Ready for Route 66

The Route 66 marathon/half marathon is on the 21st...less than two weeks now. I think I'm about as ready as I can be for it now. I made my last long run for it this past Saturday. I ran 10.75 miles in 1 hour 37 minutes. That time is running time. I did take a couple of bathroom breaks, but that would come to no more than 5 minutes additional time. I actually ran negative splits up thru mile 7, starting at 9:30 and going down to about 8:50. I finally did a bit of walking on miles 8 and 9, but my time was still under 9:30 for those two miles, so I didn't walk too much!

I feel pretty confident I can maintain a ~9-minute pace, at least thru the first 9 or 10 miles. We'll see if I can continue that for the last two or three miles. I'm hoping to finish around 2 hours. A 9 minute pace for 13.1 miles comes to 1 hour and 58 minutes, so coming in at 2 hours would pretty much require no bathroom breaks or stoppage of any kind. Either that, or I'd have to run a bit faster than a 9 minute pace...not out of the question, but I don't think I could maintain much faster than 8:45-8:50 over the course of the race. So somewhere around 2:10 to 2:15 is probably more realistic. But, there's nothing like setting lofty goals!

My other concern has been weather. Right now the forecasted trend for for next week looks to be highs in the high-50's to mid-60's with lows in the high-30's to low-40's. Anything in that range should really be pretty good running weather, so I'm pretty optimistic about that right now.

After my long run this past weekend, I'm cutting back to get ready for the event. I've done a 3-mile and a 4-mile run this week, and will do a 6-miler this weekend and do easy 3 or 4 mile runs next week too. Wish me luck!

I'm Back

As you all know, I had surgery about 2 months ago and was supposed to lay off running for 6 weeks. I started talking walks and would cheat a little and run about 1/2 mile every now and then. You don't know how much you miss something until you are told not to do it. I started to run again after 5 weeks and was frustrated because I didn't do very well. Then I decided to do like Thais did and just start over. Today I ran 3 miles and it seems to be getting easier although my knee has been bothering me a little. After my run I went to 7/11 to get a dr. pepper and while standing in line, the man in front of me started asking me about my run. Then the guy in front of him gave a few comments. It is interesting to know there are fellow runners everywhere.

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k

On Saturday, October 9th, Ross and I both ran in the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k in Oklahoma City. The race begins and ends by the ballpark in Bricktown, looping thru downtown OKC. I was told by a coworker who also runs that it's one of the biggest 5k's in the area every year, and after attending I believe him. In fact, Sunday's paper said they had over 18,000 participants this year! (That's for the 5k and the 1-mile walk/run that starts concurrently).

Big pink Limo parked on Reno.

Peggy and I got there around 7:30 and it was already extremely crowded and difficult to find parking. As it neared 8:00, Reno, the street the race started on became seriously packed with runners and walkers. Additionally, on the North side of the street by the ballpark it was a packed mass of humanity. Luckily I was on the South side of the street where you could still maneuver thru the crowd.

Untangling my headphones as I begin to get ready.

Looking toward the starting line.

They had signs in the starting area for people to gather based on their projected pace for the race. I worked my way in between the 8 minute mile and 9 minute mile signs. As the start neared, I began inching a bit more toward the 8 minute mile area. The gun went off and the crowd of runners began to move. I was nearer to the starting line here than I was at the Midnight Streak 5k back in August so it was probably only about 15 seconds or so after the gun when I crossed the starting line.

Peggy shot this right before the start. You can't really get a perspective on the size of the crowd from this shot.

It felt like a slow pace in the crowd I was in so I began working my way toward the side of the pack where you can begin passing people. When I finally got a little room around me I found I was running faster than I intended (of course!) with my Garmin showing my pace to be near 7:30. I tried to slowed down some, but also felt the need to keep up with the runners around me...so I didn't really slow down as much as I wanted to.

Despite the quick pace I wasn't having too much trouble keeping it up. As we headed up Robinson I glanced down at my Garmin and saw we were nearing the 1 mile mark. I wanted to hit the lap counter on the Garmin at each mile so I could see what my splits were later. At 1 mile I hit the lap counter then looked up to see a course marker (a slender plastic barrier that stood about 3 and a half to 4 feet high) right in front of me! I didn't have any time to dodge it and put my hands out as I collided with it. I'm happy to report I took the course marker out rather than vice-versa. I definitely felt foolish though!

The course was mostly gently uphill for the first half, hitting 13th street at it's northernmost point before turning back south down Broadway and a gentle downhill slope. Toward the end of the second mile I was beginning to feel the effects of the pace I was keeping, but about that time a couple of my best running songs came up on my iPod back to back. That helped me keep going and avoid slowing down. At Broadway and 4th, the course turned East on 4th and went up the steepest part of the course by far. This was with about a half mile or so left. It went up the hill for probably about a quarter mile. I consciously slowed it going up the hill (to about an 8:30 pace) so I would hopefully have something left coming down the stretch.

At the top of the hill the course turned back South on Walnut (I think) heading to the ballpark and the finish. It went down a steep hill at this point. It was now easier to pick up the pace some, but I had to stay back on my heels a bit too because it was so steep. I was also really starting to run out of gas now. The finish line was in sight and people were turning their kick on and passing me. I wanted to do the same but didn't feel I had much left. Finally with about a hundred yards left I gave the best kick I could and made it to the finish.

According to my Garmin, my time was 25:49...almost 10 seconds faster than my time at the Midnight Streak. I spotted Peggy waiting just a bit past the finish and moved over to talk to her. As we talked, Ross came trotting up just 15 or so seconds behind me. I was ready to gloat that I actually beat him, but he told us that he waited too long to go to the starting area and got stuck in the crowd and ended up starting near the back of the pack behind huge number of 1-mile walkers. He said it took him about a half mile to get around all of them and he used a huge amount of energy doing so. Talking to him later, he said he clocked his time at 24:50, so he actually ran it about a minute faster than I did. His starting gun time was about 10 or 15 seconds slower than mine—also pretty good considering I started near the front of the pack and Ross started near the back.

When it was all said and done, the Hansen brothers finished 7th and 8th in the men's 50–54 age group—out of almost 50. Not too bad! Finally, as mentioned above, I did win my confrontation with the course marker, but it managed to get its own licks in on me.

RJay got a boo boo.

Gonna get my kicks on Route 66

I signed up for the Route 66 half marathon yesterday. It happens on November 21st in Tulsa. Sue and I had talked about running in it together after we did SLC back in April. Unfortunately, Sue just had her surgery a week or two ago and is on doctor's orders not to run right now (she told me she's been running a little bit anyway). So most likely she won't have time to get in shape for a half marathon by the date of the Route 66.

My only hesitation to signing up for it was the late November date. November is mostly pretty mild in Oklahoma as you all know, (the marathon's web site says average low of about 40 and average high near 60...great running weather) but it also can get quite cold and we even get snow  during the month occasionally. So I could picture a scenario of a high in the upper 30's with 25mph North winds--probably a pretty miserable day to run 13 miles. But, I decided to bet on the averages and went ahead and entered.

It's about 7 weeks away and I feel like I'm in pretty good shape for it right now. I ran 9 miles this past Sunday and really felt good. It was a beautiful day...the best running weather we've had here since April probably. I've been trying to do a longer run on the weekend for the past month or so, going 7 or 8 miles usually, in anticipation of entering the Route 66. It was such a nice day Sunday, that I ran the 9 which was more than I had planned. And my time was pretty good too. The running time was 1:23 (last mile was the fastest at 8:29!) and I probably had between 10 and 15 minutes of resting/bathroom/hydrating on top of the running time. That really makes me think I could run the half marathon near 2 hours, even with some walking. There's a goal to shoot for anyway!

I have had to start over. I ran a couple of times after my run in Sandpoint and it was like I had no breath, no stamina. I decided to return to the beginning and it has helped. I am adding a bit more every run and by the way, I ran three times this week. Yay! I am still waiting for more consistent fall like temperatures for more consistent running.

Sights of Sandpint

I visited the Fosters this past weekend and went running with Curtis and Sherry. It was with only in that we were on the same roads. I was tagging along. It was an enjoyable run and I saw some pretty houses that I haven't seen before. Sandpoint is bigger than I thought. I am glad it isn't any bigger than it is because I was ready to stop when we stopped. Sherry estimated we ran about five miles which is a first for me. No way could I have done the trail run they did with Sue. I was pleased with my performance and really sore the next day. I am still sore. I went for a run after arriving home this afternoon and it was the worst run I have had since I first started. I walked half of the time I think. It was one of those pooped runs!

