Christmas Day Run

I went on an unplanned Christmas Day run. Kinda spur of the moment - sans husband. It was the best day so far to run so I am glad I did. After the torture of the first 2 miles I experienced one of those great moments while running - a runner's high. I was listening to Brandi Carisle - great music and easy to feel love live and those around you while you are listening to her amazing vocal.

So on this Christmas Day I was feeling very blessed for having a wonderful and loving husband and great kids. I was feeling thankful for in-laws who I actually enjoy spending the holiday with. I was thinking and missing my Sparta running friends and wondering how they are fairing in the nasty weather up north.

All in all a great run....

Passed the....

I passed the 1300 mile mark today. I thought I did yesterday, but realized when I entered my mileage in my log that I was .75 miles short. Yeah - I know.. it was probably close enough but it is all in the numbers - isn't it?

A different route today that was a little more enjoyable than running along the frontage road... doesn't take much though. Still a bit of wind. It is amazing how much harder it is to run when on vacation, but my attitude always is - it doesn't matter how fast I run... it is good that I am running at all!

Jim wasn't able to live without his ipod today. He said there were too many periods of silence yesterday. I reminded him that conversations are 2 way... it takes two.... He did tell me that he loved me while we were running... so I guess that should make up for it.

Wondering

I am in a state of pondering..... I am not sure what it all means.....

I was very late sending out the weekly running poll for this week. Normally, I do it by Wednesday, sometimes Thursday. This time I realized I had forgotten to send it out FRIDAY AFTERNOON. Not a peep from anyone. NOT. A. PEEP. I guess this should be expected since the troublemaker of the group was off enjoying San Fran. Apparently, everyone's life doesn't revolve around running (like apparently mine does!). I am so happy that I run with a group of polite people!

It was a good run with Christy this morning. I was glad she was willing to go after her exhausting long weekend in Disney! One lesson learned.. put the poop bag near something that is easy to see and to remember!

It's Back

First run in snow today. It was a bit slick on the roads, but anywhere cars had not driven were fine. There were a few times where are arms flew up and we squeaked due to the slipp'n and slide'n. We kinda looked like this kitten, but even more cute... especially Jill with her morning hair.



There was a nice cold wind from the west too... a nice cherry on top.

It went fast and didn't seem to bad. At least we had a good excuse to run slow!

A ran a little late today since I couldn't fine my shoes. Katie and Christy were kind enough to wait for me after I yelled at them through my car window. Luckily for me they were running the route where I saw them. Good for them for leaving at 5:00! I always knew they were abided by the law despite what Christy said during the run.

I have actually had a couple of good runs since my last post. I ran a leisurely run on Thanksgiving day with Shiner. Leisurely - because I got to sleep late - I didn't run until 10:00 and because the pace was a little slow with all the futzing with Shiner and the leash as well as being pulled in the opposite direction for a squirrel! (nice run on sentence!)

Yesterday ended up being a long run. I 'ran' into Rhonda at the beginning of her run and midway through mine. Since I had her motivating me a long, I was able to go long as I had hoped too. Shiner did well too and still had energy at the end! A nice change of pace running with Rhonda - a whole new world of untouched topics kept us busy while we ran.

I believe I posted this video before, but I saw it again and am wondering if Shiner will ever do this.... dreaming about catching Bella someday.

Run #2

Today was Shiner's second run with the group and his first run with Belle. It went relatively well especially once we let Belle lead and I ran behind with Shiner. It was enjoyable for me because Shiner was doing a sled dog imitation trying to catch up with that cutie Belle. I am sure he is feeling life is unfair since after all that hard work he never got to play with her. Another one of my children who will be saying "You're so mean!" in dog speak.

It was a good run with the Cousins and Jill. A Thanksgiving run is planned for tomorrow. Hopefully we won't be running in snow.

Success so far.

Today was Shiner's first day of running with the group. I am sure I was more nervous then he was. It was probably good that Bryan didn't get a deer (at least that is her STORY for not showing this morning) so Christy and Bella weren't able to be there. It gave Shiner a chance to get acquainted with the routine without the distraction of a cute girl and the mental trauma of realizing that he can no longer adequately show her how much he loves her.

Thankfully he is not a sled dog wanna be. Absolutely no pulling. Plus since it was dark he couldn't see squirrels so no leaping after them. I did use his "no pull" harness and the few times he did see something he quickly got turned around. Worked great.

Maybe my sister-in-law is right that is original name "Miles" is appropriate for a dog in our family.

Leakers

There were a couple of leakers this morning! And to make it even worse, one of them missed out on getting her Girl Scout Cookies!

Here is a nice little cartoon... complete with snot rocket!

Back in Sparta

A great group run with almost everyone this morning. It appears that the temperature has dipped to the point that calling of the dreadmill can no longer be resisted by certain members of our group. We will see them in spring!

Running along the cozy streets of Sparta wasn't quite the same as running through Central Park. It would be great to live in a city with such a great park. Of course if I lived there I couldn't afford to be within running distance of the park! So I guess the path along Beaver Creek will have to satisfy me.

While in NYC I also got to experience one of my worst dreadmill experiences every. I won't bore you with the details except to say that I only ran 2 miles and the people on the elevator afterwards were not happy with my new perfume - "profuse body sweat". Although I have to give them credit - no New York F bombs or similar language was directed my way. Of course, since I was in a hotel they probably were just visitors not true New Yorkers.

Veterans Day

Don't forget to honor and thank those who have served our country.... even if it is Mike.

Running Top Ten

I am running short on time this morning, but I mentioned this during our run this morning, so I figured I had better share it.

Missed Out!

I learned this morning that I missed out on Rhonda running with the morning group! I hope you come again!

A good morning run with the Cousins this morning. Christy actually set her alarm right so she was there. The bad karma from complaining about her fellow runners not showing up finally has worn off!

When I first saw the following clip it said that it was BEER that got destroyed. Everyone (except Beerhater) will be relieved to know it was hard liquor. Whew.... I was panicked there for a moment.

Bummer

Packers lost today - BUMMER. Even more so DH was at the game... sucks being at a game that they lose at, especially losing to the Vikings (Wendy - I DON'T want to hear it), especially with Farve playing. Yes - I actually WATCHED the game. I suppose DH will now blame me for the loss since it was the one thing different from other games.... they have won up to now... right...;-)

It a glum mood I turned towards the Internet. I have been feeling a bit bored with it lately. I currently don't have any sites I like to go to and see "what's up". I learned a good thing and a bad thing. The bad thing is that people have a lot more imaginative blog names than mine. Creativity is not my thing (but organization is!). The good thing is that there are a lot of running blogs out there that have not had a post in an awfully long time. Although I have been known to have some good gaps between posts, I have been blogging since December 30, 2006. So, coming up on 3 years! Wow! Time flies! Those who run marathons with me know how consistent I am... even if I don't want to be.

I didn't find any new interesting blogs... so if anyone knows of any, let me know....

Tempted

I was very tempted to call Bryan last night and say "It looks like it is going to be raining, so I am not planning on running." But since last time we had planned to run, I did almost the same thing, I knew I would be opening myself up to endless grief. So, I opted to waited to see if it was actually raining in the morning before I called and bailed.

Unfortunately, when I stepped outside it was NOT raining. So much for getting to sleep late on a non school day! I had a hard time believing my themometer too.... 58 degrees! Couldn't be! So I am so glad I didn't do a preemptive bail otherwise I would have missed out on one of the last warm runs of the year... which is what happened to the THREE people who stood up Christy at 5:00 am! Shame, Shame... I think you will be getting tricked instead of treated this Halloween!

So it was another nice run with Bryan. Today's topic was buying and maintaining cars. I learned a lot. Thanks Bryan.

Warning

A warning to our running group:

Beware of when Elyse and Mike start talking football!

This morning was an enjoyable run until E and M started talking football... our pace ended up being 8:45!

It has been awhile

Wow! I didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted! I have run since Oct 10th! But not much. Last week the morning run got rained out 3 times! I was convinced by Kwik Trip gal to go running with her and one of the Cousins on Thursday evening. As usual, dreaded doing it, but was glad I did.

The raining weather must have gotten to everyone because today was a big group, everyone except for Jenny and Wendy. We did a spontaneous new route that got everyone in the mood for Halloween (dark and scary). It was nice to have the big group again... I left feeling very happy and thankful!

Firsts

Today was one of firsts.

It was my first run after the marathon. My legs felt good and I felt pretty good too. My hamstring still twinges, but it hasn't caused a problem yet, just worry.

It was my first run EVER with my college roommate Wendi. She has gotten the running bug! (big sly grin here!) When I talked to her late in summer she mentioned doing a 5K together. THEN the next time I talked to her she said she had just run a 10 miler!!! Sneaky Women!

It was great to share the love of running with her along the lake shore of Milwaukee. Maybe that is why my first run after the marathon didn't seem so bad. I was just enjoying the moment being with one of my best friends in life while doing something so great! And just LOVING it! One more thing we can share together.

Twin Cities Race Report

It is time to report on the Twin Cities Marathon! Great weather, amazing spectators. The spectators are second only to Chicago. There was hardly a place on the whole course where there wasn't someone cheering you on. The course truly has to be the most beautiful urban course. It takes you through many parks and all of the grand old houses of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The course itself was truly challenging.

