memory of meg

So this week our running communities have lost a fellow runner to a drunk driver while out running. Meg Menzies, mother of 3 was hit and killed by a drunk driver and runners across the globe United to dedicate miles to her. I was completely in awe of the unity runners have shown. Makes me proud to say it. I am a runner. I belong to this wonderful group of people who share the same passion for this sport.
I dedicated this whole weeks runs to her. I could only muster through one mile on Saturday as my shins needed rest. Tomorrow I'm suppose to run 4 miles but I'm biking instead. I need more days rest to prepare for my long run. I have also been doing a 30 day butt challenge....Damn do my thighs hurt.
Well the I'm double bridge run is Feb 1st. Lots of my co workers running, we aretrying to set up a carb load dinner before the night of race. I'm excited about it. Should be fun. Last big race before my half marathon in April.

Some pics dedicated to Meg and some I have to read to remind myself, slow is ok, quitting is not.

running in wind and rain

So yesterday Melissa and I headed out to our race. It was her anniversary race. One year of sporadic running. She ran the five k while I did the 10 k. We were excited to be able to run this race. It was the first race I convinced her to ever run. She started chickening out but after verbally slapping her around, she came to her senses. I lost her right from the start. Things,were going good for me in t I'll I hit 4 miles in. The rain kicked up hard core. Stinging  windy, whipping rain, slows you down a lot. I felt like a bird trying to fly against the wind as nd getting no where. It was pelting me in the eyes. I knew I was moving slow but I felt so heavy and felt pushed back from the wind.  I was never so happy to see that finish line. Ran it in, with time of 1:12 minutes..slower time for me but considering the elements, oh well.
But we did it.
Next up Pensacola Double Bridge Run. 15k
First two pictures are from our Pensacola Beach Run race this year2014, the last one is from the same race 2013. Notice how I look like I'm dying in last year's. Notice the difference in the weather too.

Happy Runnin

Hydrating before the race

  So tomorrow is the Pensacola Beach Run 10k. I have been trying to hydrate well tonight. It is something that I don't do enough of, especially for the longer runs. I did hear on the t.v. (I think on Good Morning America) and read it somewhere (don't recall where) that even drinking caffeinated beverages such as my addiction Diet Mountain Dew constitutes as hydrating myself. The t.v. show said that there was no real clinical difference between drinking the cup of coffee versus water in terms of hydration. It equated essentially the same thing. Hydration. Today however, I only drank one diet Dew and have been drinking my other favorite drink orange powerarde zero. 
  The race is at 0730 and about 45 minutes away (due to traffic). Poor Mel, she is so not an early bird at all and she works 3-11. I will have to bang on her dang door like I'm the police, just to get her to get her arse up. She is a slow mover in the morning. I believe she knows it's worth it though. We ran it last year and I almost died afterwards..lol That was the race that she was on such a high on afterward. It was her virgin 5k. She's popped that cherry now and has become an adrenaline running whore and I can honestly say that with such sincerity as she knows what I mean. I had cajoled her with "oh come on Mel, it's only 3 miles" 
I haven't convinced her to do the 10k yet, but hey, it's just the beginning of the New Year. There is always hope.
It's suppose to be rainy tomorrow, which the race will still go on, unless there is lightening. I can handle rain, just not cold windy rain. As they said in my Marine Corps days, "if it ain't raining, you ain't training"
well time to ice shins, and rest up
praying for a good time.
Happy Running.

Power after Rest

       Have you ever taken a rest day or days and find that the first run back out there seems to be a good one? You feel like you have endless energy.  I did that today.
       In the quest for a better half marathon time, I am strictly adhering to my rest days and yesterday was one. I didn't really feel the urge to go run today as it has been cold, may not be as cold as up north but for this Florida girl, 27 degrees is definitely cold.  I finally was able to get out there after it warmed up a bit and was able to do 8 miles without any shin splint pain. I was super thrilled about that. I stopped off at my drinking fountain to get a sip of water and it wasn't working. My guess is, it was so cold the water froze up in the fountain. Man was I thirsty.
       I seen a red fox while running my trails, and came across a squirrel and it scared the crap out of me.  I love the natural scenes I see when running. Definitely don't get that with dreadmill running.
       3 days and a wake up and it's the Pensacola Beach Run. Melissa Walters is running it with me. It'll be nice to see her catch the high again.
School started back this week and I have homework to do.

Happy Running from this snail runner here.

