Notes of a Non-Runner

10k on the 10th Cavepeople Unite: Virtual Club Run Race Results

2008-05-12T21:37:00.026-05:00

Bloggy friends have united for a 3rd virtual race and the results are finally in. By most accounts, the race was a success.

There have still been some minor complaints about inappropriate (donuts and coffee) or non-existent race support. We are sorry for any inconvenience the run-your-own-route-at-whatever-time-you-like format has caused. There was also substantially less (maybe no) bribing attempts of the race director this time around. I guess we'll all have to live with the consequences.

Interestingly, I've never had more people fighting over last place and excited to be doing so. Perhaps you'll learn the subtleties of bribery next time? :D

Thanks to everyone who participated and thought about your friends out there running. Thanks also to everyone who said they wouldn't have run if not for this race. There were also many Cavepeople who ran with their club, celebrated positivity and just embraced the Cavishness. To you I say, BRAVO and rock on.

Speaking of rocks, some hairy dude is working on a batch of rocks for medals. Please don't anyone hold your breath.

And to all our friends who could not participate, be it injury recovery, taper time, race recovery time, whatever, please keep the club handy and know that we were thinking of you!! I'm sure there will be a next time.

We had some great pictures and inspiring reports, with many PR's to boot. Hope you enjoy a sampling of the pictures and the results with reports linked. Two lucky folks are actually getting a real prize compliments of Brianna K. Grant!! She has given me 2 copies of We Are Girls Who Love to Run. I've given these to Pokey and Lisa - Slow and Steady for their determination and grit and celebration of running. Please email me your addresses, Lucky Ladies. And big big thanks to Brianna - her book would make a great gift!

40:44 (6:34) The Running Laminator - It's a celebration !! A Legend in Loincloth

40:44 (6:34) Reid at Life Strides - Never fails with the cute pics and ran it again with a stroller! Another Legend in Loincloth

Nice race, fellas!! :D

42:08 (6:47) Nitmos - Problem with my aid stations? Fred's Favorite
47:27 (7:39) Bob's Random Thoughts While Runninginclude nice outlined merits of the race. Thanks, Bob!! :D

48:00 (7:44) Tom from Runner's Lounge just went out for a leisurely spin around the Drake Bulldog

49:42 (8:00) Shoreturtle has nice scenery and is head BAM BAM BOY

51:09 (8:15) sRod got to run fast with the Laminator

51:27 (8:16) Brian is Running to Endurance and tuning up for 50 !!

52:43 (8:30) Vanilla at Half Fast - PR, you call that half fast?? We already knew he was a BAD BOY :D

53:34 (8:38) RazzDoodle - Wife made him do it
54:08 (8:43) Kevin at 5ks and Cabernets - he called us a REVOLUTION!!

54:54 (8:51) Slow Sam played some pony tail games

54:58 (8:51) Aaron Runs Again and only engineers analyze that much!

55:04 (8:52) DC Spinster, Peter, ran this with his 10k training club

56:32 (9:07) akshaye - head rowser
58:14 (9:23) Zach at Knightburns hopped in at the last second
59:00 (9:30) Kevin has a unique reporting style using the letter H
1:01:50 (9:58) Topher may need some coaching on choosing routes
1:03:08 (10:11) Rob Dares to run a 10 mile race and cut us a split - nice racing!!

1:10:15 (11:19) Chad in AZ Desert ran double the miles - very DELIBERATE
1:10:29 (11:21) Eric is the Marathoner in Training who did this race three times!!

1:16:00 (12:15) William from gain health! is a new participant from Thailand!

1:23:15 (13:25) Randy at Papa Bear's MANIAC Marathon Training

1:25:00 (13:42) Scott Keeps Running on his way to Iceland

49:54 (8:02) Marcy is fast and funny and she's our Leading Lady of the Loincloth - Lord help us if there are pictures forthcoming :D

Nice running, Chica! :D

52:07 (8:24) Jamie wasn't to busy to run - First WHEEL

54:34 (8:38) Renae was so anxious she ran with us in April AND May

54:36 (8:48) Meghan has been working up her mileage

54:36 (8:48) Velma has a crimefighting blog but took the time to run with us

55:20 (8:55) Kristina is cracking open the introvert

56:15 (9:04) Amanda's the leading Bedrock Blazer
56:50 (9:10) Nikemom does it all including spin class before a race

58:00 (9:21) Eat Drink Run Woman Betsy tried to DNF at 6.19 but Cavegirl dragged her in

58:23 (9:25) Karen at Working it Out... is an adorable late entrant - welcome!