I knew that there was a 2 mile long long hill starting about mile 21. So, around mile 15 I started telling myself to just put in good miles until then and then have the goal of getting up the hill without stopping. It was very, very hard though. It hit just as I was starting to struggle. I am surprised I didn't get pulled out of the race by medical for going a little looping. I started breaking the course into smaller, manageable chunks such as ... the next stop light.... the bright green sign..... the light green tree.... followed by "I can do this, I can do this". Unfortunately for all those around me... I was not saying this in my head, but out loud and I found that I got louder as it got harder. I caught a couple of side long glances from fellow runners.... who I might add I was passing.

As always I found myself at the point where I thought "Who the F**** cares how fast I do this race. I knew I wasn't going to PR... which makes it hard for me mentally and I thought I wasn't going to be close to my past 3 marathons of 4:09. But I have to admit the illusion of the 2 mile down hill helped me work through it.

I say illusion because their idea of downhill is MUCH different than mine! True, when I reached the last half mile it was downhill, which was great. But earlier when I could see the heads and shoulders of runners several blocks ahead, I wanted to stop and yell "Where is the downhill?!?" Sandy said she saw a women stop at somewhere in mile 24-25 and yell "Where the hell is the finish" I can totally sympathize with her!

The post race was good, but when they isn't beer then it will never be the perfect post race party. The Salty Nutrolls were fantastic! I think that is now a favorite post race treat for me, replacing the cinnamon sugar donut holes at Whistlestop. The T-shirts were technical long sleeve which is always nice. I was disappointed that I couldn't find a decent race t-shirt at the expo. It looked like they were sold out.

My foot held up very well, my left hamstring didn't give me much problem. My right quad got pretty tight and I was afraid that it would start cramping, but it didn't. When I was going down the home stretch my quads felt very tight and I was just hoping they wouldn't seize up before I crossed the finish line and thankfully they didn't. Plus they didn't right after the finish line either. The day after the race my foot feels real good and my quads are sore like they normally are. I can go downstairs the right direction, but it isn't pretty.

All in all I would do Twin Cities again, but try and enjoy the race and surroundings much more. Something I struggle to do at every race. After the race when we are discussing what we saw, I never see anything. This is a race that it would be fun to relax and take it as a long run and not worry about time.

Conspiracy?

After looking at the weather forecast for St. Paul next weekend, I couldn't help but wonder if there is a conspiracy afoot. It is forecasting a chance of rain Saturday, Saturday night, Sunday night and Monday - every forecast period except Sunday which is sunny and perfect running weather, which coincidentally is when the marathon is taking place. Hmmmm.

It brought two memories to mind.

One was a fateful trip to Bayfield's Applefest with my friend Wendi. We were intending to spend 3 glorious days there. Now, those of you have been to Bayfield know that if outdoor activities are out, there isn't a whole lot to do. The moment we arrived it started to pour. That evening we started asking our B&B hostess what the weather forecast was (conveniently there was no TV or radio in our rooms or the common area). Her reply always was "I am sure it is going to turn beautiful". After the 5th time it was hard not to retort back "I don't care what you think, I want to know what the meteorologist thinks!" Needless to say we left early and went to the nearby Hellman cabin where at least we could watch rented movies!

The second one is very relevant for this time of year. Long ago the Forestry Division (who I work for) was responsible for providing the Department of Tourism with the fall color forecast. One year staff reported that the fall colors would not be particularly stunning for various weather and precipitation reasons. Soon they got a call from s another, more powerful state office, who shall not be named here, informing them that, in fact, the fall colors would be spectacular... in fact EVERY year they would be spectacular. There is a lot of power in those tourism dollars...at least that is how the story goes....

But I am sure that in actuality good weather will prevail and we will have a beautiful day for the Marathon... but I might check a few other weather sites just to make sure....

Let downs

It was a warm and drippy run this morning, but a lot of fun conversations. I apparently missed a lot of ribbing by missing Tuesdays run. I was appreciative that they were willing to recap. Of course, Mike was the one retelling stories, I am not sure if Elyse, Katie and Jill appreciated it since they were usually the butt of the joke!

I told them that yesterday I had a frustrating day in the world of running gear shopping. My initial reason to shop was to get grippers for the icy season that will undoubtedly come before they are all sold out. I decided to try a new kind, ice joggers. I became fairly frustrated since I had a very hard time finding out what shoe sizes S,M,L equated too. (shame on you Road Runner Sports). Having finally accomplished that task I realized I should buy some energy gel since mine are about gone. I was pretty excited when I saw a new seasonal favor "mint chocolate". MMMMMM. The reviews I saw were good too. However, I wanted to be sure they had caffeine which was not readily apparent (shame on you AGAIN Road Runner Sports). So again I had to go searching to other websites to figure it out. I finally found an ingredient list that contained a ingredient that said behind it "contains caffeine". Not exactly resounding proof, but at this point I was willing to take it. I put it in my shopping cart only to learn that it wouldn't be shipped until Oct 9 - AFTER my marathon. UGH! All that hard work and salivation for nothing! Just not my day for easy Internet shopping!

1000 miles

I just realized that this morning I passed the 1000 mile mark for the year! I am on track to break my yearly mileage record of 1291. I really don't mind if I don't break it because it isn't one of those records I want to keep on breaking! But I do like to reach 1200 each year.

I also noticed that my blog has had 12,000 visits! Wow. Of course, I believe that is over the 3 years (as it really been that long???) that I have been doing this. So, I guess that isn't that great.

A STEAMY run this morning. 65 degrees and high, high humidity. I am wondering when reality is going to hit.

Great Weather, Can't See.

It is that time of year when running is filled with mixed blessings....

1. It is perfect running weather, but so dark it is hard to see.
2. Marathon training is over, but the actual race is 2 weeks away.
3. We have great tans from a summer of running, but now we have to cover them up because it is getting cold.
4. Just as marathon training ends, the marathons of eating begin (football season, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Holiday parties etc, etc)

Speaking of eating, a few of us have been participating in a group weight loss effort. It is not a "challenge". It is just some sharing of personal info (Here is how much do I weigh today!) with the hope that all this sharing will provide extra motivation to eat right. So, that made me really relate to the following video:

See more funny videos and Funny Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Foot Jinx

Well, after running 22 miles on Saturday with no problems with my foot, my 5.5 mile run yesterday did cause problems. I think it is Murphy's law kicking in.... The day you decide not to go to the doctor appointment, which took you 3 weeks to get, your foot decides to start hurting again.

I am not regretting not going to the Dr., since I doubt he would have done anything but look at me crazily after hearing I had run 22 miles without issues - physical that is - not mental. So, the debate will be..... do I skip my Thursday run and see how my 16 mile run goes on Saturday OR do my Thursday run to see how the foot does and run my 16 miler if it feels good? Ah... the stress of being a runner... quandaries all over the place. The one quandary I don't have is that I do plan on running the marathon. It won't be pleasant, but I will do it.

Oh - btw... I ran with Mike this morning..... ;-)

Hello Kitty?

A nice run this morning with the group - when is it not? We got caught up on Elyse's half in Elroy - town of 15,000 according to a heat delirious Elyse. Apparently, Elroy made quite an impression on her. Enough so that she added an extra zero to the population sign she ran by.

Christy is buying a new couch - HUGE news!

I also found out that Jill won a diamond Hello Kitty necklace. Funny how the "steak as big her head" was bigger news that winning a necklace (ok, it is a Hello Kitty one - so I can give her a big of understanding) and a gift certificate to Freight House. She must have been afraid that we would invite ourselves along!

Marathon is on!

My foot has been feeling pretty good lately, so I decided to see how much of the long run I would be able to do today. I am very happy to report that I did the whole 3:30 (well, actually 3:28) or 22 miles. Little pain and it didn't get worse. It is soaking in an ice bath right now just in case.

It was good run, although know I can't say anything disparaging about Christy or Bryan for the 6 months since they were kind enough to let me use their bathroom. Of course, they did send me to the one without the fan, I think just to see how red my face could get from embarrassment. That is why they only get a 6 month reprieve instead of a year.

So, that was our last long run for this marathon. I am a little nervous since I missed two pace runs and a long run. I know I can do it, but it may be painful. Of course, it does take the pressure off a little bit... I have a good excuse.

Glorious morning

This morning was a glorious morning in many ways.

I am in Chanhassen, MN for a meeting. Two long days of sitting and listening. I have learned that a run in the morning significantly improves my ability to stay engaged during day two. So, I headed out this morning with a route in mind.

It is a beautiful morning, a little warm which was good since I only brought a singlet. The birds were chirping and it was a time where I couldn't help but enjoy the morning - despite the sun not being up yet.

As I headed toward the small lake I saw on Google, I saw two runners coming over to my side of the road. I thought they were two women, but as they emerged from the pedestrian tunnel that came under the road (Minneapolis area does a GREAT job of being pedestrian friendly!) I realized it was too men. But as one of them later said..... "I wear a headlamp, how dangerous can I be?"

I asked if I could follow them and instead they asked me to join them. Two very, very nice guys. It was one of those experiences that renews your faith in the kindness of humans (especially after watching the news about the heckling during the President's speech). Of course they had ties to the LAX area and I am sure if I had dug deeper there would be a connection we both knew.

It was a great short speed run with great company. It renewed my spirit in many ways. Thanks to Eric and Dan!!!!

Perfect Patient

Over the weekend I did some more running. On Sunday I did a 4 mile walk with the last mile or so running.... in jean shorts no less. Obviously, I was not planning on running. On Monday I ran 6 with my sister in law. Today I ran just over 5 with the morning running group.

I am not sure this is wise, but it doesn't SEEM to be making my foot worse - or maybe I have unleashed the power of the brain and am just ignoring it better.

