Need for speed

I know, I know, I know. I've been absent since March. Truth is, I haven't had much exciting to write about in the way of running. It's been a lot of the same old, same old. Going to the gym in the morning before work and that's about it. Not much to write about really.

One thing I have been doing during those quick trips to the gym is working on speed. I think I mentioned this in an earlier post, when I was working toward a 5K. In the past few weeks I've been doing even more speed work. I convinced Jenna to run the Medtronic TC 1-mile with me. I figured it would be a good exposure to racing for her and she could definitely handle a mile. Turns out she more than handled it. More on that later.

Anyway, I've been wanting to get my mile time down low. Now, low for me is under 8 minutes considering I haven't run a single mile since my days with Coach Greeno in high school. Now, my time back then was probably around 7 minutes. Probably just over. I can't remember exactly. Oh how I wish it could be that again but alas, it is not...yet.

To work on short-distance speed (yes a mile is short distance) in my 3 workouts a week, I did speed work on Monday and Friday and longer "recovery" work on Wednesday. Mondays and Fridays consisted of a 5 minute warm up which usually ended up being about a half mile long. After the warm up I cranked the treadmill up and did a full mile at whatever pace I chose that day. Each day I chose a faster speed than the last. Usually about 2 tenths of a mile faster. Then, I'd typically crank it up again for the last 10th of a mile. By the time I ran my last speed workout prior to the race on Thursday, I had a 7:35 mile time. I thought that was pretty good and was excited to test it out at the TC 1-mile on Thursday, May 17.

Unfortunately, Thursday's weather was not all that favorable for running a race. It was 80+ degrees and the winds were sustained at over 20 miles per hour and gusting even more. The best part is that they were straight up headwinds. Not OK. As soon as I stepped over the start line, I knew it was going to be a difficult run. The buildings in downtown Minneapolis created one heck of a wind tunnel, a la the windy city of Chicago if you've ever experienced that. This run was a straight shot down Nicollet Mall. There wasn't much relief in terms of terrain so I guess that was good. That headwind though was the killer. My mouth instantly dried out when we started, and I'm pretty sure my entire respiratory system shriveled up, straight down to the poor little alveoli in my lungs. Breathing was a little challenging.

From this pre-race picture, you wouldn't know that the weather was not ideal for running. Also, don't laugh at my farmer's tan. I was at a wine tasting with my mom and sisters last weekend. It was outside and I didn't wear sunscreen.

Now the great thing about Nicollet Mall is that there are a lot of bars/restaurants toward the south end of the street. Most of them are situated in the last half of the course. This means that all of the normal patrons, plus the racers that finished in the earlier waves were sitting out on the restaurant patios having drinks or eating dinner. It provided instant cheer zones. Coming into the finish line was pretty exciting with all of these people around.

I ended up finishing with a time of 8:10. Pretty crappy for me. I was and still am pretty disappointed with that time considering I wanted to be under 8 minutes. Jenna finished not far behind me in 9:00 flat. That was actually a huge time for her. She'd been running her miles in over 9 minutes during training so something must have bit her in the ass and got her to move despite the weather. I wish it would have jumped 50 seconds ahead and bit me too.

Post-race, Jenna and I both experienced some serious wheezing and coughing. I have never had coughing this bad after a race. It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. As we walked the mile back to the start line and our car, we passed a lot of people who had also just finished the race and were wheezing and coughing like mad too. Weirdest thing I've ever experienced. The cough lasted through Friday. I happened to be on one of the Minnesota running group's Facebook page on Friday and saw a post from someone else who ran the race. It said, "Is anyone else still coughing from last night?" And the entire string of responses was in the affirmative. I was really happy to see it wasn't just me and the symptoms were definitely caused by that wind. Chances are, the drying effect of the wind itself, plus the fact that it undoubtedly kicked up a ton of dust and allergens that we sucked into our lungs are what contributed to the smoker's cough we endured.

Overall, I'm happy I did that race. It was a good change-up from the longer distances, even the 5K's that I'd been doing. The best part is that a random 1000 of the 2500 finishers get guaranteed entry into the Twin Cities 10 mile on October 7. A race that I want to do but is entered by lottery. I'm hoping I'm one of those lucky 1000! Why wouldn't I want to run a 10-mile race on my birthday?

In June I start training for the 10 mile and half marathon I'll be doing in October. I'd like to throw in a 5K or 10K race in June or early July just to track some progress. I haven't been able to find any good ones though so we'll see if that happens.

Lastly, I am incredibly thankful that I did not sign up for a full marathon this fall. I had been a little regretful until I opened up my email on Wednesday. I found out that I was accepted into the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management MBA program for the fall. Between my full time job which will get CRAZY in September and October and starting the MBA program the week after Labor Day, I don't think I would have had time for those long training runs. I just don't know how I'd do it. Maybe next year when I've gotten a year of MBA training and my first year of fall events under my belt, it'll be easier. Here's hoping because I'd really like to take on Chicago.

Hopefully I'll have more to write about in the coming weeks. I'm planning to head outside for my runs now. There's really no excuse considering the weather. Also, my schedule at work will be changing into summer hours. We work an extra hour on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so we can have a half day Friday. This means I'm tacking my  hour onto the beginning of the day so early morning trips to the gym might not be as feasible. Stay tuned for more...

Racing Plans

Well, it's March, which means racing season is pretty much here. In Minneapolis we've been having outdoor road races since January so I guess it's been here for a while. Yah, we're pretty hardy here dontcha know.


So far I've done a 5K. I ran the 100% Irish for a Day 5K the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day. I've been itching to do another race but I really feel like I shouldn't be spending money on entrance fees right now. Taxes are due on April 15. YAY! :( Last year when we had to pay in and this year when we found out we have to pay in again, I at least found the silver lining and thought, "Well hey, at least I didn't give the government an interest free loan for the past 12 months." That's about all I've got for positive thinking and taxes. Back to running...


Since I don't think I'll be doing any more races this spring, It's been difficult to consistently get out and train. Apparently I'm the type that needs a goal. I think this is especially true since I've been prepping for the GMAT lately. That is where my spare time has been going. But despite the nice weather, I've been a little inconsistent in training. But, soon that will all have to change because I have some big race plans on the agenda. BIG!


First, I've decided that I'd really like to do the Twin Cities 10-mile. It's in conjunction with the Twin Cities Marathon, which I ran last year. In fact they run some of the same route, at the same time. The 10-milers just get to skip 60% of the marathon route. The unfortunate thing is that they share the most difficult leg of the route. The part that's all uphill. The part that practically killed me at the end last October. Joy. But, I figure that portion will be much easier with only 3 miles behind me instead of 19. Another unfortunate thing is that since there is such a high demand for entries into this race, you only get in by lottery. So, the lottery opens in July and I plan to enter. 


The race itself is on October 7. My birthday! This means that I'll actually start training just before I know whether or not I'm actually in. Why would I start training so early just for a 10-mile you ask? Well, because I have plans for a second race in late October. I am planning to run the Monster Dash Half Marathon. Halloween+Road Race must = Good time right? I think so. I'm just trying to garner some support in the form of a running partner or two. A friend from Chicago might join me, though I'm afraid she'll probably kick my butt. However, I know that if she comes up I'll really push myself and we'll have a great time! She'll get to see more of the Twin Cities than just the airport, unlike last time she was up. Did I mention this friend works for the National MS Society Greater Illinois Chapter and is a huge crusader in ending MS? No? Well now I did. She's pretty awesome! I love her gusto!


In addition to the Monster Dash Half, I think we'll be running yet another race together. This one won't be until January however. "January?" you ask. Yes, my friends. January. I will not be running in Minneapolis, or anywhere near the upper Midwest for that matter. We're doing a race in FLORIDA!!! Not just any race, a huge, crazy endurance, test-your-mental-not just-physical-stamina race. We're running...drum roll please...brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...RAGNAR! 


What is Ragnar you ask? Well, taken directly from the website, "Ragnar is the overnight running relay race that makes testing your limits a team sport. A team is made up of 6 or 12 individuals; each individual runs 3 legs. The legs of the race vary in difficulty and distance from 308 miles, allowing elite and novice runners to run together. Over 2 days and 1 night, teams run across 200 miles of the country's most scenic terrain. Pair that with crazy costumes, inside jokes, a great finish line party and unforgettable stories. Some call it a slumber party with out sleep, pillows or deodorant. We call it Ragnar."

