Running... a family thing!

Son just finished up his junior high cross country season on Tuesday.  He went out thinking he was going to do really well.... and, well, I was scared to watch!  So many scenarios went through my mind... nothing horribly bad, just him not doing as well as he wanted to for one reason or another.  In short, the mom in me didn't want him to be disappointed.  He ended up coming in 7th.  It was a pretty exciting eleven plus minutes (If I could only run 1.9 miles even CLOSE to that time!).  I watched with my eyes half shut.  Maybe scared if I watched I would jinx him?  I don't know.  He got a medal though.  The team came in second in the division... one point separated them and the champions!

Not a photo from this week's race, but I love the determination in his face!

Meanwhile, Husband is trying to decide whether or not to run a December marathon.  He's never done one before.  Neither have I, so I don't have a lot of advice to offer on the subject, other than spousal support.  It sounds intriguing.  Running a marathon is on my list of things I would like to do by age 40.  It will take a lot of planning to get one to work.  Getting the mileage in at this point would kill me.  Well, not kill me, but the laundry would pile up (not that it doesn't already!) and we would end up subsisting on processed food (have I mentioned my obsession lately with trying to eat more food that is less processed??).  Only 2.5 years to work it into my schedule.  Maybe we will come into some sort of inheritance during that time in which I can hire a maid and a cook.

I love this shirt.  I'd buy them for the whole family if Daughter was a runner!  I saw them on Mel's blog with her cute kids wearing them.  Too bad dancing is Daughter's thing or they would make for a great Christmas picture!

What is it about me finding cute t-shirts this week?

Five things...

That made my Sat morning 9 mile run worth it...

5. Feeling strong the whole time I was out.  While running along, I did my mental body check and realized that I felt great!

4. Knowing that this was a much better run than the ones that had happened all week long.  Monday's run was hot (85º @ 4:30am) and Wednesday's run was taken over by being followed by a dog.  Once I found out that it was not going to savagely attack me, it ran 2 miles with me.  But then I spent a half hour trying to figure out where it lived.  Friday, well, I was looking forward to the weekend and was not being as focused as I should have been!

3. I ate a whole bunch of York Mints when I got home.  The kind that are really bad for you.  These were probably especially bad since they were pumpkin shaped and artificial orange color for Halloween.  I earned the calories though!  Later my husband brought me home some mint chocolate fudge from his Saturday adventures.  I guess one day of bad nutrition won't kill me!

2. It was day light.  As much as I like running when the world is quiet, it is nice to see the sun and realize that there are other people out doing their morning runs as well.  I'm now normally getting home from mine now quite a while before the sun breaks over the ridge in the east, so it was nice to enjoy other people being around.

1. Nine miles.  I hadn't run that in quite some time and I have hope that this weekend's run will be even better.  I did it at my normal race pace without even trying that hard... it makes me want to think that if everything is as good as it was this past weekend on race day, that ten miles will just fly by!

And, I just came across this website in my inbox... it looks like they have lots of fun shirts... and the company was started by some running moms.  If anyone is interested in sending me one, well, I wouldn't complain! ;)

Worldwide Festival of Races

I've been hearing more and more about the Worldwide Festival of Races event that is going on the weekend of Oct 9-10, 2010.  In short, it's a way for runners around the world to get out and run a distance of their choosing in their local, but feel connected to runner's everywhere.  You can do it by yourself, with friends, or sign up for a formal event.  The point is to have fun!  I finally went and checked the website out and was excited to realize that I am running in an event that weekend... my 10 mile race... so I thought I might as well hop of the WWFoR bandwagon since it's free to enter and you get a virtual goody bag as well!  This is the way to do it - make one events count for two!  If you're interested, the link is here.

A couple of fun things...

I've found while web surfing the past couple of days...

Nike ad You pretended the snooze button didn’t exist. You dragged your butt out of bed while others slept. While others ate their pancakes you had a feast of protein, glucose and electrolytes. You double-knotted. You left the porch light on and locked the door behind you.


