Three Picture Thursday: An active vacation

Lest you think I've spent the entire vacation sitting on the beach drinking fruity drinks, here are some pictures that prove otherwise.  (I'm not actually a hang out on the beach kind of girl.)

At the top of the Fort in Marigot:

On a zipline course at Loterie Farm:

And right before a run on the beach:  (Thanks, EMZ!)

Don't travel with me

Seriously.  Just don't do it.

I've been stuck in Boston because of a snow storm coming back from Iceland.  I got to sleep in an airport in Nebraska thanks to a snow storm.    I got to take an extra ferry between islands to catch an airplane on another island during a windstorm while in the Azores (and we won't even discuss the fact that I had morning sickness AND I get seasick. Yeah, that was fun for all).

But I think this trip might just take the cake.

Things that went wrong:

• It "snowed" in DC on Sunday morning.  Just enough that our flight needed de-icing and we took off almost an hour late.
• We arrived in Philly and RAN from one end of the A terminal to the other (between a quarter and a half mile) only to miss our flight.  Remember, I ran a half marathon the day before.
• Our flight the next day was delayed because the glue had to cure on a new window. Really.
• The new window didn't work right, so we lost another hour and a half.
• We FINALLY got to St. Maarten and the airport lost power.  No, really, it did.
• We got a rental car and there was an accident, so we couldn't get out of Simpson Bay.
• 20 or so cars got out of Simpson Bay after the accident.  We?  Were 4 cars back when they raised the bridge for almost a half hour to let all the yachts through.

BUT!  This is the view I had when I woke up this morning:

And there were some good things:

• Nodding Head Brewery in Philadelphia
• Clean underwear from Macy's 
• Our bag was the last bag to come out right before the power went out
• An amazing "France meets Jamaica" meal for dinner
• No kids.  ;o)
• The Run EMZ t-shirt that will be running down the beach tomorrow
• The fact that I will be barefoot or in minimalist shoes all week
• USAirways staff who changed our flight so we'll be here an extra day
• My parents who were awesome enough to take one for the team and let us stay an extra day

I'm in St. Maarten now, so you can be jealous.  At least until it comes time for me to actually head home.

Philly is the new St. Maarten

We are now on hour 25 in Philadelphia.  We should have been in St. Maarten yesterday.  We are currently waiting on the glue to dry on our rescheduled flight which is now an hour and a half late and counting.  No lie.

In an effort to make the best of it, we did the touristy thing last night and checked out the Liberty Bell and hit a brew pub.

 Thankfully, the airline gave us a little bag of goodies for the night. 

(Note that even the apology card was

made in China LOL)

I will never travel again without at least an extra pair of underwear.  (Thankfully Macy's solved that problem.)  If USAirways loses my luggage on top of all the other headaches, I WILL be going on a shopping spree in St. Maarten and sending them the bill.  Just sayin'.

National Half Marathon report

This half was the final piece of my Cupcake Virtual Marathon.

(Not sure what's up with the color, but 

notice the excellent $3 Target sweatshirt)

Short story: It wasn't my best half, but it wasn't my worst. I finished in 2:13 and didn't throw up.

Long story: I got up at 3:30 am to get ready to be picked up at 5am. I'm not a morning person, so I was less than thrilled by this plan. Virginia decided to have one more dance with winter (more on that later), so I dressed in running tights, a tank top, a long sleeve shirt, and a windbreaker (with a throw away sweatshirt on the top.) I was still cold at the start line.

We drove to the DC Armory and spent as long as we could inside. Finally, after one last stop at the indoor bathroom (which really was only better than a porta potty because it had lighting. Yes, it was that gross), we headed to the start corral. I was WAY back in Corral 8. Fortunately, that was also the start place for the 4:20 marathon, so I got to meet Laura from Absolut(ly) Fit. It was fun to finally meet her.