Yes, you read that right. 200 miles! Not only do we run that far, but we do it over the course of two days and one night! An overnight run! Are we crazy? Probably. But, it seems that there are a lot of crazy people out there since these relays happen all over the country, even near the Twin Cities. We aren't doing the Twin Cities one because I have a wedding to attend that weekend. Florida in January seemed like the next best option. 

Now, another reason we might be a little crazy is because of this:

You see that part just after exchange 12 and Florida City? That part where it's shaded a different color? Well, that's the Everglades. Hot, swampy and full of alligators. The route goes right through that. You know what the best part is? That leg is AT NIGHT on a rocky, gravel trail. I'm thinking if you trip and fall (which is likely since your route is illuminated only by a headlamp and occasional headlights from support vans), you're instantly alligator dinner, or midnight/middle of the night snack. But, you know, sounds like a good challenge right? I did a quick Google search today and didn't find anything about anyone getting attacked by an alligator yet during this race, so I think we're good. Either that or statistics are not on our side and our time is due. Hopefully it's the former. The other good news regarding the gators is that only two legs go through the Everglades. So as long as I'm not runner 2 or 3, I should be ok. 

As you can also see, once you exit the Everglades, you also exit mainland Florida and start running on US Highway 1, or the Intercoastal Highway.

Photo Courtesy of Bing

That's right, running on huge-ass bridges that connect all of the Florida Keys. Don't mind me, I'll just take a jog over the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. No biggie. Now, I know this would make a lot of people's heads swim but it sounds like the coolest thing ever for me. That is aside from the lack of shade and high potential for blistering heat but seriously. Awesome. I've always wanted to simply drive over this highway. Running sounds even better. 

The race finishes in Key West and wraps up with a giant party. Don't mind if I do! Since the race is Friday through Saturday, I imagine we'll come home on Sunday. Perfect for soaking up a few rays while enjoying a Key West beach before heading back to what will surely be the frozen tundra of Minnesota in January.

Can you tell I'm excited for this? Erin already has 8 people recruited. We only need 4 more. What do you say, are you in?

Revelations and Races

Ok, I'm terrible. I know. I've been neglecting my writing duties. Mostly because I haven't had anything really worthy to write about lately, and when I have, I kind of put it off because I feel I have better things to do with my time. Even right now I can think of at least 3 other things I really should be doing such as washing sheets, grocery shopping and studying for the GMAT.

Yep, that's right, I'm studying for the GMAT. The test that gets you into business school. Since starting my job at the U, I've decided that I should take advantage of getting 75% off my tuition if I go back to school. I've decided that I'm going to see how the GMAT goes and if I can get into the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, and complete an MBA part-time. Normally, I wouldn't worry about standardized tests and applications to schools. Historically, those things have always gone well. However, historically I've only taken standardized tests and quit applying to colleges after I transferred to Minnesota. After going through some of the math on the GMAT practice stuff, I realized that there's a lot of it I haven't done since I was 14 or 15 years old. I'm 26. Eeeps! So, I'm taking the test on March 31 and have to have all of my application materials in by May 1 in order to start in the fall. Another reason I'm not completely confident of my abilities to get in to the program is because Carlson is rated in the top 25 business schools in the nation. After writing this paragraph I realize I probably should be studying.

Going back to school might change how my running plays out. Working full time plus school part time might not leave a lot of time for training. But, for now I persevere. I've continued to go to the gym three days a week before work. since it's before work, I've just been working on speed. It ended up making sense since I had a 5K coming up.

One thing I really have learned in these early morning sessions is to not let my head get in the way of a good workout. There are a lot of days when I really struggle to pull myself out of my bed to get to the gym. While getting ready I often think to myself, "Maybe I'll just take it easy today. Maybe even just briskly walk." It's probably a good thing I'm fairly competitive with myself. As soon as I step on the treadmill, I can't let myself slack. And as it turns out, that on the days I'm feeling at my worst, I often work out at my best. Many times I run the fastest for the longest on these days. Something I've found to be fairly interesting. Now, for the rest of the day it often takes a lot of effort (and sometimes coffee) to stay awake at work, but I make it through.

The hard work has paid off because I've been able to significantly reduce my short-distance speeds. We have had some unseasonably warm weather lately. We're talking 50+ degrees in March. Usually there's still a significant amount of snow on the ground. Last week was the first time we hit those temps and I was able to get in my first outdoor run of the season. Now, it wasn't anything special. Just a quick 3 miles around my neighborhood. And it did turn out to be pretty quick. I was able to get through the 3 in about 27 1/2 minutes. About 9:10 mile time. Not awesome, considering I had this route down to about 26 1/2 minutes at the end of my marathon training this fall, but still pretty good. I'm going to keep working on it and see if i can get it down to around 26 minutes eventually. It might take a while but now that the weather is getting nicer, I'll be able to get outside more.

I was hoping I could carry this speed into a 5K I ran on Saturday. I sort of did. My 5K time ended up being 28:29. It was about the same speed as my training. Technically I should be running faster in races so that's a little frustrating. I think the most frustrating part about it is how most 5K's play out.

This race, the 100% Irish for a Day, was a 5K and a 10-mile. Clearly it's an event geared toward runners. I knew I'd only have time to prepare for the 5K. Now, in any 5K you've got your wide range of participants. You've got the guys/gals who are quick as hell and want to win. You've got the folks who are pretty good, but aren't going to win, there are then people like me, who are pretty much middle of the pack. Next are people who are slower than me. They run/walk the whole event and are often new to running or getting back into running/fitness. Lastly, you have the walkers. The people who pay $35 to take a leisurely stroll around the lake. Now, don't get me wrong, they completely have that right and normally I wouldn't care that they do that, until they really get in my way.

The race organizers place markers at the start-line that designate what speed you think you'll run the race. It's marked by minutes per mile. The intention is that you line up near the marker that aligns with your assumed speed. Thus, I lined up by the 9:00 min/mile sign. When the race began it took a good mile for it to spread out enough that I wasn't constantly bobbing and weaving through the crowd. I was like Ali ducking and dodging swinging arms. When I looked at my watch, it had taken me over 10 minutes to run the first mile. Over 10 minutes! WHAT?

Now you might be asking, why did it take you so long if you lined up next to the 9:00 min/mile sign? Well, because people that clearly run at a much, much slower pace lined up in the front of the pack at the 6-8 min/mile areas. COME ON! So, in consequence, a giant cluster-eff develops for at least the first mile. It's really quite irritating and there's not a whole lot race officials can do about it. Typically you can't tell by looking at someone what speed they'll run. So, if you plan on running any 5K's and think you're on the slower end of the spectrum (definitely if you're walking), please, for God's sake, line up toward the back of the pack. It's just standard courtesy to those who are actually going to try and make times.

Now, the race itself was great. it was a loop around Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. I'm very familiar with this lake because I had spent a lot of time training for the marathon in that area. Now, when I was training, there were leaves on the trees and no ice on the lake. Despite the barren landscape, it was still great. The high for the day was in the 60's and at race time it was in the 40's. Pretty good running weather. There was a pretty good wind coming from the south. I didn't really notice it until the end of the race when it was whipping up from the frozen lake and hitting me crosswise. But, by that time I was pretty much done and really wanted to make time so I powered through.

The race ended with your standard race-fare. But this race, due to the St. Patrick's day theme culminated in a free glass of Finnegan's beer. Now, I only have select occasions when I drink beer in the morning. Gopher football games are usually the only excuses. But, this seemed like a good time to have a bump at 10 a.m. The downside was that since I ran the race alone, I didn't have anyone to share the beer with. They made us stay in a beer garden so I couldn't chat with Erich and his parents until I was done. But, it was good nonetheless.

Post race we drove to 3 restaurants before finding a place that could accommodate us for breakfast. Guess that's the downside to being in a city where the best breakfasts come from tiny diners. We ended up at The Citizen where I had the best biscuits and gravy I've ever had. From scratch cheddar chive biscuits and gravy with homemade sausage. Simply lovely. The icing on the cake was that the restaurant sources local and organic ingredients. Perfect post race meal.

Hopefully my speed work continues to get better. I'm going to continue my bouts at the gym in the morning and start getting my butt outside more. This week is going to be great for running with temps topping out in the low 70's. Adios winter!

Back in the game

I've been quite absent from the blogosphere lately. By quite absent I mean thoroughly non-existent and by lately I mean for the past 3 months.