Or maybe I just prefer to really make it hurt so I can better tell the Dr. "where it hurts" when I go in next Monday. I always strive to be the perfect patient ;-)

So, in all seriousness - it doesn't seem to hurt as bad when I run, but throughout the rest of the day I am often limping. I seem to have two points of pain... one that does seem to be like Plantar Fasciitis since it is in that same spot and seems to dissipate one I have walked a little bit. But then I have a pain spot on the bottom side of my foot which is where it hurts when I run, and does not go away when walking. So hard to say what it is, but I am going to give our long run a try this Friday. I will try and go as long as I can.

Ran today

I gave running a try today. I went 4.84 miles with Jill. My foot seemed to hold up okay, but I don't think 14 miles was possible. The real test will be how it feels the rest of the day. Fingers crossed.

Trial

Yesterday I tested my foot with about a mile run and it seemed to do okay. It didn't seem to get worse anyway.

Today I decided to run in the morning, but shorten the route. So I ran 3.5 miles. I am not sure I should have since I was limping around the house before I left. The run was okay. My foot hurt, but it didn't seem to get worse and I didn't get any sharp pains, but I don't know if I could go the full 6 miles or not.

So now the foot is in an ice bath and I am waiting to see how the day goes. I probably will not run tomorrow though.

@#$$#%^&^%$%^

$%$#@@#$!!##@$%#$%$%$#@@#$!!##@$%#$

Let me say that again....

$@$$%%$#@$%%$#$@$$%%$#@$%%$$@$$%%$

Dang it all any way! My 3:15 hour run got cutoff at 1:36. My left foot started to hurt little beyond half way and got progressively worse. At the end I would get occassional sharp stabbing pains. I was having a great run too! ($%%$#!$#@%">$%%$#!$#@%) I opted to cut the run short rather than risk causing more, long term injury. Plus the thought of running another 1:45 with this pain wasn't appealing either. I had already decided to take a phone with so I could call Jim to come and get me. Not a good sign.

Dang! Dang! Dang! It is the same foot that I had the plantar fasciitis issues, but this is different although I do think it the problem is with one of those tendons (or whatever they are called). I don't think this is one of those runner paranoia moments. You know - those ones where you knee twinges going up a stair - and you think "Oh No! Something is wrong with my knee! I might not be able to run anymore!" and two steps later the pain is gone and doesn't return. Nope, this is different. This is not good. My only hope is that with a little TLC it will be just a small pothole that I stumble over on the road to completing the Twin Cities Marathon and not one that I fall in, twist and break my ankle while at the same time giving my face a nice case of road rash.

So, I have the guilty party in an ice bath right now. Next, I will be on-line ordering new shoes. Keep your fingers crossed!

Obligations

I sensed this morning that Bryan was a bit disappointed that I didn't blog yesterday being that he was the only one running with me. Apparently in his mind this was enough to warrant a blog entry. It appears he is being influenced by He Who Shall Not Be Named. Fortunately, despite it being 6:00 (I know I don't get any sympathy from the 5:00 group) I was able to think quickly on my feet (despite not actually being quick on my feet) and come up with a good and plausible reason why I did not blog.

I tried to find a funny video in order to demonstrate in some small way the amount of laughter Bryan has given me since joining me on runs at 6:00. Sadly, the website I usually find good videos on is slow today.... not sure what the significance/symbolism of that is.... I will let you decide.

Quite a change

Quite a change today.. had to run on a treadmill. It was a good work out beyond the fact that they needed some fans and the women next to me had immovable boobs, snapped her gum and her workout was taking big strides at a steep incline going both forwards and then backwards. I guess in my mind she is summed up by her snapping gum. I will have to add that to my list of treadmill/gym pet peeves.

It is always interesting to be in a gym where there is not a regular clientele - such as a hotel fitness room. Beyond the snapping gum lady, there was also the guy who came in with his black "non running" tennis shoes, got on the treadmill and promptly put it up at full speed and then tried to push the button to slow down without falling off the back. I am always curious why these people chose this moment to try running. It is not something I would think about doing while on vacation. Hmmmm.... I think I will go down to the hotel fitness room and try running. NO, my thought process is.... I wonder how long the kids will sleep so I can sleep late.

Memories

Today was I had another beautiful run in Devil’s Lake. I ran along north shore, down Tumbled Rocks Trail and along south shore to the picnic area. It was a less strenuous run both physically and mentally and I found myself reminiscing quite a bit. I was amazed at how many memories I have of this beautiful and sacred place.

Starting (I think) with camping at the South Shore in a shared air stream camper – quite a step up from our canvas army tent! My strongest memory of that trip was driving up ‘Snake Hill” while pulling the air stream. To my little wide eyed self it was the same as driving up some mountain pass. I still think of it every time I drive that twisty turny road.

I remember hiking up the East Bluff with my Mom, Kris K and Julie L (or was it Kris H?) One of my many, many climbs up that bluff including a time much later on in life when I and a new boyfriend were hiking along that trail and ran into my mom. No neither of us knew the other was there. It was a surprise introduction for both of them.

There was the time that Dad has his sailboat out and the Ranger came and checked to make sure there wasn’t a gas motor (not allowed) underneath. This was the same time that Dad took an interested female bystander on a ride with assurances that he wouldn’t let it tip….. of course they did.

As I ran along Tumbled Rocks I remembered Ranger Bill Otto – probably one of the best and definitely the longest summer Rangers. He helped me fish my work keys out of the boulders after they had come off and fell in between two boulders. We were both amazed we got them out. I ran by Rock 8 and remember skinny dipping of it with Sue R. (The statute of limitations is up – right?) I have no idea why someone spray painted an 8 on it.

Running along the north shore there were memories of “sun bathing” with Kris K and Julie L. I put “sun bathing” in quotes because I was always the whitest and the only one putting sun SCREEN and not sun OIL on. I remember the awe I felt when we ran into Bradley T, Rich S and Kim S after they had BIKED from Sauk to the North Shore which means UP the Baraboo Bluffs.

And of course there were loads of memories of the people I worked with during my 4 summers there and the many campers (good and bad) that I encountered. Many, many funny stories all of which I can’t remember anymore, but which all of which will always make Devil’s Lake a very special place for me.

Favorite Places

Today I got to run in one of my favorite places.... Devil's Lake State Park (WI). I didn't even mind all the hills. Just a glorious way to start the morning... by running through one of the most beautiful places that Wisconsin has to offer and at a time where it is quiet and peaceful. It makes you appreciate life in so many different ways!

Brutal

A brutal long run this morning. Hot (for 5 am) and humid. Dripping with sweat was an understatement. If you had asked me during the run, I would have said I was miserable. Although I became considerably happier when I convinced Jenny and Judy to stop at the depot and get a Diet Dew. We were only 25 minutes from ending but I NEEDED MY DIET DEW! The magic elixir worked and for the last 25 minutes I was in a much better mindset. I think we would make a good commercial for them, especially since a number of non Dew drinkers have said that it really hits the spot on a long run. Judy commented that she can't even chug her beer as fast as Jenny and I chugged that Dew!

So, we were 5 minutes short, but I don't keep track of stopped time, so we are sure we had more than 3 hours "on our feet" even if it was not all running. Given how hot it was, 2:55 was damn good. Plus we had a good pace considering... 9:16 for 18.88 miles. Now it is time to enjoy the weekend!

Surprises

I got quite a few pleasant surprises yesterday or maybe it was luck.

I was going to run at 5:00 since Jenny wasn't able to run at 6:00. I realized I had better check the poll to make sure someone was running at 5:00. Luckily, I realized there was comment on the poll which was from Sandy saying she was going to the track for a speed work out. I wasn't really up for a speed work since Jenny and I are doing one on Wed. I reached Jill who was also running at 5:00 and she confirmed it was indeed a track work out. BUT she said that Christy was coming too and I probably could easily convince her to do a regular run. I thought so too since Christy is one of the biggest complainers about speed work.

That is surprise one... Christy called and said she DID WANT to do a speed work out! If I wasn't already in a prone position, I would have been floored. Then she said that Bryan would run with me at 6:00 (Surprise 2) YEAH. It felt so GOOD to move the alarm back an hour!

Swimming through water?

Today I felt like I was swimming through water because it felt like I was barely moving. But once again I saw the benefits of speed work because even though I felt like I was running a 10:00 minute pace, we actually ran a 8:38 average! It makes the horrible feeling worth it.

If you are up for a challenge you should check out this video (45 minutes) of the Marathon of the Sands. It takes place in the Sahara Desert.

I almost forgot to blog today! Jenny and I got right back into things by doing a track work out this morning. Of course, Bryan and Tom wimped out on us. What would this world be like with our brave, strong women like ourselves? Considering my low energy level I was doubly happy that I got under (just) 8:00 for the mile sprint and my last 400 was faster than my first. For those who don't know we do a ladder workout. 400, rest, 800, rest, 1200, rest, 1600, rest and then back down again. It does seem to go faster as compared to the first time we did it, but it doesn't get easier!

It was a cool, cool morning! It was nice to run in, but we were wishing we had this weather on Saturday when we are doing our 3:00 run! It is supposed to get HOT - of course!

Christy, I know it has been a long time since I have run with you, but MY how you have changed!

I was expecting Christy this morning, but I was surprised when Bryan got out of the car. Bella hasn't changed a bit though ;-) So, the run was relaxing and went quick. A lot of new topics... fishing in Canada and lending techniques just to name a few! Nice to have you back Bryan!

A little humid this morning and my body felt a little worn out from the triathlon and landscaping. But I do find that it feels good to be just focused on running and not swimming and biking too. Even though I have the lion's share of marathon training to go yet, I feel like a weight has been lifted... that is until the 3 hour run this weekend!