I started with a friend who was doing the full, so I started slow (as planned). It took us 20 minutes to get to the start line, but I wasn't in a hurry. At mile 1, we both realized a porta potty stop was needed. Thankfully, there was no line and I felt SOO much better. At about mile 2, we hit some nice downhills, so I left my friend and sped up. This was all great until mile 5. At that point, I realized I hadn't eaten since 4:00am and it was after 8:00. I took a Gu and then the hills started. I'm a DC area girl, so I know hills, but OMG these hills sucked. I just kept going. I danced to music, slapped hands, yelled, and just kept running. My stomach was pretty pissed about the Gu, so I wasn't going fast, but I just tried to maintain a good attitude.

After mile 8, the big hills finally ended. For the next 4 miles, it was a mix of ups and downs. I kept thinking I needed to dig deep and push hard and, well, I just couldn't find that gear. Finally, I got to the last mile. My quads were shot and I was running on empty (I was afraid to eat another Gu), but I picked it up as much as I could. This was the only mile where I saw some 8s as the actual pace on my garmin. As we headed around the last corner, I started sprinting and I'm pretty sure I passed about 30 people. I crossed the finish line and couldn't decide if I was going to throw up or pass out. ;o)

It took a bit to get out of the Finish area and I made one last stop at the nasty bathrooms and then metroed home. It took me more than an hour to get home and I was freezing by then, so it's pretty safe to say I won't be doing this race again. All in all, despite all the logistics, I ran hard and I'm happy with what I did. I trained to finish and I finished strong.

Next up? Building my minimalist shoe running miles. Right now I'm totally in a honeymoon time with my Merrell Pace Gloves and I plan to ride that as long as it lasts.

TTT:

1.  I showered this morning before the kids woke up.  I'm not running today.  It's my one total rest day before National as I'll run a couple of easy miles to loosen things up tomorrow.  I'm kind of afraid my body will go into shock.

2.  I bought a pair of the Merrell Pace Gloves yestereday.  They feel a lot like my Vibrams, but my toes are FREE!!! I want to take them out for a spin, but I'm not running today (see above).  So, if you see an old lady cute girl running down the street in cute shoes and jeans, honk and yell pretend you don't see me.

3. Yesterday one of my clients offered to enter me into the lottery for the NY City marathon so that I could pace her through the marathon if we both got in.  I thought about it for a few minutes but realized a few things:  1)  I have zero desire to run NYC.  I have enough big, logistically challenging races here, thankyouverymuch, 2) I don't feel like I'm a strong enough runner to pace someone for a full marathon.  Half marathon, yes, but Full?  Nope, and 3) If I run another marathon, I'll be aiming to beat 4:30.  I have no desire to run another marathon just to finish.  (4.  Darn it, now that a marathon seed has been planted...)

Half of the Cupcake Marathon

We all know I love a good virtual race.  I particularly love virtual races where you don't have to run all the miles at once.  

http://cooktraineatrace.com/

Over the last three days I've run the first half of the marathon and on Saturday I'll run the second half at the National Half Marathon.

Run #1 - 6.1 miles in 59:55

The weather was beautiful.  I wore shorts and a t-shirt.  My legs felt great.  I ran negative splits.  I even had one sub 9 minute mile.  If every run felt like this, I'd run every day.

Run #2:  4 miles in 41:57

This run was not the day before's run.  It was chilly and windy (gotta love VA in the spring - you never know if it's going to be in the 70s or the 30s and some days it hits both).  My legs were super tired.  I ran at my recovery pace and it was once of those runs where THAT pace felt hard.  Running is such a fickle mistress.

Run #3: 3 miles in 37:24

I ran the first two miles with my Wednesday clients and then ran and walked the last mile with my newest client.  It felt great.  I wore the Wave Prophecy's again.  I want to say that I love them, but so far I'm still on the fence.  I don't dislike them.  I just am not over the moon for them.  (In interest of full disclosure, I'm really loving my barefoot shoes lately and they couldn't be more different from those.)

Thanks to Jason at Cook Train Eat Race and Christel at Silly Girl Running for making my taper miles more fun!

I'm doing it for the environment

I've been channeling my inner Emily and Katie lately and, umm, not showering a lot.  I've found that if I shower before my run, I have a really hard time getting motivated to run.  Usually this is not a problem as I get up, get the kids ready, drop them off at school (yeah, I am that mom), and then run.