58:42 (9:42) Jess was an early entrant and proud of her new age group

59:00 (9:29) Jenny got Tonya Harding'ed with a club - investigating Marcy :D

59:11 (9:33) Audrey experimented and it payed off with a PR - Very Ferral Feline
59:35 (9:37) Shelley BEDROCKED this run - You go girl.

59:45 (9:38) Kaeti's been renovating and she was inspired to run her first 10k - YEAH!

1:00:08 (9:41) Laura was taunting us all as she did this run THREE times!

1:00:10 (9:42) Donna the RunnerMom gave us another PR!!

1:03:28 (10:14) Prehistoric Patty is not old, but sage and experienced. She is the only one to give herself a name!!

1:04:52 (10:27) Don't Forget to Water the Chia Runner - and stitch her up when necessary. ewww, so sorry.

1:06:00 (10:38) RunningNan fooled herself into 6.2 - She's Pebble's favorite pacer. (let me be clear - prehistoric means positively CAVEY and NOT OLD)

1:07:04 (10:49) Laura's new kicks are making her speedy

1:07:23 (10:53) Runnin Ragged - thanks us for getting her out there!! YEAH.

1:10:55 (11:26) Nancy, the original Cavegirl, gets a PR!!

1:11:48 (11:34) Lisa used the club. Her face is getting so skinny :D

1:12:34 (11:42) Nat worked out all week with the club. AWESOME.
1:14:29 (12:00) Lily on the Road has some great pics

1:15:57 (12:15) Vivalicious had a new PR despite hurdles in the road!

1:19:00 (12:44) Eileen's the Running Knitter and Cavegirl with a Club - congrats on the new PR!!
1:19:00 (12:44) Vickie's also carrying a big girl Club - she did 25K!! CONGRATS.

1:20:00 (12:54) Em included us in her HM
Amy at Runner's Lounge didn't keep track but ran pretty fast. She loved the drizzly conditions.
1:27:54 Lisa - Slow and Steady worked hard and enjoyed the moment
DAL Pokey claimed DAL with a big smile :D

Michelle J made it to 5 miles - YOU ROCK!!
25:17 Andrew smashed his 5k PR - WAY TO GO!!
25:42 Greg's speedwork is paying off in 5k PR - CONGRATS!!
Cranky ran a very real 10 mile race - Nice Going!

Great photo by
Laurel - thanks!!

Please email me if I have overlooked anyone. I checked posts to my blog but not my entire blogroll. I'll be happy to update if there are more results. Updated 5/13/08.

THANKS, EVERYONE for a GREAT RACE!! :D

10k on the 10th Virtual Club Run Race Report

2008-05-10T12:30:00.004-05:00

God looked down on Cavegirl as she got ready to run.

Her tooth was chipped.

Her Bondi band was animal striped.

Her legs were hairy.

Her sausage shirt was tight and sleek.

He smiled and said,

My Cavey child, you are really working hard on this Cavegirl thing. :D

I have looked down on your world and many Cavepeople are moving today.

Many have already said they would not have done this.

And not only are they moving, they are happy.

They are confronting fears and negative thoughts.

They are countering with good things about themselves and their lives.

They have heard about your club.

You have done a good thing, Cavegirl.

You have made a great plan for yourself, too.

You have worked hard to confront your own fears and doubts.

This has not gone unnoticed.

And like the day I first gave you the club,

today you will have the run of your life.

It won't be easy, but you will have it in you.

I gave you the club, but you do have to carry it.

Cavegirl ran like she had never run before.

She ran away from sabertoothed thoughts that normally had claws and teeth.

She ran and ran and ran.

And every mile made her smile

even with the jagged tooth.

Her legs were hairy but they mostly were just strong.

Her heart beat wildly but she knew she had it in her.

Her sausage shirt even stayed in place.

Cavegirl decided that sticky fingers from gu would not bother her.

She laughed and smiled when He gave her a puddle to wash them.

She rejoiced at the beautiful day and He gave her clouds when it got hot.

When she stopped for a quick break,

her miles still stayed under 12, and she smiled.

And just for today, He allowed NO ONE to pass her.

People were only allowed to run toward her and be friendly.

Cavegirl escaped the sabertooth.

She lived to run another day.

She could care for Caveman and snuggle her cubs.

When the cubs asked if she got last, she just smiled and said,

no, mom won today.

