Tell Me Your Secret

This has been good running week for me!  I got to go by the house on Tuesday morning and decided to get in a quick 5 miles and for me it was quick.  I ran it at a 10:36 pace!  I started out running the first mile at 11:16 and finished my last mile at 9:48.  I couldn't have been more pleased.

I made the decision not to run 350 on Saturday and ran around town instead.  I was still having some knee pain and didn't want to put it through the tough hills of 350.  I ran the first 8 miles with a negative split but mile 9 was 4 seconds slower than mile 8 at 10:32.  I really don't want to talk about the last three miles of my 12 miler because I just got through them.  I ended up with an 11:13 pace.

Saturday afternoon I went to the store and found a new pair of shoes that I thought I'd like.  The are the Saucony Grid Fiya.  I took them out for a run Sunday afternoon because the weather couldn't have been any better for running.  I ran 5 miles at a 10:25 pace and love the shoes.  I almost ran a negative split but mile 4 was 8 seconds longer than mile 3.  My last mile was my fastest at 9:47!

Those three runs put my mileage for the week at 22 and I finally got past 100 for the year.  I'm so looking forward to the rest of the year.

There has been a couple of things that I've been meaning to write about for a couple of weeks now but it has slipped my mind.  You might recall a while back that my Garmin was having problems.  It wouldn't stay charged so for a couple of runs I had to just route my run with MapMyRun and use a stopwatch for the timing.  I finally figured out what was causing the problem.  A couple of weeks ago I had to replace the battery in my footpod and I thought that might have been the problem with the heart rate monitor.  I replaced the battery in it too and I haven't had any problems with the Garmin.  So if your are using a heart rate monitor with your Garmin and it starts to crap out on you then check the battery.

The second thing I wanted to write about was about my new Squidoo lenses.  The first one is a companion to this blog and simply has the same name as this blog.  You can get to it here.  The second one is about how to begin running.  This lens is based on my experiences and what I have done.  I'm no expert but I think I can give some tips to someone just starting out.  I can only do that because of all of the people that have helped me in this journey.  That lens can be found here.  I am working on a third but I don't know when it will be launched.

Now for the funny part of this post.  While I was running on the Coke course this past Sunday I came up on a group of girls walking slowly.  I made my way around them and when I had gotten ahead of them one of them yelled out, "Tell me your secret!"  I kept running.  She said again, "Tell me your secret NOW! How do you get your legs so tan!" I still kept running.  After I was way ahead and couldn't hear them talking anymore, I thought of what I should have told her.  I just thought of it too late.  I should have turned around and said, "I run in shorts all year!"  That was the truth until I got my running pants for Christmas.

That's going to do it for this week and I hope you will stop back by again soon.

I'm Not a Fast Runner but...

Had a great week running this last week.  I still only got to run two days (Saturday and Sunday) but both days were great.  The weather was a little cool on Saturday at 30 degrees but later in the day it did warm up.  I woke up on Sunday with a nice 49 degrees and hit the pavement.

My run Saturday wasn't on the hilly highway 350 because I was still dealing with some knee and leg issues.  I decided to stay on more level ground and take it easy.  I ended up running 8.25 miles at an 11:25 pace.  I'm hoping it will be one of the last time I have to put on those running pants that I got for Christmas.  I love the pants but would rather have on shorts.

My run on Sunday morning was even better.  I set out to run 10K and did just that.  By the time I was finished I had ran a PR and did negative split too!  I ran the first mile at 11:19 and the last full mile at 10:24.  My total time was 1:07:02. That's a pace of 10:49!

As I was running Sunday morning, I was thinking about what I was going to write about this week and it came to me out of the blue.  Although this blog is for everybody, some of the post are for the one just starting out.  Some websites are for more advanced runners but I write about my experiences and hopefully that helps to encourage the ones that are just starting out.

I think back to the time when I first started to walk and thought that my pace was so slow.  It was for a "fast" runner or walker but it wasn't for me.  I thought if I could walk a mile in 18 minutes I was doing good.  As I progressed into running, I found that I could walk/run faster with the same effort.  As a beginner, I wanted to run so bad.  Every time I tried running it was out of breathe in a few seconds.  I hadn't built up a base yet and it was too soon.  Many times a beginner will start out running as fast as they can and when it starts to hurt they stop.  Unfortunately, if they are sore the next day, they tend to not want to go back out there and do it again.  Soreness is going to be part of it but you don't want to be so sore that you can't walk.  I remember my muscles being sore.  I'd get back out there and do it again and again and eventually I didn't get sore.