Triathlon Done!

Jill and fellow Spartan, Jeff S. completed their first spring triathlon on Saturday! I completed my fourth (over about 12 years!) It was not an easy one! Someone told me that it is the hilliest tri in the Midwest. Big rolling hill after big rolling hill on the bike portion. Plus we had a strong - stop you in your tracks - wind, it wasn't too bad on the bike, but was nasty on the run.

Once again I got KILLED on the bike portion. I was one of the fastest times in the swim and run and one of the slowest on the bike. How hard can biking be? Of course when I bike about 3 times a year all the month before the tri, I shouldn't expect much. My over all time was 1:48:10. My last tri I did in 1:47:39. I am pretty consistent, just like my marathons.

It was fun to do, but I don't find the training as "fun" (not quite the right word) as half/full marathon training. Maybe that is because I don't have a group of people to do it with. Don't get any ideas Larry! It does make me miss swimming... just a little bit.

I felt good after the race. Today my knees are bothering me a little bit - probably from all the hills. It was well run, great shirt and had cheerful volunteers, but due to the hilly bike route I don't think I will do that tri again.

Ouch

I had to return to the 5:00 run time this morning so I had someone to run with. Ouch! It is hard to get up at that time after not doing so for so long. My body has happily gotten used to sleeping an hour later! Despite that it was a nice fast run with Katie and Kwik Trip Gal.

Kwik Trip Gal and I are leaving today for our sprint (1/4 mile swim, 17 mile bike and 3.1 mile run) triathlon in Wausau this Saturday. It will be my 4th (over a 12 year span ;-)) and her first. It will fun to do one again, although the weather is looking rainy which reminds me that I need to pack another garbage bag! Here is what they are forecasting: Mostly cloudy, rain and storms possible early morning through early afternoon, clearing some through end of day. High 67-72. Winds west 10-15. Ugh, no make that DOUBLE UGH!

Death of a loved one (guess not)

This morning I was shocked to find that my Garmin had died on me. (I know this will not be a shock to Christy) No warning. No evidence of electronic gremlins. No signs of impeding doom. Just tried to turn it on after charging and it stared back with me with an empty screen. I tried resuscitating it with every button push imaginable, but it was DOA. Maybe reuniting it with the computer would bring it to life, but again... a sad, gray, blank screen. Not even a whimper of a beep. I haven't searched the net yet to see if there is any solution or if it possible to reset it, but my hopes are not high.

Of course this happened on the morning of a long run. It was tempting to take it as a sign that I should not run - that with the curse words that spewed out of my mouth when my alarm went off at 4:15. But I knew Jill would be waiting, so I found Jim's faithful Garmin (older is better) and even though it only had 6 hours of battery life, it made it through the run. No, I did not run 6 hours, but sometimes I work that Garmin so hard that it needs more juice then it says it has.

Much to Jill's delight Sandy decided to join us for the last 45 minutes. I actually think she was tripped by Jill's guilt into running. As soon as Jill convinced Sandy to run the last 45 minutes with me she disappeared. So, thanks to Sandy for bailing Jill out of having to spend another 45 minutes with me. Jill said she was worried about me being sick of her after spending a week of vacation with her, but I now realize she was ACTUALLY saying that SHE was sick of ME! Another lesson learned - apparently I am a little slow picking up social cues.

Now the question is, do I buy a Garmin with a heart rate monitor?

Postscript: DANG! I found out how to reset my Garmin and it worked like a charm. No new Garmin for me!

It was one of those days where I just felt TIRED. A walk would have been just fine with me. A beautiful, cool morning for one too, but no, we ran. And once again it demonstrated how much impact speed work has (hear that Christy and Mike?). Despite being incredibly tired and not really pushing it, our pace was always below 9:00 and every mile had a progressively faster pace. Yes, the last 1/2 mile I was trying to finish strong, but I wasn't consciously trying to go faster each mile. In fact every time my Garmin signaled the completion of another mile my thought was "Good, another mile DONE!" NOT "I should go faster the next mile". So we ended with an average pace of 8:43.

The cross training for the sprint triathlon in August is starting to take its toll. Not so much on my muscles, just in my energy level. Yesterday I swam 1000 meters with 3x25 and 5x50 meter sprints mixed it. Then I biked roller coaster hill. I hadn't on that, but the turn was about my half way point and I know I need to work on hills. Truly, I still don't think it is THAT bad of a route! Especially when it is above 40 degrees and not windy!

Tomorrow I think I will do my 8 mile pace run along the Lake Shore in Chicago. On Saturday my goal is to bike 1:45. My plan is to do it on the bikes in the hotel's fitness center. So, it will be interesting to see if I actually accomplish this, especially since I have to get it done before Jim goes to his meeting at 8:00. I keep on thinking about Elyse's story of when she stayed at this hotel and they brought cold, wet towels around to everyone - for FREE. That is the kind of pampering I would like to experience!

Bike Ride

Jill and I enjoyed a 21 mile bike ride this morning. What a BEAUTIFUL morning. Larry and his group have a perfect day for their long ride.

It is a struggle to get out of bed, but I ended up wondering why I don't do it more often (of course, I am already getting up at 5:00 every morning to work out). It reminded me of my days working as a Ranger at Devil's Lake. One summer I worked the 6am to 2pm shift. In my opinion it was the best shift since you got to enjoy the solitude that the park offers. Plus driving around to the smells of bacon and eggs wasn't bad either!

Of course Jill's company made it even more enjoyable.

I can't help but think of.....

Time to enjoy the weekend!

Jenny and I got our 2.5 hour run done today. It was actually 2:26, but we agreed that the missing 4 minutes wouldn't cause us to not finish the marathon. We did run 16 miles at a 9:08 average pace, so I can live with that, but it was tough. It turned out to be much sunnier than I expected, which meant hotter. Plus, I didn't bring my sunglasses or visor... I hate that! Of course, it was better than Jenny who didn't bring her water bottles. Now on to yard work. Yeah!

Spifying up the Blog

It was time for a little updating of the blog. You will now find that the picture at the top of the page is actually a slide show!

I also added a link to the weekly morning running poll. Those of you who run in Sparta in the early mornings can go there and participate.

I got roped in to doing a sprint triathlon, so now I am training for that AND a marathon! Geesh! Not sure what got in to my brain... oh yeah... she goes by KwikTrip Girl!

Run Swim

This morning I got reacquainted with Christy and Katie. They were happy to see me (I think) until I told them that I needed to do a pace run. I knew in their hearts they were thanking me, even though they were complaining the whole way. Sometimes tough love is the best kind.

This morning was also my first one back in the pool. I made the mistake of mentioning to Jill that I would be willing to be the swim leg of a triathlon team. I was happy to find that I can swim a half mile, although in a lake with 50 other bodies fighting against me, it will be much more difficult.

It did start me thinking though... in the long distance I will probably be swimming against people who also know how to swim well since I believe it is the swimming that deters people from doing the longer distance. This would take away my advantage. So, maybe I should think about doing the short triathlon individually. In the shorter distance my swimming is an advantage because there are more 'weaker' swimmers. It is the biking I hate - even if it is only 11 miles. I would do the longer distance individually, but for me it is the biking that deters me. Hmmm..... something to ponder.

How to drink water while running

A brutal hill workout with Jenny and Kristi this morning. Ran up Gale Rd (Christy's future home site) 8 times. If J and K hadn't yelled at me to do more, I would have been happy with five. The chant "This will make me faster" wasn't helping.

Here is a video I found on running tips. I think the most useful part is at the end where they show how to drink water from cups while running. Fast forward to about minute 8. The rest is okay. Why they chose a busy street to film this on, I will never know.

Another One Bites the Dust

Well, I am very sad to say that our newest running partner, Molly, bit the dust today.

Molly - is (was) the newest member of our household. Even though she walked on all fours we found herself quickly falling in love with her. That is until she started pooping on our floor when we were gone. In case you haven't figured it out, she was a dog we adopted from the local pound. She was a sweet dog in almost every way except that she had a severe case of separation anxiety which seemed to worsen rather than improve as we tried to work to desensitize her. The good news is that the pound said that she is a very good candidate for a rescue since her only issue is the separation anxiety. They will be able to work with her on it.

I am sure Jenny is secretly saying (Thank Goodness!). There were several times during our morning runs where Molly spied some type of creature and took off to tree it, nearly cutting Jenny off at the knees.

Molly did help me struggle through this morning's humid run. Jenny and I were both suffering from our speed work the day before and I was dealing with lack of my usual amount of sleep due to taking 5 boys to the Loggers game. Nate must have running in his genes because he and his two friends won the Tidey Whitey race!

Eating My Words

I was all psyched for this morning's blog. Mike had given me some great material. He had e-mailed me earlier in the week and said he would be joining Jenny and I at 6:00. When I replied back that we were planning on doing speed work, he quickly responded that he would go at 5:00 instead. What a wimp!

Well, this morning after saying hello/good-bye to the the 5:00 group, I saw Christy and Mike run by. As I patiently waited for Jenny and Kristi, the song 'Should I stay or Should I Go?"



At 6:05 I decided I better take my opportunity to run with someone while I still had it. So I ran to catch up with the Cousins, but had to call to them to stop. See! This is why I need to do speed work.

Of course the newbie, Kristi, was kind enough to send an e-mail explaining she had a stomach bug. Which left me wondering "Jenny, Jenny who can I turn to? But the phone number 867-5309 did not work!"

