Today I set out to do 10 miles at a 9:30 or so pace.

I did the first loop around our development, which is 3.5, and then a ways up the street saw the girls that I sometimes run with in the early morning hours. They had their dogs and were going to do 8 miles, so we decided to do the second loop together, for a total of 7.

After the second loop, the one lady, a marathon junkie, says, “Let’ s do just one more!” I was already going to do a third to make the run 10 (walking the last half mile) but off we went and a bit later we had 11 miles under our collective belts.

It was a lot of fun, I have to say. I’ve said before I’m not much of a run with people runner; I’m more a solo wanderer. But talking and laughing makes it go so much faster.

My time was a bit slower – one girl was recovering from the flu and we were averaging about 10:30, which was kind of slower than I had considered going since I want to actually improve my time for the next long race – but I felt like in all it was only 6 minutes slower total and the talking and laughing was well worth it.

Knee is a little tender tonight, I’m sure because I increased my mileage by 3 instead of the 2 I had wanted to do (actually the 1.5), but I think I’ll recover ok. I’ll make sure to do some foam rolling tonight.

Do you run solo or with someone? This is what i realized today:

Sometimes it is good to change it up. The benefits of having a running partner or group:

1. It can keep you more accountable. I don’t have issues NOT running; I have issues running too much. I love it and want to do it daily but need rest days. However, running with them made me go further than i had planned, and i think when I increase mileage again the same will be true.
2. It passes time. It really, really does. I can only think so much about what the day or my job has in store. At some point I have thought all my troubles and worries out and I am ready for something ELSE. Normally that is my music, but it was nice having someone to talk to today.
3. It can make you push faster or further. Running with someone else does require some skill, particularly if that person is faster or goes farther than you. You might have to ask them to slow a little, or you might be the one pushing them to go faster or further. But if you use it to your advantage, it can work for you: Today I did it a little more slowly but I went a mile further.
4. It can make you hold back. Yep, it can make you hold back when you need to, like before a big race, or before a big day. You might always want to push, push, push, but by running with someone slower it may make you slow down and take a good ‘rest’ run day, thereby reducing injuries.

So if you are running solo and considering finding a partner, even if for only a few runs a week, do it! I suggest finding someone who is pretty close to you pace-wise so most of your runs will be on target. I’d hate to be the slowpoke BUT if you want to go faster than someone else it can be tough holding back when they do.

And always remember that if you aren’t running the same pace that day you can break apart at some point and then meet again. I hear the running group around here follows this pattern, starting off together and then breaking apart to run solo before meeting up for a few beers after finishing the run.

Now, that’s not a bad plan at all!

Happy weekend running, warriors!

Let’s face it, we all have off days, whether it is bad hair:

Unruly Children:

Or a broken coffee pot:

Yes, I said it.

When I went out for my cup of coffee after my 5 miler this AM I discovered coffee all over the counter and a chip in the pot.

Yikes!

First of all, do  you know how expensive it is to replace the glass? You may as well buy a whole new machine,which is, of course, what I now have to do.

Rather than panic and let this ruin my day (I do love my coffee and it IS a tragedy when I can’t have it right away!), I stuck a mug under the drip and ran two cups. It took about ten minutes to complete but hey, I had a nice steaming warm cup of coffee.

This is the thing: Life is what we make it, and so is running.

If you want to cry over spilled coffee, you’re going to expend mucho energy tantruming in the kitchen. So much so that eventually the family will wake up and find you crumpled on the floor pulling out your hair, crying about how unfair life is.

And as my grandma used to say, “Who in the hell told you life was going to be fair? ”

Same goes with running.

If you have a bad one, you can pout about the bad run or you can get back out there and have a good one the very next day.

Yesterday’s run was tough. Legs were lead, I was tired, and I didn’t enjoy it until I worked on sprinting at the end.

Today’s run: So much better. 5 miler, negative splits. It was  a nice, warmer morning, stars were out quite bright, and I saw about 6 deer, four of them babies!, when I rounded my first corner. They were standing in the road watching me.