Cavegirl realized she always has the club.

She just has to remember to carry it.

It might not be easy, but she has it in her.

11:19

10:58

11:39

11:27

11:42

11:33

2:14

6.2 miles ~ 1:10:55 ~ 11:26 pace (PR)

Wishing you all particularly cavey runs. Let me know when you have finished and posted your report by posting on my blog. Look for a full race report sometime Monday. Thanks, everyone!!

Race Prep for 10k on the 10th

2008-05-04T08:08:00.001-05:00

Have you:

g picked a 6.2 mile route (or how you might do your split if you are doing another race?)

g chosen a sexy Cavey outfit?

g picked up a sabertooth tiger necklace?

g chosen a hawt primordial pacer?

g let the body hair grow?

g thought about what your caveman name is? (sorta like your stripper name?)

g got your club ready?

Well, all I really need is for you to email me your time once you've run and posted a race report (nothing elaborate required but I will link to your report). The baubles are just for fun and growing your body hair is really at your own discretion. :D (no pics of this please!!) I do want to leave you with some thoughts.

The background on these virtual races is that I ran a HM last October and then struggled to keep motivated. 8 on the 8th of December was just an idea to put a made-up race on the calendar to keep me/us training - it came out of a suggestion I made to Vickie. We were joined by about 50 or 60 wonderful bloggy friends and the virtual race was born. We've also done 9 on the 9th: Sweetheart Shuffle. We had some really Lasting Lovers among our Romeos and Sweethearts. 10k on the 10th: Virtual Club Run is virtual race #3. I hope it gets you out there or gives you a break in the training or just something fun to look forward to knowing that many of us will be out there together.

The club and all of us uniting are the main inspirations for this race. I discovered my "club" one day when negative thoughts started flowing during my run as they often can, and I was successful at beating them back one by one. I emerged a little stronger that day mentally and feeling like a toughie Cavegirl carrying a club. Of course I picked one with a really cute outfit to depict this. :D Millions (or maybe a few of my most loyal readers) have carried the club running, biking, to the pool for laps when the baddies threatened to ruin their workout. Cavegirl has also been spotted on occasion. hee hee

Please keep the club in mind and use it whenever you need it. (as you can see from my blog, I believe that this can spill into other areas of your life and is one of the things that I am constantly working on. I'm thrilled to have so much help and support both at home and with bloggy friends) I'd love for you to celebrate during this race -- the power of the mind to be positive and combat the crapola that we can come up with -- and when the club fails, the power of your blogging buddies (your other club) to pull you up outta the muck. CAVEPEOPLE UNITE!! Y

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Speaking of bloggy friends helping you out. I've had two miserable runs this week and was a little concerned about the long run. I had a fantastic run with Amy and Art on Friday. 12.1 heavenly miles. Amy picked us out an old RR Track trail that has been paved. 12 miles of flatness. The forecast was ominous but somehow we got a window of perfection. Not only that, the considerable wind was behind us the entire way. We decided it felt like the hand of God. The conversation was lively as usual and we had a blast. (except for the bastard gatorade bandit who raided one of our drops.) Amy even arranged for her Hub to be on call in case one of us (read that me) needed a sag wagon (our cars were 12 miles away!!) Thank, Jim! We all made it and for me it was record time. Thanks for one of my most favoritest runs!!

I'll have to tell you next week about the package I got......

I'll check in this week from Harvard if I have time. Hope to get some runs in while I'm there.

10K on the 10th - PACERS

2008-05-01T09:13:00.007-05:00

Pacers are here for your enjoyment. They can run with you, decorate your blog for the race or whatever else your little heart desires. Have fun....

You'd be surprised what she can do in those heels.

This girl is tough. Make sure you are up for the challenge.

Now, that's a Cavewoman.

Ahh, she's so cute.

Cool Cavey. The Jimmy Buffet of Cavemen.

Cavey Dude.

Hee hee. I think he saw a sabertooth.

Now, we're talking.

Caveylicious.

Indoor Tri Pics

2008-04-30T23:27:00.004-05:00

**slightly overdue but I wanted to share these**

Amy and Nancy - best attempt at a bathroom shot. From the neck only, we had our swimsuits on!

Our evil timer/trainer. :D

Before it got rough. **sigh**

Between the bike and the run. Amy looking awesome. Little did we know we were going to rock the run. :D

Proud Finishers!!

