 to BQ (3:40 with the 5 minute cushion which I WANT) Of course anything can happen on race day, but I am without a doubt capable of this. I think by evaluating my training, my ability lies around 3:15 but that is based on runs done primarily in sub 50 degree weather with very little humidity. My current thoughts (that will last for 1 hour) are to pace around 3:20 for the first half and take off if I feel good from there....I intend to BAG myself in the last couple of miles...

So, there you have episode one of my taper ramblings. Episode 2 with a COMPLETELY different gameplan will be posted tomorrow:)

Big rock

2011-06-07T11:01:00.000-05:00

Looking through family vacation pictures and planning another.....Every now and again, your eye just catches a rock formation....

Marathon thoughts later:)

Tapering, races, wine, guns, and marshmallows!!!

2011-06-06T11:08:00.001-05:00

Well, the weekend is over, I'm officially tapering. I've mentally gained 5 pounds the last two days (physically probably only gained 4....) and I can run only a 13 minute mile but things are all good:) Ah-taper madness!!!

The weekend was GREAT around these here parts! It included such things as

THIS

Joe explaining the course to my 10 year old daughter Reese for her 5K on Saturday!

THIS

Reese with her medal AFTER her 5K that measured 3.19 miles on the Garmin. Official time 22:58, 1st in AG, 5th overall female (I think?). It was HOT and humid and even the 1st overall was almost a minute slower than her usual time! This is the first race I've actually seen Reese run this year. As she came around the finish corner with about 1/4 mile to go, you better believe I hurdled a baby stroller and took the legs out from an innocent bystander busting my ass onto the course to cheer like a superfreak!!! I had just forced out a tough 20 miler the day before, this pace was NOT comfortable in sandals!!!!! People may have been staring and shaking their heads..... There is NO GREATER FEELING IN THE WORLD than to see personal satisfaction on the face of your child....

I know. I should be a professional race photographer!!! Wrong setting apparently.

THIS

You might be a redneck......
I hit the can 9 out of 10 times and therefore I WON (which is all that matters)! We will not mention that my husband shoots from about a mile behind me when he takes his turn-ha!!

AND THIS

This would be me in full get-up! I'm thinking I wear makeup in too many of these pictures I post-ha! Here's the real deal folks, bags under my eyes from lack of sleep, wine, graham crackers(the Hershey bars and marshmallows are by my feet) and a can of Diet Cherry Pepsi on the arm rest. I don't even DRINK pop/soda but I am tapering so therefore ALL rules are broken!

Other weekend news:

While spectating this 5K, I was also clock watching and thinking of Amanda running the Newport Marathon!! Congrats to her on comfortably qualifying for Boston in a conditions that simulated a sauna!! A mental test, a physical test. She PASSED!!! Excellent time she ran, but mark my words....this girl has not even tapped the running keg yet!

Also, on Saturday "Incognito Raina" went on a fun little joyride that resulted in a sub 20 5K PR and she hasn't even been doing speedwork!!! (OK-I now see she updated her blog so I'll drop the incognito-If I should EVER run sub 20, my blog would be updated before I drank water in the finish chute-ha!) Congrats Raina! You are amAZing! We will all be seeing 18's (this summer or fall even) when she decides to actually train for a 5K!!!

SUAR busted out 3rd in her AG in her sprint tri! SUPER awesome!! I just KNOW how great this feels for her after rehabbing not one but two nasty injuries. SO SO happy for her!!

Jill, broke her defibrillator, or debilitator, or derailleur or "thingie" as I call it. Super bummed out for her and hoping that she has a chance to get back out there in the next couple of weeks....

Many other racers that I haven't had time to catch up with yet!! Excited to read reports!

SOOOOO-this long post should end but I will be posting likely later tonight my taper schedule and my race strategy as of today. I have 12 days until my race so probably 12 strategies coming-ha! Happy Monday ALL!!!!

SHOUTOUTS, SIGNS, and an UPDATE!!

2011-06-03T12:37:00.001-05:00

Friday! A lot of stuff I want to cover in a short amount of time here! First of all, I'm extending the MOTHER OF ALL THANKYOUS to all of you who caught my last post and offered me encouragement surrounding the situation. I removed the post out of concern that a student or teacher would see it but even after removing it, I received so many thoughtful emails!!!! In a nutshell, the situation has been resolved. My SIL is an attorney, I appreciate the tips we received from her on how to proceed. I was indescribably upset on Wednesday (this is an understatement) and I am VERY thankful for the opportunity to sleep and process my thoughts a little prior to the meeting Thursday morning. Respecting my daughter and taking into consideration her requests and how my actions might affect her changed my tone a bit... I am VERY thankful for my husband and the calm,collected,professional but "no F*CK with me" manner in which he is able to get things taken care of. Apologies and no disciplinary action. We will leave it at that.

Moving on to more interesting things of course unrelated to anything....

*I had a dream last night. I was at a pool watching Ana Maria swim and then get out of the pool and hop on a spin bike and then get back in the pool and swim some more. She was FULLY clothed in a sweater and khaki dress pants. She also NEVER got tired! I'm SO surprised-ha! I have no idea what I was actually doing in this dream -eating popcorn???? I wasn't exercising, I know that, and I have no idea what this dream means. Also, in this same dream I was looking at a list of finishing times on a wall. Amanda was listed with a marathon time next to it. I have written this down and taken a picture with a date because if she actually runs this exact time I will shit a brick. I will also change careers to a that of a phone psychic...

*I had twelve 4th grade girls spend the night here last night for a last day of school slumber party. LOUD SPASTIC children! Glow in the dark night games and hours of Just Dance 2 on the Wii in which MOM may or may not have had a difficult time taking turns....The kids finally asked me to butt out. I also found out that my little 10 year old has a boyfriend. This little courtship began on February 7th which was a Monday via text message at the hockey arena. They don't talk but both of them apparently have each others names doodled on their math notebooks. Serious stuff here and I LOVE how fourth grade girls LOVE to tell all. 7th grade-not so much!

*I will officially begin my taper today after I attempt one last long run. I will post a taper training schedule in another post soon!

NOW, on to the good stuff!!!! SHOUTOUTS!!!!

Max and I were busy upstairs this morning as the girls were terrorizing the downstairs!!

First on the docket we have Amanda who is running the Newport Marathon tomorrow morning! She has become an extremely dear friend to me over the course of her training cycle and I am just SO excited for her and this experience. I am also SUPER CONFIDENT in her abilities and think she is going to seriously KICK ASS in this race!!!!! Anyway, I'm recycling a previous sign because WHY NOT, and I'm also including a new one! I am super bummed I can't actually track her or better yet be there, but I will be watching my watch, holding my signs, and thinking of HER all morning!

This second sign isn't very clear so you probably have to click on it. I also put special care into my appearance this morning as you can see-bahahah!

Next, Max punched out a few signs while I was busy eating Janae's cinnamon rolls that I made for the girls.

Raina just because she is also a GREAT friend and I have followed her Boston training and also her recovery running and just in case she feels like running fast this weekend for any reason whatsoever;) we made her a sign!! Max doesn't really know Raina obviously as she is quite tall and very thin as opposed to short and a bit chubby with an enlarged hand.....

And now to Jill! Jill was one of my first blog peeps and I will always love her! Also, one of the few I've actually had the privilege to meet! She is taking her bike and damaging her girl bits for something like 62 miles this weekend! We know what sometimes happens to Jill when she rides her bike as can be seen in the picture. Ha ha! Let's hope for none of this and just an all around great experience!!!!

And now to Beth, SUAR who is doing the Longmont Sprint Tri. Beth recovered this past year from the same injury as me and we conversed via email about how rolling on computer chairs and drinking wine and crying are JUST as fun as training for the Boston marathon. I absolutely love her and her blog which EVERYONE reads already! I better be sure this next picture doesn't make it into the yearbook or I will have my children taken away from me. Yes, my son wrote "Don't be a Pussy" and as you can see Beth is ahead of the gray haired pussy posse in her race!!

And finally Stephanie who is running a 20K! A great mom with a great blog who's out to run a great race!! I'm sorry Stephanie. I have no idea what this face on my son means. I think it means you're tough and you're going to run well!!!

So, we have no energy left and Joe and Reese, my own family will not be having signs at their 5K tomorrow! I will also be sipping a Starbucks and watching this race from a lawn chair! This sounds SO appealing right now!! Have a great weekend!!!! Good luck to ALL!

10K RR-Choppy Phone Version.

2011-05-31T10:53:00.001-05:00

So-my quick phone version 10K race report! Believe it or not, I am coming back to the land of the living today but the computers won't be ready until late this afternoon, my husband has his laptop at work, and I know I won't get around to this until the weekend with work if I don't put something down NOW.......By the weekend I will be absorbed with virtually cheering for Amanda in her marathon, Jill in her attempted suicide AKA 64 mile ride, and physically cheering for my hubby and my daughter and a few good friends in their 5K and this little 10K will be of little interest. This is going to be a totally untraditional race report in bullet point format because....just because. Perhaps I will expand on it later when I can get some flowing thoughts and actually see what I'm typing!