You ran 5Ks, 10Ks, 26.2 miles. Some days more, some days less. You rewarded a long run with a short run. And a short run with a long run. Rain tried to slow you. Sun tried to microwave you. Snow made you feel like a warrior.


You cramped. You bonked. You paid no mind to comfort. On weekends. On holidays. You made excuses to keep going. Questioned yourself. Played mind games. Put your heart before your knees. Listened to your breathing. Sweat sunscreen into your eyes. Worked on your farmer’s tan.


You hit the wall. You went through it. You decided to be man about it. You decided to be woman about it. Finished what you started. Proved what you were made of. Just kept putting mile after mile on your interval odometer. For 25 years, you ran. And we ran with you. How much farther will we go? As far as you willl. 

(Thanks Life as I See It!)  While I'm not running in Nike products, you've got to admitt their ad execs did a pretty good job of hitting the nail on the head!

I loved this video... not because I'm planning on getting remarried (once was enough!), but just that they lady saw a need for a product and went out there and was able to make it a reality.  That and you have to say it's a pretty fun option if you have to get married while running a marathon!



(Thanks RLAM!)

Growing up...

One of the best parts of being a mom is seeing your kids grow and develop.  Sometimes it seems like they don't do it fast enough - like when they want the cereal box down early in the morning and all you want to do is sleep.  There are times that it seems like it's going way too fast as well.  Take Son for instance.  He's been running cross country as part of his school team for the past couple of years.  He loves his Saucony shoes as well and was a little green with envy when I was trying on my new pair just as he was getting home from practice the other day.  To show how "worn out" his were, he wanted to compare his feet to mine.  I was a little shocked when he put his foot next to mine and it looked so grown up.  I knew his foot was much bigger than mine, but, I wasn't prepared for the "grown up-ness" of it!  I guess I needed a physical reminder to remember he's really not as little as I want him to be anymore!  The quote "The days are long but the years are short" certainly is how I'm feeling looking at this photo.  Now if I could just get him to get out of bed and run with ME in the mornings!  Gone are the days of him dragging me out of bed for cereal.



Can you believe he's only 13?



To believe or not to believe...

That is the question.  I have a Nike Plus attachment for my iPod Nano.  It wasn't anything I really planned on purchasing, but I ended up with a $50 gift card for the Nike store, and since I don't run in Nike, this is what I came up with to buy (that and a sports watch).  I started using it in April.  I read some reviews about it and people were pretty happy except for a few thought the mileage was a little off.  I was on the fence.  I run about 4 miles around my little neighborhood (one small loop = 1/2mi, one large loop = 3/4 mi).  I think I start and stop at the same place everyday and it tells me something different everyday... one day with be 4.09 miles and the next day will be 4.15 miles.  One day it was even 3.99 miles.  I thought I had finally decided to believe it at the Labor Day race when I wore it and it measured the 8 mile course as 8.08 miles.  I thought that was pretty accurate and decided to believe what it was telling me. 

Until this morning.

Remember, I have a 10 mile race coming up in less than a month?  It's still 103ºF out here with no relief in sight.  I have a volunteer commitment in the morning for which I have to get up at 4:30am and it won't be over until 7:30am.  I really don't want to run in the heat after that.  My choice today was to squeeze in 5 miles instead of getting through my normal 4.  I thought tacking on 2 more small neighborhood loops to my 4 mile course would easily make 5 miles.  When I finished it told me that I had run 4.85 miles.  This did not make my day.

So do I believe this gadget or not?  Is it one of those things you believe when it is convenient to do so and ignore it when it isn't?  Do I believe I ran 5 miles this morning?  Or did I need to run by a few more houses to make sure of it?

Nothing like the intoxicating smell of...

New shoe rubber!  I'm going to be completely honest here and admit that I ignore when to replace running shoes.  At $100+ a pop, I see no reason to replace them every 300-500 miles unless they are really bothering you.  I have not as of yet had knee/ankle/foot related issues.  Would I like to replace them sooner?  Yes!  Who wouldn't want that new shoe smell wafting out of a beautiful cardboard box at them?  But, until I find a long lost uncle who has died and left his Gates-eque inheritance to me, I will be buying them on a "as needed" basis.  My current shoes have close to 800 miles on them.  They are high end shoes, so I guess you get what you pay for.  I suppose that $40 Kohls shoes wouldn't have fared so well (though wouldn't it be nice to wish for that?!?).

