You've Come a Long Way Baby.......Considering Your Start Line

Is it so sad that when I see this woman I want to be just like her? Is it so sad that she is 18 months older than myself, but looks 10 years younger? Is it so sad that she is 5'7" weighing in at 120? No not sad....INSPIRING. Her PR's consist of a HM 1:06:57 (if it had not been a downhill course, she would hold the record).....let's put that time into perspective for you. When I run 6 miles at LSD (no, not the drug...long slow distance) I run it at 11 mpm. She is doing more than twice that distance in the same amount of time. If I were to run a LSD at the local high school track with Kara Goucher running her fastest, I would be lapped twice as I was finishing my first lap. Her marathon time is 2:25:53, one most men drool over. Her time that is, well, her too. This woman is one to admire.

As I ponder my New Year's Resolutions, (yes I make them...and YES believe it or not, I keep them) I look to the people I aspire to be like. Spiritually I long to be like the apostle Paul. Mentally I desire to be like Gandhi. Physically, well Kara Goucher takes the cake. As far as achievements and making a mark, Deena Kastor....she has definitely achieved and left a mark.

Lets just say she is one helluva woman. She holds the following records:

• Women's marathon (set when winning the 2006 Flora London Marathon with a time of 2:19:36)
• Women's half marathon (set at the 2006 Berlin Half Marathon with a time of 1:07:34)
• Women's road 15K (set at the 2003 Gate River Run in Jacksonville with a time of 47:15)
• Women's road 8K (set at the 2005 The LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago with a time of 24:36)
• Women's road 5K (set at the 2002 Carlsbad 5000 with a time of 14:54)

I mean can you even imagine running 26.2 miles and finishing it in 2:19:36? The length of a feature film (hopefully it is that long, considering how much you pay to get in).
While praying to be able to pray like Paul, I am in constant motion, moving forward, changing my mind and body into a physical, living machine. I mean why else would I be home on New Years Eve typing my blog just before tucking myself in? Well, I have goals, aspirations, and a long run tomorrow. I put into motion my goals and aspirations, and once they are in forward motion, they do not stop. I get one shot at this life, and I want to be excellent at it. I want to experience what this body can really do, even if it means there will be times I am bent over dry heaving because I have just done 8 half mile repeats so fast it feels as though my lungs are filled Clorox, and I am seeing black spots. Yeah, it really feels something like this when you really push yourself HARD. 
You see, I am an optimist. The glass is FULL, always. I always see the BRIGHTER side. I am a dreamer, and because I am, I am also an achiever. My New Years Resolutions are simple. Forgive as my Father forgives. Burn more calories than I take in. Run a sub 4:00:00 marathon. Run a sub 2:00:00 half marathon. Run a sub 26:00 5K.
My goals are attainable, yet challenging. I mean hey, I can bang out an 8 minute mile, not bad for an ex-smoker. I would have to say I have come a long way baby. From 45:00 5K's, to effortlessly holding conversation for 30:00 5K, I am looking forward to Tuesdays speed work, New Year, new 5K time.....26:00....SOOO attainable....considering my start line.

