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Naked Running and Blips on the Radar

Tomorrow is the Tuuri 5k/10k downtown. This race has long been (ok I have only been running for 3 years but I have liked it for 3 years. :) ) one of my favorites…

That being said I have made the decision to not really race it tomorrow. After speaking with my coach I am going to run it as a tempo workout. This will be a true test of will as it is hard to show up to the start line of a race and not go all out. However, I have the cough of a woman who has been smoking for 22 years and have had some blips in the training radar. The blips are a result of some pretty fantastic things however. Last weekend went un-worked out as the Tri for Life Triathlon was a bit consuming, albeit fantastical!! A few weeks prior I lost a long run due to a race and add to that the smokers cough and I am just not race day ready. Which has me kind of excited…

The reason for said excitement? I am going to run my first ever naked race tomorrow!! Not a no clothes naked, but minus my gps watch naked. I am just going to race how I feel. I haven’t done that since my very first race and I must say I am a little excited and nervous. You runners out there know the fondness for each split, the ease of looking at the watch to check the pace and distance…I have learned to love/hate the watch and surely am VERY dependant on it. I occasionally joke that given the chance I would marry the watch; I have fallen in love with all that the watch has to offer…

But I am taking a break, tomorrow is naked racing and I am feeling a bit freed. I won’t be doing any of the regular pre race things…I haven’t even a sports drink to sip on this evening. I won’t fanatically wake up all spazzed out because of pre race jitters and I won’t plan out each mile in my head tonight. I must say…I am secretly (as secret as posting a blog about it can be! :) ) happy that I am under trained and under the weather…I am going to go to the race for fun tomorrow…and I love the idea!

I encourage all of you…go for fun once, go naked!

Happy Running!

Run club goodness

It was a beautiful evening for a run…perfect! I was coming off of a week of fantastical runs and feeling super strong, I was ready to tear it up! I had my schedule set for a pretty strong track workout and was super excited to be doing it with my run club buds. When showing up I had no idea how much I would actually need them!

I ran the first half of that nasty (by nasty I mean hard, but good!) workout and then had to pause for some bathroom care….my running partner had some serious GI issues and I wasn’t feeling super great myself. I guess maybe a tuna wrap wasn’t the best pre workout food! Anywho I headed back to the track post potty break and proceeded to tear it up…until I was ready to bail on my last quarter. I had already spoke out loud what I had left to do and yet still thought I could skate with out finishing that last one, the rest were done and waiting…its only a quarter right?…ONLY my bud Brad told me to dig deeper, said runnergirlblog girl couldn’t quit and to dig deeper and Ryan offered to run my last with me…and boy did we run! My last quarter was a rockin fast one and while it hurt, I felt good, strong, fast, satisfied and most of all, thankful. I had the support of my clubber friends reminding me to dig deep and running me through the last one.

Run club is pretty great, join us sometime! Check out our schedule at www.elitefeetrunning.com.

~Happy Running!

Return of the MOJO.

Weeks of OK training, weeks of horrible training….yep, had plenty of those. Last week I had a return….of the mojo! Nothing feels better then every workout being just as it should. My recovery runs were recovery, my speed days were rockin’ and I was able to complete each workout as intended and NOT want to die when done, and they weren’t easy.

My friend made an analogy, a solid workout is like depositing money in the bank, a huge withdrawal comes on race day…well if that’s the case I had an overtime paycheck last week! I rocked the swim and bike very well and the run….well lets just say I ran like it was my job!

My first speed workout was just as much mental too. I ran along side a pretty swift runner. By swift I mean, holy batman fast. We were doing a tempo run and I was able to maintain the speed and distance and my partner was not. He asked yesterday, “Do you think you would have understood how hard that workout really was if I was able to finish it?” I hadn’t given it any thought before, but perhaps not. I know it sounds horrible but it did feel REALLY great to know I could do that workout, it was long and fast and I could do it, and do it well. So while I was bummed he couldn’t, I sure was feeling pretty great about myself! I hate to say at the expense of someone else’s non completion I gained a ton of confidence.

