Heat relief... FINALLY!

I've been a bad runner!  But to my defense, it has been brutally hot here in the lower mitten!  Record breaking temperatures nearing (or over) 100 degrees.  Overnight it would cool down to the mid 80s. I was supposed to run twice in the last 4 days, and set the alarm, but when the time came, it was just too damned hot out. I did get out and walk on Thursday, and went along at an okay pace, but didn't put it in my running log, and (obviously) didn't write about it here (until just now).

This morning it was 70 degrees when I went out and 73 when I got back home, an hour later.  Not too bad!  My pace was slower than I would have liked, but not bad.  I've certainly been a whole lot slower!  We had a lovely thunderstorm in the night (I love thunderstorms, especially at night) that ended just 2 hours before I got up to run, so it was quite humid out, making my breathing a little harder than normal.  I ran all over our neighborhood, covering few places twice, and hitting every street, but one.  First time I've done that route.  Decided not to hit the gravel roads after the rain... I don't want my running shoes to get all dirty!

Before I run I usually have a class of water and about 8 oz. of coffee to give me my initial boost.  Sometimes, I also have a Fiber One bar for a little bit of carb energy.  Today we didn't have any bars in the pantry, so I had an oatmeal, chocolate chip, walnut cookie instead.  Probably not the best pre-run snack, but it tasted good!  Sometimes, when I'm doing a race and don't have any coffee, I'll drink a 5 Hour Energy, but don't like them very well.  I don't really like any of the pseudo-carbonated soda-pop-like energy drinks, especially not before running. I have a neighbor who loves him some Monster!  Enough to put ELEVEN stickers on his car that I can see from one side!  Seriously... there are 11 of them!  If you don't believe me, you can count them yourself!  Now, I'm all for showing support for the brands that you're loyal to, but I think this is just a little extreme.


Close to the end of my run I got to see Charlie and he loudly encouraged me to go, go, go!  He's quite the cheerleader and I did, indeed, speed up a little when he said that I should.  I barely had a chance to say hello to his person!

Next run is Tuesday morning. I think it's supposed to stay a little cooler this week (cooler being upper 80s?) so I'm hoping for comfortable mornings for running.  Rock 'n' Roll Chicago is 2 weeks from today and I want to do well there but my Mackinaw Bridge Run is in less than 3 months and I'm not at the pace I need to be for that.  I may need to be more aggressive with my training (meaning not be such a wimp about the heat and get my butt out there, anyway!)  The half marathon is just 2 weeks later, so the clock is ticking!

Well, I set the alarm for 5:30 am so I could get up to run while it was still cool-ish out, but it was storming so I stayed in bed a little longer.  I did get up and out the door at 8:00.  Boy was I in for a shock when I stepped outside!  The air was on in the house, so it was quite cool inside, and I was fully aware that it was 75 degrees outside.  What I wasn't prepared for was the humidity.  Why didn't I think of that? It HAD just rained, after all!  It was like stepping into a sauna.  My glasses steamed up and it felt momentarily oppressive.  I stepped back inside to announce that it was "sweltering" out there, then headed back outside.

It turned out to be not so bad.  I mean, it was a little hard to breathe, but I persevered and actually matched my fastest speed, to date.  It helped that today was an exceptionally short run - only 30 minutes.  It may also have helped that there was another woman out there running.  I've never seen her before and don't know where, in the neighborhood, she lives, but our paths crossed twice and there was no way I was going to let her look like she was moving along faster than me!  I'm just a little competitive!  It was nice to see someone else out there doing the same thing as me, and we exchanged pleasantries both times that we saw each other.  

Not a new tattoo, but it means even
more, today!

About a mile into my run it started thundering again.  I was thinking of it as a crowd of fans clapping for me as I zoomed by on my Brooks branded go-fasters. Well, maybe I didn't exactly zoom, but I was keeping an eye on my pace and felt really good about it.  Then it started raining.  Not much - and certainly not enough to cool me off, but it felt kind of good to run in the rain.  There were quite a few people around. I guess 8:00 is the popular time to go to work.  

I got home and my husband left for a long bike ride and when he gets back we are celebrating my 5 year cancerversary and meeting up with friends later tonight (did that last night, too).  I am thrilled to say that I'm officially no longer a cancer patient!  Five years ago I had no idea what the future held - today I'm preparing to run the Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank International Half Marathon! Yay me!

