What does one do on a treadmill for 9 miles anyway?

After a few weeks of very spring like weather, Kansas is back to snow :( boo hoo. I needed to get a long run in, so off to the gym this morning for a 9 miler on the treadmill.

I would much rather take it to the streets, but the one thing I really like about long treadmill running is the time to zone out, listen to music, think, think, and think. Usually as long as I have good tunes & lots to distract me, I can tolerate the treadmill.

So here is my thought process today.

Mile 1-3 - Watching yard crashers on DIY, wishing they would find me in home depot & redo my yard.

Do a 3 miler 2 more times & you're done.

Let's have some starbursts (yeah, I know, it's not running fuel....but....I forgot to buy any & the running store is closed Sunday. So this will have to do)

I need new shoes soon. I think I forgot deodorant. Ugh, I need to do laundry today. I had a good weekend. I wonder how many meetings I have tomorrow? I wish I had remembered my lip stuff, my lips are chapped. This song is awesome. Go faster. Whoa, not that fast. Gaww, you need to paint your nails. I wonder if my sleepyhead kid is even out of bed yet? I think I should learn how to play the guitar. I need to call my brother today. Next weekend I should do 11, then 12, then it's time to start the dreaded taper. Oh cool, House Hunters. I love that show. I can't wait to race again. and on, and on, and on. So many random thoughts today!

Lots & lots of think time. I can't think of any other time I have 1 1/2 hours of uninterrupted, quiet thinking time. So I'm going to stop dreading the treadmill runs & enjoy the time to myself.

I finished with some time in the smokin' hot sauna. I am feeling great today! (and I hope you are too :)

Positive Power....

Saw this on a Facebook status today...

No matter what happens, no matter how far you seem to be away from where you want to be, never stop believing that you will somehow make it. Have a unrelenting belief that things will work out, that the long road has a purpose, that the things that you desire may not happen today, but they will happen. Persist and persevere, your desired path remains possible.

Right on.

Just a Tuesday thought....

I saw this on a facebook post today... love it.

Running is doing what you WANT to do.
Training is doing what you SHOULD do.
Racing is finding out what you CAN do.

Now get out there and DO IT! Happy Tuesday!

a PR, orange shirt man & a cold beer

St. Patty's Day. One of my favorite times of the year in Aggieville. Race day, green beer, parade, candy.... nothing sounds bad about any of those things!

However ... the 10k. My race nemesis. I have fought this distance for a long, long time. Too far to sprint (for me). Not far enough to settle down. Not far enough to make up time if you blow it somewhere along the course. Just an in-between distance that you have to try to go all out for ... but all out for 6.2 ... well, that's a long way.

I've been doing some speed work in the last 3 weeks or so, feeling pretty good about the 5k distance. I ran a few 5k PRs lately, so I knew I was feeling faster. But could I hold on to it for 6.2?

As usual, race day freaking the freak out. Tied/untied/tied my shoes about 64 times. I had a plan & Garmin ... but as always ... questioning whether I could pull it off.

Here was the plan : (yes, I had the splits written on my arm. FREAK)
Mile 1 - 10 min (slooooow it down, it's uphill & crowded)
Mile 2 - 9:30
Mile 3 - 9:00
Mile 4 - 9:00
Mile 5 - 8:30
Mile 6 - 9:00
.2 - sprint with whatever is left in the tank

GOAL: 55 minutes & whatever it takes for me to finish that .2

My 10k PR is 59:04. That was 2 years ago, pre-knee surgery. I've ran several 10k's since then - I've never been able to break that time.Race started out crowded & like all races, a bit hard to find a spot. But just a few blocks in it thinned out to where I barely noticed anyone else around me. Plugged into my tunes & tried to settle myself down. I had a plan. I had my Garmin (first race with the Garmin by the way). I knew I could do this.

Race went a little something like this:
Mile 1 - hated every second (like always)
Mile 2 - gawww can I just get to mile 3 (starts to rain)
Mile 3 - finally. now the fun begins!
Mile 4 - spotted orange shirt man. (more on that later)
Mile 5 - stayed *right* on the heels of orange shirt man.
Mile 6 - still right behind orange shirt man.
.2 - ran it in arm & arm with orange shirt man.

race time : 55:33

I about cried crossing that finish line. Such an emotional day for several reasons:

1. Knee surgery sucks & I feel like it took FOREVER to get back. That was about a year ago. Today was the day I truly felt I finally had it.