I finished my week of awesomeness along side Tom for a great 10 miler last night. It was late, we were hungry and WOW did we rock out 10. I felt like I was floating….finishing that run I knew, I had it back. The mojo that is. It’s been a long time coming and I am sure it will try to continue to come and go but I shall draw on the last week of running as a base everytime I start to question myself. Confidence was built!

Do you have those weeks? Weeks where it all comes back together?, your training is solid, mentally you feel like a running machine and you just know you have your game back? Embrace those weeks, and if it’s been awhile, pursue that week. Start out planning to have one, you run hard, you deserve it, and the feeling is second to none.

Happy Running!

Race day dissapointment x 2

There are many reasons I love race day…yea, that list is crazy long.  Two of the biggies are the sense of accomplishment I feel upon completion of a well ran race and the camaraderie that comes along with a good race. There is something great about a race atmosphere and the excitement and energy that people exude. 

I left my last race sadly disappointed in my two favorite things.  Number one was all on me.  I ran a bad race.  There was no reason I couldn’t have met my goal of 10k in under 7’s per mile, no reason.  I turned out 7:04’s out of sheer lack of will.  I caved.  I could say it was the pouring rain or the scattered training because of my hip but those were the excuses I told myself that day to feel better about the fact I failed myself.  Real truth is just that, I failed me.  I had it in me.  My mind quit and my “pain cave” just isn’t big enough yet.  I learned a lot that day so I am not hating myself still but dang! that did stink.

Disappointment number two….mean girls.  What the heck?!  I noticed before the race there were a lot of racing shimmels similar to mine out there…not the same team but the same brand/color.  Hard to not notice awesome orange NB jerseys! J  They were running for a Lansing team that shall remain nameless as a courtesy.  I ran the majority of the race surrounded by a number of the girls and a few finished ahead of me.  Upon completion I went up to them by the water tables and said, “hey! great race!  What an inspiration you guys were, totally impressed.”  They looked at me, gave me a look, each had there own snide mean girl look and then started conversating as if I hadn’t just spoken….I thought, ok, they didn’t know how to handle nice people…after a little time passed and I was waiting for the 5k to finish I saw the pack o’ mean girls stroll by and I smiled and said, “great day for a run huh?!” insert sarcasm as pouring rain…again, not one word just weird looks.  I was a bit taken back as I am out of high school and thought that they were too.  You see I am sponsored by a store and shoe company, I am sponsored because I am a fairly good runner and they believe I would be good representation for their companies.  These girls were sponsored too, only difference is they were horrible representation for the store they were sponsored by.  Unless the attitude that the store wants to convey is that of rude unfriendly runners….doesn’t much make me want to drive the hour to run that race again and SURELY if I were living in that area I would not be frequenting that store or there run clubs or clinics.  It’s a shame really…running is a beautiful sport; perhaps they just don’t know it.

Prerace Rituals

Racing rituals are a silly thing…one person once told me that superstition was a sign of weakeness, or maybe it was fear, in any case I prefer to call them “rituals.” I will say the fact that I still have a Roctane Gu taped to my bike that must remain there until I mount the bike on the road again is a bit silly. :) I totally love and respect the wise man who shared that and for a bit started to question my silliness. Only, I find comfort in my rituals. I am about to embark on a prerace ritualistic night. I will set out my racing gear, I will charge my Garmin over night, though, it is already charged. I will drink sports drink from a wine glass and I will read running magazines and running blogs to inspire me. I will pray that God blesses me with a good race and uses me as a witness. I will thank him for the gift he has given me and the joy it brings me. I will get nervous, I will go over my race plan, I will get excited, I will get crabby, I will get perky, I will talk to other runners, I will visual my success, I will picture the race clock under 43:41 and feel confident that I can PR, even this early in the season. I will be thankful and terrified and I will hear the words a friend shared with me to calm myself. At a race in Bay City this year a buddy of mine (the ever awesome Trevor Coleman) says, ya know professional football players, golfers, basketball players, if you saw them out before a game or match they wouldn’t look nervous or scared, they are confident because they are going to do what they do. You ARE a runner, you are going to go run. I am good runner, and I ran well that day. So I am about to sign off confident that as I gather my uniform and socks and shoes and then sit on my couch flipping through Running Times sipping on my Gatorade that I am ok to enjoy my process, because while superstition is one of the seven negative emotions, this prerace ritual, well it’s one of my favorite things.