On Mondays, Shoo doesn't have school, but between playdates and Beer Geek working at home, I can usually knock out a short run.  This week I wanted to do 6 miles and just couldn't squeeze it in.  So, I hit the road when Beer Geek came up from his office.  Had a lovely 6 mile run (more on that tomorrow) and then immediately started dinner.  By the time I had an opportunity to shower, I was no longer sweaty and really just felt like going to bed.   So, I did.

Today, I got up, took the kids to school and then ran a not nearly as lovely 4 miles.   I did take a shower after that run and I'm pretty sure most of the moms at pickup were thankful. ;o)

1st Annual Red Shoe Run & Walk 5k

Not running National this weekend and looking for a fun 5k for a cause?  Head on out to the 1st Annual Red Shoe Run & Walk 5K  at Dulles Station, Herndon, VA.   This is a great cause and it's an event for the whole family.

This is the first year of the walk, but Ronald McDonald Houses (501 c3) have been serving the community for nearly 31 years!  They provide a home-away-from-home® for families of seriously ill children being treated at local hospitals.

There are two Houses in the D.C. Metro Area: one in Washington, D.C. and one in Northern Virginia.  These Houses allow families to spend more time together when it matters most – which helps children heal better and faster. The Washington, D.C. House welcomed its first family almost 30 years ago and the Northern Virginia House opened in 1998. Since then, the Houses have served nearly 19,000 families in crisis.

The proceeds for this race will help fund greatly needed services that improve the health and well- being of children like the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® which provides on the spot FREE healthcare services for thousands of under-served children in D.C.—right in their own neighborhood. Proceeds from the 5K will help make a bigger impact on one of the most pressing problems facing parents today – children’s health.

The family-friendly Red Shoe 5K is a great way for active runners or recreational walkers to “raise your feet to raise hope for healing children”. The 5K day is Sunday, March 27 at Dulles Station Boulevard in Herndon, VA.  The Race starts at 9:00 AM.     Racers will win cash prizes!   And for all the little sprinters under 10 there is a special Kids Fun Run at 10 AM.  Kids can earn Community Service Hours if needed.   Admission for the race is $35 for adults and $20 for kids.  Kids in Strollers are free.  There is still time to sign up at www.redshoe5K.org . 

I had really hoped to head out there, but I can't manage it with other stuff (including the half marathon) that I have going on this weekend.  If you go, drop me a comment with a link to your race report.  I'd love to send it to the organizers!

Random thoughts on a Saturday night

I'm sure some of you have social lives, but heck, I'm 40 and I have two kids (and I drank for 8 hours last Saturday LOL).  So we are having a nice evening in...

• I currently have four boys running around outside my house.  The beauty of boys is that I can be inside and still know exactly where they are and what they are doing.  Yes, they are THAT loud.
• I can't resist a good virtual race.  I'm currently signed up for two 

• Notice how both of the virtual races are marathons?  Luckily they both allow you to add up your mileage over two weeks.  I do plan to do the 26.2 for the second one barefoot or in my Vibrams.
• Speaking of Vibrams, I am also planning to buy the Merrell Pace Glove shoes and a pair of Kigo's.  I don't know how much I'll run in them, but I've been wearing my Vibrams every.single.day as my casual shoes and I need more variety.
• Yes, I know I have a shoe addiction.
• I ran 10 miles today: 1 warm-up mile by myself at 9:45, 8 miles with a client at an average pace of 12:49, and 1 mile by myself at 8:30, just to see how I felt.  I felt awesome and like I had not run at all.
• Apparently, I need to become an ultra runner and just run slow forever.  :o)
• I was recently listed in the Top 50 Inspiring Blogs for Your Post-Partum Weight Loss over at RNCentral.   Made my day!
• Assuming I can find a babysitter, I'm going to get certified to teach Body Back soon.  I.can't.wait!
• In a few minutes, I need to get four boys inside and wrangled into pajamas.  Then, we'll be heading back outside to see the "Super Moon".
• After that, I'm opening a beer.  Or a couple of beers.