As it turns out, even if you can, it's not actually fun to run with tendonitis. It also turns out that it becomes very difficult to run outside when daylight only lasts from about 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It seems that it's preferential for me to be at work during that time. Go figure. I'm not willing to run outside in the dark. It's not safe on many accounts.

I had put a freeze on my gym membership while training for the marathon. I just wasn't using it so it didn't make sense to pay for it. I held off unfreezing it because I wanted to continue running outside. Unfortunately that did not work out due to the above mentioned reasons I finally came upon the opportunity to unfreeze the membership when I started a new job in late December.

On December 21, I left my over 3-year position with the MS Society. After much deliberation and discussion with my husband, it was decided that I take advantage of an opportunity at the University of Minnesota. At this point, it's not for schooling (but eventually will be, more on that later) but for employment. I'm now working in Alumni Relations and planning events for the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. I am still staying in touch with my friends at the MS Society and am still planning to volunteer for them in the future. In case any of you were worried, I am not cutting my ties with the organization.

Starting up at "The U" opened an opportunity to carpool with a close friend. After a couple of days, it was decided that we'd start going to the gym before work. So, for the past 4 weeks, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we get up early (well before the sun) and make our way to LA Fitness.

Since it's morning, the time we have to workout is fairly minimal; around 30 minutes. We do still have to shower and get ready for the day. I feel that I really need to push myself during those 30 minutes and for the most part, I have. I've really been focusing on speed during these early morning sessions. I'm running a 5K in March (The 100% Irish for a Day 5K) so I'm hoping this pays off. A time under 27 minutes would be ideal. I'm fully confident this can happen. I was at that point in October. I should be able to get it back. The only outlier will be the weather. March is a finicky bitch when it comes to weather. You never know what she'll bring to the table. If it's really cold and windy, all bets are off for my time. But, if this winter is any indication of what to expect, I should be just fine.

Now, what has my esteemed gym-partner been doing all this time? She is on track for the Couch to 5K program. Now Jenna, like my friend, Jill, is not a runner at heart. In fact she doesn't really like it at all. How these people are such good friends of mine, I have no idea; but they are. She's been doing so fabulous and recently ran longer than she's ever ran in a single bout in a long time. So far she's 3 weeks into the program and is progressing beautifully. I'm really proud of her for sticking with it and for not getting grumpy or discouraged. Though, I'm not sure why she'd be getting discouraged considering she's been incredibly successful. She's tired at the end of a workout, and that's how it should be, but she isn't letting it get in the way of her goals. So, shout out to Jenna and her awesome work. I'm hoping she'll truly convert to being a runner. We'll see though.

In addition to our morning runs. We've been getting into strength training on the weekends. It's nearly impossible to fit in during early morning sessions and while I'd prefer to strength train more than one day a week, it's better than nothing. I can certainly tell that I haven't done strength training in about 9 months. I'm significantly weaker than I was and am sore longer. I know it'll come back though. I'm excited for that to return.

The upcoming 5K isn't the only race I have to look forward to. I have another planned for October. I will not be running a full marathon this year, however I will be taking on a half. I'll be participating in the Monster Dash Half Marathon. It's Halloween-themed so it should be incredibly fun. I'm looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to the less crazy training. The new job will be a lot slower in the summer and I'm looking forward to having more time to relax and enjoy myself. I have a feeling the months to come are going to be a lot of fun and full of surprising challenges as I work to increase speed.

Pain in the butt...errr...feet

I am now officially one month post marathon. Ask me how far I've ran in the past month. Go ahead, ask. Well I'll tell you. It's been a whopping 3 miles. 3. It sounds so sad. I promise I do have a good excuse. No, I'm not just lazy.

Toward the end of my training, as my mileage was ramping up, I began having pain in my feet. As I usually do with pain, I ignored it. Especially since the marathon was approaching. Nothing would set me back from that. Well, during the marathon, the pain really started getting to me around mile 18. I ended up taking some ibuprofen when I saw my family at mile 20. It was a deep aching pain that really was incessant no matter what I did. It even hurt during my walking breaks.

During training it would subside after a long run. Well, that wasn't the case post-marathon. The pain did not subside. It pretty much stayed the same and hurts A LOT in the mornings when I get out of bed. I went for that 3-mile run and regretted it. My feet weren't too happy with me. Since then, I've been resting and pondering what could possibly be wrong. I thought maybe I had a stress fracture in each foot. I Googled it. I had all of the symptoms. Cool, I was staring down 6-8 weeks in a walking boot.

Now, instead of actually going to the doctor, I (again) swore off high heels and wore Puma tennis shoes to work, with my work clothes. Sexy. Of course that didn't really help much. Just made day to day life a bit easier. So, I finally made an appointment with the podiatrist who happens to be in the same clinic as my primary care physician.

Yesterday morning I went to see Dr. Shea. First he asked me why I would run 26.2 miles. I told him it was fun. He then asked me about my symptoms and then asked if we were going to have to amputate. Hah, funny doc. I didn't really know how to respond to that. It seems like it would have been funnier if directed to an 8-year-old. Oh well, he was at least good-natured. He moved my ankle around, pushed his thumbs in the areas I told him hurt, and all around poked and prodded my feet.

The diagnosis? Tibialis tendonitis. Turns out my calf muscles are too tight to allow the tendons attaching them to my foot bones to function properly. Thus, the tendons are mad and inflamed, causing all of the pain in my feet. Well, we have a diagnosis. Now what do I do about it?

Step 1: Stretch my calves 3-4 times a day for 4-6 minutes each time. Not sure how well that'll go over at work. We'll see. Step 2: Take prescribed anti-inflammatory medicine. I just picked it up at Target. Can I just say that I really love $4 generics? Step 3: Get orthotic inserts for my running shoes. Good thing my favorite running store gives me a 20% discount just for being on their mailing list. Easiest discount I've ever gotten. Step 4: Wear a heeled shoe to work. Done. No argument from me! Step 5: Take it easy and just walk for exercise for now. In a couple weeks, slowly start adding in running. As long as the pain isn't getting worse, I'm OK.

As you can imagine, I'm quite pleased to not have a stress fracture and to not have to wear a boot on each foot. That would have been funny. I'm not pleased that tendonitis can take a while to heal since every-day activity aggravates it. But, I am very, very happy that I can get out and be active during the process. Bam! Now if only I would have signed up for the Monster Dash half marathon that was last weekend. I'm somewhat regretting that decision. Maybe there's a Thanksgiving 5K in Sioux Falls I could do... I'm addicted.

Marilyn vs. Twiggy

I’ve recently been thinking about the issue of weight and what we perceive to be healthy. I've always been active so I've never really had to think about it before. Now that I've toned down the running for the time being, I started thinking more about it as I saw a pound or two come back that had consequently fallen off during marathon training. What I’ve realized is that we, as American women, are pulled so far in each direction that it’s no wonder that a majority have no idea how to be a healthy woman.

Obesity is considered to be one of the more serious public health issues of this century, and one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide. Yet why do we seem oblivious to the detrimental effects of being overweight or obese? Honestly, I don’t think we’re oblivious. I think we’re in denial.

In the mid 20^th century we saw a huge shift in what was considered to be beautiful. Women the size and shape of Marilyn Monroe thrived in the 1950’s. She’s still considered to be one of the most prominent sex symbols of all time. Then the 1960’s rolled around and came Twiggy, one of the world’s first supermodels. Let’s make a comparison of their measurements.

Marilyn:

Height – 5 feet, 5 ½ inches

Weight – 118-140 pounds

Bust – 36 inches

Waist – 23 inches

Hips – 37 inches

Twiggy:

Height – 5 feet, 6 inches

Weight – 110- pounds

Bust – 31 inches

Waist – 23 inches

Hips – 32 inches

Well, I see some similarities. Ms. Monroe and Ms. Twiggy were of similar height and have similar waist sizes. But, look at their bust and hips. What? There’s a 5-inch difference in each of those areas. That’s pretty big. This makes Marilyn a distinct hourglass and Twiggy a ruler. The biggest difference was in their basic shape and we started valuing the ruler over the hourglass.

Now I don’t know why this change happened but, it did and the movement continued to grow. As we moved into the latter part of the century, the prominence of stick thin women grew. It’s still prevalent in the first eleven years of this century.

The effects of this trend are pretty noticeable. Women and young girls started yearning to be like these cover girls. Incidences of eating disorders grew and the female population became discontent with their bodies.