Happy Running!!

Through the eyes of other runners X 4

I am blessed with the opportunity to be able to share the run with some great people. Lately I have been rather intrigued with the mindsets and thoughts of other runners. I am going to share with you some of the things that have left me smiling.

Runner number one…Tom Kish. Let me paint you the picture…Mr. Kish and I were doing an 8 mile run and the middle portion of our run was a speed workout. The day was cold and very windy and we found ourselves in an area of winding hills. We ran exactly 4 miles out and turned around and then headed the horribly uphill 4 miles back, about 7.5 miles into the run, Tom says….I don’t give a (bleep) where we are, when this garmin says 8 miles I am walking…that struck me as funny as it was going to say that at the very door we left from. 4 out and 4 back equals 8. I could completely relate to his desire to be done and have a chance to walk a bit, I can’t to math while running either.

Runner number two…Trevor Coleman. I am regularly impressed with the quiet determination of this strong athlete. The morning was crisp and it was a race day. As per usual, I wanted to know his goals. Trevor said with a calm confidence that he will run 7 minute miles. I was pretty impressed as that was a bit of an improvement over his time from the same race last year. I was at the finish line when Trevor crossed. He spoke the absolute truth, he declared his goal and then he achieved it, to the T, Trevor averaged exactly 7 minute miles. I admire the confidence and ability to perform that he has.

Runner number three…Gretchen Shafer. Gretchen had trained for months, she put up with my coaching and encouragement for mile after mile month after month. Not along ago Gretchen and I left Davison on a nice crisp morning for a half marathon in Dearborn. Gretchen stuck to the plan and on race day she crossed the line 30 minutes faster then she ever had before….and then I asked if she wanted to watch the marathoners finish. As we waited we watched throngs of half marathoners finish, and she turns to me and says, “I think that’s the first time I have ever watched people finish behind me”…I couldn’t help but smile. I can’t put to words how that made me feel, I am sure she cant express it well either, Gretchen had reached a new level. I can say I am not sure I have ever been prouder of the determination of a single person. She tackled a goal, she trained hard and she successfully finished. She inspires me.

Runner number four…Stacie Tracy. I had the pleasure of running the last portion of a 26 mile run with Stacie. I was set to run only 8 miles that day…when I got there she informed me I would be running 9.5…you don’t dare argue with a woman 16.5 miles into a run! As we set out she seemed so light on her feet, as though keeping such a nice pace for another 9.5 miles would be cake, she is a power house, and I knew this but you know your dealing with a real runner when just before mile 25 of the 26 mile run they say, I sure wish I had gum for the last 13. I had to laugh a bit, she didn’t even understand the gravity of what she just said, I called her a bad ass and told her she amazed me…the last 13….you know you’re a rockin’ runnin’ badass when you need something for the LAST 13….Stacie will be rooming with me in Boston next April as I am sure she is going to qualify at the end of May.

It is something else being a runner, hitting the road or mill alone day after day, I often enjoy and embrace the solitude that running affords me however I can say that the experiences I share with other runners and athletes are second to none. I am a truly blessed girl and thought I would pass along some of the lil diddies I have been able to enjoy lately.

Go make some stories of your own…

Happy Running!

Sprint or Olympic?

Assistance is needed. Decisions have to be made. Races need to be registered for. I am at a cross roads with racing right now. Let me lay out my dilemma, I then ask you to give me your thoughts, I need perspective.