I drove my longest run route to see how far it is before I went home. It is 4.5 miles. Now I know what I have achieved at home.

My achy feet

Just another quick note. Today Curt and I went 8.7 miles, this time just on the road, and my body really aches. Especially my feet!! Sometimes I wonder how I ever manage to do a 1/2 marathon. The better news is we finished in 1:28. Yay!

~Sherry

Running up a Mountain

I have been quite the blog slacker, but not as bad as Curtis ;) I intended to write this right after we ran but of course didn't and now it is a week later. Anyway, while Sue was visiting, we took her up to do some trail running on the Ravenwood or Syringa trails (depending on who you are talking to). To reach the trails, you pretty much have to run uphill and I must say not really a casual uphill. It is pretty steep and you probably run about a mile, then you get on a shorter trail and continue running uphill.

Curtis is really good at all these hills, I on the other hand am not so good and often have to walk a bit. Sue was good enough to take some walking breaks with me :) Finally we are at the main trails and yes, you do have to go up some more. We run up and down and traverse back and forth, back and forth. It is all going pretty good except we really didn't take into account that Sue isn't used to running in really dry weather. She was getting quite thirsty and maybe a bit dehydrated. On she went though, especially when Curtis said it was only about 1 1/2 miles to water (he fudged this a bit).

We finally quit climbing and started downhill, which by the way isn't always easier, but to get out of the trails you have to go down. We come down a dirt road back to pavement and now we have about mile and a half or two left. We took a little walking break and then back to running the last mile and at last the car is in view and water. YAY!!!

We estimate that the run was around 7 miles, 3 something on pavement and the rest on the trails so pretty good. We had a fun time and now Sue says "she ran up a mountain!"

~Sherry

The Midnight Streak

I ran my first 5K race Saturday night at the City Arts Center's Midnight Streak. I ended up beating my goal time significantly and really enjoyed the experience. The event is at the State Fair Grounds and officially began at 8 p.m. with bands playing on stage, some refreshment stands and free massages for runners.

Peggy came with me to lend me some moral support and we arrived a bit before 10:00. We brought a folding chair and a blanket and relaxed on the grass in front of the bandstand while waiting for the race to start. As the Oklahoma resident members of our blog know, Saturday was a very hot day (in a string of hot days) with a high of about 103. As we left the house around 9:30 to head to the Fairgrounds it was still around 97-98 degrees. As we waited for the race time to roll around I decided I should go ahead and run shirtless because of the heat and humidity, and that's pretty much how I've been running all summer anyway.

Around 10:40 Jared (of Subway commercial fame) got on stage and said all the runners needed to head to the starting area. I made one last bathroom pitstop then headed that way. There was a huge crowd and I wandered in and out of it looking for any familiar faces (didn't spot any). A few people were jogging up and down the road adjacent to the starting area and I joined them, jogging back and forth a couple of times to get loosened up.

As I wandered thru the crowd, I got fairly near the starting line a couple of times, but ultimately found myself 60 or 70 yards away from it when the race was about to start and the crowd tightened up significantly so I was pretty much stuck there. Suddenly the starting gun went off but nothing happened where I was for a few seconds. Then slowly, the crowd around me began to surge toward the starting line. We finally broke into a slow trot 20 or so feet from the start.

As we passed the start, the pace picked up a bit, but it was definitely quite a bit slower than I needed to be running to meet my goal time for the race. My fairly conservative goal was to break 27 minutes which requires running a bit under 9 minute miles. So I began trying to weave my way thru the big crowd around me to get some clear room around me, or at least work my way into a faster crowd.

I finally worked my way to the side and was able to get by the big crowd I had been trapped in and get some room to find my own speed. I glanced down at my GPS watch to check my paced and was alarmed to see it read a pace of about 7:35/mile...way to fast for this point in the race. My plan was to run the first mile between an 8:30 to 9 minute pace, then pick it up on the second mile to a bit under an 8:30 pace and finally run the last 1.1 mile at around an 8 minute pace. I remembered Ross warning me that in a race like this, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement and the other runners and start off too fast, wearing yourself out before you finish the first mile.

I slowed my pace down, but still found myself going a bit faster than my plan, averaging near an 8:30 pace for the first mile. I finished the first mile and picked up the pace slightly. To my surprise, there was a water station a bit before the halfway point...I didn't think they'd have any since a 5K is such a short race. Never the less, I was happy to see it as I was very hot by now and a slug of water sounded pretty good. I grabbed one from a volunteer as I ran past and managed to choke down two or three swallows while still running along. Looked at my GPS watch and saw I had slowed down to almost a 9:30 pace during that water "break" and got a bit alarmed. So I quickly picked the pace back up. As I approached the two-mile mark I mentally assessed things, deciding I still felt pretty good and felt I could continue with my plan to run the last mile at around an 8 minute pace.

When I passed two miles, I consciously picked my pace up even more, and continued passing people (as I had been doing for the entire race). At around 2 and 1/3 mile I found myself behind a couple of young girls (probably high school age). I was going to work my way around them, but they were moving along at a pretty good clip and maintaining a steady pace (and we were around my goal 8-minute pace) so I decided to just follow them along for a while. By this time I was starting to feel the exertion and found myself checking my watch frequently to see how far we had left.

The course had gone off the fairgrounds in the last mile and ran on May Avenue in a lane they had blocked off with traffic cones. Finally when my watch read that we had gone 2.97 miles I thought it was time to turn it on and give what kick I had left. I sped up and passed the two girls I had been following, as the course turned back into the fairgrounds. And, as you entered the fairgrounds you could see the finish line up ahead. At this point I was moving at a pretty good clip (I hit a 6:05 pace according to my GPS), but with about 100 yards left one of the young girls I had been following and passed went shooting by me!

Finally, I crossed the finish line, and almost immediately spotted Peggy in the crowd lining the finish. She had our camera and had hoped to take a picture as I crossed, but wasn't able to get it taken. She came over to congratulate me though and we walked along to where volunteers were passing out water bottles, when I remembered to stop my GPS watch...it read 26:14 when I stopped it, so I was excited to realize I had probably broke the 26 minute mark, since it had been at least 15 or 20 seconds after I finished before I stopped the watch.

We went back to the bandstand where they were to announce the winners at 11:45. As we waited I bumped into the manager of the OK Runner store in Edmond where I drop in once a month or so. I guess he recognized me because he stopped and asked me how I did. I told him I had beat my goal and was very happy with my performance. He said that's great and continued on. I told Peggy I'd bet he ran it in under 20 minutes. Then when they announced the overall winner--it turned out, it was him! His time was 15:44, which boggles my mind. Less than 5:15/mile!

They finally began posting results near midnite but I was disappointed to see that the times they were posting were from the starting gun, not the individual chip times. My starting gun time was 26:55, but I was still pretty sure I had broken the 26 minute mark. I had to wait until the next day to check my results on the internet and sure enough, my chip time was 25:57! So I had broken 26 minutes (barely!).

I finished 177th out of over 1100 finishers, and 14th out of 63 in the 50-54 age group (12th among men in that age group). I was quite pleased with myself and my performance and enjoyed the whole experience immensely. I plan on running it again next year and encourage the other Oklahoma runners to consider it too.

Me, about 45 minutes before the race start.

Me, gasping for breath an hour and 15 minutes later.

On the road again

After a 2 week hiatus of no exercise, unless you count walking the dog, whatsoever, I ran again this morning. I ran my regular "short" run, but ran the whole way. So, I am still in shape and happy about that.

You are a runner, aren't you?

I started running about 3 1/2 years ago and although I am much better than when I started, I struggle with myself because I think I should be much better than I am. Last week I went to a doctor's appointment and was discussing surgery that he has recommended. He told me I should do okay after surgery because I am healthy. And then he said "you are a runner, aren't you?" Later that day I started thinking about his comment and it really made me feel good. I am a runner and I may think I should be running faster and farther but I have done pretty well. I have lots of years left to get better and my brothers and sisters motivate me because I have to keep up with them. Thanks Jay for the report of our April race....I really enjoyed reading it.