New Idea

My later start time has made it difficult to blog. Too much of a rush showering and getting out the door for summer school. However, tomorrow I will definitely blog since Mike has given me some nice material to work with.

Today I went to the dark side and joined the walkers. I am going to try and do this on my non running days. It was a nice morning to start this ritual, but don't worry, it won't replace my running.

I have found a new marathon idea for the group... taking a cruise in Alaska or Caribbean and run in each port for a total of 26.2 miles! Sweet! http://www.runningcruise.com/

A nice 6:00 run with Elyse and Jenny (Yes, I am rubbing it in!) We decided that we need a nickname for Kristi B. Referring to our fellow runners as new Kristi and old Christy probably isn't politically correct or at least doesn't make for cheerful running partners. And Kristi with a K or Christy with a C is too long to say as we are huffing and puffing a way. I am sure this is one that Mike will get right on. We all know how inept Tom is at coming up with nicknames, so we can't give this one to him. Plus, it is quite apparent he is a "user". He just uses us when he needs companionship on long runs, otherwise we aren't good enough for him. His pink Ipod is more important than our cheerful conversation or maybe he just got tired of hearing groans instead of laughs after one of his many jokes. Tom - I don't think new Kristi has heard the grape joke yet.

Good luck at the Stampede or the Butterfest Tent!

Speed Work

Just Kristi and I this morning at 6 am. Jenny sent me an e-mail with excuses, but I think we will need to run by the golf course sprinklers some time soon anyway. If I remember Mike's rule correctly, it doesn't matter if you have an excuse or not.

So, since I had Kristi to myself and she is too new to complain (we still have her believing that she is LUCKY to run with us - hah!) we did speed work. We warmed up by running out BC and then to the track where we did 1 lap at fast pace (under 2 minutes) and 1/2 lap walk repeated 5 times. It was painful, but went a lot faster with someone sharing the pain with me. Thank you Kristi!

We got a lot of laughs out of the cheerleader who was NOT happy that she had to "run" laps. At the end she was being made to finish the required number of laps. I commented to her fellow cheerleader that was the acting task master that she was pulling my 9 year old's trick of walking as slow as possible. In a 9 year old's mind this is a way of punishing YOU. I told the task master that she she tell her friend that she tell her I said she is acting like my 9 year old. She found that pretty funny. Sadly, this teaches me that I will still be dealing with these tactics when my 9 year old is 16.

A small group, but a new runner! Another cousin was added to the cousins. Christy's cousin, Allie, came. I am afraid us old ladies may have scared her off - with our pace not our early morning, no make-up GOOD looks!. Hopefully she will return!

We added on to the "New Route" to make sure the New Yorker will continue to run with us. I was thinking this morning... "When is the new route no longer called the "new route'?" I suppose when I come up with another one, although in a small town this becomes more and more difficult to do.

I just found a new web page with everything running. Well, not everything running, but it is a quick place to see blogs on running: http://running.alltop.com/

Last Bakery Run

A sad day today - the Bakery's last day. A tear came to my eye when I reached in their cooler and realized that I was taking the last Diet Dew. It felt like they were saving it just for me.

We beat the rain and got 7.39 miles in. I still am struggling, but glad I did it.

Wausau Running

I explored Wausau in the mornings this week. I got out two mornings while in the historic town for a meeting. I forget how fun it is to explore a town while running. Plus, I leave my Garmin at home and just enjoy the adventure.

Wausau was particularly great because of all the "painted lady" Victorian houses from the lumber Baron days and the slightly new ones of the early 1900's. I didn't even mind that they were all located on a very steep hill. So, I got a good hill work out in while viewing the historic beauties. Yes, I was thinking about you all. I found it was much easier to run hills in a new town.

The weather was glorious too... cool, but sunny and calm.

New Picture

Did you notice there is a new picture at the top? Courtesy of Wendy's Facebook page!

A nice albeit FAST run this morning. Thankfully Elyse stayed back with me while Sandy and Jenny took off. Those half marathoners just keep on rubbing it in, even after the marathon! But it did feel good to see that I can still run under a 9:00 pace! Plus there was a REASON why I was struggling.

It was NOT raining

It was NOT raining this morning and Jill didn't show. I admit, I got out of bed, walked outside, stood there for a few seconds and decided it was indeed raining. I went back to bed, but the draw of not letting anyone down and the desperate need to run after a week off got me back out of bed. I thought there was a big group running this morning and figured that SOMEONE would show. However, after I got all my running stuff on and check the poll I learned it was just Jill and I and as I said... she didn't show.

BUT I was sooooooo desperate for a run, I went by myself. My favorite morning worker (NOT!) - the loud radio, no muffler newspaper delivery guy - did accompany me for the first 1/4 mile. Then I spend the rest of the run trying to think of humorous, guilt ridden things I could say in my blog this morning.

It was fine, really Jill, it was. I also didn't have my Garmin (low battery - once again proving Christy's opinion of them) and NO running PARTNER so I could go on any route I wanted and at any slow pace. Of course, I didn't do a new route (didn't have the Garmin to track miles) but the pace did feel good. I even got to stop and chit chat with the walkers who, of course - unlike Jill, could tell it was NOT raining.

Inspiration

Go to this story for a source of inspiration for Sunday's marathon (and half marathon).

I think it was a record today.... TEN people running! It felt like a Saturday morning run! Maybe the newspaper will do a story on us NOW! At least then the guy who did NOT see the herd of runners 5 feet away from him when he PAUSED at the stop sign might get a clue that he has to be awake to drive. (BTW - I use 'herd' in the most beautiful sense possible).

Mike was in his glory because he had another guy to talk football with. However, it was short lived when he found out the other half of the Swanson team is a Vikings fan. I guess his nickname will be PackerHater. Now the BeerHater will have a com padre.

Of course there was lots of talk about the Marathon, but more talk (actually taunting) by the halvers. Just remember that we expect you be there cheering us on so we can throw our sweat laden shirts at you. And most importantly, we expect be handed a cold beer as soon as we exit the runner area. A foot massage might be nice too.

A damp, but fairly warm morning. A big group... Christy, Sandy, Jill, Elyse and Kristi. I finally got to meet the new Kristi. I am not sure how we should differentiate her from Christy. Kristi with a K? Kristi with an I? Hmmmm will have to think of that one. I am sure that Elyse is hoping Kristi hates beer so she can take on the "Beerhater" nickname. She grew up and went to college in Wisconsin, so I am sure she likes beer. Life is just against you Elyse.

Kristi was very patient with my endless stream of questions. I had to get the dibs on the new girl. Plus it is the old trick "If I keep her talking she won't realize how much pain she is in and will come back and run with us again." Of course, I forgot to factor in that talking makes running harder... so I am sure she was actually wishing I would shut up so she could run!

One more short run before the marathon!

Arm Sleeves

A nice run with Christy, Jill and Katie this morning. We were commenting on how nice it is to run in daylight.

My new running thing is arm sleeves. You probably have seen them on elite runners when weather is a little on the cool side. I was wishing I had some at La Crosse. The seem perfect for keeping you warm at the beginning of a run, but easy to remove when you or the arm temperature warms up. Since Green Bay can be a little cool at the start, I thought I would look into getting some.

Well, I found that they are almost $34. A little to rich for my blood, especially since I may only wear them once or twice a year (on my regular non-race runs a long sleeve shirt will do). In searching for a cheaper price I came upon on posting that said they just got some men's tube socks and cut the foot out. A lot cheaper and since they were so cheap, you can just toss them during a race after you no longer needed. So, when I was in La Crosse this weekend at TJ Maxx, I found a pair of Under Armor baseball socks. The only draw back was that they are bright yellow, but what the heck. So for $4, I had 4 socks. Last night I cut the toe out. I cut them long figuring that I like to have something I can pull my hands into and if I find the are too long, I can cut them shorter. After performed my surgery on them, I decided to give them a test run this morning.

I decided to wear them "upside down". My forearm is thicker than my ankle, so I figured it made more sense to wear them so the cuff of the sock was actually at my wrist. This also worked well because then the finished cuff (the non cut end) was at my wrist.

They worked well!

They didn't feel too tight and they didn't fall down either. At the end I felt like they might be slipping down, but I think they were just getting heavier from sweat. They might not perform as well as the real thing, but they do what I need them to do and for only $1.00 each I can't complain!

Finally, a run where I felt good, but perhaps it was because of all the distractions.

First, we did a new route which I believe was truly a new route, not just a variation of an old stand-by or one run backwards.

Second, we got to hear about Elyse's Flying Pig Marathon. It sounds like it will have to go on the list, but I have to wonder if it was that good or Elyse's opinion was tainted by the fact she ran pain free and PR'd! Don't we all LOVE races where we PR? In all seriousness, I have heard that is a great and fun marathon to run.

I am anxiously awaiting my most recent running purchase - an Elitesport Seatshield. I finally accepted the fact that I would not get it as a gift from my loving husband. I really dislike getting in my car to go to work and finding it still wet with sweat. This will also help with the "burning butt" problems often encountered in a car with leather seats in the middle of summer. Hopefully it will be all that I hope. Ah... the little joys in life!

A nice run with the Cousins and Bella (the dog, not the vampire) this morning. We got it in before any sprinkles began. I will be so glad when I can have a run with energy. It seems like it has been a very long time. Next time I am going to have to insist that I take Bella so she can pull me a long. No wonder Christy is able to cheerfully chat with her cousins as I struggle along behind. I am in that place where the taper time giddiness has not taken hold and I am in the "why did I sign up for a fall marathon" place.