As a more mature runner now, I run by effort and not always for pace.  Sunday morning when I did the negative splits, I wasn't even trying.  I did feel like I was stronger as I went along.  The rain did help a little bit too.  I guess what I'm trying to communicate in this post is that it is better to walk/run by effort unless you are doing speed work.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again next week.

What Would You Do?

If you have been reading this blog for a while, then you know that I get ideas for my post just about everywhere.  Sometimes they come to me while running and sometimes while just reading or just thinking about what I'm going to write about.  This weeks idea comes from my friend, Joanna.  She posted on FaceBook that someone ask her what she would do if the doctor said you couldn't run anymore.  She said, "It will be okay.  Running is not a life or death for me.  I'll just do something else." I got to thinking about that and here is my take on the subject.

Not long after I met Joy on FaceBook, I asked her advice on something and she told me that she believed that running was a gift.  I have come to believe the same thing because not everyone can run.  Most people can walk but not all can run.  What if I couldn't run anymore?  It would be hard for me not to run but I think I could find other things to stay fit.

One of those would be to bike.  I've been told to stick with running because it was safer but biking would be the first thing that I'd go to if I couldn't run.  What would be your go to thing to stay fit if you couldn't run?  Please leave your comments below.

I can't believe that January is already over and a new month has already started.  I started the month off with a 9 mile run late Friday morning.  It was a great run but my knee has started to hurt again.  I have narrowed the problem down to the Asics that I bought back in August.  I wore the Saucony shoes the weekend before and didn't have any pain at all.  On Sunday, when I wore the Asics, my knee was beginning to hurt but was much better by Friday.  I really had't thought about the shoes making my knee hurt until I wore them again Friday morning and it started to hurt again.  For now, I'm going to stick with the Saucony shoes and get a new pair soon.

I ended the week with just the 9 miles but I'll get back into the groove before long and be ready for my upcoming half.

Thanks for stopping and hope to see you again next week.

Don't Stop Believing

 Screen shot of my Garmin after
my run on 350 Saturday

I know I've said this the last few weeks but this was another one of those very busy weeks.  I got to run three times in two days.  Two runs on Saturday and one run on Sunday.

First let me tell you about my first run on Saturday.  I went out and met the Lunatics out on 350 and ran my best pace ever out there.  I enjoyed every single mile of it and ended up with 10 miles at an 11:16 pace.  I couldn't have been more proud of myself.

My second run for Saturday was a 5 miler with another group.  We ran the Coke course and it wasn't as pleasant as the first run.  I had set out some water just past the 5K mark after I ran 350 so we would have some hydration.  Jeff and I had made arrangements that he would pick the water back up after he finished running.  The send me a text a little while later telling me that someone had stolen our water unless I had picked it up.  I hadn't.  I just can't believe that someone would steal nine bottles of water just because.  What is wrong with people nowadays that they would steal less than three dollars worth of water?

Sunday I decided to hit the track.  I ended up with 4 miles at a 10:50 pace.  I don't go to the track as much as I should but will be going back pretty soon.  I didn't go Sunday for the purpose of doing speed work.  I just went to get in a run and wanted to take the family.  As I rounded the track for the second time and was approaching my little daughter, Lillie, she was cheering me with "Yay, Daddy!"  That put a big smile on my face.

Lately I have been thinking about the people that might have thought that I could do what I've done.  I know some people thought I'd quit after just a couple months or so.  Here it is almost 28 months later and I'm still at it.  I know I had a lot more people that believed in me than didn't.  Those people are the ones that encouraged me and kept on motivating me to go faster and longer.  Those are the kind of people that I want to be around.  I will be forever grateful to those that believed in me when I started on this journey.  Little did I know that it would turn out this way.  There will be some that will think the same thing about you as they did me but you can seek out people that will encourage you and tell you how well you are doing.  Even a little faster pace to me is great or if you go just a little farther than you did last week.  Seek those people out and then you can "show" those naysayers that you are in this for the long haul.

Thanks for stopping by this week and I hope to see you again next week too!

It's Better to Listen to Your Body

Another busy week and sometimes I wonder if I'm ever going to get to run during the week again.  Last year, January was the month that I recorded the least amount of miles but I have exceeded those miles already.  It's just after the holidays and it seems like I stay busy all the time now.

Last week was a busy week but I ended up getting to run on Saturday and Sunday.  I had planned to run on 350 but overslept and didn't make it.  I just ran around town and got in 9.8 miles.  I enjoyed the run even though it was a little cold and 7 miles in the wind started to blow and it felt so much cooler.