Now, we’re facing pretty terrifying obesity rates and it makes me wonder how this happened. If women want so much to look like today’s models, why is obesity increasing? Well, I think there are countless factors at play but I feel like one of them is that women don't know where to look for help and have come to a point of rebellion. They know that they can’t look like models and so they’ve rebelled. They know that excessive dieting was unsuccessful (and quite frankly, not fun) so they went in the opposite direction. We started teaching our girls to love themselves for who they are and not teach them who they could be. We led our girls down a path of future health problems such as type II diabetes, joint problems and hypertension in the name of promoting self esteem.

The problem I see here is that there is no medium. Women strive for one extreme or the other. They limit calories by day then end up binging by night. They spend hours at the gym for a week, then when they don't immediately resemble a runway model, they don't return for months.

What is a woman to do with no positive healthy role model to look to? Yes, grown women need role models too. All they want is guidance. Someone to show them what to do, to tell them how they should be career women, girlfriends mothers, wives, partners, caretakers, and still feel like Wonder Woman.

 What women fail to understand is that it isn’t about the shape and size of the body, it’s about the lifestyle chosen. Women need to learn the motivation behind a healthy lifestyle. Yes, the desire to look good will always be present. We are human after all. But, if women choose a healthy, balanced lifestyle, they will find that they will have a healthy and balanced body. When that balance is realized, I think we’ll finally be able to peg down our role models. We'll start becoming our own role models.

26.2 Completed!

Well, it's been over a week since the marathon and I'm finally getting it together enough to write about it. Within a couple of hours of finishing, I was in a vehicle headed for South Dakota. The week following was a whirlwind of spending time with my new nephew and sister, cooking a ton of food for them, going shopping and eating. Thus, there was not a lot of time for blogging. I mean, who wouldn't want to hang out with this guy? He's all about the Gophers too, just like his aunt. :)

I got a lot of Bryce-a-Roni time and  you can see why blogging was set aside for the time being. But, now that I'm home, I'll give you a run down on how the big day went.

Erich's and my parents arrived on Saturday morning. Erich and his family went shopping at the Albertville outlets while my parents and I went shopping for beer-making supplies and wine. We have some pretty good priorities. The only problem was that I didn't want to take part in the included wine tasting due to the marathon being on the next day. Oh well. Next time.

For dinner we met up with much of the Run to Stop MS team at Buca Di Beppo for a pre-race meal. If you're unfamiliar with Buca, it's a chain Italian restaurant that serves huge portions family-style. While I really wanted to pig out, I didn't really want to be extra heavy and miserable for the race the next day. The strategy seemed to work.

Sunday morning I woke at the ripe old time of 6 a.m. Jenna was picking up Erich and I at 6:30 so we could meet our parents at my office by 6:45. The rest of the team also met there and we prepped for the race and took a team photo. I don't have a copy of said photo because it's on my mom's camera and she hasn't gotten it up on Facebook yet. I'll share all of the photos we have once my mom posts them on Facebook. After the photo we walked over to the Metrodome to get ready for the starting gun.

The gun officially went off at 8 a.m. I was in the last corral with Michelle so we didn't cross the start line until well after that. But, by 8:10, we were off. Right away it was obvious this race would be different from any other I'd ever done. Not only would it be considerably longer but there was an intense energy surrounding the whole event. From the moment we left, there were complete strangers cheering on every runner. Many people held signs for their family and friends and all of them clapped and yelled as we went by. This was true for the entire race. 26.2 miles of spectator-lined streets. The energy also came from starting a race in downtown. Running through towering buildings and stopping traffic (while they all honked for us) was empowering. Too bad we were out of downtown by mile one. But, the fun was just beginning.

We made our way into Uptown Minneapolis via Lake of the Isles and around Lake Calhoun. Our path took us by the exact spot where Michelle's car was broken into, as well as the lakes where I completed many training runs. After missing my family at mile 3 (they got held up, we ran too fast and were gone before they could meet us) we zipped around Lake Harriet and met up with them at mile 7. By this point I was quite warm and had to shed the gloves I was wearing along with the free arm warmers I received from the marathon. Thankfully I saw them at mile 7 and was able to toss them off at that point.

On the south end of Lake Harriet, we turned and meandered onto Minnehaha Parkway. During this segment I saw my family once, a couple of great Bike MS volunteers and participants and two good friends from high school, who were there to watch another friend from high school attempt to qualify for Boston. She did by the way. Go Hannah! I lost Michelle around mile 11. She was going too fast for my liking so I let her go on ahead. I faced the last 15 miles alone. At this point I realized how great it was to see friendly faces along the course. Don't get me wrong, it feels pretty good to have complete strangers cheering for you, but nothing beats having someone call out your name and yell.

We hit the halfway point on the north/northeast side of Lake Nokomis, before continuing on Minnehaha Parkway to Minnehaha Park. After arriving in the park I was again in familiar territory. This area was where I started many training runs and where Michelle and I started and completed our first run together when we ran 13 miles. I arrived at mile 16 just north of the park and started scanning the street ahead for the MS Cheer Zone. About the time I spotted it I heard my name called out and my coworker, Anna, snapped this photo:

It's not a great picture because I stole it from Anna's Facebook page. But, it does a good job of summing up how I felt about seeing people I know on the route. I was pretty happy. Notice the people behind me who were beginning to take a walking break at this time. Other than going through the water/Powerade stations, I hadn't walked yet. I saw co-workers and volunteers waving signs and ringing cowbells. I saw some volunteers who are very near and dear to me and some of whom I was running for. That was a lovely boost to have when looking at 10 more miles to go. shortly thereafter I saw the family again, this time with the addition of Jenna's brother and his beagle, Fila. I took in some energy and a half a banana in hopes I'd get through to mile 20.

Well, that's about as far as I got before the pain really set in. Ouch. At mile 20 it starts getting rough in any marathon (or so I hear) but this is where the Twin Cities Marathon takes an uphill turn. Yep, as if having to struggle through the last 6 miles isn't hard enough, we had to go uphill. That's the point where if you're not careful, you start to cramp. And, I did a little. I found that an incline really made my calves get tight, so I eased up and walked partway up the hills. I traded off between walking and running during the 2-mile incline. I ran until my calves started feeling tight, then walked a bit. I followed this method for a good amount of the next 4 miles then tried to run even more for the last 2.

Summit Avenue encompasses that killer uphill as well as most of the remainder of the race. Summit has some of the most incredible houses in the area. They're all historic and beautiful. Summit Avenue is home to the governor's mansion as well as the James J. Hill house, which is the house of a railroad tycoon from the 1800's. It's huge, see!

It also marks about a 1/2 mile left in the race. By the time I passed the James J. Hill house I'd made a friend. He was running for the World Vision team and gave a huge proclamation at mile 25 that we only had 1 mile left. In reality it was 1.2 but I tended to forget about the .2 at the end. Thus began our mile-long friendship. We ran and walked a little through the last 1.2 miles, and cheered each other on to the end. We picked up another guy at about 25.5 and the three of us ran into the finish line. It was all downhill from there and was AWESOME. There are people literally everywhere. They are thick on the streets and surrounding the finish area. Everyone is cheering, there is music playing, and as you cross the finish line, an announcer calls out your name.

Immediately after finishing, volunteers are there placing medals around everyone's necks, then you're funneled into an area with food, food, glorious food. I hadn't realized it but I was starving. Turns out 5 hours of Powerade and Clif Shot Blocks aren't really enough to keep you full. There was so much to snack on, I couldn't carry it all. The two things that tasted the best were the Pearson's Salted Nut Roll and an ice cold chocolate milk. Now I know why all of our Bike MS participants freak out about the Salted Nut Rolls after a long ride.

I grabbed my shirt and made my way to my family who was waiting at the MS Society's meeting tent. After sitting for a while and getting off my feet for the first time in almost 6 hours, I decided to take a trip to the bathroom. Out of toilet paper! Now, I understand that there are 11,000 people competing plus spectators but let's make sure the bathrooms are stocked full of TP okay? I plan events too. We literally drive around restocking the porta potties, or we assign volunteers to it. It's not that hard folks. Now, that was really my only complaint about the event logistics.

After my less-than-successful trip to the porta potty, we headed home. Erich had to get to work and my parents and I had to head to Sioux Falls. My overall time was 5:12: 36. Not really great, but I finished. Michelle ended up slowing down quite a bit too and finishing in around 5:06. We did it!

I realized that I may have started out a little too fast in the beginning. This may have contributed to my demise around mile 20. Because I know where I can tweak things and make it better, I think I might have to do another in the future. Now, I'm not sure when it will be, but I'm about 90% certain it will happen again. I know I can do much better than that.