Today was the 1st annual La Crosse Fitness Festival. Perfect weather conditions. It was about 48 degrees at the start and sunny. There was no breeze to begin with, but a steady north wind developed. The first 3 miles were a little tough as I was waiting for my body, legs and feet to warm up. Around mile 5-6 I started to pick up the pace. Unfortunately shortly there after we turned north (into the wind) and encountered several (at least it felt like several - it might have been two) hill. At about mile 10.5 I started struggling. This was because a fellow runner said "You have a great pace going. I think I will try and keep with you." I also struggled to get my last electrolyte pill out which I think broke my rythm and I never got it back.

It was a good training exercise since I had to employ the "I can do it" chant the last 2.5 miles. I had my worst time, but kept under 2 hours (barely - and only according to chip time). However, I am okay with that (kinda) considering 9 days ago I ran 21 miles in the worst conditions possible - 89 degrees and strong winds. My body was not recovered yet.

Overall for a first marathon, I thought it was well organized and well staffed. No chance to get off course. I was disappointed that they didn't have any energy gel for the half marathon and didn't give it to the full until mile 21. The post race activities were good. COLD water... so----o important. Also, cookies, bagels, bananas, oranges, brats. No complaints... a well run race especially compared to Norwalk's first attempt.

Melissa had a good race, but struggled at the end (don't we all?) Jill said she had a good marathon with a time around 4:18. Judy did well too... despite saying she "didn't care" and was just going to have "fun", she still beat me with a time of 1:52. You are an inspiration Judy! Larry, I am sure had a good walk. Thanks to Jenny for cheering along the way!

Hopefully we will have similiar weather for Green Bay!

A muggy run today. WAY over dressed for it. Just The Credit Union Gals and Elyse this morning. I was pretty envious when I drove by yesterday morning and saw all the cars. WOW!!! It looked like a sale was going on at Walgreens! Plus I missed the initiation of a new runner. Thankfully enough runners there to make sure that Mike didn't scare her off!

One of the big questions asked on our long runs is "What gu to you use?". irunfar blog provides a nutritional and ingredient comparison for the most common brands. Unfortunately for our group I am not sure how useful it will be since they missed the most important rating factor: Potential to Nauseate.

Done

We attempted our last long run last night. It was less than ideal conditions. The bank thermometer said 89 degrees. Plus the winds were incredibly gusty. If we were going head on into the wind, I wasn't entirely sure we were moving forward. Luckily the route we did (same as last week) didn't have many spots where we met the wind head on (No Mike, I did not plan it that way). I forgot to turn my Garmin back on a couple of times, but I am pretty sure Tom and I got in 3:30 and 21 miles.

It was a TOUGH run. For the first 5 miles I seriously did not think I was going to make it to the finish. It was so dang HOT. I made it to Kwik Trip and continued my new long run tradition of getting a Diet Mtn Dew. Nothing tastes as good as a ICE COLD Dew in the middle of a LONG HOT run! After that I felt much better. I am sure it was the DEW and not the fact that the it got cloudy (no more sun) and a storm front came in dropping the temperature at least 15 degrees AND the wind temporarily died down.

I think the Succeed! Caps I used helped a lot. I have to admit it was also due to Tom hanging in there with me. Christy and Katie understandably succumbed to the heat and wind about 3/4 of the way done. I am sure Rom said a lot of funny stuff, but the morning afterwards it feels like I did that whole run drunk and not in a fun way. My memory is a bit spotty on everything that happened. So, I will give Tom the benefit of the doubt and assume he was VERY funny.

What I am really bummed about is that I expected to fall into a deep sleep. NOT. It may have had something to do with the Diet Sun Drop I slammed waiting for Jim to come pick us up. But was probably more related to my body aching the whole night. I guess I get to look forward to a a nap this afternoon!

After my miserable run today (AGAIN!) I am really hoping that I don't feel like the runner in the below video at the end of our 3:30 run on Friday!

Wendy didn't get scared off today and she was rewarded by being rained on! Good luck to Sandy in her bus trip to D.C. with 5 buses of middle schoolers! Just goes to show that if you can run a marathon, you can do anything!

Training methods

I heard a little complaining that we didn't run hills this morning. I am always open to requests, but I didn't hear any! A coach's job is a thankless one!

Here is a workout method that you will NEVER hear me suggest we do in order to get faster. No matter how much Mike begs and bribes me, I will NOT "just do it".

Last Pace Run!

Yeah! Last pace run is DONE! Just a long run to go! We had great weather. Perfect temp and no wind. I am sure Little Dave (aka Christy) would NOT say it was a great run, especially when I turned right at the depot instead of keeping straight. I found a tip site for coaches and I think I will have to employ the following tool during future pace runs:

All the girls

It was a girls day today. A warmer run compared to yesterday. I have to go find loops for this week.....

Material

I realized that I should have posted on Friday after the long run with Jill and Tom. Tom was kind enough to give me a lot of material to work with.

The run was good. Perfect weather for it - which for me meant no wind and for Jill that it was still cool. Bryan and Jenny joined us for an hour. They did an okay job of not rubbing in the fact that they only had to go an hour. There is room for improvement though. Elyse as back too! She joined us for 2 hours, but she also took 2 hours off our lives when her hip gave out and she went down. She insisted she was fine and kept running. I will be sure to remind her of this the next time she is hounding one of us to go to the hospital for some injury. She says that is due to the Italian in her. We will have to show her how long German memories can be.

When I returned home I was surprised not to find an e-mail broadcast from Jill. She tested Tom and he would have taken the same infamous wrong turn that Jill did. Thank goodness they had me along or else they would have both ended up in Norwalk. At first I was thinking that Tom was just being nice to Jill and then I remembered who I was talking about.

There is more, but I think I will save it for another day.... too much laughter at once is not a good thing - especially when you are at work.

Did it!

I actually got up and ran by myself this morning! Although my pillow was saying, "Stay with me. Stay with me." in a soft, whispery voice, I still got up. Wonders will never cease! Now I just hope this new found mental strength and willpower can get me through my 3:15 hour run tomorrow! Of course with Tom telling me all of his hilarious jokes, I am sure it won't be a problem.

Another run

Just Kwik Trip gal and I today. Katie drove off when I got there. Jill told me it wasn't me, but you know how nice Jill is - except to Mike.

The truth is that something is going on with Katie's foot and she decided to play it safe and rest it. Nice of her to drive all the way in and tell us.... going the extra mile!

Green Bay continues to fill up. The half marathon is 81.3% full and the full is 76%. It will be interesting to see if they reach their cap. The next bump in price happens after the 15th, so I am guessing we will see an increase in registrations just before that day.

Oh how wrong....

Thankfully the weatherman is wrong sometimes and this weekend, all of you who live in WI know, he was WAAAAAYY off. I love when 3-7 inches of snow actually turns into a few flurries - especially in April. Of course, that weather forecast got me out of running with Jill on Sunday - another reason to LOVE him.

A good run with Christy and Katie this morning. I am definitely in the peak of marathon training because I am just tired, tired, tired. Ugh. Getting the legs moving is hard.

However, it was a good pace run this weekend. I did the first 7 mile loop too fast so the second half was a killer. The real reason I slowed down was that I had to get away from Tom's jokes. Just ask him about the red and purple grapes and you will understand why. Of course my 7 year old LOVED it.

Friday

Kwik Trip gal was very nice and agreed to run with me today. She redeemed herself.

I ran into Elyse at soccer last night. She is so depressed that I can't put her over the edge by referring to her as Beerhater. Seriously though, she got bad, bad, bad news about her hip. I will let her tell you, but I am still hopeful that the MRI next week will not reveal a problem much less severe than the suspected one. So, all of you out in Internet world, send positive thoughts her way in the coming week - even if you don't know who the heck I am talking about!

I realized yesterday when I was sitting in a very exciting meeting (not) that I had to get caught up on my running stuff....
1. Make reservation for Green Bay hotel
2. Sign up for Green Bay Marathon (maybe this should be #1)
3. Check to see when Twin Cities marathon registration opens (April 17th)
4. Make reservation for NYC hotel, just in case.

Blustry day

Today didn't go much better than Monday, so I will just say

DITTO

One of those mornings...

It was one of those mornings that if I didn't have a great group to run with I would have....
1. Not gotten out of bed.

If I had gotten out of bed....
2. I would have run 5 steps, stopped and went home.

If I had continued to run....
3. I would have seriously contemplated stopping and turning around the WHOLE, ENTIRE run.

If I had finished the run....
4. I would have done so with a 10:30 pace.

5. Even if I did finish I would NOT have been HAPPY about it.

But since I did have a GREAT group to run with; I did get out of bed, run, enjoyed nice conversation and friendship (much better than listening to my whining in my head) and finished with a 9:07 pace. Not a great pace, but considering how my body felt, I am very happy with it!

Okay - I am still not HAPPY about it, but do feel better for it.

Windy Wednesday

Spring is here... meaning it is WINDY and you all know how I feel about wind! Luckily today's route took us head on into it only once.

The news is that Wendy has now come out of her winter hibernation too!

Well, sorry folks, that is it. I have sat here staring at the screen and I can't come up with anything to say.... I guess it was all said on the run this morning!

Vacation stories

It was a good day to run since Christy was back from her first vacation in Mexico. So there were a lot of stories to tell! Plus, Jenny has emerged from her winter hibernation.