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend and that all my DC area peeps are out there enjoying the amazing weather!

The foot bone's connected to the shin bone

Do you remember that song from when you were a kid?  I totally remember singing it.

I've recently had a lesson in how changing one thing can affect your body most of the way up.  I ran 4 miles yesterday in the Mizuno Prophecy shoes.  This is not a full review yet, just some thoughts on that run and how I feel today.

The shoes are higher than my usual Mizunos (and way higher than my Vibrams LOL), so I felt a bit like I was running on platforms.  It wasn't a bad sensation, just different.  I also noticed right off that they are more of a stability shoe than I'm used to.  They are still on the neutral end, just offer more stability than the Wave Riders do.   My left foot does not pronate at all and I didn't notice the stability as anything more than a little bit of stiffness.  My right foot pronates very slightly and I did feel like the shoe prevented that.  It wasn't painful like the inserts were, but I could definitely tell a difference in my gait.  The jury is still out on whether that's good or bad.

The thing I found most interesting, though, is how I feel today.  I went for a simple 4 mile run.  I pushed my pace a little in the first mile and a half, but not any faster than I've run races with clients.   The heat and a bit of dehydration slowed me way down for the last 2.5.  So, basically not a hard run.

But today?  I can feel every muscle from my ankles up.  Seriously.  I'm slightly sore in places I've never been sore before.  Obviously the slight change in how my foot hit the ground affected my whole gait and how my legs worked.  What I don't know at this point is if this is a "YAY, my legs are getting a great workout!" or an "Oh, crap, I'm pushing towards an injury."  Stay tuned to see how this little adventure turns out.  ;o)

Disclaimer:  I was given these shoes to try out and give feedback to Mizuno.  I was not asked to review them on my blog, I just choose to talk about them.  Everything above is my opinion.

Goal? What goal?

Lately, my running has been focused on my clients.  I've made sure to get in my long runs for my half marathon, but other than that, my runs have been a jumble of paces, based on what my small group and individual clients need.  I rarely push myself at *my* level.  Generally speaking, I'm ok with that. 

My goal for this spring (before I got sucked in by my friends and signed up for National) was just to get my mileage back up and not hurt myself.  Running with clients has been wonderful for that.  A lot of my runs are actually done at the speed that McMillan suggests, which means I'm actually running at recovery pace for my recovery runs.  This is all good.  In addition, I've been able to get up in the 30s for mileage each week without feeling like I'm wearing myself down as I used to during marathon training.

The problem?  I have no idea what pace I'm *capable* of holding for 13.1 miles.   And apparently I gave them  a really conservative estimate 'cause I'm way the hell back in the corrals.  I expect my first two miles to be REALLY slow as I try to work my way forward and out of the crowd.  I know the combination of the crowds and my current speed mean I won't PR.  I would, however, like to avoid a personal worst.

The plan?  Run easy for the first half and then start picking it up for the second half and see what I can crank out.  If you've got other suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

R.I.P. marathon socks

I've worn the same pair of Wright Running socks for every single 17+ mile run I've done plus 2 full marathons.  Today when they came out of the dryer, I noticed one pair had a hole in the bottom.  They practically deserve a burial after the years of amazing service.  By my calculations, they have way over 200 miles on them.  Guess it's time to put a new pair into rotation.

And check out my new kicks...

They are a pair of the new Mizuno Wave Prophecy that I've been given to try out!

Pile o' Miles

Last week I ran 36 miles.  I've only done more than 35 miles in a week 5 times and my highest number EVER is 40 miles.  Needless to say, I'm pretty darn proud of myself for hitting that number during HALF marathon training!  Too bad I'm in taper right now or I'd be aiming to blow that number away LOL.

The coolest part?  15 of those miles were with clients last week and I have another 15 or so with clients again this week.  Want someone to keep you company on your long slow run?  I'm your girl.  Need someone to help you hold a steady pace for a new race distance?  That's me too.  Want to run super fast and place at a race?  Umm, well, I can write a plan for that. LOL

I have two weeks of insanity coming up.  3 runs with clients each week, a long meeting with a non-running client, a training run with the Cancer to 5k group,  Jones' Blue and Gold Cub Scout banquet, a half marathon...