Better morning

This morning was much better for running.  The temperature was similar, but it was overcast and, at times, gusty!  Other times there wasn't a lick of breeze, but it made me really appreciate the gusts when they came along. 


My speed was better.  Possibly because I was trying to escape the deer flies...  The air was pretty heavy, so I did take a couple of short walk breaks - and I swallowed a bug so I had to stop and choke for a minute.  There weren't many people out at 7am. In fact I only saw 2 - one guy working in his garage and a neighbor who was out with her dog.  It was the fluffy little dog who always barks at me.  We actually got to meet this morning and his name is Charlie and I almost got to pet him!  I was done with my run by then, and walking back to the house and was (amazingly) not at all uncomfortable about the fact that I was talking to this neighbor for the first time and was a sweaty mess.  Maybe the fact that she was wearing a bathrobe and curlers helped.


I did see a goose walking down the road.  It was pretty funny... he was just waddling down the middle of the lane, like he had a driver's license. I also saw a cat, and apparently interrupted it's morning hunt and he ran into the woods.  


So I do feel like my running is improving, despite the little blips that I've had this week.  I am feeling less stressed today, but still experiencing the effects of my overstressed stomach. I have some things in the works next week that should help to eliminate that stress, so I foresee much improvement in how I feel - and my running - in the near future.  

How you feelin'? Feelin' hot, hot hot!

Yes... it's hot!  It was close to 80 degrees when I got done running this morning, and I was totally overdressed.  Definitely need to arrange to have some cooler running clothes available. I was wearing a pair of running capris, but shorts would have been much better, and my choice of an oversized non-wicking t-shirt was a poor one.  It weighed at least 10 pounds when I was done.  Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but I truly was soaked when I got home.


The run itself wasn't wonderful, either. I have a list of excuses for why I was kind of slow:

1. Calf cramp
2. Foot cramp
3. Tight muscles
4. Nausea from being a bit (or a lot) stressed
5. High temperature (the air, not me)
6. The smell of manure in the air
7. The distinct odor of a resident skunk
8. Too sunny

Okay, #8 probably isn't really a valid reason, but the rest certainly came into play.  I've been pretty stressed out this week, and I know that exercise is supposed to help. What I haven't figured out, though, is how to get past the constant feeling of needing to throw up so that I can run without feeling like I need to make a mad dash for the bushes!  And let me also point out that #s 6 and 7 did not help that situation!

I took a few walk breaks and was, consequently, a little slower than usual.  Slower than I usually am?  who would have thought it possible?  I used to run with the mantra "the more I run, the sooner I'm done" But now that I am going for time, rather that distance, that doesn't work.  I tried imagining that there was a dog chasing me and I had to run faster to  get away, but as it turned out, my imaginary dog was quite friendly and just wanted me to pet him.  Go figure!  All in all, it wasn't a bad run, but I'm looking forward to a better one tomorrow.

Good run! That is all!

Didn't run yesterday because I chose to sleep in, instead.  Ah... the dangers of taking a day off from work!  I ran today and will be adjusting my schedule a bit this weekend to accommodate being at Relay for 24 hours.  I really don't see how I'm going to be able to take the time to run for nearly an hour and then drive home to shower and get back there, so I'm going to do that run on Monday morning, before work.  Getting up that early sounds nearly as challenging, but it's only once (right now).

Today's run was awesome!  One of my best yet and it felt great!  Same pace as last time...  improvement would have been nice, but I'll certainly take staying the same.  Absolutely nothing interesting or exciting happened on my run.  The gravel road is, once again, packed and I saw more cars there than I ever have.  I was out at 7:05 so that must be when people are going to work.  I felt a little sorry for them - having to go to work, and all, when I'm taking today off.  Well, except for the ones flew by me, kicking up gravel, and I didn't feel bad for them at all.

It was much cooler this morning.  A balmy 64 degrees! Well, maybe BALMY is pushing it a little.  It was very humid, but still nicer than it has been.  I when I woke up yesterday it was 83 out, which is why I didn't just go later. My run in Chicago - the Rock 'n' Roll mini marathon is one month from today!  Woo hoo.  Looking forward to that, whatever the weather is!

Sweets for sweat?

I've seen some odd things on my runs, but this may be the one that has me the most curious.  I'm tooling along, and on the sidewalk, I see this pan of hard candy.  I don't know why.  There was no one around (it was 6:15 am).  I seriously doubt that someone set it out there in case I needed some quick energy on my run - although if they've seen me run, I suppose that could be the case.  Probably not, though.  It tops my list of strange things I've come across on my runs.