Pics from Boca

2008-04-30T23:18:00.006-05:00

The ceremonial toasting pic. We are lucky enough to have great friends to travel with and also lucky enough to have these toasting shots from several parts of the world.

We are so happy to be in the sun.

Not a great shot but we made it to the beach.

Current pic of Wendy, a rarity! She's adorable!

Toasting from the National Croquet Center. Do you see fancy earrings and ring? They are by Zanne. I just feel faster when I wear them.

Boca golf

From the top of the windy Lighthouse at Jupiter

Today's Learnings

2008-04-28T22:19:00.000-05:00

y I am capable of 4.2 miles after 8 days off.
y Those 4.2 miles after 8 days off will very likely suck.
y Even slower actually IS possible.
y My lunch date with PF Chang was not a good idea pre run.
y PF Chang does not taste nearly as good later.
y PF Chang is hereby banned unless the run is in the books.
y New Enells make me very very happy and keep the girls close to the chest (because the bounce stops here!)
y Enell now comes in bright red. :D
y My foot feels better but maybe not 100%.
y Some runs are just harder.
y All of your thoughts and prayers are really, REALLY appreciated.
y 10k on the 10th of May is coming up fast. Are you ready??? I have a few things to do...

I'm hoping to feel bloggy again soon. Thanks everyone, for your support.

Bullets from Boca

2008-04-25T11:44:00.001-05:00

I'm back from Boca... what a place.

A couple of items:

I did 10.26 miles with Amy and Art before I left. 2:07 ~ 12:24 pace. Slightly faster than I can usually hang at this distance. I'll take it. They really helped to push me along and keep me going. I actually dropped an F bomb during this run. My apologies, not my normal MO.
Started the trip in Ft Lauderdale and did lots of walking around, eating and drinking.
Met Wendy at 7am up by Boca Raton and did an incredibly hard 5 miles (probably because of the 10 miler, the flying, the walking around and the drinking, yah think??? oh ya, and the humidity KILLED me. ) Wendy was an absolute doll and let me walk whenever I needed. She also let me talk whenever I needed. I'm thinking of making her my therapist. hee hee. She was totally adorable driving up and her hair is much longer than I'd expected. She said I was taller than expected :D Thanks for making the drive with Dewey and coming down to see me!! (hopefully will post a pic when I get my act together)
Somewhere during the run my foot started to hurt on the top up toward the toes. I tried loosening laces to no avail. Unfortunately, the pain has persisted, and I am officially putting myself on the injured reserves. Any ideas what this could be? Too much walking around on terrible feet?
We toured the Flagler Musuem and lighthouse at Jupiter. We also toured a couple mansions on the waterways and took some boat rides to really see some of the amazing boats and mansions and enjoy the sun. Wow. Always amazes me how big the world is and how differently people can live.
We lucked out and got an amazing suite at the Boca Resort for the business part of the award trip. Even had a party there the last night.
One of our evenings was spent at the National Croquet Center. I had no idea how much fun it would be. My husband and I won several matches - lots of teamwork and strategy.
We had some forced fun team building events that we survived (although these gave me the clue that there was something really wrong with my foot) and played golf on some amazing courses. I also got a few minutes at the beach on the last day. These trips are so jammed packed with activities, that they aren't very relaxing, but I am very very blessed and fortunate to have experienced all this, and to have won this trip to boot. It was also grand getting to run with Wendy.
Despite all this, I'm not feeling very bloggy. I've got some personal stuff going on that sometimes takes over. I try not to bring it out here but thoughts and prayers are always appreciated. Also doesn't help that my foot is hurting and I don't know what it is or how long it might last. I had almost peaked for the HM training with two 8's and two 10 mile runs. Hopefully I can take some time off and be back with a couple more 10's.
I will try to catch up (laundry and blogs, but I seriously doubt I can read everything) and hope to post some pictures soon.
Congrats to the Boston homies. You guys inspire me so so much.
ALL of you inspire me so much. Thanks for giving me a place to meet all of you and be inspired every day.

I'm No Kenyan

2008-04-17T12:04:00.000-05:00

Just in case there was any confusion. No, I'm a big, big, slow, slow, white girl. I tried to go out and run a little faster. I thought there might be pain, but you know, proportional pain. Go a little faster, have a little more pain. This was more like the kinetics of Dilantin. Not Linear. Not Proportional. Hard to take. I kind of felt like I don't deserve Garmie. I considered packing him up and just sending him to someone more deserving. I guess there's always the next run, right? Now, where's my club?

