Moving to CinWeekly!

Hey all!

My blog is officially moving to CinWeekly. Please check it out here:

http://tinyurl.com/gabcinweekly

I started off with a bit of a back-story for my new readers (assuming there are any), but I'll be posting again today at some point with an update about this weekend's run. Make sure to bookmark the new page, because this will be my last post here.

To Jam or not to Jam? That is the Question...

For our Wednesday night run with Meters & Miles, I ran from the Newport store this week with my friend Jenn. Jenn is fresh off running a half marathon last weekend in Phoenix, but decided she wanted to go ahead and see how she felt running (and wanted me to be there to give her a piggy-back ride back to the store if she didn't make it through the whole run). So we met up at the Newport store and here's a recap of our conversation:

Jenn: "I didn't bring my iPod."
Me: "I'll talk to you during some of the run."
Jenn (in her best huffy voice): "You'll talk to me during all of the run."
Me: "Well... let me make sure my iPod is working, just in case we get in a fight and there's an awkward silence."

Luckily, said argument did not occur and I enjoyed chatting with Jenn during our run, but it did bring me to an interesting question: "To Jam or not to Jam?" I have always thought that I absolultey needed music to run to, that if there wasn't a techno beat to back me up that my legs just wouldn't move. In discussions that I've had with other runners, I've learned that a lot of people are just as religious as I am about it.

So I've run a few times now where I've turned off my iPod during some of the run and even a few times that I've--gasp!--not used it at all. In some aspects, I enjoyed it. Chatting certainly makes the time go by quicker. However, when I am jamming out, I kind of get lost in the music and forget that running kind of hurts. Whereas with no music, I am fully cognizant of every little ache and pain. So, I am conflicted.

In other news, I had my photo shoot yesterday for CinWeekly and got to meet my fellow marathon bloggers, Greg and Mike. The shoot went well... I think. I didn't get to see any of the pictures they took and apparently I don't get to help in the selection process. So, if they pick a particularly unflattering shot, then that's what will go in the magazine. I'm fairly certain, though, that the photo of me "acting like a cougar" (ala Austin Powers) will resurface at some point...

Here's my schedule for the rest of the week (including yesterday, since I am a day late on blogging):

Yesterday: 3 miles at the gym plus yoga/pilates class at Fitworks
Today: Rest day
Tomorrow: 7 miles with Meters & Miles

Ice Queen

Yesterday I got up at 6:15 a.m. for our 7:00 8-mile run. The temperature: 9 degrees with a wind chill of -2. "I'm not going, " I told myself. Then, I thought about it, then thought about it some more, and the decision finally was put to rest when I realized I'd be really mad at myself for not toughing it out. So I put on my hot pink fleece pullover and my yellow Columbia coat over that. I put on my regular black running pants that are too long, and my gray fleece running pants that are too short over the black. I looked ridiculous, but I was warm. I changed my socks three times, settling on the one pair that I have that aren't ankle socks. I put on my hat and gloves and was out the door.

To my surprise, it really wasn't that cold. I think the previous two days of cold that were far more obnoxious in their freezingness helped put 9 degrees in perspective. Plus, I was appropriately dressed for it. I was offered some Secret Star Strawberry Hannah Montana chapstick from fellow runner Nancy, and accepted it more because it was funny than because I thought I needed it. After a short presentation by Oxford Physical Therapy about the importance of stretching, we set off on our run (without stretching first).

The run got off to a good start. There was a group of five of us--Chapstick Nancy, Shelly, Karen, Earl (from M&M) and me--who ran at about the same pace, so never did I once feel lonely during the run. I was also immediately glad that I accepted the chapstick, because the wind was blowing directly in my face. At the turnaround spot, Brad from M&M was there to give us water. While we were drinking, Shelly pointed out that I had icicles in my hair. I touched my hair and felt a huge mass of ice and tangled hair. Nice. (After the run, Earl took the picture at the right to document my icicle experience.)

I continued to feel good until about mile 7. It was then that my legs really started aching and I felt myself slowing down a bit. I'm not sure what happened, but after about a half mile of my legs screaming, my energy came back from wherever it had been hiding, and I finished strong. The fact that I ran 8 fairly easily makes me feel a little bit less nervous about 11 miles in two weeks.