This morning's run went quite well.  Speed is improved, but I am having my doubts about Sunday's run...  At some point, my iPhone app switched from using the GPS to using the accelerometor on Sunday and I think it thought I ran a bit further than I did.  Not that it wasn't a really good run, but I'm thinking it wasn't quite as great as I thought.  Regardless, today's run went very well, despite the temp of almost 80 degrees and super-high humidity.


I signed up for the Lansing Half Marathon taking place in April 2012! Decided that it would be helpful in keeping me focused over the winder, so that I'm 13-mile-ready in the spring.  And, as a bonus, when I'm done with the run I'll be able to go hang out at Eagle Monk Pub and Brewery! Ha ha!I haven't even gotten to my First half-marathon yet, and I'm already planning my 2nd one... including where I'm going to go afterward! I've always been one to plan ahead!


I'll be running a little longer on Thursday, than I did today, but I have the day off from work, so that will be good.  Tootles til then!

Gravel and ghetto?

Got up early this morning to hit the road - er, I mean gravel - and had a really good run.  I was surprised to see that the gravel road on my new route was wet when I approached that part of my run and was even more surprised to see that it had been (very) recently graded.  Scraped to smooth the wavy, corduroy-like surface... and loosen all of the stones that were so nicely packed into the road on Tuesday.  This slowed me down ever-so-slightly and I stepped on a particularly large piece of "gravel" and rolled my ankle a bit (not the one that I sprained a few weeks ago) but was able to easily recover from my misstep.  Interestingly, the 2nd half of my run was faster than my first.  Usually it's the other way around!

Seen on my run... anybody home?

I think I mentioned the couple of interesting houses that I passed on that road in my last post.  I paused long enough to take a couple of photos this morning (I'm blaming that AND the loose gravel for my slightly slower speed today) just because these kinds of things fascinate me.  This is a country road and on the other side of both of these building is a farm field.  They are not part of the same property so it seems like an unlikely place for the kind of graffiti displayed here, and the house looks fine, with the exception that everything is overgrown and it's empty.  It makes me wonder what happened that we ended up with these two places so close to my neighborhood.  Is the empty house a result of foreclosure?  Did someone move away and they just weren't able to sell it?  Did someone pass away and no one else in the family wanted the home?  And what about the colorfully tagged building just a few doors down?  Is there anything in there?  What was it used for?  There is a house fairly close to it that is occupied and looks well-kept... does it belong to them?  Who put the graffiti there?  It's nice that the scenery gives me these things to contemplate while I am running.  The time flew by!  Oh!  And my fastest song was by Marilyn Manson!  Who wouldn't run a little faster away from him?

Seen on my run... I want the story!

I saw no wildlife (or even domestic life) this morning.  Okay, I saw a few robins, but that was it.  And only one vehicle that was out and about went by me.  Must be the first day of summer break.  Great!  Now I wish I was on summer break!  daydreaming...  snap back to reality...  The temperature was awesome, at only 54 degrees with a tiny breeze that was just enough to keep me cool.  Humidity wasn't bad either and my run was very enjoyable.  Not sure what my route will be on Saturday.  I'm looking forward to going out early and then heading to Rochester Hills with friends, so I doubt that I will venture far from home.  Sunday is a longer run, then off to visit family for Father's Day.  I'm SO ready for the weekend!

Friday morning swim... er... I mean, RUN!

Well, it could have been swimming, with the amount of moisture in the air this morning.  The air was so heavy that it was hard to breathe and sometimes looked, and felt, like I was running through clouds.  It was so humid that these lovely tropical birds weren't even moving and one even had a dew drop hanging off from his chin.

Despite that, the run was pretty good.  Less distance than yesterday (again, per Coach Luke) but the pace was a bit faster.  Speaking of Coach Luke, I was watching my favorite inspirational running movie yesterday, The Spirit of the Marathon, and I saw Luke in the movie!  I've seen that movie a dozen times, but I just signed on with Luke and wouldn't have noticed before.  When they show the start of the 2005 Chicago Marathon, there he is, in his Hanson's running shirt!  Out of more than 33000 people, he finished 18th, overall!  Super impressive!  And he's MY coach!  If you haven't seen the movie, I highly suggest that you do.  It follows half a dozen runners through their training for the marathon - two are elite runners and the rest are regular folks who, for varying reasons, have signed up for the Chicago Marathon.  In addition, they talk to Jenny Hadfield, John Bingham and other running greats about the history and the heroes of marathoning.