When the run got a little tough I pulled out my headphones and listened to music.

My theory (for what it is worth!):

We only have so much time in the day. If we spend it being angry about the way things are going poorly, we won’t have time to enjoy the things that are going well.

Same with working out.

If you are having negative thoughts during a workout, focus on the positives.

Focus on the way your muscles feel as they are pushing your body forward (quite phenomenal, really, that the human body can run 26.2 plus miles and not collapse!)

Think about the way the neighbor’s dryer smells as it finishes that load of clothes.

Think about that steaming cup of coffee you’ll have in a bit (you hope!)

Think about the sunrise or sunset.

Think about how strong you are.You are STRONG. If you weren’t you wouldn’t be working out, period!

Focusing on the positive, as we know, changes our entire brain patterns. We can become happy if we think happy.

Same goes for the negative. And it is easy to get caught up into negativity if you allow yourself to do so. (Come on, everyone knows the complainer! This person grumbles about EVERYTHING, and never seems to be satisfied. Do you want that to be you?!)

If you are thinking negatively during your workout (I hate this, my legs hurt, my head hurts, why am I doing this, I’ll never make another two miles, I could still be in bed), chances are you’ll :

• stop doing what you are doing for the day
• do it more poorly than if you were thinking positively
• quit the entire workout routine you’ve worked so hard to build up
• not gain the mental benefits that a great workout session can provide

Next time you are thinking negatively about your workout sessions, stop!

Focus on one positive aspect of your routine. (My ass is gonna look great in a bikini next summer!)

Focus on one part of your body that feels great right now. (Legs are feeling strong despite my mental attitude).

Focus on one thing outside of yourself. (The sunrise is gorgeous this morning).

Smile.

Continue on.

Happy running, everyone!

All too often I think we get into this rut where we feel we have to either blaze some trails or run for three hours straight. This is particularly true if we are prepping for a race: we either want to improve our speed or go further, and in either case we get lost in the rush of maddening, dizzying prep. We go out to run and we feel bad if they are slower or shorter than we wanted. We focus only on the end goal – that big race – and not all of the time that goes into it.

This is particularly true if we are in the middle of training. The beginning is exciting! It’s new! I’m going to run a 5K/half marathon/full marathon! Woo hoo, let’s go train!

The end of the training is exciting. Race day is coming up! I have to prepare! I can do this!

Middle of the road? Tough. Even Dean K agrees in his new book 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days. You aren’t close enough to run the race but the idea is no longer new and exciting.

This happens during our regular runs, too. We push too hard, or we take it all too seriously, and we forget:

Running is fun.

Have you forgotten? Going for a quick run can be exhilirating! You can:

• Listen to birds
• Snoop on the neighbors
• Sing along to great music
• Enjoy the sunshine
• Get some fresh air

You don’t have to push yourself; you can just be one with the run! (Now, what a motto that is!)

If you are waking in the morning dreading that jog, if your legs are like lead and your mind filled with running dread, stop!

Take a rest day (it’s really okay to sleep in every once in a while! it is! ) Don’t push yourself all of the time or you’ll burn out. If you need a day off, take it! And your next run will be even better, promise!)

If you aren’t completely burned out, then do the next best thing to taking a day off: Take a day without the watch. Don’t pace yourself, don’t mile yourself to death, just go. Go as far as you want. Stop and smell some flowers, talk to the neighbor, stop to watch the ocean. I used to do this when running in Cali on my long days – stop and watch the sun come up. Not too many people get to experience this beautiful sight, and most runs you don’t ‘have the time’. You do today!

Run somewhere new. Get in the car, get out of your neighborhood, and go somewhere nice/different/interesting/new. Some of my favorite runs are those when we are traveling. I’ve run to the Alamo (tried to run inside, but the guard stopped me – only walking in the Alamo, please!). On some days when I am bored I drive over to the beach and run. I’ve run in the mountains, along city streets, and down country roads. If your are bored with your routine, change it up!

