Hydration Test #01

Tonight I tried out the camel back. Brian had one sitting in the closet that had only been used once. So I filled it up with a few ice cubes and cold tap water, got Darby all suited up in her head lamp and I with all of my reflective gear and we headed out. Tonight it was in the 50's and a little misty. I ran in shorts and a long sleeve tech shirt, I have not been without my jacket in months - spring is on the way! We started out walking to warm up and when we started jogging I thought the sloshing noise of the camel back was going to drive me crazy - when I run at night outside I don't wear my i-pod for safety. So I got used to the noise after a few minutes and we got into our groove. We treked out and back home for a total of 3.5 miles with an average pace of 13.12 on the runs (I did .5mile runs with 1min. walk breaks). The pace was ok, but it can be improved. I did notice that I was just getting into the groove when it was time to end, what an amazing feeling.

The camel back gets 4 out of 5 stars.

Positives:

I have water when I 'need it'

It didn't rub.

It has pockets to carry stuff

I didn't notice that I was sweating any extra with it on my back.

Negatives:

• The sloshing noise (which I was getting used to, almost like the rhythm of waves).
• The taste of rubber (I will try a flavored water or adding a little lemon juice to knock back the taste).
• The straps are built for a man - the only cross strap goes right above 'the girls' and makes for an awkward feeling (I'll get some spare straps from the camping kit and 'fashion' a contraption that should help).

So, for a test run the camel back gets a passing grade. Tomorrow night at the track I will try the water bottle that I carry in my hand (it has a mesh handle that your palm slides in). I will also try a flavored water to see if I can handle it.

I did also notice that I did not seem to drink that much water after all - I think it is just the knowledge that I have it accessible that is what I need. After all, I take a glass of ice water to bed every night and I might have a drink or two and that is it - I usually pour it out in the morning. So if I can carry a small amount and know that I have rest stations then I should be ready to run!

Time to sign up for the Tacoma Half marathon - keep running!

Runner Girl...

I forgot - I ordered a new t-shirt in preparation for the marathon.

It will be a great addition to my running wardrobe!

Brian is working on a personalized shirt for the race with my name on it so that people can cheer me on from the finish line. I am getting really pumped up!!!

Guess I better get my travel plans in order, after all it is going to be here before I know it.

L-O-N-G Run - Short Report (that was the idea)

It has been awhile – I have been running (I even got a 13 mile run in with my brother while he was passing through town). I tried pilates (love them – and as Brian says, they taste good =)) and I went cross country skiing for the first time. Oh yeah, the car is fixed and we got a refund from the oil change store – life is back to normal – knock on wood – real wood too.

Here is a run down of last weekend:
Couch to 5k group on Saturday morning at Bradley Lake – logged about 2.3 miles (run/walk). They sure are progressing, they will all do great at the 5k!
Saturday on the Orting trail – logged 15.5 miles starting about 10:00 and finishing around 2:00? For a Saturday total of almost 18 miles!!!!!
Positives from the run:

*Beautiful weather – mid-50’s with sunshine.

*Smelling freshly cut grass.

*Views of Mt. Rainer.

*Chasing my shadow.
*Nothing rubbed in places that they shouldn’t (thanks to the liberal application of body glide)
*Talking to friends on speaker phone for ‘pep-talks’
*NO blisters – the insoles are working!
*Good songs on i-pod.
*Making it up and down the hills just north of the McMillian trail head (they are not big, but after the drinking foundation incident).

Negatives:
*very, very thirsty
*hot tamales are not a good idea as something to suck on.
*i-pod running playlist is not perfected. I NEED my Dixie Chicks- Goodbye Earl.
*Did I mention very, very thirsty – chapped lips.
*Walking more toward the end that running.
*Hip was starting to give out, give me some pain.
*Started to get hungry.
*Drinking fountain at McMillian trail head was not on – I could see it from the trail for awhile and when I got to it, it was not working – that sure is not a good feeling. – contact people who maintain trail and ask when they will be turned on.

What I took away from the run and what I will work on for next weekend:
*Set up friends and family for mock aid-stations about every 2-4 miles.
*Try out the camel back and a hand held water bottle on short runs this week to see what works the best.
*Find a food that I can have at the aid stations. Some options are all natural fruit leather (no weird red paste like the hot tamales), green apple slices, bread product, pretzels w/ salt.
*Layer clothes better so that I can shed a layer – or wear a visor to vent top of head.
*Wear sunscreen on my neck (I covered the face last week, just not my neck and ears.)
*Stay positive – this run has been my longest run to date and even though I had to walk some, I still made it.

Plans for this week:
Tuesday, run at the YMCA, do ab work, maybe an machine.
Wednesday, run outside with Darby, try out the CamelBack.
Thursday, run at Rogers track carrying water. Try fartlek (sp?) work
Friday, pilates class
Saturday, couch to 5k group and short run.
Sunday – LONG RUN with my support groups on the Orting Trail!

My bulbs are two inches out of the ground, how far are yours?

AND POURS....!

ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS WHAT DID I DO TO PISS OFF THE HIGHER POWERS! Our brand new car died last night. It is undergoing a diagnostic now, until we know what is wrong I can't blame Subaru or the oil change place. Until then, I can be really cranky. We just fixed the other car.

I will be at Step aerobics tonight (after I ride the bus to the YMCA) if you see me I'm the one running around the track after class screaming!

Deep breathes, positive thinking......

Here comes a sunshine break..., things will get better - they can't get worse.

When it rains, it pours.... and pours and pours

Well, last week was, well last week. I got a run in on Saturday morning – 3.5 miles with Darby around the trail at Rogers. It was a fun run, not fast, just moving and she was enjoying the sounds and smells of someplace other than the backyard. Sunday I just couldn’t get out of bed, I was exhausted from ‘commuting’ last week. My in-laws came over with their new dog ‘Abby’ so the dogs could run around the back yard. Together we have Darby and Abby – we can now refer to them collectively as ‘Arby’. It is really fun to watch them romp around, it reminds me that spring is not too far away. My father-in-law showed us his finger that he cut with his new sharp knives – his was not too bad, but made for some jokes about the Christmas present that just keeps giving. He got all of the families one of these dangerous Cabellas knife sharpeners – they work very, very well, we were just used to the dull knives.

Sunday afternoon Brian, Darby and I went for a walk around Sunrise in the afternoon for 3 miles. It was a good brisk walk and it was even sunny for a little bit (I got my vitamin D intake).

Monday night I ran at the YMCA. I ran five miles in 57 minutes – it was my best time ever under twelve minute miles!!!!! They closed the Y early due to inclement weather so I closed the place down at 8:00. I really wanted to keep running to see how fast I could go and because everyone started to leave, I had the track to myself. It felt wonderful. How did I speed up you ask? I looked at my reflection in the glass and noticed that my feet were not really leaving the ground, so I picked up my feet and increased my stride – amazingly enough it worked – all I had to do was speed up and my times improved – who would have guessed. I noticed that I could feel it in my breathing, but that is what happens when you pick-up the pace, right? So, my track work is paying off and so is just keeping with it. I am aiming for one more run this week (about 5 miles) along with step aerobics. This weekend I am running 13 miles on Saturday morning and a 10k Geoduck run at The Evergreen College on Sunday – I can’t wait!

and pours, and pours….

I got home from the Y on Monday night and Brian had made homemade pizza, one of my favorites. He finished slicing the pizza – yes, here it comes…. and was wiping the cheese off the knife and cut his right thumb. Oh man, here we go, it was one week ago that I cut my thumb, and less than a week ago that my father-in-law cut his. I took a look at the cut and Brian agreed that he didn’t think he needed stitches, so off to the band-aid aisle I went. I got some of the ‘wound glue’ and a few more packs of band-aids, along with a chocolate bar for Brian. We are going to throw away the knives (at least that was our solution last night) or dull them down on a 2x4 before using them again. I did read on the ‘wound glue’ package that you can use it for blisters – I wonder if Michelle knows about this stuff – she might need more than 1oz though =)
On another note I am totally still on a running high from last night – tired, but still on my running high – this is totally addictive!

Keep running in the rain and take in the sunshine when you can (and don’t underestimate warning labels that state ‘knives will be sharp after sharpening’ they don’t’ lie).

when it rains, it pours....

After getting my brother off to Delaware on Monday, the rest of the week really dragged on. I made it to the YMCA on Tuesday and did the Body Fat Test. You get dunked in a stainless steel tub in a mobile truck and it tells you your lean body weight and your percentage of body fat. The tester did complement me on my lean weight – but I do need to get my body fat percentage down (which I already knew). So I will write down everything I eat for a week, figure out the best places to cut calories and keep doing aerobics and running. I worked hard in step class and went to bed with a lump in my stomach thinking about how hard this is going to be.

I dragged Brian to the movie theater on Thursday night to see the movie about marathon running, but as we walked out the door I had thoughts that it might not be for another week….. as I suspected, it is showing on Thursday the 24th – AGGGG. So I missed running and wasted a drive to the movie theater! I packed my bag for the Y when I got home – I was going on Friday night – I had had it with my week – I was turning the ship around.
Friday I ran at the Y for 4 miles doing the hair band transfer and i-pod groovin’. My time was about 52 minutes so I was averaging a 13 min/mile. It felt really good to get back to running – I missed it during the week, especially during this week.

Saturday morning I had full intentions of getting up to run with the Y group – I even set out my running clothes and set my alarm, but I stayed in bed with my husband. Sometimes family time is just more important. We ran errands and went to our Homeowner’s Association meeting. At least my clothes were all ready for Sunday!

Sunday I met the Y running group at the Orting trail at 8 am and headed south. The group took off as I removed the crusties from my eyes and turned on my Garmin. It felt really early, but the weather air was cool, damp and I was ready to run (once my eyes opened). My goal was to go out for 4 miles and 4 miles back in. My garmin ran out of batteries about 6 min. into the 1hr 45 min. run so I was on my own for pacing and timing. I turned up my i-pod and just got moving. Using the marks on the trail and my reference point from my last run, I went out to mile 4 and turned around. Now I have to figure out how to insert the run into the training program even though the garmin did not record it. It was a good run and I met up with the group at Starbucks and asked advice about hotels in Yakima for the Marathon in April.