*Official time 41:39 (not much official about a stopwatch and a short course....6.15 miles) Anyway, 2nd overall female. First was 38 something, third was 48 something so sandwiched way comfortably in the middle. Splits: 6:35, 6:55, 6:38, 6:54, 6:55, 6:52, 5:05. I had mentioned I wanted to be in the 42's. I truly wanted to break 42 but would have been happy under 43.

*The weather was misty rainy but not cold or windy.

*Prior to the race I dropped my ipod down the port 'o potty hole. It was clipped to the front of my shorts and I forgot and down it went.... I said 15 bad words and bruised my knuckle on the door. I was SO upset. I can run without music for a marathon. I can run without music anytime but since I had PLANNED to listen to music and had a playlist ready, this was just aggravating and started me off in a bad place....I also took the opportunity to blame it on my husband and was mad at HIM because I dropped my ipod.....I seriously wouldn't even line up by him at the start because he told me to settle down-ha ha!!

*Took a Pineapple Gu Roctane before the race. First time I've ever taken a Gu before a race.

*My husband was also running this race and I got to stare at his butt for about 5 miles until I couldn't see it anymore...He was inadvertently pacing me and I'm certain I wouldn't have run the same pace without him in front of me....

*Course-HILLY but I liked it! I really think I run so much better AND faster on hills, even uphills. I'm SO much more cautious of my running form and downhills just seem almost like walk breaks. OK- walk breaks is an understatement, but definitely mental breaks for me.

*Mile 1- uphill and it was my fastest mile. I was a bit worried about crashing after I saw my pace since I'm usually more progressive. Mile 2 I was tired already or at least beginning the mental battle. There was a turn around this point with a guy on an ATV pointing us where to go-hick race....I almost asked for a ride (seriously considered dropping out at mile 2-C'MON!!) My mind was NOT cooperating here.

*Mile 3, a long downhill-great timing as I felt much better quickly and started thinking it was all good.

*Mile 4, no memories but getting in a groove I think.

*Mile 5, wanted to drop out. Felt like SHIT. Tired. I had 33:52 written on my hand as a mile 5, 42 minute split. I glanced down and saw I was on pace, felt a little rejuvinated and plugged on...

*Mile 6, burped up puke in my mouth. Not sure this classifies as actually puking but it was GROSS and gagging and I would sold my soul for water to rinse my mouth out.

*Final .15-EVERYTHING in the tank laid out there.

*Made a solemn vow to never run another 10K. (I've made many a solemn vow like to never have another child after number one...to only browse in the Lululemon store etc....)

*Thrilled with my performance and VERY proud of myself for my effort.

So, there you have it. Short, choppy, unproofed but out there anyway!! Congrats to Britt on her killer 10 mile!!!

Raaaaandom with pics.....

2011-05-29T20:47:00.000-05:00

Totally random weekend cellphone pics in totally random order because I'm just totally random like that! (and I've had a couple drinks)

More to come.

Short course.

Rushed update on life, training, and the 10K....

2011-05-27T10:30:00.001-05:00

Back at the library....still computerless....Had a panic attack about how many hours I could spend here desperately trying to catch up and comment and then decided, to adopt the "from this day forward approach". I read your blogs on my phone. I'm in the loop:) My husband will finally be home today and we can get this computer situation figured out...

News in random format in 18 minutes or less since I'm on the clock with the Chuckster and he is dying to give me the "tsk tsk" and catch me breaking one of his 47 rules. He's especially upset with me since I keyed his car on the way out of the library on Tuesday....

Life news:

*this has been an incredibly emotional week for me....So much going on. Many tears. Don't need sympathy-I'm in a happy place:)

*My hubby will be home this afternoon!! We have seen each other only briefly in the last 3 weeks. Date night tonight in which I will actually get out of the fitness wear for 3 hours and take my hair out of a ponytail.

*Reese is running a 5K this weekend. She ran with me on Sunday and at the 5K, 24:13. This is a PR for her in a run and she was yapping away and not tired as one should be running 5K pace. I've always been VERY careful of stressing time or pace with her at this stage. She is in that innocent young stage where she just wants to race and doesn't feel the pressure yet! I want her to hold on to this for awhile.

*Just found out they will be hosting a track night every Thursday this summer in a town 20 minutes away. Races in the 3200, 1600, 800, 400 and relays-FREE. I've never even run a timed mile! I'm looking forward to giving this a shot. Forced speed!!

Training:

I haven't had an off day in 11 days. I planned it this way.

Monday: 10@1:22

Tuesday: 22 miles at 8:05 average with 6X2 minutes at HMP in the middle. Panicked about my lack of a consecutive 20 considering the HM last weekend and 10K this weekend. Decided I needed this. I started this slow for me. Proved how well this approach works for me as I felt really good at mile 22. No rest day since the HM and still performing well. I can truly say, if I have "issues" in this marathon, I don't believe they will be due to my physical ability.

Wednesday: recovery 4

Thursday: 6 miles with 6X2 minutes at 10K

Friday: 2 miles easy

Saturday:off

Sunday: race

This is the BIGGEST cutback I've taken in a long time. 48 total miles. Certainly can't use the non-tapered excuse for this race.

Race Goals:
I am in the heart of marathon training. Running a 10K goal race at this point is perhaps not the ideal time. That being said, I don't feel overly stressed about it. I'm more than confident about my ability to PR as I've only run one other 10K and my PR from that is OLD. This is one burden lifted. I also don't feel the stress of comparing pace and distance between the 10K and the marathon in my mind. Completely different races. I'm not sure I have a goal time in mind....I think I will just run this time. I would REALLY love to see something in the 42's but regardless I believe I will run 6.2 sub 7 miles which is a great tempo for marathon training in itself. I'm excited especially since I just checked the weather and looks like 44 mph gusts:)

So, my time allotment is up. I'm getting the evil eye! GOOD luck to all those racing this weekend! Some big ones:)

One more thing. I know many of you have seen this Top 25 Health and Fitness Mom Blog thing going around! A friendly fun competition! If you don't already read Amanda's blog, you need to check it out as in my opinion, she covers EVERYTHING in her blog that this competition represents. There are also a bunch of other great blogs out there and you can vote for more than one!!!!! Here's a quick link . Make your way over and click the thumbs up:)

Fargo HM Race Report

2011-05-23T11:51:00.001-05:00

Official Results
Time: 1:39:05
Overall Place: 242 of 6156
Gender Place: 42 of 3773
Age Group Place: 5 of 614

I'm not going to write a really lengthy race report as I'm being hawk watched by Chuck the Librarian and breaking the "NO BLOGGING" library rule....

So-many of you knew I was running a half marathon this weekend. I had decided to train through it and not "race" it. I have a 10K race planned for next weekend and this weekend I thought marathon pace on legs that had 70 plus miles on them would be a good enough test. After my run on Friday, even marathon pace sounded questionable. I'm tired.

Friday afternoon, my dad and two of my sisters headed to Fargo to hit the expo and get our race packets! This is the 3rd year I've run this race and each time had at least 2 other family members participating! Fun fun times!! (OK-just remembering that I bombed this race last year-not all fun times-ha!)

After some thought, I opted to run with one of the 1:40 pace groups. The weather was VERY humid and windy and wet (although it didn't actually rain much during the race). I didn't actually make this decision until I was in the start corral visiting with some other runners. The race was delayed by almost 15 minutes so we had plenty of time to chat and I met 2 girls who seemed like perfect running partners.

Gun went off and off we went. Hoo-ahh-would have liked my legs to feel a little better at a 7:40 start but oh well. By mile 2, I was warmed up and cruising along. This race was AWESOME! Over 60 bands I think they said along the course. Fan support like no other and just an ABSOLUTE blast! For the first time ever I had my name written on my arm because my sister told me too and EVERYONE cheers for you by name! So much fun! On my other arm I sported one of these gumball machine tats! My sister was way too cheap so hers is clearly just marker and also looks more like 73.7 instead of 13.1-ha!

The whole race went pretty smooth. I stopped around mile 7 or somewhere in there for a quick bathroom break and clocked an 8:11 during that mile so a bit of a breather. I TOTALLY got into the crowd as many times I don't notice ANYTHING when I'm racing. I don't know what's playing on my ipod if I wear one, I don't know who's cheering, what they're saying, I am COMPLETELY in a zone. No zone today which in a sense is also a bit hindering as without the adrenaline of a REAL goal race, I think pace can seem a little harder.

I made a couple of references to friends via email after this race about it being easy and relaxed. I really want to clarify that "easy" was perhaps not entirely the right word. Running 13 miles is tiring period. I get tired sometimes running at 8:20 pace for this distance so it would be a farce to say that I wasn't at all tired. What I meant was that this race was fun and stressless and I didn't have to fight the same mental demons I would have in a hard goal race. No fighting just to run to the next stop sign or feelings of imminent death in the next 10 strides....I pulled away from 1:40 in the final mile and was able to finish at 10K pace for a little test on tired legs so in all, I was very happy with my decision on how to run this race.

Afterthoughts

Fargo, hands down, puts on the best finish and post race spread of ANY race. The finish, the food, the music, absolutely fantastic!

Could I have run a PR even without the taper if I went for it? I think so, but I really can't stand when people talk about what they COULD do when they haven't proven it, so therefore, who knows.

I felt pretty confident about holding this pace, hopefully faster than this pace actually for 26.2.