The better late than never SLC marathon report

Previously titled On April 17th I ran 13.1 miles...and I liked it!


I began writing this a week or two after SLC back in April. When I was about 3/4 thru it I got sidetracked for various reasons and have just finally managed to get back to it and finish it up. So, for what it's worth, here's my summary of our adventures in SLC this past April.

It was quite an experience. A flood of emotions went through my mind as I crossed the finish line. Joy, exhaustion, pain, and a great sense of accomplishment. As I recall, it was last fall when Sue mentioned to me that Sherry was going to challenge Ross and myself to run the half marathon in Salt Lake City this year. Almost immediately I liked the idea although I wasn't sure about committing to it. I started to run a couple of years ago, but my effort lasted about a month. Beginning in the summer and no clearly defined goal probably led to my giving up quickly. But here was something to shoot for.

I began to do a bit of running in December, but Christmas and weather kept it to a minimum, so nothing got seriously underway until a week or so into January. The months of January and February were challenging weather-wise, but I kept at it and began to build some stamina. I was originally under the impression that the SLC Marathon was during the summer. I think, because the last half marathon Sue had run with Sherry and Curtis was late last summer (I didn't realize that wasn't at Salt Lake City). It was nearly the end of February when I was informed the SLC event was in the middle of April. Suddenly my training time was down to about a month and a half! So I kept at it and tried to increase my distance more quickly than I had originally intended. I ran regularly but had only a couple of 6-mile runs under my belt as my longest efforts before the event was upon us.

Sue and I flew to Salt Lake City on April 15th, arriving a day after Sherry and Curtis, who had driven down from Sand Point.

In Thais and Leslie's backyard Thursday afternoon.

We enjoyed a nice afternoon and went and ate dinner at a small "health food" restaurant. Then that evening we went to a nearby park and ran a quick three miles around the park together.

Friday morning, we took our time getting ready in the morning then headed down to the Salt Palace to pick up our race packets and look around the pre-race expo. After we we spent some time browsing around the expo, we headed over to The Gateway to walk around and do a bit of shopping. It was an enjoyable afternoon. Finally we headed on home to get dinner going.

We skipped the official marathon's Pasta Dinner, and made our own. Sherry had a great recipe and her, Curtis, Sue and Thais ran over and around each other in the kitchen fixing dinner. It was a great meal and we almost managed to leave no leftovers. Everyone tried to get to bed earlier because the marathon started at 7 AM so we would be getting an early start.

I had run a quick 3-miler Wednesday evening before leaving Oklahoma. After the run I was a bit troubled by some pain on the inside of my left ankle. Thursday morning it wasn't any better, but I hoped it would ease by Saturday. Unfortunately, after our group run Thursday evening, the ankle was even more sore on Friday. I was definitely getting concerned as I was getting ready to run more than twice as far as I had ever run before. At the pre-race expo, a booth was selling a new kind of athletic tape, "KT Tape", endorsed and used by professional athletes and Olympians. It claimed to help a lot of different sports injuries and said it came with clear, illustrated instructions for application. The price wasn't bad ($12.99 for a package), so I finally decided to take a chance and try it. As we got ready Saturday morning, I taped up my left ankle altering the instructions for taping up shin splints a bit since my problem was in my ankle rather than my shin.

When everyone was ready, we took a quick group photo in the living room for posterity.

The intrepid runners

Finally, we all loaded into Curtis and Sherry's SUV and headed to the race start. We arrived at the marathon/half marathon starting area round 6:40. It was packed, with long bathroom lines and people handing off drop bags to be taken to the finish.

Arriving at the starting area.

It was cool (temp about 50) and a bit windy, so it was a bit nippy in the light running clothes we all had on. Sue and I stood in a bathroom line for a few minutes, but since it didn't seem to be going anywhere we all headed for the starting line. Standing in the middle of the crowd eased the chill in the air quite a bit from the mass of body heat and the effect of blocking the wind. Finally, an official at the starting line (the SLC mayor?) began formally welcoming everyone and introduced a recently returned vet who sang the national anthem. After a bit more talking the race finally got underway. We slowly shuffled with the crowd toward the starting line, and once we got to it, we broke into a trot.

Waiting in the crowd for the start.

For the first couple of miles, it remains pretty crowded as everyone jockeys for position and tries to find the space to run at their own pace. You find yourself working around a lot of slower runners while faster runners weave in and out working toward the front of the pack. We hit a nice, easy pace of about 10 minutes a mile and maintained that easily for the first several miles. The full marathon broke off from the half marathon at around the 4 mile mark so Curtis left our small group and Sherry, Sue and I kept going together. We stopped around the 5 mile mark for a bathroom break. There was a fairly short line but we still ended up there for 8 or 9 minutes before we all got our business taken care of.

We took off again and kept our 10 minute/mile pace. Around this time, my right ankle began to bother me, feeling much like my left ankle had been the previous couple of days. The KT tape I had applied to the left ankle was doing a great job and I wasn't having any problems with it, but I was starting to think I should have taped up the right ankle too. We chugged along with Sue usually out in front of Sherry and I by 15 or 20 feet. Finally around the 8 mile mark, Sue broke into a walk. Sherry and I took her right up on the walking idea and we did that for a couple of hundred yards and discussed how we were all feeling, before beginning to run again.

Somewhere near 9 miles when Sue and I began walking again, Sherry kept on going. Besides my right ankle I was beginning to get quite a bit of pain in my right calf also. For the first time, I began to wonder a bit whether I would be able to finish. At first, if we'd walk the pain would go away and I'd feel fine, then we'd begin to run again and after just one or two hundred yards the pain would be right back. Sue was being bothered by some bowel distress so we stayed together to encourage each other through it.

The course goes thru the park where we ran Thursday evening.

On miles between miles 10 and 12 we walked more than either of us really wanted to (probably almost half of those two miles were walked), but we were trying to save up what we had left for the last mile. From mile 11 to mile 12, the course is uphill. Although it's a fairly gentle grade, it's at a point in the race where you're going to be pretty worn out. Despite the amount of walking we were doing at that point, I still took some satisfaction in the fact that when we did run we were passing those around us who were running too.

Approaching mile 11 as Sue wonders why I'm not running.

We were in this stretch when the eventual marathon winner with police escort passed us by. Almost 26 miles and he looked to have a lot more energy than Sue or I had after 11 miles. But, he was a lot younger than us too!

We finally arrived at the 12 mile mark and began running the final mile. As we began it, I was thinking "only a mile left...no problem", but we probably had only gone about a quarter mile before I was feeling the pain in my right ankle and calf and hoping I could keep going the entire mile. I was determined though, even if I had to slow down to a limping run.

On the last mile!

I managed to maintain respectable form though. Probably around a half mile from the finish, crowds began lining the street and the closer you got to the finish line, the bigger and louder the crowd got. It was definitely inspiring, and helped keep you going.

Sue and I near the finish.

Finally, the finish was in sight. With probably a couple hundred yards left, Sue picked up the pace, going for a little kick at the end. I followed suit and managed to pass her before crossing the finish line (my official time was 1 second faster than hers). After crossing the finish you were funneled into the "runners only" finish area where volunteers shoved water bottles into your hands and tables lined the path, loaded up with bananas, chocolate milk and other fuel for the runners to replenish themselves with. Crossing the finish then trotting thru this area, I had to fight back tears a couple of times as I felt overwhelmed with emotion for what I had done.

Me, somewhere near the finish.

We had to wait another two and a half hours or so for Curtis to finish the full marathon. While waiting the bag drop line to pick up our bag, Curtis called my cell phone to give a report on his progress. He was having a hard time by then and estimated he'd be another 40 or 45 minutes on the course. When we thought he should be getting near the end, we took up positions around 70 or so yards from the finish line to wait. And wait. It ended up taking him longer than he had guessed because it was getting more and more difficult for him the closer to the end he got.

Finally, we saw him come into sight. He was looking a bit worse for the wear, but he wasn't going to walk across the finish line! Sherry ran to the finish to greet him as the rest of us cheered him on. It was hard for him, but Curtis broke the 5 hour mark with just a few minutes to spare.

Curtis waves to us as he approaches the finish line.

After giving Curtis a few minutes to recover a bit, we went to check out our times before heading home. My time was 2:35:20. Everyone told me that wasn't bad for my first half marathon, but I definitely feel I could do better, so I'm looking forward to the next opportunity to beat that time.