I think it is time to change our tactics on bringing people into our cult. I learned this weekend that people we have tried to get to join us are secretly worshiping behind our backs. On Sunday morning I went for a run with my sister-in-law. We were on BC when I saw a figure running toward us. Of course, the first thing I thought was, "I wonder who this is running and do I know them?". As they drew closer, I realized I did know them but it was a WALKER! Yes, you read right.. a morning WALKER who was RUNNING. Oh, she tried to feign innocence by saying "I only run on Sundays." but we all know how that is... you start worshiping in secret, on back roads, and then suddenly you are running marathons.

12 mile pace run

We did a 12 mile pace run at a 8:30 pace... yeah that's right..... Well, we can say whatever we want since I had a Garmin malfunction. I got the first 6 miles which was a 8:50 pace.. but I somehow hit the stop button again shortly after starting the second loop. Of course I was struggling to begin with since I was using Jim's old Garmin since mine was out of battery. Once again proving Christy's belief that Garmin's are always out of battery.

Thanks again to Mike and Jill for running! Mike did a great job of keeping the conversation going and Jill did a good job of swearing under her breath instead of yelling at me for going to fast!

Hills return

The spring weather got in to my bones yesterday... making me in the mood for hills. Well, actually I am never in the mood for hills, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Or maybe it was payback for all those people who thought they were being smart by not running with me on Monday thinking I would want to do intervals. HAH! Fooled you!

I realized today that we have a pretty good complement of runners.

We have a Physical Therapist and two nurses to help us with our injuries
a Dietitian to help with what foods we should eat
a Speech Pathologist to help us learn how to speak when it is so cold out that our lips freeze
a Workers Comp person to tell us how we can attribute our running injuries to work
a bank person to show us how to get loans to pay for our running shoes and entry fees
a purchaser to tell us where to get the best deals (I had to THINK on that one Mike!)
Now we just need a podiatrist and a massage therapist and we have it made!

Afternoon run

I discovered today that I am no longer an afternoon runner. It was a beautiful day despite a strong wind, but the first mile was hard. I felt like I was back in my newbie days since I had to mentally chant to myself "It gets better after the first mile. It gets better after the first mile". It did take awhile, but it greatly improved when I ran into Mike who was also ready. And nice guy that he is, he joined me for the next 3 miles. That or he knew he was in deep doo doo since he had abandoned me this morning and yet, here he is running. Hmmmm... apparently 8 more hours helped his knees recover.

It did turn into a good run.. despite feeling like I was struggling I had a good pace. So, I was pleased at the end, but not enough to go back to afternoon running.

Saturday thoughts

I think I will be thinking this on Saturday. I got it from Running is Funny blog:

Ode to Advil

Oh, Advil Liqui-Gels, your 200mg of solubilized ibuprofen whisk away my cares and restore my creaking joints to relative normalcy. Not since Jack traded his cow for some magic beans have such little tablets brought so much comfort. Along with sugar and caffeine, you comprise the master runner food pyramid. While younger runners look to better shoes, vitamins, hydration, altitude training, etc., for improvement, I look to you, Advil, to get me to the next starting line.

Is it over??

A glorious 4 degrees this morning! Ugh! The only thought that got me out of bed was "This HAS to be the last of it!". Plus it was my last run with Christy before she headed out on her warm vacation. Oh, and Mike was with us too.

Here are some ideas for future races that I saw in the Running is Funny blog. I think there is one calling to Arnie... guess which one!

Buffalo’s Shamrock Run features a beer tent – at the start. Last year, about 200 runners who showed up never quite made it to the starting line, and another 300 started, but didn’t finish, because the route went past five saloons.

Winners of the Napa Valley Marathon receive their weight in wine.

It will get easier

We did our first interval run of the season. I have to remind myself that they will get easier and hopefully faster as we do them. I wonder if there is any "FUN" way to do intervals. Hmmm.. sounds like a Internet search. I wonder how many hits I will find?

Mystery.... there are some vandals lurking around Walgreens in the morning and they only target Mike. Two mornings in a row Mike has returned to find "ice boulders" on his windshield. I believe "ice boulders" is a scientific name... someone mentioned they learned it on the Discovery Channel. Anyway... if we looked closely there were the initials HWMNBN scratch in it.

Not a good Monday

I love Wisconsin, I love Wisconsin, I love Wisconsin, I love Wisconsin.

So, not a great Monday run. First the dreaded time change. Although it wasn't too bad. Apparently Sandy had a hard time with it though since she didn't show. Or maybe she was getting back at me for taking her on a longer run than she really wanted on Saturday. Plus, leaving her to run alone the last 2 miles - even though it was her idea. Wendy and I broke "the code" with that one.

Two - the conditions.. maybe another reason why Sandy didn't show. (Did I mention that Sandy didn't show this morning?). The slushy ruts had turned rock hard OR it was sandy snow... not fun to run in. Hard on feet and ankles.

Three - Elyse lost one of her icestablizers and of course it was the first time she had worn them. I think it went off and went looking for Sandy (Did I mention that Sandy didn't show this morning?) since we tracked all the way back to Rusk Street and didn't find it. Hopefully Elyse will find it when the sun shows itself.

The good news is that I just check the weather and the weekend weather forecast is better than Elyse's sources. It is supposed to be seasonably warm not zero. One less thing to dread this week!

Dream of Running?

You gotta check out this video.

I had two thoughts:

1. I hope no one in our group has dreams like this about running. He is actually turning around to make some smart comment to the people running behind him, not biting at something chasing him.
2. Maybe it would be a GOOD thing to have dreams like this. Imagine all the calories you would burn while sleeping! I compare it to the envy I feel for bears who give birth while in hibernation. How cool would that be... go to sleep, wake up and you have a baby. No pain, just sleep.
   

Hmmmm

I did post on Wednesday, but I must not have saved it. So, here is what it said.

Ran with Mike today. I could tell he had a birthday recently. We talked a lot about cholesterol levels. He is getting old, all he wants to talk about is medical problems. We might have to push him out of the running group when he turns 40. It will become too depressing to run with him.

Steamboat running

I have been doing good while on vacation. I have run every day so far, although I think I will take tomorrow off. I have concentrated on speed not distance which makes it easier. I set the time for 30 minutes in the interval program. I am a wimp, setting it a the lowest level, but my pace is much faster than normal. I figure that a faster pace is good enough that I don't need to do it at ridiculous incline also. I do make sure I get 3.5 miles in. It is short enough that it doesn't seem like a major ordeal, but hard enough that I feel I have accomplished something.

Skiing has been great. Great weather.. sunny and warm. Today is supposed to be warm, but no sun and light snow.

First Pace Run

I thought I was not going to run today because of the cold weather and Jill was with me until Beerhatter said she was still going to. (Editors note: I was going to use her real name until this happened) Beerhater is a sneaky one. She has somehow set up her e-mail to come to us a day late. So, she "innocently" sent Jill and I e-mail last night saying she was not going to run. Of course, I didn't get it until this morning when I was dressed and ready to go. Oh, she will have a excuse/story but remember you can't trust beerhaters.

So, a change is past practices.... I have to THANK Jill for running today. It was truly a nice run. The 7.6 miles went very quickly despite the enormous amount of dread I was feeling at the start.

Weatherman wrong

Well I was happy to see that the weatherman was wrong. Only a little bit of snow and it was wet so easy to run on, although not easy to drive down my hill. Plus it was WARM and the wind hadn't started blowing yet. A nice run with Christy, Katie and Tom.

Tom wanted me to point out I was a little late. It is just his way of telling me that he was glad I was there.

I have been trying to find something to post and I did find something, but Mike is gone, so it won't be as funny. I will leave you wondering what it could be......

About Time.

I am only posting because Jill asked me too. She wanted the last post that was all about her to get bumped down. I was a little hurt it wasn't because she was waiting for the next version of inspired and humorous writing. I think I will get over it.

I have to admit that she is right. My last post was Feb 4th... way to long to be silent. So, I have run the past two days. Thursday was a little alarming, the wind was strong which reminded me of what we have to look forward to in the coming months. I tried to remember to "not fight it" which does help, but I would rather that it wasn't windy.

Today was not so windy and I feel spring in the air even though it wasn't that warm. I guess it is the lack of snow and ice. It is so nice to run with little fear of slipping or tripping.. Of course, Katie needs to worry about that whether or not there is snow on the ground!

Tomorrow is the first long run! Do I hear cheering?

Reliability

This post goes out to Jill.....

I missed your smiling face this morning, but I came to a realization. A TRUE friend will show up to run, even when it is -17 because they know the importance of following through on a commitment - like signing up on a poll saying you would be running. Being the older, wiser runner... I have learned a few things in the 6 years I have been on this earth longer than you. One of which is "It is is the little things that matter". Although I would argue that signing up on the running poll is NOT a little thing. Oh, I know, you will have reasons, excuses etc (My GOOD friend Mike told me to anticipate this). And I will listen with an open mind, but in my heart of hearts I will know the truth - it will be just as Mike told me it would be. He also told me that you will try your best to place the blame on him. However, being a good friend he warned me of this. The nail in the coffin of my friendship with you was Mike saying "I will always show up AND will buy you donuts at the Bakery". I know some will say that this is just the kind of thing the Devil would say. But again, Mike warned me about this and advised, "Put your fingers in your ears and sing Old MacDonald". Good advice from a true friend.