The most challenging part of balancing coaching and my running?  Writing a taper plan that works for me and for them LOL.

Four Courts Four Miler Race Report

This weekend I ran the Four Courts Four Miler on Saturday morning.  I originally planned to race this one to see how fit I am, but I apparently lost my motivation somewhere.  ;o)  Instead, I volunteered before the race and then ran the race with a client.

It was a chilly morning, so I dressed in capris with my bright green compression socks.  I had planned to wear them with shorts but that was NOT happening.  I also wore a lovely headband with bouncing shamrocks.  I wasn't sure if it would stay on, but when I ran the 1.5 miles over to the start line, it didn't bounce at all.  Win!

I spent two hours setting up bag drop and organizing bags with a few other volunteers.  This year they had us inside a heated tent.  Win, again!  I stayed there until five minutes before the race and then grabbed my client and we headed out.

The race is an out and back.  It starts with a wicked fast downhill (which, of course, means it ends with a horrible uphill.)  We used gravity to our advantage, but didn't run full out down the hill.  I pushed K a little bit out of her comfort zone, but she managed to hold her pace nicely for the first three miles.   Then we had to get back up the darned hill.  I was really proud of her because she only walked one little bit between stoplights on the way back up.  At the very end, we got passed by the leprechaun, but she totally ROCKED this race. 

 (Note that the "leprechaun" started 15 minutes after

the gun went off.  He ran the 4 in 24 minutes despite

having a couple of pints beforehand.)

Our average pace was around 9:35, which was 25 seconds faster per mile than the 5k we ran a month ago.  So, harder course, longer distance, better pace.  Yeah, I rock as a coach.  ;o)  It's only a matter of time before she's out pacing me.  Woot!

We finished the race and grabbed a bottle of water and headed in for our Guinness.  Yummy!  Another friend offered me his free beverage ticket, so I ended up drinking two Guinness before 10am (and before I even opened my water bottle.  Oops...)

Once again, Pacers put on an awesome race and I had a great time!

Embracing the Long SLOW Run

I'm not very good at the long slow run.  Invariably, I run it faster than I should.  When I'm in good shape, I run it too fast and feel o.k. at the end.  When I'm not as well trained, I do it too fast and fail horribly at the end.  If I'm going to preach the "run slower to run fast" philosophy, I need to slow my long runs down.

Thursday it was pouring down rain when we got up.  Pouring.  After I dropped the kids off, I contemplated running on the treadmill.  The thought of two hours on the 'mill was just not something I could wrap my head around.   Plus, Beer Geek was working from home, so I couldn't have the t.v. up loud enough to actually hear it.  So, I decided to run outside until I couldn't take it anymore and then finish up on the treadmill.

What better time to practice running slowly?  If I'm going to be miserable in the rain, I might as well make it last as long as possible, right?

Based on some of my recent speedwork, McMillan suggested a long run speed between 10:45 and 11:45.  My RRCA books suggested even slower than that.  I had a hard time wrapping my head around that as both my marathons were under that pace, but I figured "what the heck".  It's not like I'm expecting to PR right now.  I decided to aim for an 11:00 minute mile.

Mile 1: 10:46
Mile 2: 10:44
Mile 3: 10:37
Mile 4: 10:55
Mile 5: 10:53
Mile 6: 11:17 (GU)
Mile 7: 10:51
Mile 8: 10:46
Mile 9: 10:44
Mile 10: 10:34
Mile 11: 10:21
Mile 12: 9:41

Can you say "negative splits"?  I felt GREAT the whole time (despite being so wet you could wring water out of my gloves, my shirt, my hair...)  I could have kept running for several more miles if I hadn't decided to pick up the pace in the last three.  This pace made 12 miles seem easy.  Hmmm....

In unrelated news, I think I have pink eye.  Lovely.  Looks like I'll be running today with glasses, which I've NEVER done before.  Should make tomorrow's race even more interesting.  Sigh.