Run your same path only backwards. Now, you can literally run backwards – there is a guy in my neighborhood who does, and he has passed me (enough said!). But you can just change the route scenery and go the other way. Face it: You probably always run the same route the same way. If you go the other way around you’ll be looking at things in a new light, and it might just take that boredom away.

What do you do to make your runs more enjoyable when you are feeling burned out?

Today’s Run:

Why did I post this? Legs were lead this morning. Should have tried to do 4.5 at a 8:30 pace but, alas, it was not in the cards! INstead I did 3.5 miles at around a 9:30 and then did some sprints. Momma needed a break! I’m glad I didn’t pressure myself.

Now, off to the gym with baby in tow. Supposed to have a fun class for tots. I’ll report back!

Have a great run today!

Back in my youth I was a cheerleader.

Well, I say cheerleader but I was actually the mascot.

It was a bear. Large, furry, hot, hairy, grizzly type bear. If I had a way to scan a photo I would; perhaps I will do so in the future to show you just how horrendous this costume was!

We cheerleaders (i will always be a cheerleader and not just a bear!) had a cheer about effort. Don’t recall how it goes (probably couldn’t hear all the words behind that furry suit) but I remember we did all the same.

This morning as I ran I considered the comment I heard not too long ago but someone I know about running. They said, to this effect, “I could never do that.”

I also know that people consider embarking on a running or workout program but the same thought inches through their mind. “I can’t. I could never.”

Truth is, they are saying ,”I won’t.”

Running, like experiencing life, is all about Effort. You get what you put out there in the universe. If you want to have a life filled with couch and TV, with ‘what ifs’ and ’should I have’, then that is the life you will lead.

If you want to have a life filled with journeys and experiences and “I dids”, then you put forth effort.

Where are you in life? Are you watching it go by from your post on the sofa, or are you out there running with it?

If it is leaving you behind, why? Why are you not out there running?

I think of life a lot. I think of how each day appears to go faster than the previous day and then it is gone. It’ s not a bad thought, though it may seem morbid. I believe it pushes me to realize each and every day that life goes fast, and unless I put forth some effort in enjoying it, soon it will be gone and I will have been left with dozens of experiences lost, never to be had.

I wrote a post about fear for Allbusiness recently. In it I stated that in order to tackle your fears you have to break the task that is terrifying you down into small steps.

If you are afraid to start running, for whatever reason, break it down: Do a short walk, followed by a short run, followed by a short walk, etc . . . until you have gone for 20 or 30 minutes.

If you are afraid to tackle a marathon, or a half, or a 5K, break it down. Do short practice runs. Build slowly over time. Count each day you run as an accomplishment.

If you are afraid to begin any type of workout program but you want to lose weight, break it down. What can you do today that will help? Walk for 30 minutes and cut out one snack from your diet. Drink more water before eating, eat more fiber, throw in some veggies with your dinner. Break it down.

It is all about making the effort. You will get nowhere if you don’t try. And even if you don’t reach the finish line, at least if you put forth some effort you’ll have one hell of a ride along the way!

Take it from this bear!

So I had some thoughts . . .

Most of them came during Saturday’s 10K. You know how it is: The batteries go dead in the music box and you have nothing but miles to go so to shut out the pain you think!

I rarely run with music for this reason: I choose to spend my runs thinking about things that have to be done, that I have done, that I want to do, that I will never get around to doing, so that when ‘life’ begins for the day I can shut those thoughts out and deal with Everything Else.

So these are random thoughts that went through my head yesterday during the race and today during my 5 mile ‘recovery’ run!