We got home and we all got cleaned up and relaxed for a while before heading out later to get some dinner. It was a long, tiring day but very enjoyable too. Sue and I flew home the next day, arriving in Oklahoma City to a cool, rainy day.

I thoroughly enjoyed the short vacation, the half marathon and the visit with my family. Here's hoping everyone can come to OKC next year and participate in the Memorial Marathon! And looking forward to some of the younger ones participating too.

Wrong shoes?

I ran this morning and grabbed the wrong shoes. They were my old walking shoes, but Ididn't notice anything amiss in my running. It wasn't until I prepared to unlace the shoes and noticed I hadn't tied them in a knot. My running shoelaces are very long and I tie them in knots to shorten the length and not trip over them. I ran in these shoes before I bought my running shoes and felt they were all right. Kind of funny though.

Pheobe and I ran our furthest distance, still don't know how far. I have a pedometer but need to calculate my stride before it can measure distance. I think. Perhaps it would be wise to read the directions more closely. Today is a holiday which is why I could run early. The actual holiday is tomorrow, July 24th celebrating the first arrival of pioneers in the Salt Lake valley. Since the 24th is on Saturday, Friday is the day off. What that means is that I will run two mornings in a row. Yay?

First Pair of VFFs in the Wild

I ran quite a bit over the July 4th weekend. So far, weather-wise July has been more like an Oklahoma June...and June was more like a July. It was relatively cool and rainy for the holiday weekend (cool being high-70s to mid-80s). I went to a new park that Peggy suggested. I didn't even know it existed. It's called South Lake Park and is a mile or so south of Earlywine. It's a nice park with a couple of big ponds on either side and a mile and a quarter track.

I ran 5 miles there on Saturday the 3rd. Then I ran 3 miles at my usual park on the 4th then went back to South Lake Park on Monday and ran 6 miles. While on my 3rd lap or so Monday I came upon a young couple walking their dog around the track. As I got close to them I saw the guy was wearing a pair of Vibram Fivefingers. Not the same model as I have, but it was the first pair I've seen anyone in Oklahoma (besides myself) sporting. As I ran by them I said "Nice shoes!". They chuckled as the realized I was wearing a pair too.

Been kind of lazy since the weekend. I'll have to get a few miles in this weekend although the rainy weather pattern we've had is supposed to leave after today.

running in the water

I decided to "run" in a different way-swim. There is a facility across from the street from the hospital that has a lap pool, a basketball court, etc. I thought I would try getting up early and running before work and failed abjectly. So, I decided to try swimming. I figure I will work my legs and my arms, improve my fitness and not get hot at the same time. Right now I am thinking I will swim during the week and run on Saturday morning in July and August. Then I will see what the weather does.

I swam today after work. I puffed a lot and my arms and legs needed rests frequently, but things will improve as it did when I started running. I did some laps using only my legs with the hope that it will be like running. When I arrived at the pool I was the only swimmer. The lifeguard was studying as I walked in and had to go to work. I thought about telling him I promised I wouldn't drown, but I don't think it would have made a difference.

I may have to buy some goggles to save my eyeballs. I wonder what chorine will do to my hair color?

"There is sunshine in my soul today!"

After a cool, wet holiday weekend, today arrived with more blue sky than clouds. Yay! I was getting quite irritated in my lack of summer. And being Monday, Curtis and I went to run together. We did a similar route to last week minus the beach and it was a better run overall. We had some flat, some uphill and then of course, downhill. It was good and ended out to be 9 miles! We finished it in 1.5 hours which makes me happy cause it keeps me at 10 min/miles. I have sped up a bit but that is only for the first 2-3 miles. I should probably do some speedwork like Jay. I think about it, but that is about it. Hmmm.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week of running!

~Sherry

My Turn

I guess it's my turn to say something. I have been running about twice a week due to the hot weather. I don't have much exciting to say so I haven't posted anything. I did try running barefoot about a week ago. I ran my usual trail which is 2.75 miles and after decided to take my shoes off. Mostly because I was hot and shoes were one item of clothing I could get rid of. Ashley runs barefoot sometimes, so that was another reason to try it. I ran about 2 miles and did okay with it. Since then, my left foot has been hurting but I don't know if I can blame it on running barefoot. I am also on my feet alot at work...so who knows.

I wish I could run some trails because I enjoyed doing it last summer in Sandpoint. I'm afraid in Oklahoma, I would get bitten by ticks. Keep up all the good work everyone. Here is a quote from Born to Run...you don't quit running because you get old, you get old because you quit running.

Speedwork

I guess I haven't posted anything in two or three weeks so here's an update. I should be working on the company newsletter right now (including a story about the SLC marathon!), but I've been having a hard time getting motivated.

I've been running pretty regularly, 3 or 4 times a week all month. It's been unusually hot for June in Oklahoma with highs in the mid to upper 90's most of the month. It just finally decided to cool down a bit this week. So I've usually been waiting until 8 or 8:30 in the evening to go run. Even then the temp has usually been somewhere between 88—93...and the humidity's been a killer. I've done a lot of 4-milers. On mile 2 or 3 I'll think I can go 5 or 6 miles but by the fourth mile I'm thinking "maybe 4 is enough." Besides, when I start that late I don't get done until 9 or 9:30 (or later) and still need to get home and shower and hopefully not get to bed to late.

I got especially busy this past weekend. I finally ran further than 4 miles...did 5 miles Saturday evening. Then Sunday I decided to try some speed runs, e.g. pick a distance and run it fast, then rest for a few minutes and repeat. I thought I'd run a mile and do it three times. So I took off fast on the first mile. Too fast. A sub-7 minute speed. By the half mile mark I had slowed down to a bit over a 7 minute pace and then at a bit over 2/3s of a mile I had to stop and walk for 30 seconds or so. I finished that mile in 7:38—so there's my PR for a mile. Makes me think if I could run the whole mile nonstop I would be near 7 minutes. I caught my breath and drank some water before taking off again. The second mile I did in 7:53 and then on my last repeat I was really running out of gas and did it in 8:24 (which I can do on a regular 4 or 5 mile run). I also took a 20 or 30 second walk during the 2nd two repeats.

It was something different and also gave me another goal to shoot for: Running these and doing the whole mile with no walking. I think if I started off at something more like a 7:30 pace I might be able to maintain that and perhaps even have a bit of a kick at the end.

I also ended up doing a quick 3 mile run on Monday evening just because the high Monday was only about 85 or 86...the coolest day we've had in quite some time and probably for some time to come. I thought I had to take advantage of it. However I also think I'm generally better off with a rest day between runs. And three days in a row is probably overdoing it.

Run, Swim, Run

Beats me where everyone is - probably just slacking (ha ha). Curt and I went out for a jaunt on Monday. I think it was pretty good for him and mediocre for me. I ran 7 miles on Saturday so I blame that for my being rather sluggish. Anyway, we once again went up and around part of our little town. After about 4.5 miles we headed toward the beach because Curtis was so hot. For those who have been to our beach, we circled around and then he went and dove in by the Statue of Liberty (yes statue of Liberty, why? I have no idea and no I don't typically dive into our lake; too chilly for me). He floated around a bit, got out and we continued on our way with Curt nicely cooled off. We were on the last part of our run and my feet decided to really hurt. We shortened it a bit, got back to car and drove home.

So, why did my feet hurt, well and my calves. Again, I partly blame the Saturday run and then I decided I can blame the distance too. 8.53 miles!! So yay for us!

On a sidenote, we registered to do the Spokane to Sandpoint relay in August. I did it last year and it was pretty fun. So now we have something we are working towards which is good.

~Sherry

Where is everyone?

I see that I was the last to post a blog. What is everyone doing? Avoiding the heat? I only ran twice this past week. The heat is very intimidating. I ran Wednesday with Phoebe and it really wasn't too bad. Thursday and Friday I worked on the flower beds instead of running. Good excuse?

I ran my long route yesterday morning. I ran it last Saturday too. I decided to run my short route during the week, when I can get myself going and stretch things out on Saturday when there is more time. I tried to see how long it was, but got lost in the car. Some of the route can't be driven so I have to guess and then I missed the road that I should have turned on and it got worse from there.

Twice is better than none. Right?
Thais

Pounding the Pavement

I ran twice this week. We had a front come through that really cooled things down. I ran in long pants and wore a jacket. The jacket got too warm, but I was running with Phoebe and couldn't see how to take the jacket off.

