I did it again! (But better, this time!)

Yep! Ran my 5K Jingle Bell Run today and improved my time over the Detroit 5K a month ago by a good 5 minutes. When you're as slow as I am, that's less of a big deal than it is to someone who is actually speedy, but still... I was very happy for the improvement! Especially since it was really windy!  22 MPH!  I've included a picture taken about 5 minutes before the race started.


I ran a good portion of the route and met up with Karrie, Rachel and Mary at the finish line. I started out feeling a bit intimidated by the whole thing because I know that I am slow and have to remember that I am only competing with myself. My mantra was one of my favorite Penguin quotes today: "The only person I have to outrun is the person that I used to be." And that's true. And I did!


I don't know how many people were in this race, but I certainly didn't finish last. I have no idea how I ranked in my age group and am hoping that I wasn't last, but if I was, I was. I went to the starting line and I finished along with lots of other people. I passed some people and got passed by others. Sometimes I passed them, then they passed me back and then I passed them again!  All in all, it was a very good experience and I'm really glad that I did it.


Here is Karrie, Rachel and me at the finish. Piper and Digby ran, too! They are great runners! We all had a really good time (and Karrie is an awesome cheerleader - thanks for running that last bit with me)!

Sunday run - Indoors!

Well, we got up this morning and it was raining.  So we went back to bed for a while, and when we got up a couple of hours later, the rain had stopped, but the humidity hadn't.  The air was heavy, the ground was wet, and we decided to go to the gym to work out, instead of the MetroPark.  I did a 5-minute warm up on the Arc Trainer (I love that machine) and then headed for the treadmills.  There was a woman a few rows ahead of me, on another treadmill, and she looked like she was exerting WAY too much energy to run.  Her arms were high, with her elbows out, rather than being in close to her body.  Her feet were coming up above her knee level in back of her, and she looked like she was wearing herself out.  I certainly couldn't have kept that up for very long! 

I got on the treadmill and started my run. Rather than following the C25K program today, I continued for 45 minutes at a comfortable pace (ie: pretty slow compared to most people) and then increased my speed incrementally for the last 5 minutes, topping out at about 6 MPH when my cool down kicked in.  I used my Power Song for inspiration during those last few minutes.  Thank you Joan Jett!  That doesn't sound all that fast but I'm short!  My inseam is only 26, so 3.5 mph is a pretty steady jog for me.  5mph... That's runnin'!  I felt good.  Really good!  I felt comfortable (mentally and emotionally) and when I finished I went to the stretching area and was very happy with what I had done.

Aside from working out, it's SO much fun to people watch at the gym!  There was the woman using all of her extra reserves.  A guy who was holding himself up with rigid arms while his legs ran really fast.  And there were a number of people who looked like picture-perfect runners.   I try to pay attention to my running form and make sure that I am looking somewhat like those people running who look like very natural in their running. 

Tomorrow morning is supposed to be 63 degrees with 99% humidity, so I'm not sure what the day has in store for me.  Detroit Free Press Marathon and 5K is just 5 weeks from today!

I also want to say a special thank you to all of the people who serve and protect us on the 10-year anniversary of the tragic things that happened in our country on September 11, 2001.  Thank you to those who continue to offer their service, and their lives, to maintain our safety and our freedom, and let us never forget those who have given their lives, so that we may enjoy ours. 

Fab Friday running

Another beautiful morning for a run.  Actually, I've jut learned that, based on my pace, I'm not quite running - I'm jogging!  But, despite my usual preference to be more precise when dealing with such details, it's taken me a long time to call it running, and myself a runner (as opposed to airquote running and airquote runner), so I'm just going to stick with running!

This morning I did a 35 minute run.  It felt great!  Well, at one point I did feel like slowing to a walk, but knew that it wasn't really necessary and kept going.  The feeling passed and the run was uneventful.  It was a wonderful 63 degrees (17 C).  I only saw a couple of cars while I was out - one with a dog named Max riding happily in the back seat with his head out the window.  He gave me a look like "You're running to get somewhere?  How primitive!"   From a distance I also saw my husband leaving to go to the Metropark for his morning bike ride.  We'll both be headed to the Metropark on Sunday to run and ride, then meet back up when we're done.  Still don't have my Nike+ sensor replaced, so none of my miles this week are recorded on my log. =(

I heard some great music on today's run.  Whenever I sync my iPod the playlist resets and everything shuffles into a different order while some songs are replaced.  Today I was accompanied by Queen V, Adam Ant, Nickleback, The Detroit Cobras and others.  Lady Ga Ga sang a techno version of Just Dance throughout my warm up, and it was a good start. 