1. If I could shave 45 seconds off of my regular running time and my race time for each mile, does that mean I’m not running to my potential most days?
2. Physically, how do people talk while they run? I posted about this somewhat on my last blog entry. I can’t talk and run at the same time. Maybe that’s why I don’t understand this! I have tried but I get cramps. I am, however, a great listener, so if you are a talker and you want a partner, let me know!
3. Where do the mosquitoes and sand gnats go when the weather conditions change? They have to live somewhere when they aren’t attacking humans. Why is it that they want to attack us when the weather is better? Are they jealous we enjoy the outdoors?
4. How is it that I have gotten faster after starting a major strength and core program. Is it coincidence or has this really helped my running speeds?
5. Will running faster change how much I want to eat? Because I’m damn hungry today, and I was yesterday, and I have been all week since I started really pushing it during my daily runs.
6. Why didn’t the Proclaimers have more hit songs? They were upbeat and just great!

The Proclaimers!

Running Clubs

I am considering joining a running club. They meet each Thursday night. I have a few reasons for wanting to do this.

1. To meet new people.
2. To meet new people.
3. To improve running.
4. To meet new people.

I’m nervous because:

1. I generally am not social and don’t go out of my way to do #1, 2, and #4 on the above list.
2. I’m afraid everyone will be way faster than me, I won’t be able to keep up unless I push it, and then I will get cramps and not be able to finish the run.

So this is the question of the week: Do you belong to a running club? If not, why? If you do, tell us about it! What do you love about it? Anything you don’t like?

I’d be really interested in hearing your thoughts.

I’ll let you know if I get up the nerve to meet up with them on Thursday.

In the meantime, happy running!

So, I did it!

I PRed at 53 and change at today’s Dolphin Days Race on St. Simon’s Island!

I don’t know my splits because dummy me didn’t realize I could do that on my Garmin until just now – show my pace for each mile, argh!

But I do know my first mile was at 8:26 and my average was 8:31.

Can we say woo hoo (woo hoo)?

Let me hear you say woo hoo (woo hoo!)

This was the smallest run that I have ever participated in.

In fact, it was so small that right before someone shouted, “GO!” they said, “We are missing four people. We’ll wait until they get here before we start.”

I would say there were about 50 participants total. I really loved that about the race. Usually people are pushing and shoving and racing to get to the start, to the front, or you are tripping over the slower people who don’t realize you should start in the back if you aren’t going to go fast.

Today it was just about 50 people mingling around, commenting on the cold weather, waiting for someone to yell START! People knew each other; many run together in a running club that I’m going to look into. I used to fear running with others, but now that my speed has improved I think it may be kind of fun.

The start line was just 10K Start spray painted in blue on the side of the road! 

It was frigid cold but of course once we began I didn’t notice. My headphone batteries went out at mile 3, which I thought might be bad. I do better focusing at speed when I have pumping music going on in my ears, and I didn’t even get to hear the Proclaimers sing, ” I would walk 500 miles! ” before the batteries died.

But it turned out fine. Instead I focused on finding that pace that didn’t totally take my breath away but that made me breathe harder and feel some kind of burn. That on the edge pace. Then I would fall back a little, doing about 8:40 for a half mile, and then push to do 8:20 or less for a stint.

At one point one of the girls I rode with to the race passed me, and we ran elbow and elbow for about a mile before I pushed on during one of my sprints. She came in right behind me by a few seconds and took fourth in her age (the next age category is pretty damn fast!)

Overall woman came in at 46 minutes. 46 ! In awe.

So the pushing hard made me wonder this:

Why do they say that you should be able to hold a conversation while running, and that if you can’t hold one you are running too hard for your ability?

I considered this for a while on the run as my lungs somewhat burned. Seriously, if I were able to talk normally, or hold down any type of conversation, wouldn’t that mean I wasn’t putting as much into it as I could?

When I am running hard, I don’t feel I should be able to talk. I shouldn’t be hyperventilating, of course, or so out of breath I think I might have a heart attack (at least, not until that last half mile to the finish line!)

I suppose some people are better at fast running while talking. I don’t get into it. Maybe that’s the solo runner in me. I would prefer to hear nothing or my music than someone trying to talk to me during fast paces.