2. I didn't barf.

3. I saw so many of my friends after. Lots of fun.

4. Watching Russ in front of me the whole race was an awesome thing. I smiled many times seeing that TRR shirt rockin' a 6 minute PR.

Ok so now the story of orange shirt man. Having Russ in my sites pushed me most of the way, but by mile 3 he was a bit ahead of me, so I needed something a little closer. I always try to find someone along the course that I can kinda stay with - or try to beat. I don't care who they are, but if I like their pace, I'm not afraid to ride right in on their heels.

This is where orange shirt man came in. I saw my friend Jeff right after mile 3, we chatted for a second, & I said, 'Jeff, I gotta go - I have my sites on orange shirt man & I have to stay with him. I like his pace.'

Orange shirt man had on a tank top, shorts and arm warmers. Anyone who is cool enough to wear arm warmers? Yep, I'm following you.

About a 1/2 mile later, I ran up to him & asked 'if I follow you, what is our time?' He said a very confident 54 min. RIGHT ON DUDE. I'm with you.

I could see him look back around mile 4 - I kinda lost it for a second there & fell behind. I got a little caught up in friends along the course & my focus went to fun suzy instead of race suzy. But I gained it back, caught up to him on a downhill.

Down into Aggieville - what sucks about this race is you come down the hill into the finish area, but you still have a mile to go. All these people cheering & stuff - you just feel like you should be done. Mile 6 was kinda tough, but I stayed with my new friend & I had the best race EVER! I don't know that dude, but he got me a 4 minute PR this weekend.

This is what I had after....one or two or three....Thanks Marian for the ride home! :)

fastest 5k, sore hammy & some beer pong

It's crazy what a little sunshine will do for you! This week's running weather was completely awesome. I ran 21 miles this week...which was more than what was on my schedule, but I'm just trying to go with how I feel.

Thursday was a beautiful day out, so I took out for a lunchtime run. During the week I've been trying to do some speed work on the shorter runs. I kicked out my fastest 5k on thursday :) a 4 minute PR! That's big for me. I giggled and smiled the whole way back to my office.

For anyone new following this blog....I had knee surgery last year, started back to running with 11 minutes miles, so a 25 min 5k is honestly something I never thought I would ever do.

Friday - should have been a rest day for Saturday long run, but wow, it was so nice out I just couldn't stay in. Lunchtime run again, 4 miler, 3 minutes faster than I've ever run 4 miles. Something has just clicked this past week and I LIKE IT!

Saturday - well, this is where I didn't do a very good job of listening to my body. I was tired Friday night (probably from 2 days of all out), but Saturday was going to be the nicer of the weekend days....so I got up early Saturday for my long run.

Feeling really good during the run, but after my hammy is hurting. Stretching & rest for me for a few days. I have a race next weekend, so I'm going to take it a bit easy this next week.

Anyway, Saturday run - I saw :

A guy in his silky pj pants taking his dogs out. He tried to hide behind a tree when he saw me coming, but just so he knew that I saw him, I yelled a big 'good morning!' lol

A packet of GU 1/2 gone on the sidewalk. First thought : Ah, cool. Runners are out there everywhere. Second thought : Dude, pick up your trash you literbug. Third thought : I wish I had one of those right now. I forgot to buy any fuel so I was going without today.

Plus a whole lotta drunk, drunk, drunk people heading to Aggieville for 'fake patty's day'. Ahhhh ... to be 21 and drunk at 8am.

A group asked me to come along with them, another asked if I wanted to take a beer pong break (I really DID), and I got a passerby honk (but it was a car of girls so I'm not sure if that one counts? Or maybe it counts double?) I resisted the beer pong and kept on running.

Saw several people doing the Saturday morning 'walk of shame'. You know, the 'still in my Friday night clothes, hair a mess, walking home from the hook up' walk. Cracks me up sometimes to live in a college town.

OH! And the coolest thing I saw today :Hello Spring!