TTT: beer, stickers, and sore muscles

1.  Yesterday, Shoo and I went to pick out the beer for the regional beer basket that I always donate to Jones' school auction.  I never remember to take a list of breweries with me and the individual beers are organized by type, not brewery or region.  Add in a little help from Shoo and it was a bit frustrating.  How did I handle it?  By buying one of everything.  Ok, not quite, but between buying a ton of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania beers and buying every beer that Shoo thought was pretty, I ended up with 36 beers instead of the 12 I went to get.  Here are the 12 that I'm actually putting in the basket.  The rest will eventually end up in my belly.  ;o)

2.  I was going to start sending out my stickers this morning.  I pulled out the cards I bought specifically for that reason and discovered that the stickers are too big.  We all know I'm horrible about putting stuff in the mail.  Did I really need another reason for delay?  This works to your benefit though - if you want one and haven't told me, shoot me an email at mom2shoo at gmail.com.  I'm hopeful that I'll resolve the issue some time in 2011.  ;o)

3.  On Tuesday, I met my trainer at his gym.  He had me doing lunges and step overs with the Bosu ball.  Then he threw in planks with leg lifts while balancing with my elbows on the ball.  Then we moved on to upper body, where he nearly killed me by making me do bench presses with my shoulders on a stability ball.  The end result?  My a$$ really wishes I lived in a ranch style house and I can't lift my arms above my head.  Yeah, it's all good.

Today I'd really like to get in my long run since I'm racing on Saturday.  Unfortunately, it's pouring rain.  I'm not sure I'm up for 12 miles in the rain.  My current plan is to run as long as I can stand it outside and then finish up on the treadmill.  Fun times ahead...

MWW*: "Throw me some beads, Mister"

No, we didn't make it down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year. No, there were no women "jumping really high", *ahem*, for beads. Instead, we got to go to our very family friendly local parade.

The boys got a little crazy while waiting for the parade to start...

The ever important "dog walker" part of the parade...

One of 3? real floats...

This year we hit the big time - we had a marching band!

MWW = Mostly Wordless Wednesday.  ;o)

And the Winner? She's freakin' got this...

If you don't know just from the title who won, you really need to get out more.  ;o)

The winner of "My Favorite Things" is Emz over at "If I can't convince you, I'll at least confuse you...".  Emz writes one of the most entertaining blogs I read.  She's currently got a 5 pound gummi bear and a 24 hour treadmill run for charity coming up.  And, OMG, the shoe porn.  If I didn't already love her for her writing, I admit I'd stalk her for the shoe pictures.  ;o)  So, if you don't already read her awesome blog (really? you don't?), go check it out.

Emz, shoot me an email at mom2shoo at gmail.com and I'll get your stuff in the mail asap (which we all know means sometime in the next 6 months...)

What I meant to say...

Have you ever written a post where you thought you were saying one thing, but it really didn't come out that way?  Yesterday's post was pretty much that.

Emily hit the nail on the head with her comment:  "running is therapeutic. and if, as a runner, you need to take advantage of that and let it all out on the road, then good god do it up."

I run because it is my anti-depressant.   I don't run to be fit or fast or hit a particular mileage.  Those are all nice things, but they are secondary to the primary purpose.  Somehow, running flips a switch in my brain and makes me a much happier person.  What I didn't realize was that not every run works in that way for me. 

Lately, I've felt a bit like someone dimmed the lights a little bit.  Things bothered me more.  I wanted to spend more time curled up under a blanket.  I stopped wanting to comment on people's blogs.  I snapped at my kids more.  I just felt blah.

I couldn't figure it out.  I've been eating healthy.  I was getting decent amounts of sleep.  I was running a ton at a comfortable pace.  Life wasn't any more stressful than normal.

Then I ran hard on Saturday.  And somehow, that turned the lights back up.  I've felt better the last few days than I had in a while.   In fact, yesterday I felt so good I actually added miles to a run just because I felt like it.  It's nice to feel more like myself again.