1 - 11:10
2 - 12:00
3 - 12:20
.2 - 11:34
3.2 miles ~ 37:45 ~ 11:48 pace

I'm planning to do a long run tomorrow (with Amy and Art) and a quick girls night (with Amy) and then it's off to Boca Raton. I'm not sure if I'll be on while we are gone, but I am planning to run with Wendy while I'm there. I can't wait. Hope to have stuff to share when I get back.

I'll be thinking about all the Boston Homies. You guys have a great time and drink up the experience. (Bill, Nitmos, Reid, my speedy friend from Iowa - Jennifer) Good luck to everybody racing this weekend no matter where you are. It's not about the finish. It's about that you're out there and you had the courage to start. Y

Blogger Love

2008-04-14T22:54:00.000-05:00

Has anyone been noticing the blogger love that is starting to happen? I've been wanting to do a post on this for a while. (not THAT kind of love, Marcy :P) Bloggers have been important for a while. Tech companies check out the bloggers to see what they say about their products. Political blogs have long had the attention of the media, analysts and candidates. Are running blogs finally getting discovered?

I mean Vanilla was practically adopted by the Clif people when he mentioned their new recovery drink. I've also heard he is test driving some fancy schmancy bad-boy Pearl Izumi shoes. I'm guessing that the Clif people (doesn't that remind you of some long ago civilization of really handly folks?) are under the assumption that some people actually read Half Fast. Hmm. (More about what the Clif folks are up to here.)

Then Pokey had a wardrobe dilemma that caught the eye of the lovely Meredith at Brooks Running. Soon Poke had some cool Brooks pants that were the right weight and made her look and feel the right weight too. :D

Viv also had a Brooks-type emergency. She had a hard time getting her favorite Brooks shirt washed because she wore it all the time! I think the lovely Meredith came through again, and sent Viv another one for rotational purposes.

Bev used a Lara Bar in a race and posted about how great it worked for her. Someone lovely at Lara caught this and sent her a big box full of Lara heaven. They even have a blog and a great statement on their website about supporting blogging as a means for people to express themselves and communicate with the entire world. How cool.

Now this isn't universal. Afterall, I posted about how much I am totally digging G2 and even had Jeter pace me in a virtual race which gets thousands (or something like that) of readers. I've also posted shots of me (or maybe it was some other hottie who looks like me) guzzling gatorade on a tough run. No calls from Gatorade, no special day with Jeter. :D YET. (but I might be testing some Propel soon) No calls from Bondi people either, although I've long professed my love of the Bondi-Band and I know all the sweaters agree with me. That's okay. Love 'em anyway. The mother load? Someday, I'm convinced I will be the official spokesperson of Enell bras. These bras literally saved my exercising life. The bounce stops here. When you're big like me that is a big big deal (get it? two bigs?)..... oooh, but I digress.

But, I have to admit, I wasn't posting those things in hopes of freebies, just cuz I like the product. And maybe it will save some other "big big" girl's exercising life? And isn't that the cool thing about the bloggers? We give each other a lot of advice and talk about what works for us. We also ask questions when we can't figure out what to do. Occasionaly, we find some gems for ourselves. And now the marketing people are starting to see that we share advice, purchase based on advice, generate traffic, etc. Pretty cool.

I'm already a Brooks shoe die hard and a Clif fan. They work for me. I rarely stray. So in fact, these posts and these generous acts didn't sway me to purchase more. (well, I am inclined to find some Clif recovery cabern-ade) But, I am really excited to see what they mean. And so I am returning the favor. And isn't this better than paying someone to blog about your product? It's been about helping someone or saying thank you for mentioning us, we're glad you like us. I actually like these companies more, because they are reaching out to the bloggers in this way. I'm willing to bet others feel the same way. Thanks for showing the bloggers some love. Y

All pics pretty much stolen from other bloggers sites without permission. Let me know if you have a problem with it. :D

I Have No Idea

2008-04-14T22:13:00.000-05:00

I took the weekend off to eat, I mean recover from that 10 miler. :D Weekends are starting to be busy with soccer and soon Tball. Soon we will be like the rest of the world with numb buns from all the games.

We also have carried on the tradition of my husband's grandparents... Saturday night family meal. It takes some time but we have made it important and I really enjoy it, good food, good wine, good company. I also think it's good for the kids.