I ran another route which is about 2.5 miles (almost). I like it because it feels like there is less uphill. Maybe the "hill" is more gradual, but it seems easier. Today I expanded my route, but don't know how far it was. I will have to drive it to see.

Cheerio

Happy Trails

Yay! It finally quit raining here, well at least for the last few days. We hit the 70's over the weekend which I loved. So Saturday evening we did a family run of 4.5 miles. I say family meaning that the 4 of us at home went and ran but not actually together. Mason and Sydney are faster than mom and dad, at least mom for sure. Mason is kind enough to come back and check on us every so often then bound forward again :) The trail we went on goes along the lake a couple of miles and stops at a big rock. Black Rock it is called, thus BlackRock Trail. It is a nice trail but I did almost fall. I caught a root or something but I saved myself. This is good, because I fell twice last year and it isn't really fun (which Thais totally understands).

Then this morning Curtis and I went out for a longer run. Remember in Sandpoint, to take a longer run requires you to run a good portion of the town. Anyway, we ran I would guess at least 8 miles. Again, we went on some trails and it is hard to measure those out but I was happy with that. I haven't had a good long run in a while and I felt pretty good for most of it. I seem to have a little down period lately then I get a 2nd wind and seem to pick back up which is good. My feet hurt now though. Oh well, they will feel better tomorrow.

By the way, I think that you guys would really enjoy running on our trails up here. Sue had a little taste of it last summer and it was good. Yes, Jay I think that you should do the Midnight Run!
~Sherry

I ran once last week. By the end of the week we had rain and cool temperatures. Cool is good, but rain is a downer. I walked the dogs on Friday and it poured the whole time. Pouring in Utah is not like pouring in Oklahoma, but Maggie was wet to the bone and Phoebe and I were pretty damp too. I am trying to think how I can run in the morning rather after work. I will say I was exercising last week. I was digging dirt and pulling out iris tubers in an effort to clean up the destruction of fence installation.

I did run once! Another week begins.

In a Groove

Like the other Oklahoma runners, I've been struggling with the heat. Summer has hit pretty hard for early June, and it's been really humid too which makes it that much worse. I've been waiting until fairly late to run, but it will still be in the upper 80's (if not warmer) around 8pm. I ran Sunday and Monday evenings, 4 and 3 miles respectively. Both days, I felt pretty good starting out, but after a couple of miles, the heat really started to get to me.

Then Wednesday evening I didn't get out to the park until around 8:30. The temp was around 85 with a breeze and really didn't feel to bad, but the humidity was over 60%. Still, after the first two miles I really caught a groove and had one of those runs where it just seems like you're cruising effortlessly. I ran 5 miles averaging under 9 minutes/mile and really felt like I could keep going, but it was getting kind of late, and I needed to go home and shower still. When I finished I was almost as wet as if I had jumped in a pool, but I really felt good. Additionally, my ongoing sore ankle didn't bother me during the run and was just a little sore yesterday. It seems to slowly but surely be getting better.

In other news, the Oklahoma City Art Center has a Midnight 5K in August which I'm really thinking I'd like to run in. Seems like it would be fun and something to look forward to.

June 8th

I just finished running and didn't go as far as I wanted to. I left about 6:30 pm because I wanted to get home in time to watch Glee (my sisters got me hooked in SLC). The news said the temp was in the 90's but it felt like 100 degrees but I thought....it will be okay. I really have a hard time running in heat so Thais, don't feel bad. I ran about 2 3/4 miles and that was stopping frequently to rest. I started to feel sick to my stomach near the end so I turned around and walked back to my car. I guess I will have to get up early in the morning and pray for a little rain.

Hi Ya'll. I didnnn't know we were still blogging and only found out from an e-mail from Sherry. I was wishing we were blogging this morning when I was running, so I am HAPPY! I have added a bit to my run a couple of times. One day I went a little further west on 1300 E before returning to my regular route. This morning I ran a completely different route and have no idea how far it was. I ran without Phoebe which was nice. I have been taking her with me to give her exercise. She is a good sport and keeps up with me, very easily I might say, but tends to want to stop and smell the roses. I tug on the leash and she comes, but I am always aware of where she is. I worry about her going in front of me and causing me to fall. As you know, I did that once and I don't want to do it again.

We ran at Liberty Park one day last week. I found it a difficult run, maybe it was the time of day. I will say, it is harder to run when it is hot, and it isn't even hot here. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 80's. I ran four times this last week. Yay!

I think I need a pedometer since I run on sidewalks and don't know how far I am going. Leslie said I am certainly running further than she does.

Good week

I had a good week, running 22.5 miles in three days. Monday I ran 5, yesterday 7.5, and today I unknowingly celebrated National Running Day with 10 miles. I very briefly entertained getting a short run in tomorrow, but honestly, I'm tired. As far as pace goes, I ran my 10 miles in maybe 1:20. I didn't keep exact time, but I was gone from my apartment for less than an hour and a half. If I can maintain my pace I think I'm looking at a current 1/2 marathon time of about 1:45ish. May even be able to beat that if I continue at the current pace without any injuries and don't run a race until the fall.

Anyways, this week was my most intense to date. We'll see how tired I am at work this weekend and let my body tell me whether I should maintain that type of mileage or slowly build it. I feel good, but fatigued. Always hungry and a little sleepier than normal. Of course, my body isn't used to that weekly output quite yet.

It's National Running Day

Maybe a bit late in the day to alert everyone, but today, June 2nd, is National Running Day.

Everyone should go run today in celebration! I'm going this evening.

Keep on Running

So I guess I should get back on board here. I have actually ran some since I last posted. Thais and I went out a couple of times while she was visiting. She ran 4 miles with me (yay) that is the furthest she has ever ran.

I am having issues with our weather and my schedule. Thankfully this census stuff is about done. But I managed to go out 3 times this week. Nothing great all in the 4 mile range but at least a little consistency. I think the longest run I've had since Salt Lake is around 6.5 so I do need to add some distance again. Goodness I sound like I am complaining. Weatherwise, I expect that mine is better than you Okies, but I agree with Kellen on the heat. I think that you have to acclimate somewhat to running in the heat when you are used to cooler weather.

Anyway, that is about it. Groovey shoes Kellen and Ashley. Right now, I think I will stick to my Brooks :)
~Sherry

New shoes, new stride

My first two runs this week were less than optimal. Monday I went running in the afternoon and it was HOT. I wore out after 2.5 miles. Took tuesday off and worked some overtime. Yesterday I ran 2.5 miles, after which my medial (inside, near middle of the body) tibia's were aching really bad just above the ankle. It was excruciating and didn't recede for at least half an hour after my run. I started thinking "stress fracture?" But thought it was unlikely that I would give myself stress fractures in both legs on the same run. So today I was unsure of how much of a run I would get in.

After my horrible experience yesterday I went and bought a pair of Onitsuka Tiger (owned by Asics) Mexico 66's. The green ones are mine, the navy ones are Ashley's Onitsuka Tiger Montreal's. I ran five miles in them today, and two things. I loved the fit and my feet couldn't tell the difference. No arch support, no heel support. Just a light, thin rubber sole. Also, I shortened my stride today. I had to do it to prevent the intense pain I had experienced yesterday after my 2.5 mile run. I have been trying this anyways as it is supposedly more efficient. However, today I had no choice. It came natural and all the pain went away. Well sort of. I had more calf and thigh muscle pain. But not in a bad way. In a "I don't usually use these muscles like this" way. Long story short I was able to finish my 5 mile run and if it weren't from muscle fatigue that I attribute to using new muscles in new ways (time will fix that) I could have gone further. Also, I finished the first 2.5 miles faster than yesterday and maintained a similar stride throughout my run.

So far a con of these new running shoes (only experienced by Ashley) is some chafing which led to bleeding on her inner left heel. We got some of that moleskin padding stuff and she is going to try putting that on the spot that chafes. Otherwise, so far so good.

Ouch!

I originally "tweaked" my left ankle, on my last warm-up run in Oklahoma before going to SLC for the half marathon. I taped it up for the marathon and made it thru with no problems. However, it has continued to bother me since then, although it seemed to get no worse (or better). Then the weekend of May 14-16, I ran 5 miles that Friday evening then did a 6-miler on Sunday. The next day, the ankle was pretty sore and had a sort of burning sensation going on throughout the day. It seemed to improve a bit as the week went on but I didn't run all week until Thursday. I ran 4 miles that evening, and after I got home and showered I examined my ankles and there was noticeable swelling in the left ankle.