Am I capable of a 1:30 half marathon. NO WAY. Not tapered, not with 14 red bulls and a stick of dynamite up my ass. I don't even want to speculate where I would be fully tapered (I've run three 1:38's in training) but it is nowhere near 1:30. I was thinking of a friend as I ran the final mile all out at her HM race pace and HOLY smack-serious respect for holding that pace for 13 miles....

I can't upload my Garmin data until I get my computer back OR upload the 400 pictures I have from the weekend so these are just a couple of bad cellphone pics which I emailed then saved to the library desktop, then posted and deleted from the desktop. Dang, the work I do for this blog-ha!!

A little stretching:)

So-HUGE HUGE shoutout to Heidi Evans who took second female overall in 2:54 for the full marathon! She is seriously a ROCKSTAR and I think the WORLD of her! Amazing race in less than ideal weather conditions. This girl is basically just transitioning to the marathon and is 26 years old. I am expecting MAJOR things out of her in the next few years! MAJOR MAJOR things!!!

This is going to sound old as I'm trying to make my rounds but I promise to get over to say hello to many of you and comment on your "happenings" as soon as I get my computer back which is hopefully tonight!!!! Thankyou so much for all the support. I'm overwhelmed by some of the friendships I've made and the support I've received-so so grateful.....

Forgive my absence and Friday Facts:)

2011-05-20T11:13:00.000-05:00

So, I am not a stuck up blog snob! I have been reading but my computer crashed AGAIN on Tuesday and I've been stuck on my phone-so very limited commenting as I can't even see what I type! My husband is gone for 2 weeks. So far, the dishwasher quit which is fine because I have a 13 and 10 year old who are more than capable. Then, my oven started on FIRE, like BIG FIRE. I dropped my iron on the tile and it doesn't work, so I'm wearing wrinkly scrubs to work. The headgasket went out in my car. The computer just won't turn on and then the garden tiller tried to chop off my legs..... So in essence, I can't grow my own food, I can't cook my own food, I can't drive to the store to buy my own food, I can't order my own food on the internet and therefore I am just surviving on the Easter candy stash from on top of the fridge! My phone DOES however work so I can adequately bitch about all of this to my husband:)

Since, I have very little time, I'm sticking with the Five Friday Facts theme one more week!!

1.) My hair is very curly. Classic "want what you don't have syndrome" since I almost always straighten it!!! It is also almost entirely gray if I don't color it. I touch it up about every 5 days!

2.) My husband is 4 years older than me. He will be 40 this year and I'm trying to plan a big party. He threw me a monster bash for my 30th and I didn't have a clue. I'm usually very perceptive and have no idea how he pulled this off. Anyway, I have until October but I'm already getting things in the works...

3.) I am more excited about the post race beer than the half marathon I'm running tomorrow! Heavy winds and torrential rain-fun times!! Actually, I'm pumped about being there. No plan yet but considering I struggled to pull out 8:20 pace on these very tired legs on my 8 mile this morning, I'm not anticipating much! Still unsure if I'm running solo or with a group of friends or family. Either way, I'm determined to have a blast and VERY anxious for some rest next week so I can really tackle a 10K!!

4.) I have MASSIVE tan lines right now. I'm wearing a giant white bracelet on my left wrist and naked, I honestly look like I'm wearing a white wrestling singlet. I tan very easily and I really need to cake the sunscreen on more than just my face I guess.

5.) I cannot think another single fact about me to complete this list of 5, so since 4 also starts with the letter F and still sounds all catchy, we will only have 4 facts today.....

There you have it! Hoping to be able to comment a bit in some down time on the hotel computer! Good luck to all those racing this weekend!

Just another Manic Monday.....

2011-05-16T16:06:00.001-05:00

So, going to squeeze in my Monday rambles here quickly in between mowing my 10 acre yard, tilling my garden again, separating my plants, spraying myself in the eyes with weed killer, and picking up the 47 pairs of flip flops out of my yard that my kids CONSTANTLY leave there.....I have mowed so many flipflops, golf balls, doll clothes, Hotwheels, in my life....

In random review:

*Finished my running week with a whole lotta miles. Darn near if not record high for me. I will fight to keep this up ONE MORE WEEK (if I can) and culminate it with a HM on very tired legs on Saturday. Then cut way back to maybe a 40 mile week, race a 10K hard the following Saturday and then bring it back up for 1 HARD week and a 2 week taper......I'm certain you all followed that.....Riiiiiight.....

*Went to a Zumba class on Friday which gave me a sideache from laughing SO hard. This is REALLY not my thing but my friend wanted to check it out and it was truly worth the experience. I didn't get too much of a workout but it made for some super fun late night drink conversation-ha!!

*Totally enjoyed my girls night out which reminded me of how much I VALUE my friends and just how important they are to me. A true blessing to have a friend that will hop in their car on a whim and drive 22 hours to see you when you're going through a rough patch....I want to continue to work on being THAT friend in return....

*Woke up to my son (7yrs.) standing next to my bed at 3 am with big tears rolling down his cheeks. It is unusual for him to wake up these days and he rarely if EVER has nightmares. He said he was having a nightmare and when I asked what about, he responded "I was trying on clothes and my friends were smoking." (both obviously traumatizing experiences) Poor little guy. I tried not to laugh. What goes on in little minds!!!!

*Went on a run with my Dad and my sister Christy on Saturday. I SO enjoyed this. So many great talks I have with my Dad while running and we don't get much of a chance to do it together anymore. I'm thinking this summer I will try to run one of my recovery runs with him every other week.

*met up with my friend Katie for a planned 20 mile on Sunday. I showed up at her door and you would have thought I was in a full clown costume or something. She had a HEYDAY with my waterbelt and thought this was about the funniest thing ever!!! For 15 miles she gave me SHIT about this (WHILE asking for drinks of MY water.) This run had to be about one of the worst runs I've had in a long time. Very tired and I ended up quitting at 15 with a super tight hamstring and a physically depleted body. I managed to run the other 5 later in the night which for this once, is going to have to do.....

*So, Fargo half marathon this coming Saturday. My dad and now 2 of my sisters are also running! I am unsure of my plans as to whether I will pace any of them or run with one of my many high school friends that are running or just run MP, or run as hard as my legs will let me after a heavy week. I have no idea when I will make this decision!!! I do know I'm super excited to just be back in a big race atmosphere!!! Also, I am SUPER PUMPED to watch the finish of the full marathon as I anticipate watching a friend come in in the 2:50's. You better believe Jenn will be putting her MAD cheering SKILZ on FULL display!!!

So, back to the busyness that is my life!! Will catch up after dark!!! Happy Monday!

Five Facts Friday

2011-05-13T16:09:00.000-05:00

So, once I did a Friday Favorites....Today I'll try a Five Fun Facts Friday...Again, not a regular occurence. Just a random post related to nothing and short because as I'm sure no one noticed, damn blogger was down.....Now, when I have NO time left to post or comment, it is finally working...

*I have my bellybutton pierced. I could barely afford to even live during college but somehow I scrounged up enough money for this.

*I had 4 different majors in college at different periods: music, nursing, chemistry, business. These are all related???? I have a BA in business and have never worked a day in this field. If I ever go back to school, it would be with an interest in nutrition. My greatest aspiration at this point is to sell running shoes......

*I have a tiny little "scar" right below my sportsbra line on the right side. My mom told me it was from where the doctor pinched me right when I was born to make me cry. I am gullible and believed this until age 22 when I was getting an annual checkup and my doctor informed me that it was actually a 3rd nipple. Well, HOLY SHIT! If a 34A wasn't good enough, now I have an extra! I'm sure this was entirely TMI and perhaps a FREAKY Friday fact.

What a release to have posted my first semi-nude pic-ha!

*My pet peeve in life is people eating food off of my plate. My FB status last weekend. "In 13+ years of marriage, one would think you would have a feel for what ticks your spouse off. Eating food off my plate-TOP of the list-ha! Don't say you're not hungry and then eat my food!!!! DO however pay for my food:)"

*I have unusual feet. My toes go short, long, short, long, short! This is my blog and although I'm comfortable showing pictures of my awkward mini boob, there will be no Flinstone toe pictures!

SO many of my favorites racing this weekend! I am totally short on time and couldn't begin to list and link everyone: Nicole, Britt, Jess, Q and the list goes on!!! GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL! Can't wait to read race reports!!

While the husband is away the wife must play! Perhaps that saying did not mean heading out for drinks with your girlfriends but that's what I'm up to tonight! Have a great weekend all!

Jenn is an idiot, my long run instead of speedwork, and more rambling thoughts.....

2011-05-10T17:49:00.002-05:00

So, I finally broke down and ordered a water belt! Two of my heros, Amanda and Ana Maria both wear one and therefore these are like a Louis Vuitton in the running world and you are a BADASS runner if you wear one (even if your husband makes fun of you...) Anyway, I took it out of the box this morning and couldn't figure out what this stupid plastic contraption was on the side so I texted Amanda this picture with the message "WTF is this plastic thing for. I threw away the tag and now its just bugging me" She kindly informed me that it is what they use to hang it up in the store.....What a moron....

Moving on....

So, I've been giving a lot of thought to my training lately, what it is that I actually want to be accomplishing here and at what price....I've read a hundred books-retained very little-ha!. (I did this in college too and had great grades but remember nothing) My point being, I know the experts know what they're talking about but sometimes I'm just not sure if Jenn has it in her to follow the experts.....