So today's run felt good, even though it was sort of  like running through the shallow end of the pool.  I'm looking forward to the Cinco de Mayo run the day after tomorrow in Mexican Town and will check in on Sunday afternoon.  Tomorrow I may go for a bike ride before hanging out with some friends at a brewery in Plymouth and then heading to Detroit for my concert.  Enjoy your Friday and Saturday and I'll be back toward the end of my busy weekend!

Early run in my neighborhood

What a gorgeous morning!  For a run, or anything else, it was a beautiful morning to spend a little time outside before getting on with the rest of my day.  It was 63 degrees with an ever-so-slight breeze.  It was humid, (90%) but was cool enough that it wasn't bad - and the sun wasn't quite up yet, or it might have been a lot less comfortable.

I haven't run outside for nearly a week and was amazed at how much lighter it was out there at 6:00 am than it was just a week ago.  The sun rising on the horizon made the sky a beautiful color.  I saw a few people on their way to work, but not many.  One man was walking his fluffy little white dog, who either wanted to kill me, or was telling me how excited she was to see me. She was a fast talker so it was hard to understand her.

I felt good while running and increased my distance by 50% (per Coach Luke's instructions).  I did realize my error in eating too much wasabi on my California rolls last night, though.  Remember my comparison of running to wasabi?  Well, the two  may be similar in my desire for them, but it turns out that, together, they just give you a really bad stomach ache!  Not a mistake I will make again!

Last night I was at a steering committee meeting for DetermiNation, and those are always fun.  I got my official DetermiNation tech shirt, which is so cool. I may wear it this weekend when I run in Detroit.

Tomorrow I'll be out again, rest on Saturday (like I haven't done a lot of that lately) then on Sunday I have my Cinco de Mayo Run in Mexican Town, Detroit.  The race starts at 11:30, which is later than they normally start, but I think the run goes just ahead of the Cinco de Mayo parade.  I'm grateful for the late start though, because Saturday night I may be out a little later seeing Weird Al Yankovic (also in Detroit - maybe I should just stay overnight in the city).  We've seen Al before and he puts on a great performance - funny... iSmoothRun tells me my fastest song during each run, and today it was Weird Al's Alternative Polka!

Choices, priorities, realizations

I have to say, right off the bat, that I haven't run in a couple of days.  That's a bad thing!  Gwen, the girl on my runner girl necklace is feeling a bit neglected - and I don't blame her.  I'm feeling a bit neglected, myself and the person doing the neglecting is me!  Since I ran late on Saturday I decided to put off my next run until Monday morning... but it was storming out, so I put it off some more.  Decided that I was going to run this morning, and the alarm went off at 5:20.  I turned it off to get up, and don't know what happened.  I awoke again an hour later.  And I felt like a total loser!  I did some hard thinking this morning - when I got done bitching myself out - and feel a bit better, and somewhat enlightened.

First of all, this is something I'm choosing to do.  No one is making me run.  My job doesn't depend on it and neither does my life.  But I AM choosing to do it.  I want to be a runner!  So why the sporadic difficulty?  I clearly haven't developed the running habit, yet.  But that's a pretty lame reason!  The truth is that I haven't set any priorities.  I haven't made running a priority, and I haven't really made myself a priority.  I've certainly had days when I've felt totally committed, and there has been no doubt in my mind that this lifestyle is achievable, but then, some days, morning arrives so early and hits me over the head and tells me to go back to sleep, or it's too rainy, or I have a long day ahead of me, or a host of other reasons why I don't need to run right then.  Obviously family and work are also priorities, and work does take up a lot of my time - over 10 hours each day, 5 days a week, but I don't have children, so my family "duties" aren't inflexible.  I easily have an hour, or so, each day that I can put myself first and get my butt out there and run.  I just need to make it clear to myself, above all, that THAT has to come first.  My running coach gives me a schedule to run by, and goals - but I have to make myself a priority and he can't help me with that!

Also, I realized that I need to do more than just run.  I'm not talking about other exercise, or even eating right (which I already do) but every single night I set myself up to fail the next day.  I said that I eat right - and I do!  I have time set aside every night to make my breakfast and lunch for the next day, and enter it in my food journal, so I know that I will have a successful day, food-wise.  And I do get my running clothes out and ready to go the next morning, but then I don't go to bed.  Why would I feel committed to my goals and choices at 5:30 in the morning, when I've only had 5 hours sleep - on a good night?  Duh!  I need to get more sleep!  So I'm going to make some changes.  Because I CHOOSE to be a runner, I will make myself a PRIORITY and, now that I have come to the REALIZATION that not getting enough sleep is really detrimental to my choices, I will get ready for bed and be tucked in by 10:00.  I know this is long for a day that I didn't even run.  Thanks for reading and I'll be back tomorrow!