(just teasing - but I do expect donuts)

Groundhog Day

It seems that in honor of Groundhog Day Tom has peeped his head out of his burrow and decided to come out of running seclusion. Yes, that is right... TOM came running this morning. I almost slipped and fell, but that was because of ice, not because TOM blessed us with his presence. However, speaking of presence, his made it quite apparent that we need to add a rule to the morning running club by-law. We only have one by-law so far, but I know we are all getting old (especially Wendy since it is her BIRTHDAY TODAY) just to recap:

1. Must NOT hate BEER.

After running with TOM:

2. A runner (specifically TOM) is limited to one joke per run.

Now, if they were GOOD jokes we would not need this rule, but TOM's running seclusion has seriously impaired his judgement. Or maybe his judgement is skewed by the fact that he hangs out with fifth graders all day and they are a much easier crowd than a bunch of middle age people huffing and puffing up Habegger Street. I normally am an inclusive person and believe in NOT writing a rule to for one person, but since TOM didn't realize the significance of the fact that he had to explain a bunch line to us, I feel the need for bylaw #2 is justified.

And just in case you were wondering, it wasn't as cold as forecasted this morning and the wind didn't freeze our skin. I was expecting just the Cousins (since that was the only ones signed up on the poll - go figure) but Kwik Trip gal and of course TOM came too! We ran the old route to avoid ice covered ice walks so the slipping was at a minimum.

Don't forget: It is WENDY'S BIRTHDAY TODAY.

Tom

It is not just that I want to make Tom's Monday by not only mentioning him in the blog, but also doing so by name. As regular blog readers may remember my reference to a person "who shall not be named". Well, that is Tom. Today he earned being mentioned by name because he ran the last 5 miles with me. It was also the first time is almost a year that he ran with us. (That might be an exaggeration since I didn't look back at old blogs to confirm, but I think naming him by name is good enough. Of course, I was tempted to not be not so bold since the first thing he said to me when we were alone was "I am going to make the blog now, aren't I?". Tom apparently doesn't know the power of fake indifference, kinda like playing hard to get.

It was a nice day (FINALLY) for a run, despite a strong wind from the south. It was 24 degrees! Wow! AND at the end of the run the sun came out! Wonderful, Wonderful. We started out with a big group, Judy, Jill, Elyse, Sheri and Al with Larry walking. Tom and I went 1:40 and 10.86 miles.

Whining

I used to like the website The Complete Running Network, but I am afraid the thrill is gone. It is hard to stay in love with something that never changes. I have checked the website frequently hoping for a new article, new picture, new ANYTHING! But no, I have been repeatedly greeted by a picture of a rib cage since December 23rd. I may be a slow reader, but not THAT slow. (Mike - be quiet). I may be a loyal friend, but a friend can only take so much rejection!

On with the whining... actually this morning wasn't as cold as they had predicted... so I can't complaint. Well, I could but I am trying to take the high road. Plus it is Friday and that in itself puts me in a good mood!

Repeating

Do you ever feel like your are repeating yourself? Such as "Are you sick of the cold/winter yet?" How many times did I answer that question yesterday? And now I must write that we ran in sub zero temperatures yet again today. My fellow runners tell me that we ran in a lot of cold last year, but my memory thankfully fails me on that account.

I ran with the Cousins and Beer-Hater today. The thing of most note is that Mike was wondering when Jill would return. Beer-Hater was quick to point out "See! You do miss her!"

Beer-Hater was also wondering about my new favorite running item... the Seirus Masque. Like I said, I like it because it doesn't get wet and then frozen like fleece, is easy to breath through and my fellow runners can hear me talk (much to their dismay). The only negative is that you probably only want to wear it when it is very cold out aka - your breath freezes. It might be a little too warm otherwise.

Another cold morning

It seems like this is the coldest winter in a couple of years. It was -9 again this morning. I did learn (again) that if I wear enough on my top, then I don't struggle as much with cold hands. Today I wore 3 layers on top and my hands were never cold. I forgot to put another layer on my legs, so they were a little red when I got home.

I did try a new face mask today. I was really happy with it. It was easy to breath through, but didn't get all wet. It is one of those foamy kind. I was actually worried that it might be too hot... not today!

The temperature was above zero

Apparently the hi tech thermometer that Katie got for her husband doesn't work well because it was above zero this morning, but Katie wasn't there. Katie, you should take it back. I hope you still have the receipt!

A fast run with the Cousins and Beer-hater. I am not sure if Beer-hater was running fast to make sure she didn't get stabbed in the back or if she is trying to get ready for training season. Since Mike was behind her I am guessing it was the stabbing (or maybe tripping is more appropriate in this case).

Sick, Sick, Sick of the cold weather. The frosty eyelashes look is no longer cute. I think it went out of fashion well over a month ago.

Change We Can Believe In

It became apparent this morning that the morning running group needs to get swept up in the President Elect's "Change We Can Believe In" message. It is time for some formalized rules. Oh, yes, we joke about our "rules" such as sprinkler runs when one doesn't show up, donuts on the anniversary of starting running with the group, no running with water bottles tied to your waist with a string, but sometimes someone feels the need to push a little too far as was the case this morning.

As is typical, when we run we don't talk about running. Although this morning it was slightly different because we started talking about what marathons we were thinking about running when the topic got wildly out of control. One of the runners admitted that she was having a hard time getting excited about Green Bay. We in our naivete thought it was because she is a Cowboys fan AND from New York. (On a side note, I think it is pretty gracious of the group to still allow her to run even though she blatantly does not support the Pack OR the Vikings). But NO - it is because she doesn't like BEER (I think she also said brats, but I am not sure because I was in a state of shock.) She must have taken our silence as agreement because then she said "In fact, I HATE BEER". Good thing it was -5 out this morning and we had to keep moving to keep from freezing or else I think the rest of us would have stopped dead in our tracks. Again, she must have taken our silence for agreement because she then went on and on about WHY she doesn't like beer. And it wasn't in a "I need to explain myself" voice, it was in her "I am proud to be a New Yorker and Hater of Beer voice".

It seems that this all has now come out because she has gotten comfortable with us and thinks that she has run long enough with us that she won't be kicked out. Well, she might be right, but it doesn't mean that we will let this happen again! So, the first rule of the morning running club is:

1. Must NOT hate Beer.

I hope you notice that I am being quite lenient here... I didn't not say "Must LIKE beer.". No, our standards are pretty low, we just ask that you don't HATE the nectar of our life - beer.

Finally!

The deep freeze has finally lifted and I was able to get out for an enjoyable run! We did 9 miles and although I felt very sluggish the first half, I felt better the second despite having a long jaunt into the run. I totally understand why Kwik Trip gal hates the "Arnoldsville" route, but sometimes you need something different! Just felt great to finally get out there and run and not freeze to death or at least being afraid of freezing to death!!

Did it.

Yes, I did it. I ran 5 miles on the treadmill this morning. Not pleasant. Even my This American Life podcast didn't do a good job of distracting me. However, after getting on the scale, I was glad I was doing it. It was a helpful bit of motivation when I wanted to stop.

Benefit of writing a blog?

So, tomorrow is supposed to be cold PLUS 1-3" of new snow. I didn't do a good job of fighting evil influences when the devil (aka Jill) called and asked if "I REALLY wanted to run tomorrow". No, it was not that she REALLY wanted to run, rather she REALLY wanted me to convince the others signed up for the "suicide run" (her words, not mine) to not go too. Just so you know..... Jill REALLY loves to try and convince you to do 12 marathons in a year, but is also REALLY good at trying to make you wimp out on training runs. So, after a couple of other phone calls it was decided not to run tomorrow.

I have now spent the whole night doubting my decision. Why is it that you go to sleep in the morning you hope, hope, hope that it will be raining when you look outside at 4:30 the next morning. (Rain is the one sure fire way to ensure no one will show up - subzero temperatures or snow is not.) But when you have a VALID excuse the night before not to run the next morning - it is torture. Suddenly, you WANT to run. No "rainy morning happy dance" just doubt - should I or shouldn't I??? It is almost as bad as the "What should I wear tomorrow for the marathon?", but not quite. Jim - who loves to play with my mind - said "You have run in colder already this year". Earlier he was saying "You aren't really going to run tomorrow are you " (hmmm.. maybe Jill called him before me - as diabolical as she is). At one point I even said "I am going to call Elyse and convince her to run" . Obviously Jill is not on my "can be convinced list", Katie is too new to torture like this and Christy has a valid (darn her!) excuse after her scary fall yesterday. Elyse is from New York, she can be convinced to do anything!

THEN I looked at the La Crosse National Weather Service wind chill projections for the next few days. No, it did not help. Tomorrow is ONLY-20. I can say ONLY because Thursday is supposed to be -46! Wait for it..... Friday is supposed to be -40!!!! I did not run today. I CANNOT go 4 days without running. Okay, I can, but I really, really do not want to. In this month's Runner's World it said you should have a mantra to get you through the hard times. Amazingly my mantra: "You are not in training (yet). There is nothing wrong with a week off" Is not working. Why can it not be raining tomorrow morning and for the next 3 mornings? Life would be SOOOOO much simpler.

Yes, treadmill friends - I can hear you - "Run on the treadmill ! Run on the Treadmill". Ugh. Well, I am going to try and do it and just to double dare myself I am going to go at 5:00 a.m. I know if I don't, it won't happen. So, the treadmill is set up, my Ipod is charging. I made sure my audio book is cued and ready to go. I have a sweat towel laying out. A have a bottle ready to be filled with water. (I just remembered I should go put the fan out) I have TWO sets of headphones out just in case one fails... because we all know if the Ipod fails, there is NO WAY I am running on the treadmill.

But my SECRET weapon is to write about it in the blog. I figure if I am telling people I am going to do it... then I will have to admit when I don't or get to rant about how horrible it was if I do!

My back up is to write about it on my Facebook page... just to double doom myself.

So - wish me good luck and I will let you know how it goes - tomorrow.