People who have followed me for a long time know that I prefer the distance and the miles to the speed. When I first started running and even training for my first marathon, I often didn't even wear a watch, just ran and then ran some more. I LOVED running, very little stress for me. If anything, a major stress reliever! Speedwork was primarily a fartlek of some sort, not all that much organized and some tempo running-still primarily unorganized. I didn't fly by the seat of my pants necessarily as I ran relatively hard and I put in the miles. I used a SmartCoach plan as a guide but when I tried, I even struggled to hit the speed paces for a 3:40 marathon. Somehow I ran a 3:25. I was EXCITED for my long runs and this was the HIGHLIGHT of training for me.

My Boston training I got more speed specific and although I still didn't hit a lot of the paces, I was more regular with my attempts. I would still constantly alter the plan and do what I wanted to do instead of what the plan said but that's what kept running "fun" for me. I made a 7 minute improvement so increasing the speed somewhat definitely had it's benefits.

Anyway, this ramble kind of has a point. Right now my A goal is a marathon in 5 and a half weeks. I need to ensure that I get to that starting line feeling like I'm the SHIT and fully capable of smokin' out a great marathon. On my plan today was speed. I didn't want to do it, I didn't feel confident about it, I DREADED it. Now, I know there are up and down days of training but it seems lately in all this structure I've been having more down days. I feel like the passion of just running to run is getting lost somewhere. Of course, I want to get better but sometimes even though I KNOW I'm getting better, I just feel defeated....Logic would say I have only a little over 3 weeks until taper and to just stick with the plan. Jenn says NO.

I drove up to the port of entry with my good friend this morning for a class field trip for Reese. She left me there and I ran home.....

I fully fueled this run (3 gels) and my elapsed time was actually almost 4 minutes longer than what it shows here because of a stop to refill water bottles and an emergency cornfield bathroom break. Even so, my pace was steady steady and this after a 20 mile on Saturday and then a 10 mile in 1:18. I am feeling VERY confident about this. Much more confident than if I had whipped out the speedwork the plan called for. No, it was not easy pace effort, more like hard effort trial marathon pace and I was tired but it's what I needed today.

I've made a few decisions. I'm not going to follow my plan for the next 3 weeks. I'm going to do what feels good to me. I will NOT be racing a half marathon. I don't want to cut my miles and I don't want to feel defeated. I'm a wimp maybe but I know I can't deal with a poor performance in it. I will run the race and likely have some sort of gameplan but I won't taper and I'm training through it. I WILL however be racing a 10K the following weekend. I'm going to go top heavy early in the week and rest a little before the race and hopefully be able to knock that one off my sidebar!!

And now for the whole post disclaimer!! I will change my mind on all of this tomorrow and delete this post!!!

Happy Tuesday!

Weekend, Long run, and another video!

2011-05-09T09:56:00.002-05:00

Yep-another bullet weekend update post. I've decided I won't write any decent posts until I'm tapering or recovering in which I will be all "deep" and "soul searching" and perhaps slightly psychotic.....

*Ryan's tournament was AWESOME!! It was an international tournament and of the 4 games she played, only one was against an American team. Such a fun experience for the kids. Superb talent-I anticipate many future Olympians played this weekend!! Ryan is not the most talented kid out there, never has been, but her work ethic MORE than makes up for it-LOVE it!! She is LOVING her team and her coach! The team is made up of kids from the top half of Minnesota so we don't really know any of them OR the parents. We hit the jackpot with the parents of this group! LOVE them and I'm SO excited for the rest of the season!

*Max was dying to go to the big Barnes and Noble to get this "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book. It took almost 30 minutes for him to make a decision about which one he wanted and I said ONLY one and I would buy him another when he finished that one. Well, I helped him a little but he finished it, and I had to buy another before we left.

*Took my girls shopping for clothes. This is always fun! I'm getting old. Stores that are nearly pitch black and have music SO loud that I can't even think, and then have shorts SO SHORT......and THEN want me to pay $79 for shorts for a 10 year old....WHAAAA???? I'm kinda thankful that Ryan is pretty much a tomboy and would live in sweatpants. Reese on the otherhand wanted the padded bikini top......HELP! (I'm thinking she just wanted to be like me since I obviously always go for the padded ones-ha!)

*Managed my long run on Saturday morning. It was quite an experience. 60's and sunny by the time I started which is the warmest weather I've run in, in FOREVER. I didn't pay enough attention to the forecast so I only packed shorts and long sleeve tech shirts. I ended up having to strip down by the second mile and run in my sports bra which was bright yellow and NOT padded..... Speed shorts, smashed boobs in a fluorescent yellow sports bra, sweating like a pig, and sporting a matching baby blue visor(well, it matched my shoes anyway). Yes, I looked FINE....Anyway, I wanted to run the Columbia Road bridge for some good elevation change which takes me into the University campus. Well, sunny Saturday morning running down University Avenue is QUITE an experience. Solid yard parties even at 10 am and there was some sort of major concert setting up as there were about 400 port o potties at the park. This was actually awesome!!! I felt like I was running a race. Drunk college boys cheering loudly and and offering me unlimited "hydration." I ran by and some kid offered me a can of Busch Light and I jokingly shouted back that he better offer me something better than that. Well, sure enough on the way back, Heineken Light, so I made the mistake of grabbing it and taking a big drink. I then had 3 kids next to me cheering for 2 blocks. I SERIOUSLY need to grow up but I decided I was enjoying this little cheering section so I ran it approximately 8 more times-ha!! (I'm pretty sure I could have been sporting a beard and wearing basketball shorts and these beer-goggled boys would still have been hooting and hollering)

So, to the actual run. I had planned for about 20-22 with the second half faster than the first working all the way up to between HM and MP for the finish.

Well, not exactly as planned but I am choosing to be happy with it. It was warm, my body was tired, ran a big bridge 4 times, and I'm in desperate need of sleep. I took only one gel at the halfway point, and I think another one would have really given me a boost. Now, that I've listed my excuses, I ran the second half of this at a pretty darn HARD effort, finished the last 3 miles all out-like RACE pace and the thought of trying to run 26 miles at that pace-ummmmm........not sure what to think about that-like perhaps IMPOSSIBLE!!!! Literally gasping bent over with my head at my knees....

*I fell asleep on the hotel bed at 7pm on Saturday and remember nothing until I woke up at around 11pm. Honestly, my kids could have been stolen right out of the room and I wouldn't have noticed. Naah-my super hubby took them shopping and swimming and tucked them all in and then I woke up....

*My hubby left this morning for 2 weeks. That's a long time for me and my kids are busy again.

So-this is what we do to amuse ourselves in our downtime at the hotel:)

So, finally off to really catch up here!! Happy Monday!

Through the eyes of my son.

2011-05-08T16:40:00.002-05:00

ALL ABOUT MY MOM by Max

My mom's name is Jennifer.

The color of my mom's hair is brown.

My mom's eyes are blue.

My mom weighs about 126 pounds.

I think my mom is about 36 years old.

My mom's favorite color is purple.

Mom mom's favorite television show is Hockey.

My mom's favorite junk food is cake.

My mom doesn't like to go to bed.

My mom likes to eat pizza

But don't give her candy.

My mom looks prettiest when she was 35.

In the summer, my mom likes to run.

In the winter, my mom likes to watch movies.

My mom's favorite pastime is running.

My mom likes to play board games with me.

My mom's wish is to buy a new car.

I behave best for my mom when we go to church.

I like being with my mom most when she is happy.

I enjoy listening to my mom read the story "The Best Mom"

If I could give my mom something special it would be flowers.

My favorite thing about my mom is she loves me.

MY FAVORITE ANSWER: My mom looks prettiest when she was 35!! Bahahahaha!!!! Too funny.....(I actually am 35, I'm forgiving the fact that he aged me since he also shorted me a couple of pounds-ha!)

Weekend update to follow but first need to catch up and comment with everyone!! Happy Mother's Day!

What happens when I don't get sleep.....

2011-05-05T23:09:00.002-05:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Yeah-sometimes I don't sleep well and do sh*t like this.....I may even have seizures laughing by myself at my own computer.....

Off for a big hockey weekend!! Finally going to hit the 60's outside and I'm going to spend the weekend in a hockey rink! I'm so excited for a fun weekend with my family though!!! My husband leaves on Monday for a 2 week trip so good times before he goes!!

Training week-

Monday-6 easy recovery

Tuesday-14 total-10 am which ended up being a little faster than I planned...this is becoming a regular occurence with my easier runs again. The "Jenn" plan....Jenn should not be writing plans.... 4 miles after school with Reese
I'm trying this print screen paint crop thing-yeah, won't be doing that regularly-way too lazy.

Wednesday -8 miles 5X1K repeats with 2 minute active recovery. Did them on the treadmill due to bad weather before work. Very tough. I used to find the TM easier for speed and now when I use it, I'm practically putting a hole in the wall from nearly falling off the end of the thing.....Would MUCH rather be outside. Have I mentioned that I'm hating Minnesota right now.....Anyway, I had to lengthen the recovery on the last two and still slower than goal pace. I am struggling with mornings....