Punch the Dough, Then Let it Rest

I have never really been the type that is busy around the holidays. I generally stick to myself, buy my gifts, and attend the the "normal" holiday festivities. But this year I took a different approach. Not only am I running and sticking to my plan, I decided to do a lot of baking this year. As it turns out, my long runs fall on Saturdays and this year so did Christmas. Each year my little family has the tradition of eating orange iced cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning before we even think of opening gifts. But, in the light of being so health conscious this year, I decided that my family would have fresh home baked cinnamon rolls with home made orange icing for breakfast. Once I decided this, I took a look at the recipe realized that they take 35 minutes to prep, 50-70 minutes to rise, 15 minutes to rest, 10 more rising minutes, 30 minutes to bake, and then 10 minutes to cool. During the first rise, I will run.
Here is where I mention after planning out my entire morning, I had to awaken at 4:45a.m. to dress for my run outdoors (the gym is closed on Christmas), and then begin by 5:00a.m. the prepping of the rolls. I planned it so that I would be out the door by 6:00a.m. to do 5-6  miles and be back in time to punch the dough, let it rest, and while it rests, shower. And that is exactly what I did. 
As I got the satellites to acquire, I head off in the dark quiet morning. The difference in this run from EVERY other run I have done in the last 2 years is this run is accompanied by The Black Eyed Peas, Luda, and Eminem. What is so different about that? Well, I have not listened to music whilst running in 2 years. I decided to this when I started running, so that I could listen to my body, and follow how my body responds to the elements and the amount of stress I put it under. I have since learned exactly how my body responds, and know myself better then ever. So, I decided to run Christmas morning, with some beats.
This run was amazing. I was able to keep my HR avg to 154 bpm, and my pace was 11'29" which is exactly what I wanted. I maintained zone 2 the entire run. I felt amazing, and was so happy to have the BEP's back in my ears, reppin' it. After 6.1 miles I arrived in time to shed my outer layer and punch the dough.
The rolls turned out brilliant. Christmas went off without a hitch, my pumpkin pie I baked later on in the day was delish, and the fudge was a daunting task....but also delish.
I think the best part about the day was knowing I got my long run in when most were sleeping, or wishing they were while their kids are begging to rip open their presents. I was running while most were still wearing out their sheets. I was wearing out my sneakers. The one thing I love to watch deteriorate because it tells me I am doing something right. I am punching the dough so that it can rest.....Yes, I am the dough, and I did rest later that day with a belly full of rolls and fudge.

Zone 2 Anyone?

The only thing that gets me on, and keeps me on a dreadmill for more than 5 miles is goals, and food. Yes, you read right, FOOD. Like Remy from Ratatouille says "If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff." And I want to eat a lot of it. I love food. Good food. Homemade food. Buttery food. High calorie, un-button your pants, spicy, hot, filling, sweet, rich, food. 
My long run that finished last week, was 5 miles. Only 5 miles, but those are the base building miles I crave. I crave them like a double handful of Nacho Cheese Doritos. Ok, I know, those are not homemade, but damn it, somebody made them!
Saturdays long run was planned for the dread. Which is hard, because when you run on the dread you feel like you have run so much farther than you really have. You feel like EVERY mind numbing step you take is like 10 outdoor steps. But, what keeps me going past 0.24 distance, (when I swear the last time I looked it said 3.24) is FOOD. 
You see, when you run, long runs in particular, you run them nice and slow. 1 to 1.5 minutes slower than your marathon pace. And if you are not particularly a quick runner like myself, your marathon pace is (well hopefully) 10:00 minute per mile. Which puts your long run pace at 11 to 12 mpm. That is slow.....for everyone. Yes, I said it. EVERYONE. When I trained for my past races, I felt like I was above the long run pace. To good for it. I wanted to run a 10-10:30 all the time, I HATED looking slow, or for that matter being slow. Even if it meant that come race day, I am going to blow it because you need to have those long, slow, runs under your belt to know how to run on tired legs.
I have since my last race learned something FANTASTIC about long runs. When you are running your long run, in the slow, calculated time, you are running in heart rate zone 2.....which means for those who don't know....THE FAT BURNING ZONE! It is the zone your body uses fat as fuel. You got it baby, FAT. The longer and farther you run in zone 2, the more fat you burn. Since I have learned this amazing information, I have since fallen in LOVE with running S-L-O-O-O-O-W, only on my long run days of course. I am training my body to tap into fat reserves on those long run days, so that I can be in a calorie deficit. 
For example, being in a calorie deficit means that if I burn 3,000 calories per long run (which IS doable in 15+ mile runs, give or take some), and I burn about 2,000 calories to be alive, that means for that long run day I have burned 5,000 calories. Which means if I eat 4,000 calories, I am still negative 1,000 calories. Do you know what this means people? It means that I can have my cake and EAT it too! This means I can eat like a closet glutton, and still lose weight, or not gain! This means that when it is raining not just cats and dogs, but horses and cattle, I cannot use that as an excuse to not run. Because I can hit the dread, and put myself into a calorie deficit and EAT!
If I could leave you with one last thought it would be, run my friends, so that you may eat and live happily, and guilt free. Run my friends that you may burn your cinnamon buns, and your holiday fudge. Run my friends that you may once again eat like your metabolism is that of a 16 year old boy. 
Will it be hard? Yes. 
Will it take time and dedication? Yes. 
Will it be worth it? Yes. 
Every finger lickin' moment.
I eat therefore I run. 