I'm getting a bit concerned about it now because of this and I skipped running this weekend (the first weekend I haven't run at all since I began running this year). And my intention is to not run any this week. I'll see how it is this weekend and hopefully be able to get a run in then. It's definitely feeling better now than it did at this time last week, so I'm hopeful that a few days of no running will do the trick.

Snakes

I have been running about 3-4 miles and I try to go 2-3 times a week. Today I tried to go earlier in the morning because it is starting to get hot and humid here in Oklahoma. I went to the park I run in about 8:30 this morning. I almost always see some animals in the park. I've seen lots of squirrels, rabbits, field mice and occasionally deer. Today as I was running my trail, I saw some snakes. I have seen snakes before but not so many. The first one was really tiny, about 6-8 inches. The second one was bigger, about 12-15 inches and the last one was at least 2 feet. I worry sometime that if I'm not paying attention, I will step on one and get bit.

I invited Kellen to blog since he and Ashley have been running. Where are my sister? They need to post something.

Ashley's new running shoes

Ashley has also been logging more and more miles on her skinny legs! She ran 2.5 miles a couple times this week and ran 4.25 miles with a 0.5 cool down walk the morning of my 10 miler. That said, we are both planning on joining RJay in the "barefoot revolution", however are taking a slow approach. I ordered Ashley a pair of Asic Montreals that were designed in the 70's. I admit I was looking for myself, but they had Ashley's size and not mine (mine is over $100 on Ebay, hers were less than $60 brand new). This particular model was used by marathoners in the 70's and has basically no arch and heel support compared to today's shoes. If you have read or are reading "Born to Run" you understand the appeal of this style shoe. She ran 2.5 miles in them today and said they felt pretty good. For myself I am currently looking at Asic Mexico 66's (worn by runners in the 68 Mexico City Olympics) and Puma Speeder M's (designed in the early 70's). After our feet and legs have adapted to less support we plan on transitioning to the Vibram Five Finger's that RJay is sporting. I will let you guys know how this works for us in case any of you guys are interested. For what it's worth I think these classic running shoes are much more attractive than today's clunkers.

My first post

Hey all! Well I've been running much further than I had been previously so I figured I might as well join the gang. Prior to finishing the now legendary "Born to Run" I had considered myself more of a middle distance runner with my standard workout being 2.5 miles in about 18:30-19:15 depending on different variables. A couple of weeks ago I decided I was going to skip my goal of 2.5 miles in the 17 minute range and go ahead and run three miles with my workouts. However, the day I had planned on 3 miles I ran 3.75 (the park trail where I run is 1.25 and marked in 0.25 increments). The next day I ran 5, then had to work all weekend.

So, I started this weekend with a little bit of a fire in my belly and really wanted to do another 5 mile run by today when I had to go back to work. Monday and Tuesday I ran 3.75 miles and judging by the playlist on my ipod (not timing my exact pace yet, I have distance work to do first) I ran pretty much the same pace both days. My shins and calf muscles were killing me afterwards and I was wondering if I could make 5 miles when I started out Wednesday.

Well, it was lightly raining when I went to run Wednesday and I decided what the hey? A little sprinkle never killed anybody. By 2.5 miles it was your typical Oklahoma rain storm and I was soaked! At 5 miles I felt great and was as wet as I could possibly be so I figured lets keep going. At 7.5 miles my left earbud in my ipod was crackling so I threw it in the car and finished the last 2.5 miles of my first 10 mile run with the rain letting up and the birds chirping. It was great! I felt 10 times better after my long run than I did on either of the previous two! Hopefully I can keep up the pace and run a half marathon this fall. Anyways, sorry to take up so much space! I've just been eager to share my exploits.

Fast!

I had to post after my run yesterday. I ran 5 miles Friday evening. I was a bit under 46 minutes, so the pace was a little over 9 minutes a mile, which is about what I've been averaging lately. Yesterday I went to the park by Sarah's house and ran 6 miles in 48 minutes! Do the math...okay I will--that comes to exactly 8-minute miles. I'm still not sure how I managed that. When I started off, I knew I was running faster than my usual pace but I felt good. Still, I expected to begin feeling winded quickly, which is usually what happens if I go too fast, but I didn't...ran the first mile with no problem, looked at the Nike+ app on my iPod and my time was 7:56 just shy of the first mile.

Granted, I didn't actually run 6 miles straight. I pause the Nike+ app if I stop, so it only tracks my running time. I stopped three times during the 6 miles. After the first mile I stopped and put my toe-socks on since I started without them on. That was about a 2-minute stop. Then I had a ~1-minute stop after the 2nd mile for a bathroom break. And I stopped after 4 miles for some water...another 1-minute break. So with the breaks I was a bit over 50 minutes for 6 miles. Still, this was by far my fastest pace. I think a previously had a pace of about 8:30 on a short run of a couple of miles.

I wish I could tap into that feeling and the energy I had yesterday at will, because it felt so effortless. My 5 mile run Friday was a good run, but it felt like a lot more work than my much quicker 6 miles yesterday! If you could run that pace for a half-marathon, even with a couple of bathroom breaks, you could easily break 2 hours.

5K

I haven't run as much as I should since our SLC marathon but last Saturday I did a 5K in bricktown with a girl from work. She talked me into it because she had signed up but didn't want to do it alone. I haven't seen my official time but the time when I ran over the finish line was 29 minutes and about 50 secs. I could do better but it wasn't too bad. I ran by myself because my friend is alot slower than me. We also got rained on. Last week I didn't run any...had a busy week but plan on doing better in the coming week.

Postscript

We decided to keep the blog going I am going to add to it. Since our race, I have ran 2 times for a grand total of almost 6 miles. Sandpoint has decided to have rainy/windy weather for the last week and a half which hasn't been conducive to running. Well, perhaps I should say, my running. I thought maybe today, but it doesn't look like it is going to happen, so maybe tomorrow. I think that I need another "goal" so that it keeps me moving. I will have to work on that.

I had a wonderful time with my brother and sisters. It was fun and we should definitely do it again.

Mission accomplished

Well we did it! Sue and I ran the 1/2 marathon in 2:35 and Sherry finished in 2:23. Curtis ran the full marathon in 4:56. And Thais ran the 5K in 43 minutes. Every one survived but we're all pretty sore this evening. I'll make a longer post w/a few pix in a day or two.

Tomorrow is the day!

We're sitting around in Thais' living room this evening. I guess we're all about as ready for the event as we can be. We had a good day today...went and picked up our race packets then did some shopping and sightseeing. Then we had our own pasta dinner which was excellent. We'll be getting up early to get going. I hope to get some photos with my phone during the race and post them here later.

We're off!!

So Curtis and I leave tomorrow for Salt Lake. We are as ready as we can be at this point. Our weather is looking better. Now weather.com says a high of 69 with 20% chance of rain. Even Thursday and Friday look pretty decent. Yay!!

Here is a quote from the high school cross country website:

People can't understand why a man runs. They don't see any sport in it. Argue that it lacks the sight and the thrill of body contact. Yet, the contact is there, more raw and challenging than any man vs man competition. For, in running, it is man against himself, the cruelest of all opponents. His adversary lies within him, in his ability, with brain and heart to master himself, his emotions and his pain.

~Glenn Cunningham

See you guys on Thursday, Thais tomorrow.

~Sherry

Life is Good

I was scheduled to work at 11:00 am Saturday but just as I was about to walk out the door, they called me and said they were really slow and I could stay home until 3:00 if I wanted to. I decided to take them up on it and go run. I went to my usual park and did 6 miles. I thought I could do more but didn't want to be sore all day at work.

Today I got up and decided to go run. I've decided I do better in the morning if I can go then. I already texted Sherry and told her but I ended up doing 8 1/2 miles!! The first half was really hard. I didn't really feel into it and my back hurt even though I had taken some Ibuprofen. I kept trying to relax my muscles in my back and after about 4 miles, it seemed easier. After 7 miles I walked up a hill that is about 1/4 mile long and then finished the last mile. It as a beautiful morning and running just put me in the best mood.