Thursday-decided to wait until night to run this to give my legs a little more recovery. I needed to fit in somewhat of a tempo since I won't run tomorrow and want to long run on Saturday. I never run speed and tempo back to back and wasn't sure how my legs would feel. They didn't feel too great and I suffered through 9 with 5 in the middle at 7:18 which was a HARD effort (like damn near 5K effort) and slower than I would have liked. Whatever....

Friday-off

Saturday-Planning for 20-22 with first half moderate, next 8 or so MP+10 seconds and final 1-2 at HMP+10seconds. This will be a tough one for me I think but I get to run along a nice path on the Red River and a change of scenery will be nice.

Sunday 6 recovery

Good Luck to all those racing this weekend!!! I will be away from a computer for the next few days but will try to keep up my reading on my phone!!

It's looking as though my good buddy Amanda may not be able to race her HM this weekend BOOO!! except perhaps with the stroller pace team.... I'm posting this sign in tribute just the same!! Check out her post if you think I'm a freak for calling her this!!

May snow showers bring......

2011-05-02T11:33:00.000-05:00

Ahh....Monday morning, May 2nd, freshly fallen snow on the ground, frosty windshield......Sent my son to school today in snowpants and boots. I am SO sick of this. It is supposed to be SPRING and when it is SPRING, 26 degrees is much too cold to run in. Winter, 26 is heavenly, but for SPRING, it is just wrong....

To the random update because honestly, I am just not a writer. I'm a babbler rambler and this is my blog and this is what I do. Do NOT expect to be enlightened, do NOT expect creative flowing thoughts. DO expect stories of my son shooting "nuisance" birds out of the bird feeder and hiding them under a bucket on my deck and DO expect running thoughts and strategies that change DAILY. (No, my son is not a mini Jeffrey Dahmer and I did not condone this. He LOVES animals, knows and can identify EVERY bird, and I mean EVERY bird, and is actually a tender hearted boy trying to protect....and it's a BB-gun not a .40 caliber semi automatic pistol)

Moving on:

*Reese ran the mile for gym class on Friday. She is 10 years old and in the 4th grade. I did NOT go and stalk her as much as I wanted too. All the kids in grades 3-6 run the mile during the school year for phy ed. They have a series they do in attempt to receive the Presidential Physical Fitness award. We have a smaller school and a little over 100 kids per grade. She ran the overall top time of ALL the girls in the elementary school and outright beat every boy in her class. I was not at all proud of her..... When I picked her up from school, her face was just beaming!!! The gym teacher had PRAISED her which goes A LONG way with this middle child who sometimes gets overshadowed by her big sister. Beautiful runner, beautiful form! This did not come from me and I have pictures of myself to prove it.

*Ryan is playing hockey on a AAA team this spring/summer. It's an invite only team and these girls are GOOD. Fun to watch her have to work HARD just to keep up. She was SO sore and tired this morning. We had a travel FULL practice weekend with hours on the ice getting ready for a BIG tournament next weekend.

*I am not humble when it comes to my kids on my blog. Real life, OF COURSE, but on my blog....they are the "bee's knees" and you will hear about it-ha!

*I do not have a hotel room for Grandma's yet. I also have to go by myself because Joe is taking Ryan to a hockey tournament. I wonder if I could park at the start line with an air mattress in the back of my Suburban-ha!

TRAINING UPDATE:

My long run yesterday was to take place in a nasty nasty blizzard with 40 mph winds, snow, sharp sleet, and I was just not badass enough to do it this time. I almost went in the ditch slipping off the road in my car and got frostbite from the wind getting gas earlier in the morning so I called Katie and bailed. My options were to move the run to today (which I did NOT want to do) or tackle the DREADMILL (which I also did not want to do). The treadmill won.... Planned run was 1 hour steady, 5X3 min@MP/3 min.easy, 30 min. steady. My NOT good math mind thought this was 17 miles. It was 15 and I wanted to do 17 so I had to run some more-blech.....So not enjoyable but my pace was where I wanted it and I did the MP pace intervals b/w HMP and MP. 17 miles/2:15.

Honestly, NO one sweats more than me on a treadmill even when I'm not working that hard..... It is SO gross. I also drink WAY more on the treadmill than I do outside. At 11 miles I had to grab a towel because my shorts would not hold anymore water and it was just running down the back of my legs . I also had to keep my shirt on just to soak up the sweat. I think I lost about 3 pounds of water on one run.

See how much "hotter" I am after I run outside-ha ha!!! I'm thinkin' I better go fix my hair and put some makeup on and redeem myself!!

Happy Monday y'all!!!

Back to the random..

2011-04-29T11:16:00.000-05:00

Bit of a boring nothing post before the weekend!! I've been rambling about too much running crap when in all actuality my other life is SO much more exciting.....

*Actually got up to watch the Royal Wedding. I was 5 years old and even remember what I was wearing when Charles and Diana got married. My aunt had a VCR which was almost unheard of back then and she taped it and I watched it probably 100 times. I'm also Canadian and remember singing "God Save the Queen" every morning after "O Canada" in school. The music in the wedding-ahhhhh! GOOSEBUMPS!! I'm not one of those "National Enquirer" types who is even remotely interested in the lives of wealthy socialites but this is different!! I DO appreciate the beautiful tradition. Fun for my girls to see!

*Snow in the forecast for tomorrow.

*The wind ALWAYS blows from the NESW in Minnesota

*I am back at work and getting readjusted to my routine. Early morning running again. This will take some adjusting as although I get up early my motivation to run just isn't there. I can go to the gym, even bike, but running....I'm working on it.

*Leaving on a hockey trip this afternoon. My break from the travel went WAY too quickly! Now, to add to the hockey we have J.O. volleyball and baseball. Also trying to fit swimming lessons in here.

*My husband recently changed his work and is not traveling as much so this is a HUGE blessing.

*I lost my phone in the water on a 4 wheeling ride through the gravel pit. I am now painstakingly trying to get all my contacts back.

*Reese is running the mile for gym class today. I want to hide in the press booth above the track and watch just for fun. Still considering this....

*I am still undecided about racing a HM. This distance, which used to be my very favorite, seems very stressful for me right now. Every distance seems stressful. I'm leaning toward racing the 10K I'm running with my hubby the weekend after instead. If I can get my head in the right place, perhaps I will run both all out.

Today's workout.
Was planning to run long today before the weekend but arranged to run with Katie on Sunday afternoon instead. (To clarify from my past post, Katie has not run races due to social anxiety-hates crowds (she OK'ed me to say this) She was a high school track and cross country star.) ANYWAYS, this put me back on track for my threshold run (3 miles easy, 3X10 minutes at HM/10K pace w/4-min. active recovery, 3 miles easy). Off to run:)

Big shoutout to Julia at her birthday half!!! I always love to celebrate my birthday with the torture of a HM-ha!!! Caroline, Happy Runner, Ginny and the MANY others-Good LUCK!!!!

Talk to the hand......

2011-04-26T22:01:00.000-05:00

Just in case there was any doubt my children were related, I've just found proof....

My lovely oldest Ryan which we've all seen before

My sassy middle child Reese who apparently learned at a much younger age

Still teaching Max how to use that middle finger......

Speed work attempt was LESS than stellar today-blahhhh.

Easter, a long run, and a BIG fishy!!

2011-04-25T17:32:00.006-05:00

So, the cheesecake is FINALLY gone.....I can now stop chiseling off the side of it every 15 minutes. I hate holidays, they totally put a kink in my routine and I turn into garbage disposal!! I'm going to cut myself a break because I just knocked out a HUGE training week for ME and I just really just need to replenish right?(with crap).....

We hosted Easter this year. I was about the LEAST prepared person in the world and thank God I have a 13 year old who likes to cook and made half the food while I was on my long run the day before! Everything went off without a hitch and we had an AWESOME family day!

Saturday night I found this little note up on the counter from Max!

I seriously welled up a bit. If you can't read it, it says "Dear Easter Bunny, please give this dime to someone that needs it." I had absolutely nothing to do with this. Sweet sweet boy and I absolutely ADORE him as any mother does I suppose.

TRAINING UPDATE:
I've decided to maybe include a little more about my training on this blog since that is pretty much the reason I started it. I'm somewhat apprehensive to do this at times, not exactly sure why. Anyway, I REALLY appreciate the feedback I've gotten when I do. SO much awesome advice, so much knowledge to be gained!

Long run this weekend 22.73 miles/3:04:31.
Forecast showed it would be windy windy and I knew I would be somewhat tired after a full week of running and the bike so I decided to run this with a friend. A friend that I am now going to consider a training partner! I bumped into this little treasure, Katie, a few weeks ago on a run (I knew her somewhat outside of running). She is my age, has run for years but has NEVER run a race, not even a local race! Doesn't train specifically, just runs A LOT!!!! What I love about this little situation is that she has NO agenda, just along for the ride. I feel a COMPLETE lack of stress knowing she will just run with me at my pace, if she's tired, she'll quit, no hard feelings, just a good situation!! Well, DAMN!!! She pulled 22 of the 22.73 miles with miles 19-21 at around 7:25!!!! She NEEDS to run a marathon-SERIOUSLY!!!! This run was AWESOME. It wasn't about pace but I felt SO strong near the end. A MUCH needed confidence booster.