I made the decision not to run Boston this year as I needed a year to gain confidence and race just plain fast! So far I am happy with that call and I am two for two for the season. The training for farther distance races whether on the road alone or in the form of triathlon is different then the training for faster mid distance races. So…when signing up for the triathlons I am doing this season, do I race Olympic or Sprint? I hate the idea of acting like a girl (I did just insult myself ) and going short, but the additional time it would take to show up to an Olympic distance race is significant. I am sure I could go race one now, HOWEVER, I don’t think I could race it well and I WANT to race well. So do I buckle down, realign my thinking, adjust my schedule and go long?, or stick to my plan, train for the races I had set my mind to and enjoy a season of swift racing and slowly increase my training to allow myself to throw in a ½ Ironman in September? I have my eye on one in New Hampshire….

Please leave me a comment with your thoughts; I need some different perspectives.

Thanks and Happy race season!

Grown up running

Who knew that running would ever be such a mental sport?…Well, runners know that! I showed up for run club last Tuesday feeling a bit achy as I have been battling a hip irritation and had raced on Sunday, only further aggravating the issue. It is such a great feeling to congregate with a bunch of other people doing what you do, loving what you love. I had the awesome pleasure of meeting some new people, and I was ready to rock out a few miles with some good friends…RECOVERY STYLE. Yes my schedule called for recovery, and frankly so did my body. I was aching and my gate was awkward and I just wanted to work the last lingering bit of lactic acid out of my calves and log some miles. HOWEVER, I am a bit of a competitive girl and I like to be fast, this presented an issue. You see at run club there are groups of runners, and I enjoy running with the fast kids. So much that while my schedule said recovery and my body was screaming it too, I took off down the road at a faster then recovery pace and about ¾ of a mile in realized this was going to be bad…but then I took a turn. I am wiser now, in my older more experienced age (insert extreme sarcasm)  I know that recovery is just as key to my success as running fast, and that day was meant to have a recovery run. As a few people yelled and asked what I was doing I knew I looked foolish, and I could have just slowed my roll to a slower group that was running the same course, but I know me, and I couldn’t have done it…the backs of the fast kids would have taunted me and I would have went to fast. As I was making my spontaneous turn an old (not in age) running buddy joined me and we had the opportunity to catch up with each other, while rocking a nice recovery pace. I felt very grown up and comfortable with myself. You see a year ago, I would have ran too fast, my body would have hurt for too many days and future workouts would have suffered. So, naturally I am growing right?…well kind of, or perhaps I just want to be fast so bad I am willing to do the hard stuff. Running recovery runs is hard when your friends are tearing down the road…

Happy Running!!

You know you have it bad when the run wins.

Let me first set the stage, so perhaps you can understand how I made such a foolish decision…it is 6:45 am, while dark I can feel that the sun is wanting to rise above me. The air is mild, I have a race in days and my mind is heavy. Clearly all of those factors indicate the dire importance of a good run. :)  So….I pass by 5, yes 5 gas stations on the way to the school where I am dropping my youngest daughter and leaving my vehicle parked so I can get my run on. I know my gas light is on, but it just came on, and the sun wants to rise and my legs are screaming for the road….so I run. No music, just my thoughts with the sound of traffic in the background. I have missed it. I am in fact in love with running at that very moment and all sorts of memories of great road running are flooding my mind, I couldn’t stop thinking that it felt just like when I made the sun rise in Vegas…so quiet with just the sound of moving vehicles…and I was moving too, felt so powerful and strong, and peaceful. I suppose the fact that I have been running on the mill for most of the winter plays a roll in the extreme attraction to the road I have…in any case, foolish decisions were made and I picked the run, and the run RIGHT NOW instead of doing the sensible thing and….upon completion of my amazing morning run I attempted to start my car only to find, I was out of gas. Parked in the lot of my daughters school the big green momma van failed me and I was a sweaty mess with only minutes before parents would be rolling in to drop off their children…how embarrassing! So I called my little sister and my daddy, man that sounds bad, my 20 yr old sister has more sense then I!…they came to save me and I took the worlds quickest shower and made it to work in the nick of time. Dare I say I would pick the run again?…Twas an adventurous morning!