Am I really a morning girl?

I definitely run better in the morning than I do in the evening - and even better when it's a little later than 6:00 am.  I guess that's a good thing, since most races seem to start between 7 and noon.  Although noon is late (and technically not morning), I say noon because my next 5K starts at 11:30 am.  I'll be doing the Cinco de Mayo run a week from this coming Sunday (on Seis de Mayo, if you read my post last weekend) and I'm still taking a few walk breaks while I run, so my goal is to actually run the entire 3.125 miles.  Today I did well, but took 3 short walk breaks and wasn't quite as fast as I was at my race last weekend.  I felt great though.

I went out just after 6:00 and was amazed at how light it was.  It's becoming quite noticeable, now, how much earlier the sun comes up.  Not many people were up and about, but Thursday is is trash day in my neighborhood and it's always funny to see something  at the curb the first time I go by, then see that it's gone on my next go-round - and I'm out before trash pick-up.  I got barked at a few times, and tried to avoid the many worms that emerged  with the overnight rain.  Lots of birds were out getting breakfast and the doves were mournfully accompanying my running tunes.  It was quite peaceful!

I am learning the importance of garments that wick moisture away from my body.  It was humid this morning, although not all that warm - only 52 degrees.  I found myself really wishing for more of a breeze.  Funny, the other night it was too breezy and today I wanted more.  It's like wasabi!  First I'm thinking "oh my god, my scalp is peeling off, my ears are melting and my eye balls are going to fall out"  but as soon as the pain goes away I want another bite.  But I digress...  Wicking apparel is essential and I think I'll invest in a few more items before the weather actually warms up.  I really love my running socks and wish all of my other socks were as comfortable, so I think I'll get a couple more pair of those, as well, so I don't have to wash them quite so often.  I don't wear them for every-day because they are too pricey for that.

Well, Luke has me running on Saturday and Sunday this week, so I'll cruise on back here in a couple of days to tell you about my Saturday run.

First Goal Accomplished!

I ran this morning at the Feet and Friends Fighting Colon Cancer 5K (they also had an 8K but I stuck with the shorter distance).  It was great!  The starting horn sounded at 8:45 on the dot.  It was 37 degrees and the 11 mph wind resulted in a wind-chill temp of just 30!  Brrrrrr!  My fingers were frozen and I was seriously wishing I had thought to bring my running gloves.

I had a little bit to eat this morning, hoping that it would help my stamina a bit.  Seemed to work!  I had my best pace so far!  My average pace today was .17 mph faster than my previous PR, so I was thrilled with that.  My goal was to not come in last in my age division, but when I saw how much my time had improved I didn't really care where I finished in relation to anyone else.  I did NOT come in last, though.  I was 18th out of 38 women in the 40-48 age division.  Yay!  AND, overall, I came in 114th, out of 281 people!  They had music at the finish line, and just after I got done they played Joan Jett.  It couldn't get any better than that.

Teammate extraordinaire, Corey, accepting his award for
finishing 2nd in his age division!

Actually, it did get better, when my DetermiNation teammate, Corey, came in 2nd in his age division.  Go Corey!  He finished 14th overall (5K in less than 24 minutes) - and I was thrilled to be only 100 behind him!  While they were announcing the winners and handing out awards, the sun came out to warm us all up a bit, and many of the runners seemed to stick around to see the awards presentation.

It was a great time and I had a chance to get to know some of my teammates a little better.  I can't think of a better way to have spent my chilly Saturday morning. After the run we hit up the local coffee shop for some caffeine and sandwiches and hung out for a while.

I'm excited to continue on from here!  My next race is 2 weeks from tomorrow and is the Cinco de Mayo run in Detroit.  It's actually on Seis de Mayo, but that's close enough.  Definitely looking forward to that run through Mexican Town. I imagine I'll be running again on Monday - I'll know when Luke updates my training program based on today's run.  Till then...

Thunder and Lightning - Very very frightening!