For now, I'm enjoying being able to just say no to going for a run if I don't feel like it. I do like that I can just run when I want and not have to worry about mileage and time. For now, I'm going to enjoy that. Until I take on my next adventure.

Thanks to all of you who supported me though words of encouragement, donations, and coming out on race day. You know who you are and how much that meant to me. It's great to know I have a full network of support behind me, no matter what crazy shenanegans in which I decide to partake.

Change of Pace

The marathon is less than a week away. Just as I wrote that I got a little nervous and a butterfly flitted across my midsection. A week? What happened? I was so busy with my work schedule in the past few weeks, and was so wishing our event season would be done, I didn't really think about the proximity of the marathon. I also didn't think about the fact that once the event season would be over, the marathon would be here. Now, here it is. The week prior.

I will say, that the past couple of weeks have been great in terms of marathon training. First, it's been nice and cool. After a hot summer, the cool temperatures are a nice change of pace. It also makes running much easier. Secondly, the mileage is better! Hah, I'm really loving the taper. It takes much less time to go for a run when it's only 3 to 6 miles.

Last week I went on a 3-mile run in my neighborhood. It was a route I pretty much always take for 3-milers. Usually I take it pretty easy since it's completely on concrete, unless I run in people's yards. Even the roads are concrete. But, occasionally I ramp it up and try to see how quickly I can do it. Well, last week I finished the 3.03-mile route in 00:26:18. Bam! That means my 5K time would probably be under 26 minutes 30 seconds, again, Bam! I felt so good about it that I think my goal after the marathon is to bring my 5K time down to around 25 minutes. It's going to be spectacular. We'll see if it happens over the winter. Sometimes it's hard to do significant running in the winter months. I'm hoping I can get some good outdoor running in over the winter. The treadmill might be the death of me now that I've been running outdoors exclusively for the past five or six months. If I make my 5K goal, I'm going to start working on reducing my 10K time. I'm pretty excited to move on to something new.

In other news, my friends and family have been incredibly supportive through the whole process including financially. My supporters have contributed over $1,100 dollars toward my fundraising! That is phenomenal and I'm so appreciative of all of those contributions. If you're reading this and you've made a donation, Thank you. Your support means a lot. You'll be receiving an official thank-you after the marathon.

For now, I'm going to start making some spaghetti for dinner. To be honest, I made the sauce a while ago and just pulled it out of the freezer today. Carbo loading begins now! :)

20 miles, F-yeah!

Disclaimer: I'm about to swear. If you're easily offended by four-letter words, skip a sentence or two. I just ran 20 miles. Fuck yes! By "just" I mean yesterday afternoon. I'm just now getting up the gumption to write about it. My body still hurts but I actually have enough energy to type more than a Facebook update.

I got up yesterday and it was raining. It cleared up around 1. I left my house around 1:45. It had started raining again. It was one of those light drizzle/misty kinds of rain. I thought I would tough it out and head for the lakes. I got to Calhoun, parked and started out. I was a little chilly to start. I couldn't even see across the lake. But, a couple miles in I was feeling pretty good. By mile 10 the rain had subsided. I couldn't tell if I was soaked with rain or sweat. Around 15 miles I was still feeling pretty good. Mile 17 brought some soreness to my outer quads. I pushed through it and finished up the last couple of miles. I was pretty excited considering I did it in a faster time than I did 18. Looking back, I think I was having a bad day when I did 18. When I got back to my car, I actually did a fist pump. I'm not talking a big fist pump in the air, but more of a Tiger Woods-style fist pump. Eeeks, I just compared myself to Tiger Woods. I think I need to take a shower...As you can tell, I was stoked about how well this run went.

In May, my friend, Pete suggested the Jeff Galloway method for running marathons. I have been pretty skeptical because it doesn't seem like as much of an accomplishment to walk a bunch in the Marathon. But, Hal Higdon who wrote my training plan, mentioned that he ran a 2:29 marathon and walked through all of the water/aid stations. Now don't get me wrong, I will not be running a 2:29 marathon or anything close to it. But, after these 20 miles, I'm pretty sure I'll be following Mr. Higdon's lead. Here's why:

1. I've started using Clif Shot Blocks instead of GU. This is partially because of an attempt to eradicate my tummy troubles and partially because they're much more palatable. More like eating a large fruit snack. The downside is that it's practically impossible for me to eat them while running. I'd suffocate. It takes me about 1.5 minutes to eat the three I take in at a time. On Sunday, that seemed like the perfect amount of time to get the blocks down as well as have a quick little rest.

2. The idea of running the marathon in 13, 2-mile segments seems much more feasible than 26 miles. I figure I can just get from aid station to aid station and be good.


3. Considering I don't run at any sort of incredible speed, walking won't slow me down much either.

4. I only walked 4 times during my run. I had planned to take some Shot Blocks every 4 miles so there you go, I didn't even walk that much. One of those stops was to go to the bathroom so there was some time lost there and another stop included me mixing some Gatorade for my fuel belt. That will shave off some time too.

Now, I'm not taking the full Galloway approach. I'm still not a full fan but I do appreciate the quick breaks to eat and get a drink so I don't choke. I'm pretty happy to have this 20-mile run out of the way. I've been staring it down since May and had to put it off last week due to our Mud Run. I'd post pictures of the event, but my good computer is on the fritz and is currently being serviced by the Geek Squad. I can't get the pictures from my camera to the computer.

My next long run is an 8-mile run. PIECE OF CAKE! In the meantime, have a few shorter runs to do. Awesome. I've found a great new route and wish I would have come up with it sooner. Erich takes the train to my office from his, picks up the car, and I run home. It's about 3.5 miles so it's a nice quick run. Plus I get to run across the bridge where he proposed almost 3 years ago.

I'm hoping my soreness gets better tomorrow. We're loading trucks for the Marathon, plus I'm supposed to have a short run. We'll see how that goes. I'm getting pretty stoked for this race now. Partially because I want to run it, and partially because I get to go back to South Dakota for a full week following it. I'm going to visit my new little nephew and help my sister get ready to go back to work. I can't wait!

Coming Clean, sort of

I have a confession to make. I've been slacking terribly at my running. This is hardly the time to slack too. I'm looking at just over a month out of the marathon. Tomorrow is an 18-mile run and I'm so scared because of how little training I've done lately. I do have some excuses for why I've been such a loser but really, it's my fault.

Now, this is a blog about running, so I should be writing about the real aspects of running, correct? The good and the bad? Well, this definitely falls in the category of bad. I encourage you to skip ahead to my part about Sioux Falls if you are uncomfortable reading about bodily functions.

Last Monday, Michelle and I went out for a 16-mile run. We went after work. Mistake. I don't think I will ever, ever run that far after work. It was no fun at all. That wasn't the worst of it. Lately on my longer runs I've been having some serious GI issues, and Monday was no different. Apparently this happens to Michelle too. What a pair we are. We hit the mile 14-15 point and it all started going downhill. Stomach cramps and a very uncomfortable urge to find the nearest bathroom...fast. Luckily, we both made it through and made it home but it's been a close call on a couple of runs for us. My issues were so bad, I called in sick to work on Tuesday morning. Ugh.

This got me a little worried because if I can barely get through 16 miles, what the hell is going to happen when I have to add 10 more to that? I can't be stopping at every mile just to use the john. I'll get picked up by the sweep truck for sure! It's been very distressing to say the least.

So, I did what any 21st century athlete with a problem does. I Googled it. Typing "running" and "diarrhea" into Google was kind of scary because I wasn't sure what would come up, but it was very very helpful. Mostly it was helpful because I found that my problems have a name. Runner's Trots. That just sounds like it's going to be something terrible. So, with Google I began my research. Turns out this is a fairly common problem with runners and there is a lot of information on the web about it. This probably has to do with the fact that up to 50% of runners, or extreme exercisers have this problem. Good, I'm not even close to being alone. I'm not weird. Whew. That's good. So, I've found ways to combat it. Namely, staying hydrated.

I've been very afraid to do any long runs lately because of this phenomenon. Well, armed with my new info and a box of Immodium, I'm going to tackle this week's long run...18 miles. I'm scared to death because that is sooooo far! 18 miles?! What? 16 didn't sound so bad but 18 sounds like forever. It's going to take almost 4 hours to complete, when we include driving time to drop our cars at the start and finish of the route.