Sunday was a little more relaxing, I actually spent more time on the couch in the middle of the day than I have in a long time, just enjoying the Masters. It still involved multiple up and downs with laundry, feeding and showering and refereeing kids, but it was nice. We also went to our Broadway Series Sunday night: Putnam County Spelling Bee.... very enjoyable. Everyone's busy, right?

Today it was 50 degrees and beautiful.
1 - 12:05 - I'm wishing away the whole run as I do an old familiar route that seems to take for.ever. STOP.THAT.RIGHT.NOW. Why do I do that. I have no idea. (But I did stop the wishing away and just enjoy the day and the fact that I was running)

2 - 12:15 - Construction dude who obviously was not working very hard from the amount of clothes he had on.

3 - 12:20 - Big nasty hill but I tried to think about other things. It ended up fairly steady. How this happened, I have no idea.

4 - 12:06 - Overheard a cell phone conversation - "well they picked up that john in New York and he was court-ordered to pay $855" - I swear I actually heard that from someone walking on the sidewalk as I ran by! I really have some ideas, but no actual comments. hee hee

.57 - 10:54 - Nancy's version of sprinting to make that traffic light. I actually have a best pace achieved of 7:15. Seriously. I have no idea.

4.57 miles ~ 55:03 ~ 12:02 pace

I also took on Bev's pushup challenge last week and did 45 girlie pushups in 1 minute. I won, only because Bev decided she is not eligible (something like 60 real ones in a minute? holy crap) and apparently the hardbody was on vacation. Yeah me, even if by default. :D

Sweet

2008-04-11T17:02:00.000-05:00

I did 5 miles with Amy on Wednesday and they felt great. We had a great time chatting and the miles just slipped away. We ran around Gray's Lake and it was packed with people.

I hadn't felt that good during a run for awhile.

5 miles ~ 1:00:39 ~ 12:02 pace

Today, we did 10 miles in the sleet and drizzle.

Snow is in the forecast so we picked out a window and went for it.

Nothing like a girlfriend to help get you out there when it would be so easy to stay home and eat left over pizza instead. :D

Also, nothing like a girlfriend to keep you going when it gets tough.

They hurt a little more than the fiver.

10 miles ~ 2:15:10 ~ 13:28 pace

It's been a while since I could put a 10 miler in the books.

Sweet.

Even sweeter? Amy gave me my cool spotted Spibelt from Runner's Lounge.

Apparently I'm an active lounger.

Double Sweet.

Thanks guys!!

2008-04-09T11:35:00.000-05:00

Monday -
Jerk Stair Master ~ 5 min vo2 max test. ABOVE AVERAGE. You may remember that earlier this year the stair master at the gym actually earned the jerk distinction after telling me that my vo2 max was below average. Proof that persistence and name-calling sometimes pay off.
Bike ~ 13.1 miles
Strength/Weights ~ 25 minutes

Tuesday -
Run ~ 3.1 miles
I got to the gym with limited time (story of my life) and realized I had shoes but no insoles. WTH? I ran without them. Dedicated or moronic? You be the judge. My feet definitely didn't feel right and everything felt weird afterwards. I would not suggest this (likely this advice is really not necessary as most of you are probably smarter than this) nor will I do it again. I had to play lots of games to finish. It was ugly but I did it.

Still struggling with GI issues. It's likely a virus cuz the hub and kids have had a touch of it too, but this is getting ridiculous, and old, very old.

Looking forward to running later today with Amy. :D

In personal news, I took my (oldest) baby to kindergarten round-up. This and him learning to read are freaking me out a little bit. I am excited for him but I hate that he is almost too heavy for me to lift. He's growing up. He says he will always be my baby and will still sit on my lap even when he is way too big. We'll see how long that will last. I'm trying to be secure, insightful, nurturing, understanding and guiding, due to this. No pressure.

The little one told us the other day that he had "so sad eyebrows" in a picture. Hilarious.

Plans for Florida and Scotland trips are progressing nicely. I'm looking forward to both and they should be very different trips although each will include some golf. Also, I am going to take a class at Harvard through work in May. That should be pretty cool and hopefully cool places to run...

Lator Gators.

8 in Pictures

2008-04-04T22:41:00.000-05:00

Friday

8 miles ~ 1 hour and 42 minutes ~ 12:51 pace

12:19

12:30

12:31

12:23

12:35

13:29

13:48

13:25

Obviously the hills at the end eat me up, but this is slightly better than last time I did this route, although similar: mid 12's until I hit the hills. They must be making me stronger. Part of me wants a different route, part of me wants to just keep improving on these nasty hills.