It's not about speed, it's about effort.  Apparently, I needed that "run at the threshold" effort to flip the switch in my brain.  And now that I know that, I just need to figure out how to incorporate that into my training plan.  Or just race every weekend.  ;o)

Giveaway winner coming up soon!

Amazing revelation or DUH?

As I've mentioned before, I got my RRCA certification this past fall.  I found the class really informative and I understand the science behind running more miles, slowly.  I get how in the long run, you're going to end up with greater endurance and a faster pace.  If you don't believe me, take a look at TMB.  That girl has gotten super fast since she started piling on the miles.  There are other running bloggers out there who've experienced the same thing.  Running farther, slower, is easier on your body from an injury standpoint.  We learned that the base building phase and the sharpening phase take place at different times in your training. And your overall pace will naturally speed up, just from the added mileage.  Then when your base is built, speedwork comes in.

I get it.  I really do.  In fact, I've been doing a great job lately building my overall mileage.

I also believe that any run is a good run.  (Although nearly pulling a SUAR on my Sunday run did make me question whether that was really a good run.)

But, I learned something about *my* running this past Saturday.  That would be the run where I really pushed myself for the first time in a while.  The run where I was stopped cold when I crossed the lactate threshold.  The run, after which, I spent the entire day in an AMAZING mood.

Yep.  I learned that every once in a while I need to pull out all the stops.  Every once in a while I need to run all out.

Other people need to run long to get their fill.  Me?  Apparently, I just need to run right up to my puke threshold.

Good thing race season starts on Saturday.  ;o)
(Edited to add:  Just to be clear, running fast has nothing to do with training gains and everything to do with running as my anti-depressant.  I don't run fast in an attempt to get fast.  I run "fast" to get happy.)

"I just felt like running" Virtual 5k Report

Detroit Runner is hosting a Virtual 5k.  We all know I can't resist a race, so of course I was in!

I went into this "race" with a few goals.  Speed has been missing from my life lately and I wasn't sure I could bring it for a virtual race, but I decided to give it a shot.

Goals:
D. Finish the race feeling good.  I've been plagued with lead legs lately and I have a cold, so I just wanted to finish happy.
C. Finish with an average pace of 10:00 minute miles. 
B. Finish under 30 minutes.
A. Finish under 29 or even faster without puking.

Short story:  28:50 and no puking.

Long story:
Mile 1: I wanted to run at least 4 miles, so I wasn't sure if the first mile was going to be a warmup or part of the race.  I started easy, but was pleased when the first mile showed 9:54.  I was having a little trouble breathing and I was hocking loogies in a manner to make a teenage boy proud, but my legs felt great and the first mile felt easy.
Mile 2: I decided to pick it up and see what happened.  Despite some wheezing, I was pleasantly surprised to consistently see 8's showing up on garmin.  Apparently, when my legs feel good, I don't need oxygen to run. ;o)  8:53
Mile 3: I wanted to run mile 3 faster than mile 2, so I picked it up a bit more.  Garmin was consistently showing between 8:35-8:40. I was pretty psyched.  It was going to be a great 5k considering the cold and my lack of speed lately.  And it was, right up until 2.8 miles.  Apparently, keeping that pace up a hill with a cold pushed me over the threshold and my body started yelling "Mayday, Mayday! Need oxygen here!".  I ended up finishing mile 3 in 9:02.
Mile 3.1:  I tried to keep moving, but I'd passed the point of being able to dig deep.  Oops.

Final time: 28:50!  Thanks for the race, Jeff!

After the "race", I ran a really slow cool down mile and then headed home for our busy day.  I took a quick shower and threw on some clothes and my Vibrams.   After dropping Shoo off at a birthday party, we took Jones to his last soccer game of the indoor season.  His team only had 6 players, so he played the entire game.  They lost by a pretty significant margin, but they played an amazing second half considering how exhausted they were.

I then got to do some intervals in my Vibrams.  Shoo wanted to bike and he's still on training wheels.  This translates to biking too slowly for me to bike with him, so I ran beside him in my Vibrams (and jeans LOL, thank goodness for spandex in today's jeans).  So, I got in another mile of running in the Vibrams.  They felt awesome the whole time!