T minus 7

So I woke up Saturday to blue skies but some wind. I know, I shouldn't complain about wind, but I have gotten spoiled here in Sandpoint with our "gusts up to 20mph". Anyway, I thought I will run later today after the temps warm up some. Then I did some errands and while out bought a puzzle. Then, Syd broke out the puzzle and well, I started working on it. It got later in the afternoon and I thought I really should go run - I am running out of days. More time passed, and yes, I thought the same thing. Finally, I got myself up and went to get ready. Then I had to figure out my route, what a dilemma? I opted to drive somewhere so that I could run into the wind at the beginning. My initial idea was to go 4 or 5 miles. So after 2 miles into the wind, I got to turn. I thought well, I will go 5 more minutes and then turn around and that should give me about 5. Running along, I decided "oh I should just go all the way up this road which then required me to go on another road, and another, and one more to get back to my car. When I reached where the car was parked, I decided to go just a bit further cause I wanted to make sure I got at least 6 miles, you know after adding all those roads :)

Now that you are tired of reading this I will tell you the end result. 7 miles! Yay, I was quite pleased with myself, partly because I was by myself and because I kept really close to 10 minute miles!! Okay sorry that was long and drawn out, I think I am trying to be eloquent like everyone else ;) I am excited to see everyone.
~Sherry

blue shoes

When I ran Wednesday one of the first things I saw was a woman wearing blue toe shoes. I don't know what they are called, but they were blue. Cool or as in some books I have been reading, frosty, etc. I added some distance to my running this week. I keep adding streets to the north and am now walking to 1300 S and then running the rest of the route. We could run my route next Thursday. It will be a breeze for all of you I'm sure, except for the altitude possibly.

I have discovered the joy of zoning out. The trouble is I think about it and then I am thinking about the run. It is nice to realize that you are to such and such corner or street and you didn't even know it was there. I am also starting to like running. (Shock and amazement:0)

I am looking forward to having you here. The weather report today said it should be 60 or so with clouds. That shouldn't be too bad. Be sure and bring a jacket or similar attire.
Thais

Time to wind down?

After my struggling run on Tuesday, I ran 6 miles last nite, and it was much better. It was about as easy as running 6 miles can be and that was at a ~9:20/mile pace. I'm still debating whether to wear my "toe" shoes for the marathon. I've done a couple of 6-milers in them now and have run in them exclusively for the past three or four weeks (I think), but still worry a bit about going more than twice that distance. I'll probably end up waiting until the morning of the event to decide for sure...

I went to Sue's house at lunch today and visited with her. We looked at the 10-day forcast for SLC on her computer and saw that right now they have rain predicted for the race-day. Of course 10-day forcasts are not very accurate other than in a very general sense, so it's way too early to worry about that right now. And rain wouldn't be the worst thing as long as it's not cold too.

I never did get in a really long run (something around 10 miles) as I was hoping to do, and now I think it's getting too close to the event to do so. Still, I'm feeling pretty good about my ability to make it all 13.1 miles. I'm not going to run this evening or tomorrow, but plan on doing something Sunday, probably around 4 or 5 miles. Then probably just an easy 3-miler on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. It seems like someone mentioned it previously, but if not, I think it would be fun for us all to do a short run (like just a couple of miles) together in SLC maybe on that Thursday evening.

Another slow day at work (the printing business is not good right now), so I'm just killing time here. Really looking forward to seeing everyone next week!

A Struggle

I took off Monday then ran Tuesday. I managed to go four and a half miles, but I think I felt like Sue was feeling on our Sunday run. I was tired, my legs felt heavy and had no spring in them. The first mile wasn't too bad, but every mile after that was a struggle. Really had to push myself.

On Sunday, Sue was telling me how sometimes she gets discouraged because she feels like she's not improving...like it should be getting easier. She ran 7.5 miles on Friday and did fine, then had to work hard to run the 5 miles or so that we ran on Sunday. That's how I felt after my run on Tuesday. On Sunday I had a lot of energy and the run seemed easy and effortless. I definitely could have run further/longer than we did. Then Tuesday I felt discouraged as I struggled along. I guess you need to keep the "good" runs at the front of your mind and accept that some days it's going to feel more like work. My biggest worry is that I'll have "one of those days" on the day of the marathon. I suppose getting good rest and eating well leading up to it is the best thing you can do to make it a good day.

It was very windy yesterday once again, and then it clouded up in the late afternoon and the temperature dropped about 10 degrees from an already relatively cool day. That seemed like a good enough excuse to me to skip the evening. The high today is still only supposed to be in the upper 60's, with quite a bit less wind, so it should be really nice for a run this evening.

One week from today, Sue and I will be flying to Utah!

Rain, rain, go away...

So after having this dry, mild and even fairly sunny winter, spring has decided to bring rain with snow (nothing sticking) but not pleasant for running. It isn't helping me want to get out but today I went to the health club with my friend Suzy. So 3 miles on the treadmill and 4-5 on the bike so that is better than nothing, right? Hopefully it will dry up some later this week.

I sure hope our weather is decent in Salt Lake. Maybe we should all start praying for that :) Of course, I guess little or no wind is good for the Okies ;)

~Sherry

The Short, Long Run

I'm sorry to report that the long run Sue and I were going to do yesterday ended up getting abbreviated. We ended up going to the park where Sue usually runs because it was quite windy and we figured it would be even worse out at Hefner. I must say I really liked the trail where Sue runs. It's 2.75 miles around and goes thru open fields and pretty heavily wooded areas. And there are quite a few hills. The three places I've run around Moore are quite different. The park near my house is the only one of those with any "hills" at all, and I have to put that in quote marks, as it's probably a stretch to call them hills.

Unfortunately, Sue was having one of those days, where you just can't seem to get into a groove while running. I know I've had them and I'm sure everyone else has too. It was quite hot once you started running and her legs were bothering her too. We went around three times which is 8.25 miles, but we probably only ran about 5 miles of that and walked the rest of it. I worried a bit about how I would like running with someone else since all my running to this point has been solo. I let Sue set the pace when we took off and it turned out that it was a great pace. Our first mile was just over 10 minutes, and I feel like I can go quite a while at that pace. We both listened to our iPods while we ran, the took our earphones out talked while we were walking.

I was a bit disappointed that we didn't run the distance we were planning on, but all in all I enjoyed going around with Sue and having some good conversation, and we still got some good work in, so it was definitely a worthwhile afternoon.

running in Oklahoma

I ran four times while in Oklahoma. Three times on the streets and once in the park where Dad paces. I walked from the house to Henney to "warm up" and then ran on Henney to Reno, turned around, ran to NE 10th and up to Thomas lane and home. Then I walked around the block with Nick to cool off. It rained on Friday so I didn't run first thing in the morning, but the sun came out later and I went with Dad to the park. I haven't run in a park, so that was different. I must say that Henney was busier with traffic than I expected. I tried to move onto the grass, if there was any when the cars passed me be. Henney is also pretty hilly. Actually it is pretty hilly everywhere in Choctaw. "Good workout".

I arrived home in SLC to much cooler weather than in Oklahoma. This morning it was snowing when I got up. It is mostly gone now.

See you soon.

How are the shorts Jay?

Run, Run, Run

So I haven't posted because I really had nothing interesting to say. But even before I read Jay's post I thought I would report my week. I ran ~12.5 miles for the week. 7ish one day and 5ish the other day. Both felt good, other than the 7 was quite slow. I was with a friend and as hard as it may be to believe, I am faster than her. I probably should have ran today, but the silly sky decided to snow. Go figure - we haven't had snow for 2 months. Oh well, I am hoping that the weather cooperates with us in Salt Lake.

Here is a sidenote. Syd had her mile timed in track practice this week and finished in 7:02. Her PR is 6:27 so she is off a little but she was happy with it. Mason had a meet on Thursday and ran his 3200 (2 miles) in 11:35; his 800 (2 laps) in 2:23 and a 400 (in a relay) in 1:00 minute. I can only dream of being that fast :)

Good luck with your guys run tomorrow!
~Sherry

Weekend Update

Since there hasn't been a new post since Curtis' post on Monday, I thought I'd give a little update for the week. Thais was in town this week and even ran a couple of times while here. Go Thais! Since she was in town, we all got together yesterday evening at Ross' house and had some pizza and a nice visit.