Even though it got hard, I didn't have to play any til the next light pole games. I just ran. There was ice on the deck in the morning, yet it was 60 degrees and I was in shorts. I ran for Doug and Wendy and Gotta Run. I knew they wanted to be out there, and I thought I owed it to them. Here is what we saw:

My legs came out of the shade.

Brooks kicks. DUH.

Early hill in mile 1

Vase Envy.

Somewhere around mile 2.2

Signs of Spring

Mile 3 - 4

Oh, Dude.

Around Mile 4

Made.His.Day.
All the boy's in the nursing home are going to hear about the young gal
that wanted his picture. He said, "Be careful out here."
Adorable.
Mile 4

Jr High kids running sprints.

They looked SO young.

Mile 4.5

Tracks

Mile 5.5

Gu Bridge

Mile 6

Muddy Bike Path

Mile 6.5

Home Sweet Home

March Stats

2008-04-01T13:24:00.000-05:00

Nice improvements but they can not come at the expense of weight training. I can see where I need to improve my focus. I know this doesn't look like much to a lot of you, but this is where I am and it isn't on the couch. :D It's supposed to hit 57 in a few hours - oh joy - I'm hoping to run for two hours later today.

Sounds like there is a lot of interest for a 10k on the 10th of May - see previous post. (YES MAY, this is actually meant to be put on the calendar as an incentive and get you out the door doing some training for the next few weeks). It's too bad Nitmos can't figure out how far to run or what day. I should make it more clear. :D

As always, I'm pleased and humbled that you will get out and run with me. Hope we have some creative CAVE PEOPLE. I'm already thinking about resurrecting my outfit.

Announcing 10k on the 10th

2008-04-01T10:44:00.000-05:00

It finally came to me what we need for our club. A virtual race of course. For those of you struggling with motivation and needing a carrot, get your club out, start beating on the bad attitude and the negative self-talk, and get this bad boy on your calendar.

Friendly Sons of St. Patrick 10K Race Report

2008-03-30T22:48:00.000-05:00

Today the Catholic boys were holding a race kind of in my neighborhood. I've been eyeing this one for awhile since I've never done a 10k (instant PR), it was close to home and pretty cheap, and I need the miles as I start to ramp up for Dam to Dam at the end of May (20k). How can you beat an 11am start and a t-shirt? Although I'm guessing they might have expected me to be in church beforehand. :P

I've been having some major GI issues the last couple of days. I'll spare the play by play, but suffice it to say that it was touch and go up until the end and heavy pharmaceuticals were on board. Thank you science.

Art heard I was running this and we arranged to meet up at registration. He told his group he was looking for a girl and they said, "well, maybe we can help, what does she look like?" Art said to look for red lipstick and one of them spotted me from across the parking lot. :D That's so much better than look for a girl with really wide hips. :P

I think the plan was loosely something like we'd love to run this in the 11's, but realistically we need to just keep each other going, and if someone is having a great day, don't be afraid to go with it. I secretly thought I'd be the lag behinder in the 12's.

We started out at a nice clip and did some chatting. I got a side stitch during mile 2 and Art had to one sidedly chat. After that, the gradual inclines started and kept going through mile 3, 4 and 5!! Those damn sons ain't so friendly. I was breathing heavier than normal but nothing hurt and we just kept going. I kept telling myself, this is a race, okay to push yourself and be breathing heavier. Art was really a dear, I know he could have gone a lot faster, but he claimed he really wanted to run about this pace and not over do it. He has been sick and was also concerned about breathing but he ran it seemingly effortlessly. Thanks, Art!!! You totally ROCK.

I had two pretty good lines for the sparse talking. "Jesus Christ!" (then, started thinking, is that weird to say J.C. during this race? It's probably not a very good thing.) My other one was, "I'd talk more, but all I can think of are cuss words." hee hee.

As we went on and we continued to keep it under 12, I was hoping to do it for every mile. You can see that the only water station during mile 5 kept me from that goal. Somewhere around 5.2, I set Art free and he moved out. He was yelling, "run your race." ~ "you're doing great!" ~ "I'll be at the finish, you'll be right behind me."

1 ~ 11:02
2 ~ 11:34
3 ~ 11:50
4 ~ 11:37
5 ~ 12:01
6 ~ 11:56
.27 ~ 10:26
Garmin reads 6.27 miles ~ 1:12:49 ~ 11:37 pace
(wow - race site says 1:12:52 - for once my garmin trigger finger was right on.)