Well, not today, but that was my excuse for not running on Sunday morning and then that night it was very warm and quite humid.  Yesterday it was just windy.  Up to 40 mph!  I know that I'm going to have to start running in less than perfect conditions so I can get used to it, but wasn't up for that quite yet.   Today was perfect, as you can see here.  43 degrees with 63% humidity... Clear, still air with a thick sliver of moon just above the trees.

There were actually quite a few people out this morning.  I think I was about 10 minutes later than usual, and I saw several cars filled with neighbors leaving for work.  I scared off a fluffy bunny when I ran around a corner.  Truthfully, he startled me, as well!  I also saw a few dogs.  One cute little sheltie ran out to greet me and tell me how glad she was to see me this morning, and her person assured me that she was friendly.  I knew that, she was my morning run cheerleader!  I stopped momentarily to give her a pat on the head before she went back in her house and I went on my way.  The birds were also especially cheerful this morning.  Lots of fluttering about and chattering aloud.   All in all, it was a lovely morning for a run.

I felt pretty good about the run, too!  Not good enough to think that I'm going to be able to run the whole 5K on Saturday, but I'll run as much as I can.  I'd like a time of 45:00 or better (remember how I said that I'm not fast?).  We'll see.  I'm looking forward to it, regardless.  I will be running again on Thursday morning, then the run on Saturday.  After that, Running Coach Luke is going to see how I'm doing and design the next part of my training program, accordingly.

Well, there really isn't anything more, that's particularly interesting, to tell you, so I'll sign off now.  Will definitely, absolutely, positively be back on Thursday to report in on my last training run before my next race.  I'll also be thinking about a goal to have in mind for Saturday's 5K.  After all, I will never reach my goal, if I don't set one!

Long time without running, but I'm back in the game!

Wow!  It's been months since I've been on here.  First, I was letting the colder months get the better of me and slacked off over the holidays with the intention of getting back to it at the beginning of the year.  Then... I injured my back and was told no running, no Zumba and no yoga.  Not even yoga!  Somehow I ended up with severe pain resulting from a sacroiliac joint dysfunction and nothing I did was comfortable.

I couldn't sit, stand or lay down without pain that, at times, brought me to tears.  After a couple of doctor visits and a couple of ineffective prescriptions for pain meds, I got into the Spine Center at University of Michigan Hospital and saw a Physical Therapist.  My PT quickly became my new BFF and gave me lots of homework to increase my flexibility and strength, which I did without fail most days.  Finally... relief!  But she wasn't about to let me do more than the exercises that she prescribed and I wanted to heal, so I did as she said.  The Cork Town Race came and went, without me running it, which was very disappointing to me.  Last week she gave me the clearance to start running again, but I felt like I was going back to square one with my training.

Luckily, about the same time, I signed up with a running coach - a benefit that I get through the ACS DetermiNation program.  And an AWESOME benefit it is!  My new coach, Luke, got my information and learned what I did before and what I've been doing lately (nothing) and set up a program for me to get me back on the road.  Today was my first day out and it felt really good!

My performance wasn't great, but not so bad, considering, I guess.  My pace was slow, and he has me doing 2 miles, 3 or 4 times a week at a comfortable pace until my next 5K on April 21.  Well, I have a 5K this weekend, too, but I'll not be running that one.  I'll walk it, as that will be one of my off days for running.  I'm looking forward to seeing the improvement that the upcoming weeks (and months) will bring, but right now I'm just taking it 2 miles at a time.

Here is my race schedule for the rest of the year.  I am planning to add some in - at least one a month, so I can get some competitive runs under my belt before my big ones in October, so this list will be growing as time goes on, but I thought I'd share what I have on the calendar right now:

March 31 - April Fool's Run - Clarkston, MI
April 21 - Feet and Friends Fighting Colon Cancer - Ann Arbor, MI
May 6 - Cinco de Mayo Race - Mexicantown, Detroit, MI (shouldn't that be Seis de Mayo?)
July 22 - Rock and Roll Mini Marathon, Chicago, IL (hopefully)
October 6 - Fall Colors Mackinaw Bridge Race, St. Ignace to Mackinac City, MI
October 21 - Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Half Marathon, Detroit MI and Windsor, ON Canada

I need to get to work on finding a few more races to fill in June, August and September!

Stop back here on Wednesday and I'll check in after my next 2 miles.  I was so excited to run today - AND get to wear my Runner Girl necklace for the first time in AGES - I know I'll be following the program that Luke set up for me so I can feel this great and wear it again in a couple of days.  Yes... I can be bribed to run with jewelry - and it's jewelry that I already own!