Brian and I both had Monday off of work and this is when it started raining on us….. Usually when something happens to throw us off course it comes in multiples – as it did again on Monday (the weather was beautiful by the way). The old car would not start in the garage – so when we did get it started, we had to take it into the shop and leave it there – this will make for a fun week of carpooling. So we planned our week – I would drive Brian to work in Enumclaw and then proceed to my work in downtown Tacoma – a nice two hour commute for me at each end of my day! Normally I would have just hopped on the bus, but I had a doctors apt. on Tuesday and a work meeting in Gig Harbor on Wednesday. So, we had a plan, not a great one, but a plan. So I figured that I should get everything ready for Tuesday morning so that we could get out the door on time. I was slicing my apple for my healthy snack (with our freshly sharpened knives) and I slit my thumb open. Being stubborn and tough, I wrapped a paper towel around it, bandaged it up and went to bed. So Tuesday morning I nearly fainted when Brian helped my re-bandage it, I was going to have to go to the doctor. I stopped by the Enumclaw ER and they glued me back together and gave be a great gauze bandage and I was on my way (of course, the bill is on the way) and the doctor admonished me for not coming in earlier – thanks for the stubborn trait mom! I will be fine, thankfully it is my left hand and I can keep working. The results on the car are still not in, so there goes another wad of cash.

So when it rains, it pours on us, but thankfully we can laugh and look forward to spring!

Here is to being prepared and stubborn – two traits that I wouldn’t change for the world.
Oh yeah, I got 12 miles in and one step class – next week even more!

A good, no, a great week

Last Tuesday I made it to step class at the Y. Man, it was crowded with Resolution beginners, so I think Margo might have stepped it up a bit (sorry for the bad pun). With all of the people in the room, it felt like it was 95 degrees. My calves were sore the rest of the week, probably from not planting my feet on each step, but I was trying to keep up. Elinor and Carissa were kickin’ butt – they were in class more than I was in December. All in all, I think the step class is a great cross-training tool, it helps me feel better about my overall workout plan and I get some time to chat with the girls during water breaks. Margo said that one of her goals this year is to run 10 miles a week. So I asked her if we could compare mileages at each class on Tuesday, how we did and what we have coming up. The more people that are in that support network the better, right. I should see if she wants to join the Y club on a run….

I ran at the YMCA inside track on Thursday, it was just raining too hard for me to run at Rogers. With my i-pod in tow, I ran 4 miles at a 12 min/mile pace – I was really moving with the music going – it helps that the track is flat. To keep track of the laps without counting on my fingers I put 6 hair bands on my left wrist, after each lap I would move one to the right wrist – this allowed me to run with the music and enjoy myself without counting. I probably looked crazy going around the track with my hair bands on my wrists – then I remembered the early nineties when we thought we were cool, putting our ‘scrunchies’ on our wrists’ – ah the memories! I stopped by the step class at they were getting out and saw Elinor, she said I was looking good for 3.5 miles in, what an awesome comment – it was one of those nights were it clicked – I felt good, I was movin’ – running was fun!

I made to run with the Y running club on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we ran from the Y, in front of Bradley Park, through a housing development and back to the Y. I had a total of 5 miles in. It would sprinkle here and there, but it wasn’t really cold, so I warmed up fast. Michelle, Cat, Rick and Jenny were moving a little faster than I was, so I took the straight route back and they meandered through the park and around Lumberman’s on the way back to the Y. Coffee afterward is a treat, catching up is also nice.

Sunday I met the rest of the Y run club at Chambers Creek Golf Course and ran the trail there. WOW, it was a beautiful, crisp morning and the trail is wide enough for 4+ people. The trail wound down to the water and it was a fast run down. We spotted a small bald eagle and a huge one in the top of a weather beaten tree. I slowed down to my comfortable pace and winded my way through the golf course. I would love to play here someday, but the $100+ price tag will keep me away for a bit. I walked more than ran up the big hill to the clubhouse. Mike got me to run a few times. Then I did a couple out and back on the trail along the road while the rest of the group did another loop. The next time we come here my goal is to do both loops with the group. After coffee some of us headed over to Trader Joes. Another reason to schedule this run in every couple of months. I then went to Mud Bay and got some doggie treats and organic catnip for the ‘kids’.

All in all I had a wonderful week. I logged 13.5 miles plus one insane step aerobics class. Last night we sent my brother off to Dover, Delaware for a month of training and then the Air Force is relocating him to Anchorage Alaska. He also got promoted to Staff Sergeant, so I am really proud of him. After he is settled hopefully we can get up there to see him. It was a tough night, but at least he is home safe from Iraq with no upcoming plans to be sent back, so I am thankful. I applaud everyone who has fought for our country. Thank you!

Keep running and soak in the sunshine when you can!