Kudos to those Treadmill/Dreadmill runners

       So I worked last night and with my training schedule I was due to run a 4 miler today. It was super cold, with the high of 30 degrees in sunny Florida, but the wind chill was frigid.  I went against my better judgment and ran on the treadmill, which I have not done in I don't know how long.  It was absolutely horrible. I hated every minute of it. My Nike app wouldn't log my miles correctly. What's worse was it didn't let me calibrate it either. I ran 3.05 in 31 minutes. My right shin had pains shooting up it while I was running. Every step I took on that t/dreadmill was painful. It took everything in me to make it three miles. I knew I should have listened to my inner running conscience. What should have been a great run as I took a few days off to rest my leg, was a killer run.
      I have to give some serious props to my fellow treadmill runners. I don't know how you keep your mind sane while on that treadmill. I hit the 2 mile mark in 18:30 but then the last mile was complete crap. I have to keep in mind that I did get up and do it.
       Tomorrow is rest day, and I am strictly adhering to this schedule unless there is a race going on, which I do have one on Saturday. I am running the Pensacola Beach Run, 10k. I am anxious to see how I do compared to last years race results.
       I did not log my 75 miles. I am not ashamed to admit my defeat as I have been battling this pain. I am contemplating going back to the doctor's to see if they will do an MRI, just to ease my mind. Shin splints seriously have not hurt me this badly before, to the point that I am awake at night with pain and if I step a certain way shooting pains sometimes go running up the medial side of my shin.
       Tomorrow, I believe I will finally break out my new bike, but I will have to bundle up. It's suppose to get down to 17 degrees tonight and only a high of 38 degrees.
REST, ICE, COMPRESS, & ELEVATING, at the moment,
to my treadmill running friends, you guys inspire me. keep up the good work. for myself, I will take to the pavement and enjoy the outdoor running and all the beauty that I get to see.

Happy running my friends.

End of the year

So here we are, the last hour of 2013 for central time people like me. I officially logged 370+ miles on my Nike running app. Super excited about that as I am also excited to see what the New year will bring. Finally revamped my 15 week half marathon training schedule. Getting a little excited to train even as I sit here with ice on my right shin..Lol..
Dedication, determination, or crazy..Lol don't know which. It actually has rest days put in the schedule three of them as I am no longer considered a novice runner. Yay. No elite runner by any means, but no longer qualify for novice. The novice training schedules start with low mileage of like 3 to 4 miles being the first long run of week one. I am definitely not back tracking to a 4 mile long run. So in revamping my schedule, instead of increasing my mileage by a mile a week, I did it in half mile increments to help prevent injury.
Well I learned a lot this year, and hope to continue to learn more this year.
I have one challenge still going, that of trying to log 75 miles in 30 days. I have until January 6th. We'll see. Lol Mona has already completed and then some.
The new challenge by Faithfully Fit Forward starts Jan 1st that I am doing. You are required to log 365 miles in 365 days, run, walk or crawl to log the miles. Looking forward to it.
So here it is, New Year, new miles. Happy running my friends. Keep your goals attainable, and yet reach outside your comfort zone or you may never find your maximum potential.

What I have learned.

So my first run back after a week off was Christmas day and it was a great one. I did 4.27 miles in 38 minutes. It was sunny and the perfect temp. Merry Christmas to me. It was a great day. My girls had fun. We enjoyed a lovely meal with the Konzelman family.
I went out again on the 26th and did a little 5 miler. I felt like I had lead legs. I wore my Newton Lady Issac S's. Last year at this time when I got them, I thought they were the most amazing shoes and they are still really great shock absorbers for those distant runs but dang if they didn't feel like they weighed over 2 tons.  I realize how much I like my Brooks Pure Connects. They are very light weight on my feet. I ran yesterday a little over 6 miles. It wasn't a fantastic run but I got out there and did it and was happy that I could.  I took today off as I am trying to listen to my body. Come first week of January starts my half marathon training. It's a four month training schedule. I am already ahead of the game this time. Last time this year I was struggling and just beginning to find my groove. This year I already have distance on my side. It's all going to be mental for me.
Looking forward to seeing how much I have improved from April 2013 to April 2014. I also am excited to see how I fair on the 10k I have coming up in Jan.  I ran it this last Jan in 1 hour 18 mins. I hope to by far surpass it this next year.
I also have the Feb 1st double bridge run coming up too. Excited as I only ran the 5k portion this last year. This time I am doing the whole 15k.
I can tell you what I have learned in the last few weeks.
1. listen to your body.
2. respect rest days for what the are meant to be.. (for those that are saying I told you so...hush, as some of us are more stubborn and want to go out side of our comfort zones and I am apparently one f them)
3. eating crap will make you feel like crap, shit, sluggish or however you want to word it, when you run.
4. Cyber running friends are the best. Thanks to Mona Dervin, Erica Montes, Dawn Pohlen and many more who encourage me to keep going and might I add, put up with my run challenges.
5. Nike + running app is a great way to log miles and to have that friendly competition to spur you on.
I am now 3.2 miles away from logging 365 miles for the year. I know I have done more as I switched apps from runtastic to Nike but it's nice to see it on my Nike app. I have 10days to log 35 miles for the 75 in 30 days challenge. Mona has already won but now I just want to get there. I can say I have already logged 67.3 miles for the month of December and I have a few days to go.
Thank you to all my motivating running partners, near and far.
so as the new year looms and you think of your goals, ask yourself, what is attainable? It makes you keep going if you set a goal that is attainable. If you surpass that goal, then you are on your way to being a 'rock star'
Happy Running my friends.

 my happy face on Christmas Day after my run.