If they are talking to me, then I am feeling as though I have to respond, and that’s just not something I really care to do while pushing myself to go further and faster.

And I always think, “If you are talking you aren’t going fast enough.”

Anyhoo . . .

The run was gorgeous, past the marsh. I saw a blue heron right beside us in the marsh and quite a few other birds. There were very few spectators and three drink stands serving water, but it was so cold I could barely drink. Two girls stood on the side of the road bundled up. One saw me coming and yelled, “Are you my mommy?”

I focused on the race during the run, my speed, my heart rate, and the girl wearing black and pink in front of me. I knew when we got close to the finish line I wanted to pass her. That was my goal.

I also had a silver haired guy in front of me for a while that I wanted to keep in sight. He had an easy stride, I would say he was doing about 8:20, so for me it was a little faster than I go but definitely someone on whom I could focus. He came in a minute ahead of me I’d say.

Afterwards the two girls I were running went on to do another 5, as they are training for a marathon. I did two more, but quite honestly I had run so hard for the race that I wasn’t into it and thought it would be a bad idea on my knee. So I ran about 1.75, then hung around and cheered on the kids that were doing the mile fun run (some of them in 6:20!)

I took second place in my age division; first was a minute faster at 52 something. We didn’t stay around for the award ceremony because they still had to do the 5K and we were ready to go by that point. I hear I may get a medal in the mail though – now ain’t that something for someone who started off after baby 2 running 10:30 miles?

My second speed accomplishment in racing was last year’s 5K at 8:20 miles. I am stoked I was able to go only ten seconds slower for an entire six miles during this race, which really proves the work I have been doing on speed has helped.

This makes me wonder how much faster I can go in the future. Can I hit 8 even? What about 7s? Right now it doesn’t seem possible, but if you had told me a few years ago that I’d be in the 8:30 range I would have laughed, rolled my eyes, and said, ” Only in your dreams!”

Hope all of your runs are good runs today!

Gearing up for the 10K tomorrow, and then the girls and I are going to run a bit further. I want to do ten. It will be the first time I’ve broken double digits since I injured my knee in Disney marathon last month. I can’t wait! I hope that it goes easily.

Today I worked the core and arms. Skipped leg work since I have the race in the AM. Have to figure out where to sneak that in a few times a week. Maybe Tuesdays and Sundays would work.

Then I spent the morning playing with the young one. We colored, played Barbies, hide and seek and doctor. She is a blast! Sometimes I wonder what goes through her head while we are playing.

Today’s Fun Fitness idea: Work out at home with babe there!

I had a good time today doing my workout with her. I would do some core work on my ball and then we would put her on it and roll her around. I’d do some bicept curls and then we’d put her on the mat and pretend her dolls were going to sleep. I like working out at home on Fridays, but I have a tough time getting mybutt in gear Friday mornings since I don’t run.

If you want to work out at home cheaply you can purchase;

• a stability ball
• yoga mat
• some weights
• a band
• jump rope

Start with some side crawls and jump roping to get the blood going. Older kids might like to do this with you!
Move on to a mix of core work on the ball and weight work. I will post some great exercises next week, I am out of time today.

While you work out, have the kiddo work out with you! Make a game of it. Today I did the core work on the ball and then would put her on the ball and roll her back and forth. Or we would roll the ball back and forth. It was a lot of fun.

In between bicep curls and tricep dips we colored and played barbies.

So, off to get some things done around the house. I am hoping to do the 10K in 54 minutes. I should be able to; I did it earlier this week. Then we will run another 4. Yikes! Hoping my knee holds up . . .

Until then, happy running!

PS Active Women’s Network is up and running. To win a great core workout book, check out the giveaway on the front page.

The goal of the site: To get women who are active together! So, join the forum, post a little. We will be meeting up for a race this winter somewhere . . . details to follow . . .from 5Kers to marathoners, if you want to get together with a great group of active women that is the place (ok my commercial is done, air time is over, back to the previously scheduled program!)