Beer Geek and I then went out to dinner with friends at our favorite place, Mad Fox Brewery.  So, my day was running shoes to Vibrams to high heels.  Every day should go that way.  ;o)

Living the mantra

I've decided that my new mantra is "Every run is a good run."  Yes, some runs are better than others, but every time I get out there and finish some miles, it's a good thing.  Yesterday's run was one where I hauled it out a bit.  The weather was beautiful, I needed the break from the kids, and I hit my goal pace spot on, but my legs felt like dead weights.  Thankfully, they felt like dead weights regardless of how fast I was going, so I just ran my goal pace and distance and moved on.  ;o)

In other news,

• I may only get 2  or 3 states this year, but I'm getting two big ones.  Last night I bought tickets to Salt Lake City, Utah for this summer.  We have race plans in Utah and Wyoming.  Woohoo for knocking out two big states.
• I have nearly hit my goal with my fundraising.  HUGE thank yous to everyone who has donated.  
• After yesterday's run, I managed to do my strengthening workout.  I'm definitely seeing improvements in my abs and my arms.  I feel it in my butt during and that's where I'm sore after, but meh, my butt still looks like it always has.  
• Yesterday was Jones' ENT appointment.  We are now on "strep watch."  He's hit the number where everyone recommends removing the tonsils, so if he gets another one this spring, his summer break will include 2 weeks of recovery from surgery.  This is not high on my list of activities, so "no strep" thoughts would be appreciated.
• This week I scored tickets to SAVOR again.  It sold out super fast, but apparently all the years of summer camp sign up have me quick on the draw.  So, there'll be some beer talk going on in the future...

Have a great day, everyone!  Don't forget my giveaway!  You still have a few more days to enter.

TTT: low mileage, volunteering, and bare feet

1.  When I decided to call this week a step-back week, I really didn't know just how far I'd step back.  Last month, in 28 days, I ran 115 miles.  So far this month, I've run 4.  Tuesday, I was completely lacking in any sort of desire to run.  I just felt tired and unmotivated.  I even took a nap.  So, I decided to take a rest day.  Yesterday morning I woke up with a cold, so now I know why I was feeling out of sorts.  Thankfully, it was a beautiful day and I had clients to run with, so I ran a comfortable 4 miles and loved every minute of it.  Not sure what else I'm going to manage this week with the boys out of school, but I've decided to just roll with it.

2.  Since striving for my own PRs just isn't working for me right now (I'm just not feeling motivated to push myself at the moment), I've decided to give a new purpose to my runs.  I'm volunteering with a Cancer to 5k program this spring.  I'll be running with runners on their long runs on Saturdays and then I'll be a race day sherpa for one of the runners.  I've also signed up to help with this year's Girls on the Run race.  I'm really excited to spend time running with new runners.

3.  My achilles seems to be completely healed, so I'm reintroducing barefoot running.  I built my mileage slowly last time, but I only ran that way once a week.   This time, I'm building mileage even more slowly, but doing it several times a week.  My right foot/ankle is definitely weak, so I'm also spending as much time barefoot as possible.  This has made my Vibrams my "go to" shoe, thereby confirming my reputation as the "wacky mom" at Jones' school. LOL

Welcome to my new followers!  Make sure to leave a comment on my giveaway!

Post 703 and "My Favorites" giveaway

Yeah, I couldn't get my act together to do this for post 700. Story of my life lately.

I'm gonna borrow a page from TMB and giveaway some of my favorites...

nuun (you choose the flavor)

GU (you choose)

glass from Mad Fox Brewpub

Balega or Wright socks

MCM Mama Sticker

and, depending on the winner, possibly something yummy to go in that glass.

How to enter (please leave a comment for each):

1. Become a follower
2. Follow MCM Mama on Facebook
3. Tweet this, post it on facebook, put it on your blog, write it on your t-shirt for a race (picture, please LOL)

Fine print: Giveaway ends at midnight on March 7, 2011. All items were purchased by me.