Yesterday, I ran 10 recovery miles at nearly 9 minute pace. 4 outside with my dad in GALE FORCE winds once again. I hate wind. I would rather run up mountains than deal with wind. SO frustrating!!!! Anyway, we were planning for 10 but he ate too much (so he said) so we ran the 4 and I finished up the other 6 on the treadmill while watching my favorite show "Little House on the Prairie"-ha!! My legs felt surprisingly good. My lungs were a little sore. I don't know if it was from breathing and the wind on the long run but it hurt a little to breathe?? I always run easy the day after a long run. Finished the week with 74 miles.

My kids didn't have school today and Max and Joe were off fishing so a perfect opportunity for me to go out for a little run with Reese. I am doing my speed tomorrow and since my training plan has almost officially become the "Jenn" plan this fit in well! I was doing an 8 mile out and back (4 more later today) so she joined me for the first 2 and then ran 2 back by herself(4 miles for her) So, 2 miles together. I did the unthinkable and put a piece of tape over my Garmin!!!! It wasn't a key workout and I just wanted to run and see how it went. I'm seriously so addicted to my Garmin-I need help. Anyway, I felt pretty good and was running at a pretty comfortable pace. I consciously picked it up in the last mile. I could tell when I finished that I was faster than easy pace but not tempo effort. Here's the mystery data!! I actually loved running like this. I will definitely be doing it more often.

1 00:08:25 1.00 08:25
2 00:08:14 1.00 08:14
3 00:07:54 1.00 07:54
4 00:07:40 1.00 07:40
5 00:07:31 1.00 07:31
6 00:07:20 1.00 07:20
7 00:07:09 1.00 07:09
8 00:06:48 1.00 06:48
9 00:00:02 0.01 06:06
Summary 01:01:07 8.01 07:38

I am SO computer illiterate. I want to figure out how to just show the Garmin split page from Garminconnect on here without having to link to it (which I suppose I can do). I see this on so many blogs and it just saves that extra step. Can't figure it out. My hubby is going to have to help me when he gets home. I had to cut and paste.

Max got pretty lucky today!!!

SO, I won't make all my posts about all this running gibberish! Hope you all had a wonderful Easter! I've been pretty behind with my blog reading! I'm excited to sit down tonight after the kids are in bed and finally CATCH UP!!!!!

Numbers

2011-04-23T11:54:00.001-05:00

WARNING!!! This is going to be of little interest for many. Don't comment out of obligation!! Don't read out of obligation!! It's a reference for me, and I process things when I type them out sometimes. I promise I will be back to writing about animals hanging from my redneck swingset soon and you can comment then....

Background:
I am currently halfway through a marathon training schedule for Grandma's marathon on June 18th. I haven't run a marathon since Boston 2010 mostly due to an injury that kept me from my fall marathon. I spent 3 solid months of NO running and pretty much started back at ground zero in September of 2010. Not ground zero exactly but in rough cardio shape for sure. I've taken a much different approach this time around and although I believe it's benefited me in many ways, I also have some panic over different aspects of my training. I was really going to get into this but I've opted not to. I've processed a lot of this the last couple of days with some "help":) I'll list a few random numbers anyway.

Basic breakdown

(So freakin' irritated that I can't get my dailymile to do the analytics from January to April 2010. I am seriously not a math mind and have no idea how I can break this down. I could take pictures of every one of my pages of notes on my 86 runs in my running log and post them......That would certainly capture the attention of many.)

Boston training:

Long runs(threw in some Garmin activity on a couple of the longer ones. I'm sure that's of little interest)

10-7:57
15- 8:10
17- 8:19
20- 7:59
16- 7:32
20- 7:56
17- 7:58
23- 8:06
17- 8:06
20- 8:14-day after 10 mile race
11- 7:40
22.4- 7:58
20- 7:50
10- 7:40
Boston Marathon 26.43- 7:30-Garmin activity

*16 total weeks preceding Boston- 905 miles total/ avg. 56 mpw/peak 70

*I used these paces in training.
MP-7:35-7:40, HMP-7:20, 10K 6:55-7:00, 5K 6:45ish

*I only ran one race- 10 mile at 7:17 untapered and in the peak of my training 5 weeks out from Boston.

*I skipped A LOT of speedwork and instead opted for A LOT of miles near MP. Of my 86 runs, 64 of them averaged under 8 minutes. My slowest run of the ENTIRE training cycle was a 5 mile recovery run at 8:20. Next slowest, a 17 mile at 8:19. On the flipside, my fastest mile was 6:27 and I ran VERY FEW miles around this pace. Many many many runs done at a similar effort (usually only one harder day/week) so not the hard/easy approach.

*favorite part of training-long runs. For the most part, I gradually seemed to get stronger as I got more miles into my run. I felt my endurance was one of my biggest strengths.

*I had a goal for Boston. 3:20. I was very confident on race morning that I would achieve this goal but my confidence came more from the fact that I knew I could hold MP than from how fast I could run a speed session.

Grandma's training

Long runs
16- 8:10-HILLY
18- 7:52-harder effort for 12, SIGNIFICANT break at mile 15, plodded in the last 3
.37 miles- Hurt foot
20- 8:19
18- 8:41-5K earlier in the day-ran with a friend
20- 8:12-felt like crap after 16
22-out the door for this now!
17
23
18 or HM race?
HM-tentatively planning to pace friend at my MP as part of LR or race?
22-24
20
12
26.2-race day

*First half of training- 451 total miles (1 entire week off for a foot) Avg. 56 mpw but if to exclude the missing week avg. 64. (Already tired of analyzing)

*Using these paces for training. Not necessarily what I could run for each distance but the paces I'm using.
MP-7:25, HMP-7:00, 10K-6:45, 5K- 6:25

*ran 1 race-5K (ran another 5K but before training started). 20:08. Big PR for me and 19:52 on my Garmin at 3.1. A milestone I've never come close to and I'm certain I could not have done this in my Boston training.

*running A LOT more speed workouts and at a harder effort. Fastest mile 6:18 (unsure if I've gone faster than this on the TM??) and I almost died(don't mock me you speed demons, this is like freakin' jet speed for me-ha!)However, running sub 7 miles every week now. Slowest run 8:57 avg. and a great deal of runs with an average over 8 minutes.

*struggling in long runs with my endurance....also struggling with my confidence in holding MP.

*currently no set goal for Grandma's.

Hmmmmm..........OK-back to the rambles!!!!

My belated Monday now Thursday post....

2011-04-21T09:22:00.001-05:00

Thursday morning and I have yet to post this week. Where is my "blogging mojo" Hmmmm....I think it's hiding somewhere with my cleaning mojo....or my cooking mojo....

First of all, SUPER congrats to all those in Boston. I had a virtual race party (by myself) here on Monday morning tracking people and cheering and I was SO excited to have so many great people to root for! I also really loved having running blogger friends not running this year to share the excitement with via text message or email!! Friends that I'm excited to hopefully meet up with NEXT year in Boston!!! So, CONGRATS again and thank you to all you runners for the inspiration spark! I am QUITE anxious to have another crack at that course! For once in a long while I'm feeling a taste for big goals!!!

I've been thoroughly enjoying my time off of work. All of my kids are in school and I have ALL the freedom in the world. Biking in the morning, running in the afternoon, gym dates, coffee dates, traveling a bit to see friends I rarely get a chance to see, shopping, working outside, family game nights...It's been a nice break from a crazy crazy winter and a time to regroup before I start living in a hotel for the weekends again in 2 short weeks.....

My legs are tired tired. I'm not resting them until tomorrow and they are definitely feeling the wrath of the bike and the road. My 20 on Sunday went OK but my legs would have really liked to stop at 16. Starting a long run at MP for the first couple of miles is not the best decision for me. My pace deteriorated BIG TIME in the last 4 miles and I began chanting profanity with every step.... I will take a slightly smarter approach on my 22 on Saturday and then have a bit of a cutback week with the long run. I'm really starting to stray from my training plan here...The "Jenn" plan is seemingly taking over.....

Max cannot take a picture with a straight face these days.

They are not clawing each other's eyes out because their mouths are full.

Poor Reese. Although there is adequate space, these girls just cannot coinhabit the bathroom in the morning to get ready for school. Reese's turn in the hallway:)

What is fun to do when it's 26 degrees before school? I know!! Make your mom stand outside FREEZING while you show her how to do flips on the trampoline! (I have tried actually participating but childbirth has limited my ability to jump on trampolines-ha!)

Anyway, this is brief and likely uninteresting but I plan to post soon (more for my own benefit probably) about why it is I claim to love the marathon and maybe a little analyzing of the differences in my training from this time to last. For people who like to see paces and numbers I will throw them out there for feedback! Happy Thursday all! Off to run:)

My Virtual Boston sign and Mishmash.....

2011-04-16T15:42:00.010-05:00

Nothing to blog about because let's just face it, I'm not running Boston and that's where all the excitement is this week!!! I AM however virtually cheering for those running Boston!!!! SO excited!!

Thankyou to my 7 year old photographer.....And if I forgot someone, it's entirely unintentional. I sometimes forget where the milk goes and put it in the cupboard with the oatmeal. Rest Assured, I'm cheering for EVERYONE!!!

Random bullets.