Dreadmill Racing....Not Recomended

Tuesday nights run (the second one) made for a very tired Wednesday. I was so tired that I napped (which I never do, it usually makes me more tired), I then ended up falling asleep at about 8 o'clock. Which is very early. My workout for the Wednesday...nada. I honestly do not remember the last time I was so tired that I did nothing.
Yesterday was day one with NO cable. The effects....positive. I was able to get quite a few things done in the evening. But prior to that, I went to the Y for a run. After doing the extra 3 on Tuesday, I decided that I would walk 1 mile, then run 2. So, in rare form, I followed my plan. 
Even though I was wearing my ridiculous looking Fila knee length shorts. Ugh, why did I ever purchase such a silly looking pair of shorts? I honestly think that these shorts are going to kill me. Here is why. They have become loose on the legs, so I have to adjust them, WHILE RUNNING. This can be very tricky on the dread. As you attempt to bend in the slightest fashion while running at a 5.7-6.0 you can see yourself flying right off the back into the machines behind you. But, you would rather risk utter humiliation, and possibly a broken bone or two, than have your silly looking shorts creep, or sag. Another reason these shorts are going to be the death of me is because they look so re-donk-ulous, and I feel the need to run really fast as I wrapping up my run. Kind of like "Yeah, my shorts make you snicker as I walk by, but baby they are a blur on the dread." I feel like I can validate wearing the silly things because I am running faster than the girls who come and read their magazines on the elliptical. Thus, the running way faster than necessary (under 8 minute mile pace), is going to make my heart explode. Time to buy new shorts. Any that make you look faster than you are?
My 3 mile jaunt went as I expected. Although I am so sweaty, I am leaving droplets all over the place. You see, I am tracking my heart rate with every run. Ever since I was asked by my doctor (9 years ago, way before I started running) if I was a runner, because my resting HR was 60. I felt like, with my past (drugs, alcohol, smoking) and a ticker that worked so well, I shouldn't let it go to waste. I averaged 160bpm during my little sweat mess, which is just a smidgen lower than what I wanted, but still not quite crazy enough to emit such evaporation. The girl next to me on her power walk had to have been ignorant of it, or pleased about it; because she was not even breaking a huff-and-puff, let alone a sweat, and with every step I took, sweat was splashing off my arms, face, and legs like a shower. Heck, who knows maybe she did like it because it made it look like she was sweating. Ew, I know.
One last thought before I sign off. The other thing that just may end my running career in an instant plays out like like this (one of the MANY reasons I HATE running the dread).
Me: running on dread, 6.2, sweaty, almost done
Girl: 2 dreads over, running, harder than I, sweaty
Me: trying to see her pace, distance, and speed while running...I should slow down to take a peek. NO! Can't do that. I am RACING her! Even though I have no idea what she is doing, LR, tempo run, speed work, fun run, what ever. We are in a race. I speed up!
Girl: still running, hard, now slowing down
Me: I speed up, I will show her
Girl: stops. huffing. puffing.
Me: lean over rail to see girls stats. stumble. draw attention. raise HR from fear. See death headlines from dread on the news.
WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME?
I finish shortly after her, and as I walk past her dread to get a towel to wipe the spray from the waterfall spray I emit, off my machine, I am seconds to late to see her stats. Dang it.
Next time girl, I will beat you. I will finish first, even though I have no idea when you start, how fast you are going, or how far. I WILL WIN, the dread race.