Without further ado, here are the shoes I've been wanting for a while.  They are Saucony Triumphs.  I've been wearing the style for a while, but never in such a cute color.  I think this is acutally the first pair of running shoes I've had that I actually *want* to wear.  I wonder if I will want to wear them more at 4:30am?



Long awaited new shoes!

 And, the other thing this picture tells me?  I need new socks now.  Ick.  I think these socks have been around a really long time and are not as white as I believed!  Now off to run faster, longer, and stronger!

I did what?

Went and signed up for another race.  I must have been out of my mind, but on the euphoria that follows having fun at one race, I thought I might as well.  This time though, it's 10 miles.  And I don't remember the last time I ran 10 miles.  What have I gotten myself into?  It sounds fun... runs through downtown the morning of a huge weekend festival... but all of a sudden, after I have dropped the check in the mail, I am a bit overwhelmed thinking about it.  Well, not the race per se, just the having time to train for it.  I was thinking long run tomorrow.  Probably not going to happen since Son has a cross country race in the morning and has to be at school at 6:45 am, and me watching him at his race at 8am.  Too bad it's still in the 90s here or I'd go afterwards.

The plus to this race?  There is a 5K that is offered as well and Son agreed to do it.  It should be fun with the both of us involved!

Anyone else is welcome to join us - but the early registration deadline has passed... click here for details!

Race results!

The Saguaro race came along sooner than I thought it would - and before I knew it, Labor Day weekend was here and I had only run the 8 mile length once in the last month.  Really, the last few months if we are being completely honest!  I knew I had been doing the hill run every Monday, but it's only a 4.5 mi jaunt, and half of it is downhill!  Yes, I know, the Saguaro course starts and ends in the same place, but that hill... it seems like it just won't stop!

So, out of bed early on Labor Day and out across town.  My husband decided to do it with me, after all, it's more fun with a friend.  The lazy kids didn't want anything to do with being at a race at 6:30 on a day off from school, so, home they stayed!  We made it with only 10 minutes to spare before race time - which is really off for us.  Usually we are there with plenty of time to spare.  At least we didn't have to wait around a long time for the start!

Still standing after the race!
(And notice my cute running skirt?)

And, then the gun went off and out we went.  Because we had gotten there so late, we were pretty far back in the pack.  It just made for a lot of dodging and dashing in and out of groups of people the first mile or so.  It's kind of hard to enjoy that first mile when you are trying not to run into anyone.  It was hotter than I remember past years being at the start.  Maybe because in past years there was a little cloud cover right at sunrise (that would quickly disappear), but there wasn't any to speak of this year.  Then three miles in, the dreaded hill came.  But, I noticed a difference.  This was not the unspeakable hill of Monday mornings.  This didn't seem as bad as I had remembered it and I kept wondering when the pain would start, after all, I was bracing for it as this was my fourth year to do this course.  It never happened.  And the hill ended and I ran on.  Maybe there was something to gettng up and doing the Hill on Monday mornings?  Too bad after the big hill was conquered, I got a side stitch that never really left.

Final results.  Me: 1:12:38.  I lost two minutes somewhere between last year and this year, but, I'm just going to chalk it up to experience... and resolve to do better for my fifth Saguaro run!  After all, there is a year to train for it!  And, thirteenth in my age group doesn't seem so bad, really.  Though, the kids aren't really impressed when I tell them I was 244th overall.  Hubby: Well, he beat me by about 20 seconds or so.  Darn him.  I could see him the entire time, I just couldn't catch him. 

The even better news?  I was not sore on Tuesday.  After the first year of doing this race, I couldn't walk very well for days afterwards.  The next couple of years I could definately feel that I had done something strenuous.  This year, I couldn't tell a thing!  Yay!  I think the Hill is working!

Stay tuned for my next racing decision coming soon.