I ran a couple of times this week. After my "long" 6 mile run on Sunday, I did 4 miles on Monday. I can really feel my endurance getting better. The 4 miles seemed pretty easy whereas a month ago, 4 miles was a big run for me. And I ran sub-9 minute miles! Barely...8:57 average. Still, I was impressed w/myself. I don't intend to run the half-marathon at that pace as I'd never make it 13 miles, but I think it's definitely helping build up my stamina and endurance.

Then I ran 5 miles on Wednesday. At this point the 15 miles for the week began catching up with me and my calves were pretty sore by the time I finished. So I decided I should give it a rest until the weekend.

So Sue (who ran 7.5 miles yesterday!) and I are going to do a long run together tomorrow. I hope we can do 10 miles. We were planning on going to Hefner which has an 11 mile track around the lake, but it's looking like it's going to be pretty windy (again) and that would make it especially windy around the lake. So we may just end up going to the park where Sue usually runs. She said it has a 2.5 mile trail so we can do a few laps there.

Two weeks from today! It's coming up quick!

20 Miles!!

So, I ran my 20 miler today. The weather had only a few ways it could have been worse. Mid 40s and rain with 10 - 25 mph winds from the southwest. I had no real rain for the first 5 miles and then the flood gates opened for a good 3 miles. I was surprised how good I felt. I ran 10 miles less last week than my schedule called for, but I think that the 9.5 Sherry and I ran on Saturday was just what I needed. Other than being soaked from mile 5 on the run went well. At about 13 miles my quads and 'hammies' were really tight so I stopped on the porch of a vacant house I know of and stretched really well while waitng for the rain to lighten up a bit. That relief lasted for about three more miles, but by this time I just started walking every 10 minutes or so (walked for about a minute) and then stretched again in a nice downpour at mile 18! While the legs were killing me, I was excited because I knew I was going to make it so I just kept my feet moving - all the while chanting: 'just keep running' over and over like Dory the blue fish in finding Nemo! My time wa right at 3 1/2 hours which should equate to 4 1/2 for the marathon - which is my goal. I'm not sure where the energy is going to come from for the final 6 miles - I'm hoping that the race environment might keep me distracted enough but we will see. Only 19 days left!!

Curt

Over hill, over dell . . . .

On Saturday Curtis and I ran ~9.5 miles. I thought it went pretty well. My feet were hurting quite a bit in the last mile. I usually take some ibuprofen before I run, but I think that I didn't take enough. Usually I take 3 but I took only 2. I know when Sue and I ran in Ashton, my feet hurt at the end too. It is probably time for new shoes but I am putting it off so I will just take my ibuprofen.

We don't really run in parks although there is one that we could but we are fortunate that we have enough roads that aren't that busy. For this run we started at the top of our neighborhood, then towards Schweitzer but instead of up, go south for about 3 miles. Then we turned on Baldy (which is where the Millers live - I know that doesn't help you at all Jay). We go west for a while then turned back north. I won't give the whole not very exciting route, but it has hills and flat so it is a good workout. The initial goal was to do 10 but we didn't measure it out first and it ended out a little short. Oh well.

Curtis is off doing 20 miles this morning. I opted out (cause I can) because it is windy and rainy. I am a fair weather runner overall. Perhaps I should be good and do core? I am excited to see everyone in a few weeks.
~Sherry

Extending

I finally quit talking about it and did it. I ran 6 miles yesterday and took right at an hour doing it. I went to a park I haven't run at yet, the one down by Sarah's house and ran there. I liked it for a change of pace. There's a creek that runs thru the center of the park lengthwise and a track that goes down one side of the creek, then crosses over and comes back on the other side. It's a one-mile track so it's about a half mile out and a half mile back.

We had a pretty serious North wind over the weekend, expecially Saturday with gusts up to 50mph (K. Lee had her first softball tournament of the spring this weekend and it was miserable out there Saturday). It calmed down quite a bit Sunday to a 15--25mph wind, and the sun was out so it was a much better day than Saturday. The inward half mile where I ran was right into that wind though, so I'd get hot on the way out, then kind of cold on the way back, but it wasn't bad really.

I did almost call it quits at 5 miles, thinking I didn't want to overdo it, but when I finished the 5th mile and walked for a minute I thought I can sure do one more, so I did. It was actually quite a bit easier than I had anticipated, and I really wasn't sore yesterday evening or today, so I guess I'm building up more endurance than I thought. It's a beautiful day today, and I'll probably try to do 4 miles this evening.

in the dark

I ran yesterday morning in the dark. I ran in the streets so as not to encounter any raised sidewalks. A good run, all the way except for a warmup walk to Browning Ave.

Much Better

Strange how much difference one day can make. I struggled to make myself run 3 miles on Wednesday then I did 4 miles last night with no problem, cruising thru the first 2 miles without a pause.

Really going to try to get in a 5 or 6 mile run over the weekend.

the doo run run

I ran the whole way!!!! Yay!!!!! Yipee! Brilliant??
I also ran the way that has more uphill, so the running the whole time is even more impressive. Now I have to find another mile to add to my route. Leslie tried running my route one morning this week. I run west and then east back to our house. She runs east, north and south back to our house.

I had to buy new earplugs for my iPod because Phoebe chewed the original set up. I went to best buy and saw the Nike + and wondered what it was for. I bought Skull Candy ear plugs which I am not sure I like. It is hard to get them to stay in my ears.

Perhaps Jay, Sue and I can run together while I am in Oklahoma.

I chose not to run yesterday because it was a beautiful day. I worked in the yard instead. I decided I could run when the weather wasn't as pleasant but I couldn't work in the yard. That hasn't got much to do with running except for the excuses we can find to procrastinate sometimes.

Nike+

I guess it was around a couple of years ago when Apple and Nike partnered up on the Nike+. It's small pedometer that tracks your run and sends the data to your iPod as you run. The iPod tracks the distance run, the time and calculates the calories burned. I didn't think much of it at the time, other than that it seemed a little gimmicky. And since I wasn't running at the time I really didn't care. Then sometime last year, Wired magazine ran an article about it and highlighted the website Nike set up to upload the data captured by a runner's Nike+ and how much people who were using it liked it. It definitely made it sound more interesting than my first impression had been.

About a week ago I saw one in a store and bought it, mostly as an impulse purchase. After I got home I began reading on the box (with a magnifying glass!) and saw that it said the requirements were an iPod Nano or an iPhone or iPod Touch and a pair of Nike+ shoes. My initial thought was I was going to have to return it since I wasn't about to go buy a new pair of shoes to use it with. But I did some googling and found out you can use them with any pair of shoes as long as you have a way to attach it to them. And there are several companies making little pouches for it that attach to your shoes laces. And I saw a couple of Vibram Fivefingers shoes wearers who said they used it with no problems. So I found a pouch for it at Best Buy and finally tried the whole thing out last night.

Out of the box it says it's about 90% or more accurate for most runners, but you can calibrate it to your own stride so that's what I did. You calibrate it by setting a  distance on the iPod then running that distance. I calibrated it to a one mile run. After I ran the "calibration" mile, I went ahead and did two more miles. I was pretty impressed with the result. It said I ran 1.93 mile (I did cut the second mile a bit short as I went to my car in the parking lot rather than continued on the track to my starting point), and it gave my total time, and per mile average as well as telling me I had burned 180-some odd calories.

Then this morning when I plugged my iPod into my computer at work iTunes asked if I wanted to automatically upload the Nike+ data to Nike's web site which I did. I went to the website and signed up for an account. It then displayed my run from last night (the two miles I ran after calibration). So here's a screenshot of the graph it displayed of the data from my run.

Click on the image to see it full sized. You can see how it tracks your speed. You can adjust how many data points it uses to display the graph shown above. Initially, it displayed a much smoother graph but I adjusted it to show more data and got this much more wavy graph. I added a couple of arrow points in Photoshop that show where I walked for a minute or so between the two miles, and a little hump right before the end where I gave a kick for the last 150 yards or so. Pretty slick I thought. It will keep track of all the runs I do with it, so it should be interesting to track my progress.

I really had to make myself run last night. My head just wasn't into it and I had a difficult time making myself go just three miles, even with the new toy. I need to get out this evening too since K. Lee has her first softball game of the spring tomorrow evening and I probably won't be able to run again until this weekend. Hopefully I'll have a better attitude about it.