Long Run Saturday

ahhhh....Saturday. Maybe my very favorite day of the week. Not because of the usual things people love Saturdays for - no work, sleeping in - but because Saturday means I have time to run long.

I'm in full swing of 1/2 marathon training now, so I've been focusing during the week on the shorter, faster runs - trying to build my speed a bit. GAWH I hate those. Mostly because I've been stuck on the treadmill, but speed work in general sucks. I'm pretty convinced that I'm not built to ever be much faster than I already am....but I will keep trying!

Saturday long run is a much different run. I get to slow it down a bit, not focus on speed, zone out to my tunes and take it easy. I have tons of 'think' time, which I love.

I come up with all kinds of things to blog about on those runs, but I'll pick one for today.

When I first started running, I was about 45 pounds heavier, didn't own a single piece of dri fit clothing (or even knew what it was), & I ran around the old track at my gym just because I knew noone ever used it. I could run without anyone seeing me. Funny how I thought you should be completely fit & skinny before showing your face in the gym! Ummm, isn't that what the gym is for??? How silly.

Here's my experience at the gym yesterday.

I'm on the treadmill....for 1 hr, 40 min. Plenty of time to see lots of people come & go. We have two rows of treadmills & I always take the back. Ok there is still some vanity there (the back row means less people to see your butt shake when you run!).

A woman got on a treadmill right in front of me - heavy set woman, & started to walk. Shortly after I see her take it up to a jog, then a walk, then a jog....of course that looks just like the Couch to 5K plan to me, & I right away want to see if that's what she's doing.

If you know me, you are not surprised here, I will attempt to convert anyone I know into running - even if they really don't want to. Of course I go talk to her. She was in fact working on the Couch to 5K plan & Saturday was her 2nd week. We talked for awhile, then I let her get back to her workout & I to mine. I know how much time she had left in her workout.....

In walks 3 completely hot girls in those little boy shorts, full on makeup, tan, legs as long as my whole body....you couldn't help but notice them. They pop on the treadmill right next to this lady in front of me. But not before stretching right out in front of the whole gym. (um, ok, if I had an ass like that, I'd probably bend it over in front of the whole gym too...)

They get right onto the treadmill & start a warm up at what looks to be a comfortable pace for them. You know, just jogging along leisurely & chatting. Since I am behind them I can clearly see their pace. This leisurely warm up was at 7.0.

Now, let me tell you that I know who one of these girls is - she is a body builder - so I secretly was thinking when she hopped on the treadmill that there was no way she was a runner too.....but an 8:30 pace for a warmup? Yeah, thinking she's a runner too.

Then....she kicks that up to 10.5. That's a 5:40 pace. Then to 12. Yeah, that's a 5:00 pace. Holy crap, this woman is now running twice as fast as me.

I was jealous, felt like I needed to pick up my pace some - but only for one second - then I knocked it back down again. I was there to run 10 miles slow & easy....I wasn't going to mess that up.

But the sad thing is, the lady I had talked to earlier, turned off her treadmill & left. I know she wasn't done with her workout. I know why she gave up yesterday. I've been her & I felt sad for her. I truly hope to see her again at the gym.

Long story to get to my point of the post.

It's really hard not to compare ourselves to others. VERY hard. I used to do it. ALOT. From that time in my life I can tell you that comparing yourself to anyone else is the most unproductive use of your time & energy. I will never be taller than a 28" inseam. And you know, I'm ok with that :)

When I feel myself going there - like yesterday - I do two things.

First, think of what I would say to my little sweet one if she came to me with thoughts like this. I would NEVER let her feel inadequate to another girl.

Second, I try my hardest to acknowledge the work that other person has had to do to get to that point. That girl is at the gym every single time I am there. I know you don't get an ass like that eating pizza & drinking beer. She worked hard & for a long time. Those abs didn't happen overnight.

This post is a reminder for me, & for my friend(you know who you are!)

The best advice I could ever give you is to celebrate your accomplishments for what they are. YOURS. On this running journey, you will find out more about yourself than you ever thought possible. This is YOUR path that you are making for yourself. You can't worry about who's faster than you, who's slower than you, who has a smaller butt than you.

Oh & plus, that chick was only on the tready for about 10 minutes. I was there for an hour & 40 min. :) ooops, there I go again!