So, besides the runner's trots, I've had some other excuses. Lame ones too. I've really gotta get myself past these hurdles. It's not helping me out in any way to be lazy and to find excuses to not run.

I spent a few days in Sioux Falls last weekend. Now, I'm not really fond of running in Sioux Falls right now. The only good place to run, the bike trails, are under some massive construction, especially on the side of town where my parent's live. Terrible excuse I know. But, part of my time in Sioux Falls was for work. There's an MS Society chapter office there and I had to conduct a training. I had spent a lot of time prepping for this training and was massively stressed out and tired. I also was planning a baby shower. I was just plain tired. Running did not sound good. So of course I wimped out of going for runs and completely ran out of time to go for a run I'd scheduled with a friend. Hmph.

That brings me to the next lame excuse. This summer is really wearing on me. Now, summers are always busy for me and I knew that going into this training. I figured I could do it. I will not lie. It's been very hard. Working extra hours and being on events has not helped me at all. I'm completely zapped of energy by the end of the day and there's no possible way I can get out of bed early enough to run as far as I need to. I've just felt so blah.

Lastly, as these runs have gotten longer in mileage, they have also gotten longer in time. What used to be a quick 30-60 minute run after work is now an hour to two hours. Suddenly, my evening and my time home is gone. It feels like I'm never really relaxing. I get up, go to work, go for a run, then go to bed. I repeat that 3 days of the week. Then one day on the weekend I have to block off nearly 4 hours for a long run. Maybe the key here is that I just need to run faster. I guess there's a thought.

But, I'm really going to need to turn it around. 18 miles tomorrow. Whitney, get your shit together. I figure even if I have to stop a bit, I must, must, must get out there and get in the mileage. I plan to meet Michelle at 8 a.m. tomorrow. While I'm very scared, writing this entry has made me feel a little better about it. On that note, I just realized that I'm short on GU gel so I should get going to the sporting goods store to get some.

I'll be sure to provide a full report post 18 miles.

Running Misfortunes

To warn you, this may be a bit of a rant post. My runs this week have been HORRIBLE to say the least.

Let's start with Sunday. Michelle and I scheduled a good 15-miler. We met up and neither of us were feeling too excited about the run. Well, we tried to turn our attitudes around and set out. I ended up getting us lost around Lake of the Isles. Not so much lost since it's essentially a loop, but I definitely misguided us. We ended up going around the lake twice because the first time I missed our turn off to head back around Lake Calhoun. I've discovered that it's easy to lose where you are on that lake because of it's shape and how the trails are laid out. I'll be more careful next time. After this we continued on and still felt a little crappy. Michelle has some crazy knee issues that started acting up. There's a screw in one knee that holds a ligament from a cadaver in place. Really cool in a nerdy scientific sort of way. Really not cool in an athletic sort of way. But, I guess that can happen when you play soccer all your life, including D-1 college. So, we ended up calling it quits at mile 8. Michelle's knee hurt and last week I had a terrible shin splint flare up so I didn't want to over do it. I felt a little guilty about this but I think it was for the best.

Tuesday was scheduled to be 4 miles. We decided to do 5 because of our lack of running on Sunday. One mile doesn't really make up for it, but hey, it helps. We set off from our office and ran north along the river, into the "north loop" area, or the warehouse district for those of you familiar with the Minneapolis area. There is a slight problem with this route however and that problem blew up in my face on Tuesday. You see, the "running" path is concrete and meanders into the woods and drops down close to the river, while the biking path is asphalt and stays close to the road. As you can imagine, for the sake of my joints and for the sake of my safety, I run on the bike path. Most runners do. In fact at any given time, you'll see more runners on the bike path than the "running" path. Well, Michelle and I were about a mile into our run when suddenly she veers off into the grass on the left and in about 2 seconds time, I hear a bike come up behind me and someone yelling, "Bike Path!" before taking out my right leg. WHAT THE F**K? Who doesn't give the standard, "On your left" warning AND passes on the right? Moron. So, he hit me then crashed himself. He got up all huffy and blaming me for running on the bike path and not giving a damn about my safety or being injury free. When I told him that the asphalt is better for runner's joints he actually said, "Well crashing on my joints isn't good for me either!" At this point I'm pretty pissed off because I'd asked him 3 times if he was ok, and I apologized. NEVER did he ask me if I was ok, despite the fact that I had tire marks up my right leg. I lost it. I got angry. I threw it down. He's lucky my fist didn't meet his face, but I yelled, "You know what? WE may have been on the biking path but YOU didn't give verbal warning, YOU passed on the right and YOU ran into me. So, this is YOUR fault!" He didn't like that. He just kept saying, "There's a running path over there." So, he went limping away (he scraped his knee, poor baby) and Michelle and I stopped to use the bathroom. He ended up passing us again and giving us some snide remark to which Michelle replied, "There are 50 other runners on this path. Are you going to run them all over?" Heh, nice.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'll admit that I was partially in the wrong for being on the bike path but I was completely out of the way, and following the rules of the paths. I consider the roads to be largely the car's domain, with a few cyclists scattered in and you don't see me plowing down the cyclists just because they're there. And trust me, they are much less courteous than the runners on the bike paths. So, when I got home, my leg looked like this:

Kind of painful. Notice it's not only on the thigh but on the calf as well. It's all scabby now. Looks great. :/ Hurt to sleep because the covers touched it. The good thing about the incident is that it must have sent our adrenaline going because we finished these 5 miles in 50 minutes flat and that included the time we were stopped for me getting hit and for Michelle to go to the bathroom and some time taken to walk because my leg was stinging from the sweat going into the wound. That is speedy for us!

Well, after that drama, we went for a run yesterday. 8 miles were on the docket. We set out to run around the chain of lakes again. This time it would be Calhoun and Harriet. We parked on the west side of Calhoun and took off. After about 1.5 miles, I decided that my shins were still in pretty bad shape. Probably because of the speed we'd done Tuesday. We turned around and walked back. Upon return to the car, we found that someone had broken in and stolen Michelle's purse as well as a baby shower gift (weird). Well, let's just say that Michelle's whole life was in that purse. 3 credit cards, her debit card, ID, social security card, planner (which she was REALLY upset about) and other things. Her ID is still from Ohio because she's in the process of changing everything. So now she's stuck in weird limbo between ID's. Minnesota won't issue one without her Ohio ID unless she wants to take the whole driving test. Ohio will issue her one but she'll either have to go back and do it in person or it will take 60-90 days. So, she has to wait 60-90 days. That's not even close to the worst of it. In the past 24 hours she's found out that her AmEx card had $9,000 charged to it and another card was maxed out. In addition, her checking account got overdrawn by $6,000. HOLY CRAP! She's now meeting with a Minneapolis police sergeant because the amount of money is on a felony level. I hope the F---ers get caught. They were dumb enough to make online purchases so it's possible to trace it through IP's and the shipping address.

In short, Michelle and I are not allowed to run together for a while. We have bad luck. Let's hope that by our 16-miler on Sunday, the luck turns around.

They're baaa-aack!

Yes, the evil has returned. What evil might you ask? Shin splints. At least, I'm pretty sure it's shin splints. I had a minor panic attack at work yesterday when I thought I might have compartment syndrome. Here's why. The picture is pretty awful and that's what they have to do to fix it. But, I am about 99% positive I'm experiencing shin splints again. Now I understand why doctors hate the internet and people who self-diagnose. They, just like I did, tend to jump to the worst-case-scenario.

Thursday I had a 4-mile run scheduled. This is now ridiculously easy. That is unless your legs feel like they're going to explode. Mine felt like I stepped on a land mine with each stride. This happened right from the beginning, all the way up to the first mile, when I decided to stop and stretch out. It didn't help. I hobbled the mile back to my office. I probably looked like a giant loser. People probably thought I was a big tool walking along the river in my sports bra and running tights. Who goes for a leisurely stroll in clothes like that? I mean seriously! It took me under 10 minutes to run the mile but over 20 to walk back. Damn what a waste of time. I came home and iced the shins. They seemed to improve.

Now, I usually have something to blame the shin splints on. This time is no different but I'm not sure I'm actually addressing the underlying cause of the problem. I did push myself really hard to keep under a 10 minute-mile pace in my 7-mile run on Wednesday. It was quite hot that day. My legs started to feel a little off after that run, but they seemed fine. Thursday was the first day of the week that I got to wear normal clothes to work. We'd just wrapped up an event the week before and spent Monday through Wednesday unloading trucks in our warehouse. So, I popped on a pair of heels on Thursday. That is not happening ever again after a long-ish run. Ever. I don't think that helped at all with recovery.