Another thing that makes me feel good about my future runs is the first development I want to share: I got new shoes! Earl told me that during the run it seemed that I was running too much toward the inside of my feet. I hadn't realized that, and wasn't experiencing any pain from it, but it figured it was better to do something about it now before it led to injury. So Earl outfitted me with some new Nike's that give more support on the inside of my foot than my old New Balance $39.99 specials. The price was--Gulp!--but I knew it was necesarry, and the 15% marathoners discount helped a bit. So, this marks the momentous first occassion of me spending nearly $100 for shoes that are actually practical.

The other development that I'd like to share is even more exciting: I am going to be moving my blog here in a few weeks to blog for CinWeekly. I have been chosen to blog my experience for their site along with two other marathoners. I will certainly give everyone the details once I have them.

This week starts out with:

Today: 4 miles outside with Heather

Tomorrow: 4 miles at the gym plus Group Power strength Training

Tuesday: 3 miles (plus I'll probably try to find a class to take at Fitworks)

Wednesday: 4 miles with M&M

Indoor running, mom's advice and battling fat genes.

In an effort to avoid a snowstorm that didn't happen and extremely cold temperatures that did happen, Meters & Miles gave us the option of running our 4 miles last night at NKU's indoor track instead of braving the elements. I took the indoor option for a couple of reasons: 1.) I haven't been into the campus rec center at NKU since I was a student there and thought it would be fun to go back and see my old stomping grounds and 2.) I really could use a break from the various weather surprises of the past few outdoor runs.

The four miles were a breeze (weather pun intended). I could have easily done more. On that note, I'm finding it's difficult to stop myself from running more. On the days that I run on my own (3-5 miles) I am usually also doing a fitness class (or two) at the gym as well, so I am exhausted by the time I am done. On nights when I am only running 3-4 miles (like last night), I feel like I haven't done anything. On one hand I don't want to feel like a big slouch, but on the other hand I don't want to go over the recommended mileage. My mom (who is hardly an expert on marathons, or for that matter anything involving health or fitness) had a good point: she told me that I need to make sure I don't overtrain and risk injury. Excellent observation, bizarre that it came from my mom.

Part of why I want to run more is because I am still trying to lose weight. You would think that running 20-25 miles every week would melt the pounds off, but it just isn't happening any more. Genetics are telling my body that I ought to be a big, sturdy German woman like every female on my mom's side for 5 generations, and society is telling me I ought to fit into a size 4. Can't we just meet in the middle somewhere?

Seriously though, I was hoping that the strength training classes I am taking would kick my body into gear. Yes, I know that it is normal not to lose weight when strength training because muscle weighs more than fat, but it's been two months now that I've been taking these classes, so I was hoping to start seeing some results on the scale by now. I think this will all become a moot point once I start logging some higher miles on Saturdays, but right now it is frustrating.

Here's the schedule for the rest of the week:

Tonight: 3 miles at the gym plus Group Power and yoga/pilates classes at Fitworks
Tomorrow: Rest, ahhhh.
Saturday: 8 miles with M&M

Splish-Splash

I woke up at 6:30 yesterday morning for my run, checked my email to make sure our run was still on (yes, indeed!), and I also checked the weather forecast. Weather.com said "light rain" for Florence, Ky so I decided I could handle that. Uopn walking out the door and seeing the "actual" weather, I was less certain. I was worried that a 6-mile run might cut into my ark-building time. After skating 4 miles on Wednesday, now I'm supposed to swim 6. Great.

I got over to M&M at about 7:25, and not only was it still pouring, it was also still dark out. Ugh, I did not feel good about this. We ended up not actually starting the run until 7:45 or so, and it was starting to get light out. Thankfully, the rain was letting up as well.

About 20 strides into my run, I heard "Splosh!" I had stepped in a huge puddle and soaked my left shoe as well as the sock within it. Okay, so apparently I was going to need to be a little bit more observant of the puddles. Watching out for puddles took some fancy footwork but it made the run a little bit more interesting. Also, since I had two other people running right at my pace, I was able to chat a little bit as well. Wow, that really helps pass the time!