I will be back on Sunday to report in on my next run, but will hopefully have my post up about meeting The Penguin and Coach Jenny tomorrow.  I didn't want to post about it until I have a chance to get the pictures off  my phone to include with it. Til Sunday...

What an amazing morning!

So I was supposed to do a 5K run yesterday morning.  I got ready and headed out and about 1/4 mile in realized that (me + running + darkest  before dawn + uneven sidewalk = FAIL).  Okay, maybe not fail maybe more like fall!  Did I give up?  Well, yes and no!  No... I HAD to get back home, and walking was my only option.  Yes... I quickly learned that my nice wicking pants were getting stuck to my road rash, and what skin was left on my knees was going to be rapid rubbed off, so I picked my self up (after looking around to be sure that no one saw me) and pulled my pantleg up, while blood dribbled down my shin, and took myself home.  

I tried again this morning, being much more mindful of the terrain, and ran without incident.  I did not, however, run the 5K that I had planned.  I only went about 2 1/3 miles and spent part of it walking.  I did run the majority of the distance, but my right knee is pretty stiff, and I didn't want to overdo it.  It was absolutely gorgeous out this morning!  After a wicked storm last night, the sky was a beautiful royal blue at 6:00 am today, and clear as a bell.   The moon and many bright stars illuminated the sky.  It was the prettiest I've seen in since a clear morning in 1997 that we went to an isolated area to see Comet Hale-Bopp or the time we were driving to the upper peninsula of Michigan and went to a park to see the milky way and the millions of stars that you can see from an unpopulated area on a clear night.  I wish I could have taken a picture of the sky this morning, because it was truly glorious!

The most exciting thing about this week, though, is that I got to meet John "The Penguin" Bingham and running Coach, Jenny Hadfield last night.  It was a thrill because I read so much by them and about them, and they are like running rockstars.  John, especially, is an everyday guy who started running in his mid-forties (like me) and has been doing it almost 20 years now.  I will write a separate blog post about meeting them, along with a couple of pictures.

So that's my story for today.  Will run again tomorrow morning, then on Sunday.  Planning on shorter runs than I planned today, and the next 5K run will be next Wednesday - the last day of August!  Where has the summer gone, when I'll be starting my 13th week of running (and no one is more surprised than I am!).

Quiet Saturday run, with a slight twist!

I woke up to run yesterday and it was raining. Hard!  Accompanying it was a lot of lightening and thunder and I considered whether or not I would be wearing anything that was conductive.  Maybe I would go out despite the weather to keep on track.  It then occurred to me that I wear my iPod on my arm and none of my running clothes have pockets.  That much rain would surely not be good for my iPod, so I opted to postpone yesterday's run until tomorrow.  I was already scheduled to run today so I'm tacking it on to the end of the week.  


Today's run was quiet, but I was really surprised when I realized that this week not all of the runs are the same. Wednesday it was split into 3 runs, with short walk breaks in between.  Today it was two longer runs with only one walk break! The next one is one long run with no breaks, but I think I'm going to repeat today's run when I go tomorrow, then do the long one on Tuesday.


I was a little concerned that I seem to be progressing kind of slow, knowing that I have 5Ks scheduled and I REALLY want to be able to run the whole 3+ miles. I'm less worried now that I see that I am moving on to longer runs, but still.  I need to try an not worry about that and just follow the program and give it 100%.  


Detroit Free Press Marathon 5K in 78 days
Run of the Dead in 91 days
Jingle Bell Run in 106 days


I'm really excited that I got a new book!  John "The Penguin" Bingham's An Accidental Athlete: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Middle Age.  It was scheduled to be released in September and I pre-ordered it forever ago.  I was thrilled to learn that it would be released early, but still didn't think I'd get it until about a week into August.  The 1st book of his that I read, The Courage to Start, was a huge inspiration for me to start running.  My new book arrived last night and I'm in a quandary:  I just came in from running... do I shower or start reading?  Maybe I should shower THEN start reading, but I had all I could do to not start the book when I got home last night, which would have kept me up much past my bed-time.

I am dedicating this post to my wonderful dog, Roxie, who we lost a few days ago.  In the past, this would have been the time that I would have taken a nose dive when it came to exercise and healthy eating, but I have maintained my schedule and my diet throughout the week.  She always greeted me at the door and helped me stretch when I came in from running. I miss her so much!