*Minnesota got dumped on with A LOT of snow again. Nasty nasty wind and SNOW. This is NO problem for people who have to run 20 miles. Some people LIKE running 20 miles on the treadmill.....hmmm......some people like hotdish, some people know how to answer their voicemail, some people wash their hair with Suave....I don't know these people...

*My husband is likely at home spackling the doorway to our spare bedroom right now! He was doing pullups (pullup bar in the door jam) when all of a sudden he crashed to the floor WITH the bar and the door molding, a nice chunk of drywall and a fair amount of dust. His knee was bleeding and I was having a seizure laughing!!!! Seriously, I'm not sure I've EVER laughed this hard. I'm sympathetic like that....I should mention he also had a bit of a laughfest the time I rode my bike into a light pole, screwed up my bike and ended my chances to bear any more children....*DISCLAIMER* In this marriage, it's OK to laugh at each other when we hurt ourselves (as long as it's not seriously ). Hit me with a car on the other hand and....well yeah-no laughing....

*My son went to the circus with his class this week. He was SO excited. He came home with a LOUD light up laser gun. Apparently, it's a LOUD light up laser gun with batteries that NEVER DIE!!!!! Am I a bad mother if I secretly take a meat hammer to this thing???

*My daughter has a boyfriend.....He calls me Mrs. Strand and is very polite to my other kids which somehow helps me overlook the fact that he is practically bigger than my husband....I have perfected my "look". You know.... the one that says I will smash your Iphone if you disrespect my daughter......

*My NON-virtual runner friend Heidi just ran a 1:22 and took 2nd overall female this morning in freezing weather at the St. Cloud Earth Day HM!!!!!!!! UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE!!

Training update:

Week started off rough but finishing fairly strong.

Running:
Monday-8 easy @ 8:10-not following the plan....
Tuesday- 3.4 miles am easy and felt terrible-once again could not seem to break into the planned workout. 7.2 mile tempo in the afternoon with my hubby(still not following the plan) This went better but still felt tough.
Wednesday - 7 miles easy on the TM
Thursday -13.1 outside. Finished in 1:38:19 and was at 40:20 at the 5 mile so strong finish for the last 8.
Friday-10 easy on the treadmill-SO BORING
Today-off
Sunday-20 miles

Put quite a few miles in on the bike which I was happy about! I was biking a lot last August-October when I was rehabbing my hip (FNSF) and really really enjoyed it. I'm planning for a pretty heavy week with both running and biking this coming week.

And just to be sure I'm random enough!! I was looking for a picture of my heel strike the other day and I came across this! Julia, GO BIG GREEN right next to me in the starting corral of the 10 mile last March. Small world as I bumped into her through the blog world way after this race! Funny. Also-I'm pretty sure she smoked me! I can't believe I wore shorts to this race. It was obviously freezing.....Oh-and if one person dares to make fun of my ponytail holder I will virtually hurt you. It was St. Patrick's Day and I was trying to be festive...

ONCE AGAIN-GOOD LUCK BOSTON RUNNERS!!!!!! And leaving you with my favorite sign I've seen in a marathon. "26.2 because 26.3 would just be CRAAAAZZZZY"

Accent Vlog aka Jenn's annoying voice on video:)

2011-04-13T06:02:00.001-05:00

So, I've never done a video before. I do however, LOVE seeing other people's pictures and videos so I figured I better get in the game! I saw this post awhile back and thought I would give it a shot! I love how I'm staring a hole through the white piece of paper even though it only has the words and sentences on it:)

List of Words:
Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

Questions:

* What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

* What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?

* What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?

* What do you call gym shoes?

* What do you say to address a group of people?

* What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?

* What do you call your grandparents?

* What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

* What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?

* What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Training news:
I had to drag my husband out to pace me for my run yesterday because I could NOT seem to do it on my own. I even surrendered the Garmin to him and although I changed my planned run (he hates what he calls complicated workouts) we got a good tempo in. (not necessarily good at the time as I almost lost a lung and he nearly divorced me) Turns out when we're running and I ask pace, he says 7:10 but mistakenly means 6:41 half the time. LIAR and reason #246 why we don't run together. Disclaimer*if you are reading my blog for the first time, I do love my husband, (this is obvious) thoroughly enjoy his company, but we generally don't run together.

I am back in the ditch trail and wore SHORTS 2 days! Likely a tease from Mother Nature....

I am heading out on my bike now! I'm in my stretch of 3 weeks without work. My kids are in school, my husband is working or sleeping during the day which means I get to do WHATEVER I want for 3 weeks! LOVE it:)

Happy Hump Day All!

Butterflies

2011-04-11T14:41:00.007-05:00

One week until Boston! One year ago today I was getting packed up to run my second ever marathon! Getting ready to hopefully run a PR on a course that slightly terrified me-ha! I just read back over some emails I wrote to a close friend about this time last year and felt an overwhelming rush of emotion! Wow-I am truly SO excited for all the Boston runners out there! I will be PERMANENTLY glued to my computer chair next Monday virtually cheering for all of you and I'm currently working on my signs:)

A friend sent me a link to this commercial! I LOVE it! Hope you do too!

A little 5K PR:)

2011-04-10T14:36:00.002-05:00

Shelton Spring Shuffle 5K Run/Walk
3.15 miles/20:08
For those of you who clicked on this post strictly for my time, you can now avoid reading this.

So-I tackled another 5K yesterday. I've been in a bit of a funk, started having some anxiety issues relating to racing lately, and decided the only way to snap out of it was to run. Everyone who knows me, knows I strongly dislike any distance under 10 miles(actually any distance under the marathon-ha! I have always believed I'm more of an endurance runner and I wrap myself in that pretty comfortable security blanket. I don't like speedwork but I've been doing it and I've been pushing myself with it. Time to test it out.

My Goal:

Believe it or not, I really had no specific time goal. My biggest goal was to run hard and push through the mental barriers that have been plaguing me as of late. I almost never put my goals out there because regardless of whether I want to admit it, I do struggle with a fear of failure in some sense. I hate this, I'm working on it, and I'm starting to get a handle on it. Anyway, this time, although I didn't mention a time goal, I feel like I put myself out there a bit by stating that I was going to PUSH my limits, announcing to friends that I was rested and ready, and leaving myself not many "outs" for not performing well. I felt a freedom going into the race, a freedom of no excuses. I reminded myself that my legs would not fall off and if they did, it wasn't an A goal race and I could take that risk!!

The Course:

I laugh a little when people ask if the race was chip timed. I went to this race with just my daughter Reese so I didn't have my camera but I'm going to post a picture of another race at the start to show how "official" it is around here!

Yes, the starting line is cones. We are lucky if we get recipe cards for bibs, and we often finish with a volunteer holding a stopwatch! Races are often small fundraisers for local causes. It is very rare to have more than 100 people in a race especially this time of year and people have won 5K's around here with times over 20 minutes! Today, we were graced with real bibs and a finish clock-we felt like Elites! Woohoo! Anyway, the course. Mostly pavement, a short trail maybe 100 meters to connect to more road, flat other than a small bridge and not many runners.

Warmup: Took some advice here and went for about a 20 minute SLOW warmup. Much slower than I ever run. My daughter Reese joined me for about the last 1/2 mile as she was also running the race!

The Race: Very wet but just a light drizzle. Puddles EVERYWHERE. The wind was almost non-existent and I would rather run through a lake (do they call this swimming?) than fight wind so I was happy with the conditions! I lined up right on the start line, felt almost nauseous in my stomach but not really nervous, just antsy and excited. I strongly considered not even wearing a watch but decided I wanted the Garmin data so I strapped it on. Popped in the headphones and started a conversation with myself in my head about my two choices: To Flee or Fight! Thankyou AM:)

To start. My legs felt GREAT. BUZZING! Things felt effortless for a bit. Most of the race is a blur. I had my Ipod BLARING. I'm pretty sure the other runners didn't even need to wear Ipods because they could all hear mine. Sometimes I don't even race with music but I needed it today. I don't even remember what I was listening to. There was a big pack in the first mile other than 2 guys who TOOK OFF with the gun. Little kids and everything were running right with me until about 1/2 a mile. A kid wearing Vans, a hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap was actually a fair amount ahead of me!! Crossed mile one in 6:25 and noticed that people were starting to drop off. At this point, I knew of only one girl ahead of me and she was still within reach. I remember feeling good at this point. Strong and surprised since when I run mile repeats around this pace, I NEVER feel this good. Mile 2 had a few turns, I tried to run them the best I could. I was still feeling pretty strong but I could feel the negativity wanting to enter somewhere in this mile. I was able to dismiss it pretty well though. Mile 2- 6:19. Prior to the mile mark I noticed the girl ahead of me was widening the gap and although I wasn't out to beat anyone necessarily, I felt maybe a little disheartened. When I looked down and saw I had run that mile around 6:20, I got a a boost. This was FAST for me and I knew I was on track for a great race for ME if I could keep going strong! No doubt I was getting tired here though. I dismissed typical brief thoughts about how I would like to just trip on a rock, hurt myself, and not be able to run anymore because I wouldn't have a choice. Do people really have thoughts like this???? Well I ALWAYS do, but today I won the mind battle. I was prepared for this inevitable fatigue feeling and the thoughts that surround it and had primed myself to push through it. I couldn't even muster a good mantra after the 2 mile mark, just kept chanting one mile one mile one mile. Isn't this just clever-so motivating hey!! Whatever but it was working! I missed looking down at the 3 mile mark(6:29) and just ran up to the finish with as much as I could muster. Girl in question was already done and nobody next to me. (Final .15/6:06). Finished 2nd overall female.