Once again it was one of those really bittersweet things. Absolutely great to be running, great to be running with someone, great to be running 6 miles and nothing hurts much, great to be running this pace for 6 miles, great to be experiencing improvement, beautiful day to be running. I'm still at the back of the back of the pack. (there were officially only 6 people behind me and I was 24th of 26 in my age group. Geez.) I just don't look back. I'm extremely pleased.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

2008-03-28T11:09:00.000-05:00

Thanks, everyone, for all your support. I am feeling quite a bit better. The truth is, it wasn't about running at all, it was about personal stuff. I think I may have confused some of you on that. I wish I could be as positive and die hard, never give up even after failure, on the personal stuff, like I am on the running. For some reason, the metaphorical club and beating back bad thoughts with it has worked well for me on the running stuff, but really, I just like being a runner (yes, I actually said that I am a runner!) and love to talk about it, love the sense of accomplishment and like to share it (stalk) with all of you. Many times I have run because of all of you, you keep me going.

The club we have built and all your support and encouragement mean a lot to me. Several of you mentioned wanting to be "in my club," or "going clubbing." It was cracking me up, and I really appreciate your support, especially on non-running related personal junk. Maybe we should start some sort of virtual official club? Any ideas? Cave People Unite?

Anyway, I'm working on the positivity and better attitude on the personal stuff, but I can get pretty down. I've at least hit the bottom and am started back up the other side. The first good sign is when I start joking about it.

You can turn painful situations around through laughter.

If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it.

--Bill Cosby

I found this website http://www.despair.com/ after someone used it in a recent seminar (please don't think I was googling "despair" -- it wasn't quite that bad!) It's a take on those motivational posters. Here are a couple that made me chuckle.

I hope you are laughing and not thinking I am being a downer. :D

The truth is, failure is just information on what doesn't work. I look at my bad runs like this all the time - it was bad, oh well, what can I learn? Pick yourself up with a bit more information and try again. And as a friend told me when I really needed to hear it, "there is always hope." Thanks, friend. And thanks to ALL of you!

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Now, regarding the running, I'm not exactly sure what is going on. I did a 5 miler last Saturday and while it beat me up in the snow, I was fine. After 5 on Wednesday, however, I am the sorest I have been in months. Any thoughts? I ran pretty slow, not sure why I am "race sore". I was hoping to do a 10k neighborhood race on Sunday, but now I'm not too sure...

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This reminds me. I think someone asked me about that 6 word meme. Me in 6 words? Holy cow. I found this somewhere and decided to steal it for my own. It pretty much sums me up.

Some Hits. Some Runs. Some Errors.

Looking for a bigger club

2008-03-26T13:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks for everyone's rockin support of my Tri. Part of me is still in the clouds. I didn't have too much problem recovering (does that mean I didn't push enough?) After the tri, I did a whirlwind tour on both sides of the family. I ran on Saturday in Glen Ellyn -- 5 miles with my SIL -- yes, after the snow storm in Chicagoland. It was possibly the worst run of my life. At least 5 inches of thick crusty snow on a trail. I had to go SO slow, the numbers were in the 14's, people, and mainly because of it beating me up physically, the cardiovascular was fine. At least I have that. My SIL ran out and backs (from me) and did 6 to my 5 but at least I did some miles. It was also gorgeous to see the heavy snow over everything.

I'm back from the whirlwind tour, but I haven't caught up on blogs and I've been really blue. Running and work are great. Some personal things seem to be a mess right now. When I started this blog, I was hoping for the positivity and energizer bunni-ness of my running attitude to spill over into my personal life. I mean really, someone who runs in the 14's (okay, okay, I did do 3 miles in the 10's, but still, I'm PAINFULLY slow) HAS to remain positive or they would quit. How is it that I continue to spring back from bad runs, back of the back of the pack races, stupid mistakes, being passed by the only other runner on the course? How do I keep coming back for more with a big energizer bunny spirit and lipstick smile?

Well, it's my club (my attitude), of course. I know this. Apparently, this does not yet translate so easily to the rest of my life like I had hoped. I'm working on it. Had a great chat with a friend today and also took Anthony Robbins out for a run with me. No one speaks to me like Anthony. Tears came for awhile after mile 2 but I straightened up. This was really hard emotionally and physically.

5.3 miles ~ 1:07 ~ 12:40 pace

I think I need a bigger club...