As the title says, it is always better to listen to your body.  Jeff and I met downtown Sunday morning and since I always run from my house, I already had in a mile.  Just over two miles into my run, I had a pain that felt like a cramp in my upper leg.  I stopped for a few seconds and thought that was enough.  I had to stop again shortly after that because the pain was hurting really bad.  After a couple of minutes, I tried running again and decided that it would be best if I turned around and walked back home.  Jeff went with me and after about a quarter mile I tried running again.  The pain had almost went away and running didn't feel so uncomfortable.  I went on to the house and ended my run with just 3.75 miles.  I was frustrated.  As I sit here now writing this on Monday night, I still have some pain in my leg but not as much.  I will continue to listen to what my body is saying and not over do it.

As a runner, or any other athlete for that matter, it's hard for us to be sidelined for very long.  Even though we know we should take it easy for a while, we still want to get out there and "get with it".  Since I started this journey, I have learned to listen to my body so much more.  When something doesn't feel right during a run, I either slow down or stop.  The good news is that you quickly learn to tell the difference between a pain caused by injury or pain caused by discomfort.  The discomfort you can push through but the injury pain is totally different.

I have two races that I'm planning on doing in March.  I have written earlier in this blog that my first race would be the Andrew Jackson Half.  I've changed my mind and my first will be the Amanda Price 10K in New Albany on March 9.  The following weekend is also when the Andrew Jackson Half is but I will be running the Germantown Half instead.  I looking forward to meeting up with a friend, also a runner, that I haven't seen in ages and catching up.

That's going to do me for this week.  Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you again next week.

Do You Like "The Biggest Loser"?

What an exciting time of year!!!  It starts out being so cold and this past weekend it was over 70 degrees.  My understanding is that it is supposed to cool down a lot over the next few days again.  I'm just so glad that I'm finally over whatever it was that I had and I can actually breathe while I’m running.
My first run of the year wasn’t until January 5 and I was so glad to have it in the book. I ran for an hour that day and then ran 50 minutes on Sunday. Although it wasn’t the distance that I had hoped for I did manage to get in 9.4 miles over those two days.

This past weekend I did things a little different that I normally do them. I got home Friday afternoon and since it was supposed to rain on Saturday morning, I decided that I was going to run on Friday after noon. I headed out on the Coke course and ended up with 6.3 miles at an 11:18 pace. I can tell that I’m getting faster because the effort isn’t as great at this pace as it used to be. I had fueled properly all day and I was ready for the late afternoon run. By the time a returned home it was dark and I was ready to eat.

One Saturday the rain cleared off for a little while in the afternoon and I decided to get in some more miles. I then ran 8.5 miles at a slow pace of 12:09. The temperature had warmed up to about 71 degrees and it was so humid. Although I suffered during the entire run, I was glad that I had gotten the miles in.  I ended my week with 14.8 miles and already ran as many miles this January as I did last January.
One of the shows that I like to watch on television is The Biggest Loser. I returned this past week and I got to see the first episode and it really motivated me. I remember a time that I could have been in the same position as any of those people on the show and how what I’ve done over the last two years has changed my life.

I was talking with some one this past week about The Biggest Loser and she told me that she didn’t watch it. I asked, “Why?”

“It doesn’t motivate me at all. If anything, it discourages me,” she said.

I can understand where she is coming from. It is unrealistic for someone to lose that much weight in a week. Besides, who has the time to workout most of the day to get the results that they get on the show? The one thing that I’d like to see more on the show is how they prepare food. What kinds of foods they eat and things like that. We all know that exercise alone won’t get the job done.
Does The Biggest Loser motivate you? Please leave your comments below.

Thanks for stopping by this week.

Totals for 2012

This past year has been a blast and I have had the privilege of meeting some of the most awesome people on the planet.  With their help and encouragement, I have become a better runner.  There were times I think that I might not have been out there on the pavement if it had not been for the Lunatic Fringe.  Although the weather was tough at times but it was all well worth it.

Here are some cool facts about my runs in the past year.  I hope you enjoy them.

Total Number of Runs:  134

Total Miles:  850.21

Total Time:  7 days 2 hours 56 minutes 55 seconds

Distance from Corinth:
    Amarillo, TX (820 miles)
     Eau Claire, WI (854 miles)
     Buffalo, NY (873 miles)

Worst Month: January (25.25 miles)
Best Month:  October (107.13)

I would have never thought I could have traveled that far on my own two feet 27 months ago.  Since I first started I have walked/ran a total of 1533.84 miles.  I have been able to keep off the weight that I lost just by starting this journey and eating healthier.

Thanks to all of you that continue to read my blog each week.  If you haven't liked my page on FaceBook please do so by clicking here to go to the page.  You can also find me on Twitter here.  Thanks again and I hope to see you again next week.