Doing Doubles During Hellish Week 2

So, this little slow goin' guy is about how I felt last week starting off my base building. Like I was trudging through solid ground. Like my sneaks had been dipped in concrete, and I was told to run that way. I got in 7 miles last week, and they say the first mile back is always the hardest. I tend to disagree, it's the second one for me. I have so much adrenaline pumping in my veins, that I go off at the shot like I am Kenyan. I usually round out that first mile at 9.15.00-9.30.00 feeling amazing. Like 'Hey running hiatus of five months, you ain't got nuthin' on me!' Then lap three, of 8.75 of my second mile, the burning in my chest is such that it tastes like my saliva is pure metal. Every swallow makes me think I have got to be swallowing saliva with blood,  that is how metallic it tastes. Like iron filled blood. With that taste in my throat I slow down, way down. I go from my shot out the gate 9.15.00 mpm (minute per mile), to a dribble out the honey bear plastic jar that is 3 months old and crystallized, 17.42.00 mpm. Whew, that is pathetic, for me. Even when I was at my heaviest weight (which was WHO-GE), I could maintain at least 11.30.00 mpm. This makes me feel like I have failed. But, I have admitted and realized that I mentally do this to myself, and I know how to fix it. Keep running and just get better. Just get faster. Just keep setting those goals and PR's (personal records), and obliterate them. Oh yeah, and the hard truth I heard today, "You just gotta run more races." Hearing that can instantly put me in a funk. You just don't understand what race day does to someone who would rather quit than fail. Race day makes you feel like....well, I haven't been able to quite pin down the description of the feeling yet, I just know it is worse than acid reflux.
Worried that last weeks attempt at base building has set the bar for this week, only because you hear that week two is harder on you physically and mentally than week one. I attack this week with mother running vengeance. I am attacking with all my arsenal. Core, weights, rolling, and stretching. What you gotta understand is this, in the past as I have dropped some serious weight (85 pounds if you must know), I have gotten faster. With that comes IT-Band issues. In non-runners terminology: a whole lotta pain while running on the outside of your knee that can go all the way up into your boo-hoo-tay. The remedy: Stretch it, roll it (very painful by the way to roll it), stretch it, strengthen it, stretch it, and stretch it. So, my base building, and then training will be somewhat different form all the others. This time, my plan of attack is to hit with all my guns, and running when I want to run, even if I already have.
Which leads me to today. A I lay in bed contemplating whether or not to lay there for the full snooze and I remember that it was foretasted to be frigid yet again this morning. Which means I had to warm up the car, to get to the Y, to run on the dreadmill, for ONLY 2 miles. I know, 2 measly little miles. I am going to drive 1.5 miles to run 2. But, by the time you warm up when running in the freezer, your just about to finish mile 2. No point in suffering, hit the dreadmill. These 2 miles were not like what others have said. "Getting back into it is gonna be hell. Especially week two." Well, in your hellish week two face! I didn't consume mouthfuls of metallic, bloody, saliva. I ran. I sweat. I finished my measly miles, went home (my car was still warm when I pulled away), and showered. I returned to the Y again at 7:30 p.m. for my daughter to partake in cardio-kickboxing. Which was humorous, only because the instructor was roughly 300 pounds, and 50+ years of age. I said to my daughter "Have fun, sweat a lot." and I turned around headed back up the stairs, and right to the dreadmill for another round. This time, I was going to make it complicated. I walked for 3/10ths of mile one to warm up, increasing my incline to 12, thus raising my HR enough to warm up quickly. I lower the incline to 0, put my speed at 5.7 (roughly a 10.30.00 mpm) and begin my second run for the day, because I wanted to. This turns into a battle of my mind. I increase the incline 5, 9, 4, 10, 3, 11, 2, 12, 1, 13, while running a 10.30.00 mpm. I am sweating so badly I decide now is a good time to check my HR....170! Sweet. After 1 mile of doing this to myself, I slow down to a 12.00.00 mpm and bring my HR down to 130, and I begin mile 2 with a 10.00.00 mpm. At the 2.25 marker I bump up my speed to 9.45.00ish mpm. At 2.5 I bump it to 9.30.00ish. I continue doing this until I am sprinting a 7.50.00ish mpm. I finish at 3.2 miles completed. I am a sweaty mess, and I realize that I am wearing cotton underwear, because my intentions when coming back to the Y tonight were to chill on the bike and look at a magazine and not even break a sweat. It just so happens I was wearing an Under Armour tee, and running pants, along with the chaffing enemy. But instead, I pulled a double today. Who does that? I will tell you who. A mother-runner. A mother-runner whose measly miles don't feel so measly anymore. They feel a little bit more mother-runner-ish, like "Yeah, I ran today, TWICE." But, I will reflect on how those non-measly feeling miles are really feeling tomorrow, while doing a plank.
*this weeks miles are no longer 9, but now set for 12ish?   