I looked at my Garmin while we were waiting at a stoplight at what I felt was about 4 miles. My Garmin read 2.67 miles. Wait, that can't be right. I looked closer and saw that it had stopped at 2.67. So, I had no idea how far we'd actually come. What was unusual about this was that I didn't care. I could have run 10 more miles. I felt great. Days like yesterday are why I love running.

This week starts off with:

Today: 3-4 miles outside with Jenn
Tomorrow: 3 miles at the gym plus my Group Power class
Tuesday: 4 miles (maybe outside, maybe treadmill, depends on the weather)
Wednesday: 4 miles with Meters & Miles

Ice, Ice Baby

The run last night at the Florence Meters & Miles store fared much better (for the most part) than my first run in Newport. In talking to the runners there, I learned that they are a couple of people who are at about an 11:00 minute pace (if that). In a related story, it turns out Webster's Dictionary is finally going to replace my picture next to their entry for the word "slow." This was excellent news.

While I was overjoyed to have found a cozy new home with the Florence runners somewhere in between slow and slowest, I was also greeted by some of the joys of running outdoors, namely extreme cold, wind, and (my personal favorite), ice. The first half of the 4 mile run was smooth sailing. My sweet new running jacket (that I bought at TJ Maxx for $30 on clearance) kept me nice and warm (and way stylish) as my body heated up during the first mile or so. By mile 2 I was rocking it out to a remix of Abba's "Dancing Queen" on my iPod Shuffle and keeping a really good pace.

About the time we hit the halfway point on Turfway, I noticed it was getting a little icy on parts of the sidewalk. As we turned onto Rt. 18 for the home stretch the ice had gotten worse, and I was really skating more than running. What was really fun was that the wind blew so hard that it was actually causing me to run-skate sideways. I felt a bit like a cartoon character. But at least I wasn't the last Goofy in the pack...

The rest of the week is:

Tonight - 3 miles on my own (i.e. treadmill) plus abs/kickbox class at Fitworks
Tomorrow - Rest (Yay!)
Saturday - 6 miles with M&M in Florence

Hey guys...wait up!

It's day 1 of my training and right now I am feeling discouraged. Already. I really hate to say that, because I pride myself on being an optimist. I am still hopeful, and still motivated, but I need for something to change. Here's what happened...

This morning we were supposed to do 5 miles for my first training run with Meters & Miles in Newport. We were running with people who were doing the half marathon as well, and they were only running 3 miles. The instructions on where the 3-milers and 5-milers split off was vague (especially to directionally-challenged individuals like me), so I figured I would just follow my friend Jenn, who I knew paced about a minute ahead of me. Other than knowing Jenn was doing 5 miles, I didn't have any idea who else in the group was doing 3 and who was doing 5.

We ran over the Purple People Bridge and into Sawyer Point, and I fell behind the group (even Jenn) quickly. I saw way up ahead where a few people were rounding a turn just past the Boathouse, but I couldn't see where they were going next. So, I instead followed some people going straight who I suspected were doing the 3-mile run. I decided it was better to just do 3 miles than to not get lost.

Upon returning and explaining my situation, Brad (from M&M) told me that 1.) He would try to explain the routes a little more clearly and that 2.) I would get faster. Unfortunately, neither of these things was reassuring to me. I joined a group to run WITH a group, not to run way, way behind it. And getting faster is not necessarily my goal. I want to complete a marathon, not win it.

So, I am going to try to run with the Meters & Miles group in Florence on Wednesday and hope that maybe there will be someone (anyone?) as slow or slower than me. My biggest fear is being at the back of the pack all alone not knowing the route and on top of that it being dark. Actually, that's not entirely true...my biggest fear is clowns. But I digress.

Anyway, I will see how the run Wednesday goes in Florence. In the meantime, I will be doing the following on my own:

Tomorrow: Should be 3 miles, but I will run the 5 I was supposed to run today.
Monday: 3 miles plus my Group Power strength training class at Fitworks.
Tuesday: 3 miles