I also stopped running on the dirt paths instead of the asphalt. That was moronic. I will say that the asphalt is easier to run on from a fatigue point of view because the dirt paths are uneven and sometimes sandy. But, my legs will appreciate it much more if I run on the dirt. Back to the dirt I go.

I'm a little nervous because tomorrow is a 15-mile run. Michelle and I are doing it together which is helpful. However, these legs might not hold out. Luckily she's prepared for me to collapse in a heap at some point during the run. I've given her fair warning. But, to keep that from happening, I'm doing this for 20 minutes, every 3 hours today:

DG's if you're reading this, that IS an Anchora on my coffee table, and book club members, that IS a half read copy of "State of Wonder." I'm splitting time between that and the book below it, "The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest."

Ice packs held on to my legs via plastic wrap. I'm reminded of the time I spent in the athletic training office after high school cross country work outs. Only they used straight up bags of ice and there was no barrier between skin and ice. Kind of dangerous now that I think about it, but it worked. I remember driving home with those bags of ice taped to my shins. It was especially fun because I drove a manual and slamming down on the clutch jostled the ice quite a bit.

Today, I'm taking it easy. There was supposed to be a trip to the lake planed for some tubing and wakeboarding, but I think that has gotten cancelled due to a high level of "festivity" at a friend's birthday party last night. I'm not sure my friends are even out of bed yet. So, instead of that, I might have a cupcake. Lately I've been a little obsessed and have been spending time coming up with new flavors. Last night for the party, I developed pink lemonade, and it looks a little something like this:

Pink lemonade cupcake with lemon buttercream frosting.

Last week it was margarita and looked like this:

Margarita cupcake with tequila-lime frosting.

I'm hoping these shin splints clear up this weekend. Wish me luck on 15 miles tomorrow. Maybe I can run with the ice packs on my legs...

Half Marathon

Well, well, well. Here I am, 8 weeks into my marathon training. Today was a true test of endurance. Half marathon. Well, ok, the training schedule said 13 miles. A half marathon is 13.1. We ended up going about 13.5. But shhh, don't tell my running partner. I don't think she'll like knowing that I accidentally tacked on an extra half mile.

Now, usually I run alone. Actually for this training I have exclusively ran alone. The reason for this is I don't have any friends who 1.) are training for a marathon or 2.) if they are, run the same speed I do. I've gone on one 6-mile run with Erich and I'm pretty sure he was bored as heck with my slow speed, despite the fact that he is not, "a runner." But, since this was going to be quite the milestone in my training, I thought I should find myself a buddy. It made most sense to turn to my new co-worker, Michelle, who is also participating in Run to Stop MS. We talk almost daily about our training. We talk about our accomplishments, downfalls and straight up disasters during our runs. We also happen to run at the same pace. Woot!

We scheduled our run to be at 6:30 a.m. Michelle coaches a high school soccer team in one of the suburbs and had a game at 11:15. This meant we had to start early. It was a little difficult for me because I had to "work" until 11:30 p.m. Saturday night at the U2 concert at TCF Bank Stadium. I say "work" because all I was doing was answering questions about the facility and this was the view from my post. Let's just say I got paid $10/hour to watch the greatest rock show I've ever seen. Yes, the stage is a giant space claw, and yes it was even fun when it started pouring rain.

Surprisingly, I didn't have a tough time getting up and out the door. We met at Minnehaha Park, my favorite place to start a run, and were on our way. The weather was in the 60's while we ran and boy did that make all the difference! Holy cow. No instant sweat today! I barely had to use my Amphipod, unlike last Sunday when I had to refill at each drinking fountain (bubbler?) I came across. Today was absolutely gorgeous for running.

Since running cross country in high school, I've known that running with a buddy helps with motivation. I'm pretty competitive with myself, and constantly challenge myself to push a little harder in my runs if I'm feeling good, but having someone with you offers a completely different type of encouragement. Just knowing someone is there and probably feeling the way you do is helpful. Having someone to talk to makes the miles fly by. Now, I'm not usually one to talk during my runs. I'm typically huffing and puffing too much to do any sort of talking. Not today. Today we talked about all sorts of things. We talked about why we're crazy for doing this, Michelle's love life, and stuff at work. Before I knew it, we were halfway done. We continued to talk for most of the other half. You could tell when we were getting tired when it gradually got quieter at the end of the run. The last mile or so we were really pushing each other along. I felt like I was back on Coach Greeno's cross country team. When we finally reached the end, we gave each other big high fives and congratulated each other on a job well done.

Now, I'm not saying that it was suddenly easy because I had someone with me. But, it was certainly easier. I found myself having less negative thoughts about the course and how I was feeling. I was either too distracted, or too busy encouraging Michelle along to have those thoughts. Telling her that the impending hill wasn't so bad made me actually believe it myslef. We now have a standing date each week to do our long runs together. Next week it's only ten miles. Hah, only! We're also going to be running together during the marathon which is such a relief. Michelle is a pro when it comes to hills despite her displeasure upon approaching them. I am not so much. She just powers up them, with seemingly no trouble. I think she has some things to teach me. :)

Upon returning home and posting our accomplishment on Facebook, my friend, Erin, from the National MS Society, Illinois Chapter asked if I want to participate in the Madison Mini Marathon. A half marathon on August 29th, in Madison, WI. I told her I'd think about it. But, the more I think about it, the more fun I think it would be. I haven't seen her since last summer and would love to get in a long road race. Hopefully It works out. I'm having more positive thoughts about it now than I was 12 hours ago. :)

The upcoming week is a "step back" week. I run 3-7-4 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, then 10 on Sunday. I'm looking forward to a little bit of rest. The following week peaks at 15 miles. 15! That'll be over half of the marathon. I'm really excited to see how well I do in the upcoming weeks as I approach my peak training mileage of 20 miles.

Further than Ever

I've been incredibly remiss in my postings lately. Mostly I haven't had a lot to talk about and when I did, I've been quite busy. Since my last post I've been through 4th of July festivities, a 10-mile run, my farthest since my 18th birthday, and a 12-miler in over 80 degree heat with 75% humidity. Whew!

It's become a tradition for Erich, my friends and I to head up to my friend's parents for the 4th of July. Jenna's parents live on a lake in Detroit Lakes, MN. For the past three years we've gone up there and spent the weekend. We tube down the Ottertail River while toting a cooler of beer and various mixed drinks with us. We also play plenty of yard games and cook out. Needless to say, this wasn't a big weekend for training. I pretty much postponed my long run until we returned and I had a day off. Traveling, high heat, drinking and all around "vacation time" wasn't great for fitting in some runs. But, despite that, it was such a great weekend. I already want to go back so I may have to plan a late summer visit with Jenna. :)

After returning from up north, I was facing a 10-mile run. I planned my route and set out on a Tuesday morning after dropping Erich off at work. Luckily for me we got both the 4th and the 5th off so I had time to get in this run. The last time I had run 10 miles was on my 18th birthday. I vividly remember arriving at cross country practice that day to find out that on the day I became a legal adult, I'd get to celebrate by running 10 miles. Swell. Now, at 25 it was even more difficult. The run was tiring that's for sure, however not awful. I got done and felt pretty good. During this run I decided that I needed to procure some sort of hydration belt.

After a couple more weeks of small training runs, today I faced the longest run I've ever had in my 25-year existence. 12 miles. In preparation, I went out and bought this:

It turned out to be a very good purchase. The temps were in the 80's with 60% humidity at 7:00 this morning when I took off. I also picked up some body glide and some GU gels to try out. I thought the hydration belt would annoy the crap out of me during the run. Having extra things on my body is always annoying to me, however this really didn't bother me at all. Maybe it's because I knew it was ultimately good for me. I'd read many reviews and consulted many other runners to find the best hydration belt available. This one had some bad reviews regarding the bottles falling off since they snap in. However it came recommended by a couple of people, as well as the guy working at Marathon Sports. It was also the most comfortable. Turns out I made a great choice. I'm very happy with my purchase. I got Body Glide because chafing is a real issue with most runners. I have some pretty good thighs so I'm hoping to try it out there. Also my toes have been rubbing quite a bit so today, I put it all over and between my toes. It was incredibly helpful and I highly recommend it to anyone who's having problems with chafing or rubbing to pick some up and use it. It really works wonders. Lastly I used some GU energy gel. After almost bonking on a mere 7-mile run, I took all precautions to not have that happen again. In addition to eating good meals, I also packed a couple of these pretty foil packets. Well, they may look nice on the outside but they are disgusting on the inside. I tried a lemon-lime variety. it was not very lemon-limey. I don't really know how to describe the taste, other than terrible. Good thing I had water and Gatorade on me to wash it down. But, despite this, it turned out to be helpful and I had enough energy to get through the run. I have a berry-flavored GU saved for my next long run, which happens to be next week, when I run a half marathon for my training. Thankfully, my co-worker and I have decided to do this together to help each other along. 