Final Thoughts:

20:08. Couldn't be happier with my effort. I did not have 8 seconds. I was spent. Does it bug me at all that I was only 8 seconds over 20-YES of course. I jokingly told my husband it would have been better if I finished in 20:20. Still the PR but not the "what if's" Honestly though, I wasn't even ATTEMPTING sub 20 and actually felt it was quite a bit out of my reach at this point. I wanted the PR and got it by 21 seconds which was a major accomplishment for me. This was maybe one of the best efforts I've ever given in a race.

For those of you who encouraged me yesterday and every day actually through prayers, comments, thoughts or emails. I'm truly grateful. I consider you real friends!

My little peanut Reese (10yrs.) finished her race in 24:51. Not a PR for her but she hasn't run at all and was just out to have fun as it should be:) I watched her finish and she was bouncing and smiling and not PAINED as I imagine I looked-ha! I encouraged her to write her own little race report so maybe I will have a guest post in the near future!!

I hate race pictures. I didn't bring a camera but Joe snapped a couple pics of us which I threw up on my sidebar when we got home. I'm thinking he should have snapped them before we left:)

Other quick training update. Last Wednesday on my easy run I bumped into 2 girls running up ahead and eventually caught them. I know one of them well and the other somewhat. I ended up visiting with them for a bit and long story short made a run date for yesterday afternoon with one of them. 18 miles. I have been running solo for a long time and thought it would be really nice to have at least a partner for some of my long run. SHE WAS AWESOME!! We avg. 8:41 which was slower than I usually run but I was really just concerned about the mileage since I wasn't sure if my legs would even cooperate after the 5K. She NEVER stopped talking and it was absolutely the most enjoyable run I've had in a long time! I'm so looking forward to knocking out a few more easy ones with her!!!! Finished the day with 23.5 miles! Things are lookin' good!!

Today in my Life!

2011-04-08T10:43:00.001-05:00

I saw this on Aron's blog! I liked it so here goes!

Outside my window there is water everywhere. Brown, wet, but NO snow!

I am hearing rain coming down on the roof.

I am thinking that I want it to stop raining.....

I am thankful for strong legs, a peaceful mind, a confident spirit!

I am reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.

I am hoping and praying that it stops raining.

I am wearing Lululemon studio dance pants and a Brooks Tee. 95% of the time if you ask me what I'm wearing, this is it.

I am creating a gameplan for my race tomorrow.

From the kitchen I am making THIS. Angela has the BEST recipes, mostly vegan (which I'm not). I love everything I've made off her blog. Next up, lentil loaf. I'm going to try this on my kids instead of meatloaf and see if it passes!

Around the house I'm painting my bedroom. I started 3 months ago:)

Plans for the rest of the week: 5K tomorrow morning! 18 mile run date with my friend Katie tomorrow afternoon! Going away party for a friend tomorrow night! I might be dead by Sunday.

A Picture to share Random

Me virtually cheering for my friend Joni! See, I make signs and everything-ha!

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend! I've been a bit blog absent lately. I just started my glorious stretch of 3 weeks off so I'll hopefully be able to catch up soon!!

Gratitude and of course a little random:)

2011-04-04T21:48:00.000-05:00

Well, happy Monday y'all! I know you're just chomping at the bit waiting for my Monday rambles....or maybe not but here they are anyway!!!

I had a fantastic weekend. So refreshing to have a weekend all about ME:) Just a great opportunity to reconnect with my husband, hang out with great friends, bust a gut laughing, drink a little wine, eat too much sushi, finally get my toenails repainted after about 6 months, get a wicked awesome massage, rip the back of my jeans out trying to climb a rock wall perhaps slightly under the influence, light a small chunk of my hair on fire on a candle on the table, talk, dance, read, run, tango.... All in all, a great weekend. I woke up Sunday morning feeling very content. My life is in a very happy place. SO..... Time for a gratitude list!!!

*I'm thankful for my very best friend. The man who can talk to me with his eyes and no words are needed. The man who still treats me like a trophy wife EVERY day after 13 years. Opens my doors, takes my coat, and pulls out my chair....the man who values and respects me.

*I'm thankful for good friends who "get" me. Friends I can be totally myself with and never worry about what I say or what I do. Friends that make me laugh until people are wondering if I'm having a seizure. Friends who I don't see for months at times but KNOW nothing will ever change.

*Thankful for my amazing kids who make it exciting to come home! Make me remember that everything about my life is an adventure!

*Thankful for my sister-in-law who opened her home and spoiled Reese this weekend! Thankful for ALL my family who is always willing to help when needed.

*Thankful for my blog buds who are constantly inspiring and encouraging me! Thankful that I feel like I have a community that will drive me to be a better runner but still pick me up if I fall.

*Thankful that Theo (now called Teddy) weighs almost 7 pounds and is a happy healthy baby with NO problems.

*Thankful that although I can feel my foot, it is cooperating and letting me run!

*Thankful that I got my son's progress report and got this! You probably can't read it well but he is in 1st grade and is reading top of his grade at a level typical to a child in the 4th grade, 5th month! I'm so proud of him. He loves to read and loves for me to listen to him!

*Thankful for just every moment of this precious life that I was given just one of.

AND NOW TO THE RANDOM:

*For those who asked, I cut my hand between my thumb and my pointer finger trying to separate two glass bowls off the top shelf while making my daughters birthday cake. 3 stitches and I also got a nice dagger in my chest. I was not wearing a shirt because it is totally normal to bake cakes for your kids without a shirt on....(nothing twisted here. My shirt was sweaty after running so I took it off)

*I'm running a 5K next weekend. Actually, I'm not running it, I'm racing it. I'm planning to puke on my shoes. I felt particularly inspired by Ginny's post about her Friday night 5K and her thoughts on racing and then again by Amanda's FANTASTIC tune-up 10K!!

*I wore these jeans around for like 2 hours with this hole in my A$$!

*AND.... Just to prove I have it all together, the inside of my purse....

I read so many great race reports today! I'm going to make my rounds to comment tonight! Have a good one:)

20 and the WEEKEND!!!!

2011-04-01T12:24:00.002-05:00

TGIF!!!!!

I ran 20 miles outside this morning!!! I haven't run a 20 miler since my death by treadmill attempt. I haven't run an outdoor 20 since my proof I could still run a marathon run. There is something just exhilarating about the number 20! I think it's my favorite number. Just seeing the number 20 written in my running log or on my GarminConnect can completely change my thought process and rejuvenate my spirit!!! I've ALSO found, there is a direct correlation between running 20 miles and me fixing my hair and putting makeup on-ha! I have NO desire to sit on the couch and relax when I get a good long run in! Time to go out and celebrate!!

Speaking of celebrating, I am heading out here for a weekend of FUN!!!! "Chick car" leaves at 3:30 so we can make some "essential" stops and "Man bus" will be shortly behind!! I can not explain how much I've been looking forward to this weekend. It's practically a honeymoon for me (with two other couples). I'm excited for girl time, Joe time, GOOD food, GOOD wine! Joe is making me promise to let him lay in bed until at least 6 am in the morning this time. Boston last year, I did not sleep at all (except the night before the race oddly enough) and made him get up with me by 5 every morning. We also went to St. Maarten and I made him be up walking on the beach by 5:30am. Maybe he wants a new wife.....Anyway, I feel like I'm COMPLETELY relaxed having my long run done and I'm out to THOROUGHLY enjoy myself!!!

And now, true to the random:

*I got 3 stitches in my hand while trying to make my daughters birthday cake.

*Reese was invited to play in the MN Selects hockey tournament this weekend. She has friends on the team, she won't miss me a bit, and I'm not going to let myself feel guilty about not being there!

*As I was driving to work yesterday (30 minute drive) I caught a glimpse of the sun and got an overwhelming urge to roll down my window and whip out a cigarette! I DON'T smoke! I hate smoking!!!!! I didn't obviously but where did this come from!

*I had 9 girls spend the night over here last night (yes, a school night). I honestly think I'm really 13 sometimes but just I'm trapped in a web of gray hair and crow's feet!!

*I just snagged my sister's cleaning lady to come and clean my house-pathetic perhaps....

*Ryan had a great birthday!

I love this picture because the look on Max's face says I'm a child abuser that is making him sit next to his sister while she opens her presents! Yes, that's snow in the background.

*It started snowing AGAIN a few minutes ago.

I'm going to run a 5K next weekend. I've run ONE race in the last 9 months.....I almost decided NOT to run this particular race even though it's nearly in my backyard. It isn't certified, the course is LONG, and I have little chance to PR. All good reasons to avoid forced speedwork even if it's for a good cause-right!!! WRONG....I need to get a handle on my thoughts here. I'm coming to the realization that I NEED to race more, RISK more.... I can't "dream" myself to another level, I need to "work" myself there. Can I do this? Do I really want this?... I don't know...At this moment, I do, because I'm high from running 20 GOOD miles this morning(not sure if I mentioned that-ha!)....

Good luck to those racing this weekend! There's a couple of race reports I'm VERY anxious to read!!