Charted, Dated, and Mapped

So last night before bed I decided that I would pull out the 2011 'free' calendar American Family Insurance gave us, and start counting back the weeks from race days. Officially I begin a 13 week training program for the Wisconsin Half marathon on January 31st. A program that I have put together that includes a little Higdon, a little Hanson brothers, and a little of ME.

One week after the half, I have to start training for the Womens Trek Triathlon. That is the cycling part of it anyways. You see, I have recently decided that I had to take on the triathlon when I went looking for my Christmas present on Black Friday. (Yes, I went to shop for me. It's how you get things done).

I wanted a Garmin 405 Forerunner. For those of you who don't know, it is a shnazzy watch that is GPS too, and tells you how far, how fast, and your heart rate, all whilst running. Well, these bad boys are spendy. $300.00-$400.00, never on sale. I repeat NEVER on sale. I walked into Sports Authority looking for, well nothing really, because I know they do not carry GPS watches. Then I noticed they had Garmins, they must have just started carrying these, and man was I happy! Then, quickly let down. Because, like I mentioned, Garmins are never on sale.The salesmen asked me if I would like to look at the Timex IRONMAN watch......I laughed. 'Ha, yeah right. I cannot afford those.'

Well, the Timex IRONMAN watch was 30% off and it had a $50.00 rebate, so I bought that dang thing, and it is beautiful. It has ALL the bells and whistles you could ever ask for in a runners watch. Including everything you need for cycling, and swimming too, hence the IRONMAN name of the watch.

Wait a tic....I don't swim, yet. You see, I have an amazing bike. TREK Womens Edition Pilot  5.0 all carbon fiber. Beautiful bike. Here's the sad part, it has roughly 75 miles on it. I never really use it, because I love to run. I got the bike, I got the running shoes, I bought this fantazmic watch. So, now, I will become a swimmer.

Three weeks after starting tri training, I begin training for my full marathon. I do not need any special training for the relay in June, because of all the running I will be doing for my half, and the tri.

The first few weeks of the marathon training are not that  heavy in the miles, so I won't tire out before the tri. The heavy miles kick in right after the tri. My main goal this marathon training process is A LOT of miles. A LOT.

So, for today, as I am re-building my base, I worked my arms and core. Tomorrow, I run. Only 2 miles. Nothing much. This weeks mileage is 9.

I really look forward to the day I type this weeks mileage is 75......goals, gotta love them.

January begins my swimming lessons. Yes, I know how to swim. But only to save my life, not to compete.

Well, I do need to finish my calendar andI have not yet decided how many 20 milers I wanna hit this training round.

Back in the Saddle Again

So it begins. A time in my life where I decide what I am going to do to challenge myself in the up and coming year. Last year it was to run a marathon....or in my case cross the finish line.
I discovered in training that I am fully capable of running and completing the race; and most certainly with a good time. But to my own dismay, I would rather quit than fail. It was very hard to admit this. During training, if my time was not what I was anticipating, I would quit. Wow, that looks bad in words. I have over come this feeling and have realized that there will always be bad runs. Bad days. Bad weather. Bad times. But there is always good runs. Good days. Good weather. Good times. With knowing that I had to realize that there is also, bad races, and good.
My first marathon...bad race. Cancelled race. I felt defeated. My time....we won't go there. I had surgery days after my race, and left running in the dust. For approximately 5 months. Yikes.
Well....I'm Back!

For 2011 I have a few different things planned. All of which are goals too.
*A half marathon in May. The only person that knows I can run a sub 2.00.00 half ran a 2.12.00 with me (unofficially).
*A 200 mile relay in June. We will run from Madison to Chicago, we being a team of 12.
*A triathlon in July, The Women's Trek 1/2 mile swim, 13 mile bike, 3 mile run.
*Then (fingers crossed) NYC Marathon. I will find out in April if I get picked through the lottery system. If I do not get picked this year, (year 2) then I will be running the Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee. My goal for the Lakefront is sub 4.20.00
My goal for NYC.....FINISH

So for this blog, I am going to post the ups and downs of a Mother-Runner. I am going to post what it takes for a mother to train for the 4 different events. What sacrifices are made. What rewards and punishments I will endure to reach my dreams. Who knows, maybe this will become a daily, weekly, or monthly blog that no body reads, and I find it to be a waste of time that I could have spent running.