For now, there are other huge feats of athleticism being broadcast around the world, specifically the Women's World Cup so I think I'm going to watch that. GO USA!!!

9th graders and 9 miles

Well, well, well, I've been a bit absent lately. I try to not post unless I have something really good to post about. I leave the menial posts for Facebook. My biggest accomplishment up until the past week was making some outrageously good buffalo wings, complete with homemade sauce. The real kind, not the battered, boneless kind. That accomplishment didn't really need a full blog post dedicated to it though. You can find the picture of them on Facebook HERE. Almost blogger worthy but since this is a running blog, that didn't really make much sense.

In the running world, here is what I've been up to. Last week's long run was a step-back run of 5 miles. You see I progress for two weeks, then step back for the third. Apparently this prevents over-training. I did two laps around Lake Nokomis in south Minneapolis. It ended up being just over 5 miles. The weather was great. It was pretty overcast and humid but I can handle humidity when the sun isn't shining and it's just barely in the 70's. Unfortunately my neighborhood doesn't have great areas in which to run. There are streets and such but they're pretty boring and quite hilly. I typically drive to the Uptown lakes area or somewhere on the River Road for my long runs.

Well, this past week was pretty lame when it came to running. You see, I spent all week as a camp counselor at MS Youth Camp. It's a camp we put on for kids who have parents living with multiple sclerosis. Often these kids take on a lot in their lives. In addition to being a normal kid they help out with housework, grocery shopping and sometimes are caregivers for their parent with MS. The camp gives them a chance to connect with other kids like them as well as have some time away from the stresses in their life. It's a great camp and is probably the reason I decided to participate in Run to Stop MS. I was able to attend last year because they needed more counselors. I requested to return this year and I'm really happy that I did.

This year I again had middle schoolers. Last year I had a mix of 8th and 9th grade. This year I had all 9th graders. The week got off to a rough start, which is pretty normal for the middle schoolers. They take a while to get settled in and get used to each other and to their counselors. Needless to say, the first and second nights were a little late. But, we got through the week and I became much closer with my campers than I did last year and I hope I was able to be a positive role model for them through the week.

Because of the late nights, it made it really difficult to get up early and run. :( There are optional early morning activities that campers (and counselors) can participate in before breakfast. They included a polar bear splash into the lake, yoga, or going for a short run. I decided to join in on the run, along with one of my campers. We only did a quick 1.5 miles on Tuesday. I did not make it up at all on Wednesday or Thursday to get out to run. I was just too darn tired. But, that's ok. I think I will be just fine.

Despite not running this week, I got out today for the longest run I've been on since I ran on the Lincoln High School cross country team my senior year of high school. This was the longest run since a 10-miler I did on my 18th birthday. I did a 9-miler today on the River Road in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I started at Minnehaha Park in south Minneapolis and ran north along the river, almost to downtown. I crossed the Mississippi river via Franklin Ave and ran south along the river in St. Paul and back across the Mississippi to Minnehaha Park. The run was lovely. I felt great during the whole thing. I ran most of it on the grass next to the path so I had no shin splints. I'm hoping my ankles get stronger from that because they get a little achy now that I'm running on the uneven grass.

According to my mileage counter, I've run 137 miles since I started keeping track. Holy crap! That's a lot of miles! I know that number is really going to grow as my mileage increases over the summer. It'll be fun to see how far I'll end up running when this is all over. Any guesses?

Here's looking to a great week of training ahead!

$2.4 Million

You'll remember that about a week ago I was really having some problems with shin splints. I decided to spend the last week resting and not running. Now, I will be honest and say that what I did do was not exactly restful. This past weekend, the National MS Society, Minnesota Chapter put on the Bike MS: C.H. Robinson Worldwide MS 150 Ride 2011. Big name, even bigger event. About 3,400 cyclists mounted their saddles in Proctor, MN (near Duluth) for a 150 mile journey back to the Twin Cities. 75 miles on Saturday, 75 miles on Sunday. We have an overnight in Hinckley, MN at the Grand Casino. So far we have about $2 million turned in from participants. Our goal is $2.4 million. Participants have until about mid-July to get all of their money in. I think we'll make it!

Team Cargill leads off the start of Bike MS: C.H. Robinson Worldwide MS 150 Ride 2011. Team Cargill has raised almost $233,000 as a team this year!

When we break for the night in Hinckley, all of the bikes get loaded into a bike corral where they are guarded by a security guard all night. 

This is about half of the bikes in our bike corral. The numbered rows go up to 50. At least I made signs for up to 50. It's possible that we had to hand write more. That's a lot of bikes!

So, with this big of an event going on, you can imagine that I wouldn't actually get to rest much. We load 8 26-foot trucks the week prior to the event. Then, we kick it off on Friday by loading all of those bikes onto 21 semi trucks, and the participants on chartered buses to take them up to the Duluth area. Saturday morning I was up at 3:30 a.m. to see the riders off and get them on the route by 6:30 a.m. A mere 3 years ago, I would have been going to bed at this time. That evening we had our grand party in Hinckley, complete with a catered meal from Buca di Beppo. They were great and gave us the meal at cost. Mmmmmm...Buca. Sunday the riders returned to Century College in White Bear lake for a grand finish. 

Needless to say, I had little sleep and was on my feet for pretty much all of the weekend. However, it was totally worth it to help these riders making this journey to help end MS. 

Today, I had a kickball game. Yes, I play on a kickball team. Nothing better than adults playing a game meant for a playground. It was the first time I'd done any sort of running since Tuesday and I have to say it was awesome. Despite the rough week and weekend, I had nearly zero leg pain. I'm pretty stoked to go on my short 3-mile run tomorrow and see how quickly I can complete it. The temps are supposed to be great but the forecast calls for scattered storms in the afternoon. Hopefully I there is a 25-30 minute window without storms to fit in this run. 

Lately, because of my extensive leg pain, it's been taking me about 28 minutes to run 3 miles. Pretty sad and lame. Tomorrow I'm shooting for closer to 26. I'd really like to drop that time down to about 24 minutes by August. I'll be running in the grass from here on to see if that helps soften the impact. Wish me luck!

Who turned up the heat?

I'm definitely not complaining. Bring it on! Today's high in Minneapolis was 102 degrees. Booyah. It's about time we had some real summer weather. Yesterday it was in the upper 90's and today, this. Granted, I spent my days in our warehouse, loading trucks for our MS 150 coming up this weekend, but it wasn't so bad. I am a little more tired than usual now that I'm home and sitting down. Although, that could be due to the fact that I got up early to run today.

Now, if you know me at all, you know I don't like mornings. Though, I will say I'm getting better with age. I got up around 5:45 today to get out and bet the heat for a short 3-mile run. I'm sad to say my leg pain is back. Blast! Give me a break already! I think I have medial tibial stress syndrome. In layman's terms, shin splints. Hooray. :( On Sunday they didn't bother me and I think it's do to the fact that I had my brand new shoes, ran on asphalt instead of concrete, rested for 2 days prior and I ran on flat surfaces. That wasn't really the case today.

Unfortunately for me, I think that means I'm going to have to take the remainder of the week off from running. Fortunately, I'd already had it built into my training plan to repeat this week due to our MS 150. I will also be investing in ice packs and a large amount of ibuprofen to see if those help at all. I remember back in high school when I used to drive home from cross country practice with ice taped to my shins. I'm thinking of doing something similar to that again.

Now, hopefully the week off will help. If it doesn't, I'm not quite sure what I'll do. I might have to take an extra rest day each week or something. Not cool. I will say though that the biggest recommendation by healthcare professionals is to rest and ice. So, if you find yourself with shin splints, I highly encourage you to rest up and don't continue with your training until it is no longer painful to do so.

All this being said, you probably won't hear from me in a while. I won't have much to report on since I won't be running. Maybe now is the time to do an entry on stretching...