Tuesday, September 30, 2008

...and this little piggy...

Oh running friends. What a sad day. But, before I unfold the story of today, I must flip back our calendars to last Saturday, the marathon, and start there.

I had made a poor choice of buying new shoes for the marathon. When did you buy them Lori? Oh, the day before the marathon. My sad pathetic running shoes were about 60 miles overdue and my shins were starting to feel it. I had planned on getting them before my NC trip, but I never did... of course I put it off til ... oh 18 hours before the marathon! GRRR. The running store guy said since it was the same brand, my feet were used to it, etc etc etc it should be okay. Running on newer shoes is better than running with no support. (so the articles say) Marathon came and went and I kept mentioning to Amanda how my foot hurt. Maybe I just wore my shoes too tight and they were bruised. Or my feet just hurt, I DID just run 26 miles. I went on my merry way...

Because I'm a runner and we're a funny and strange breed, I never thought another second about the pain in my foot. I lifted weights, ran (a lot), did all sorts of crazy exercises at BASICS that made my foot HUUUURT. I just kept thinking "it's probably just a bruise." Then on Saturday I mentioned to Van that I think I really bruised my foot, he looked at it and just hung his head as he shook it in disbelief. He made me hold my feet up together and pointed out how the inside of my right foot from my joint to my arch was about three times the size of my left foot. Oh. "I really think you should get it checked out, Lor." Okay, hon. On the check list. Nope. Went to BASICS again on Monday, did squats, lunges, ran, and did 100 calf raises, on my FOOT. (those hurt) While I was doing the calf raises I thought "hmmm, should you be doing this?" But because I'm INSANE I just kept doing them.

Shoot to this morning, Amanda and I did a tempo run... which went really really well. I'll leave her to tell you about the actual workout, but towards the end of the run I was slowing down quite a bit and my foot was starting to KILL. The minute we got to Manda's house my shoe was off and I was whining. Amanda, once again, told me I should get it checked out. (She and Van are apparently in cahoots about my foot) I said "yah yah" and went home. Well, after about an hour and a half I couldn't put pressure on the ball of my foot anymore and each step up and down the stairs produced some wellage in my eyes. Dang it.

I went to the doc and this is what they found out from the x-ray. I fractured the medial cuneiform bone, right where it meets with the metatarsal bone. Translation: the ball joint of your big toe? That big round thing that sticks out? That's broken. Which would explain why it's purple and swollen down to my arch. So I get to sport this lovely shoe for the next 4 weeks:

(baby not included)

I'm waaay excited. Especially since that means NO running, NO impact sports period for at least 3 weeks. I can still lift weights as long as my foot is stationary. I can ride a bike all I want. (grumble grumble... good for triathlon training grumble..) I go back in to the doc in 3.5 weeks, if things haven't cleared up it's a full calf boot for me which equals more NO running, NO impact sports and a very bummed out Lori. Yippee.

I realize 3-4 weeks is nothing in the long haul... but....Pfffffffttttt!!!!!

Monday, September 29, 2008

To Those Who Read Our Blog.

"Look Pretty, Run Nasty" started out as a way for Erin, Amanda, and I to stay connected and encourage each other during our marathon training last spring. It's turned into something so much better. It's been a place that has connected us to so many awesome athletes and deepened our love for running, exercise, and the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Our friendship has grown and deepened (which we didn't even know was possible). All three of our paths are heading in very different directions over the course of the next 6 months. Because of this, we have different goals when it comes to racing, diet, and exercise for the next year. Over the course of the next two weeks we're going to cue you in to the direction we're wanting to take our blog. Just letting our faithful readers know we're still here, still posting, just revamping things. :)

Manda and I have a rockin' 4 mile tempo run in the morning. I'm sure we'll both have something to say about THAT (especially since "trainer Lori" is back in her skin wuahahahahahaha)

Keep things Nasty ladies...

Over and Out. -Lor

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Loved This Quote

"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants to quit." GEORGE SHEEHAN
This morning we did speed training and I wanted to quit. My lungs hurt, my heart was pounding and my muscles were screaming. Wish I would have had that quote written on my hand this morning. Maybe it would have helped. But then again, maybe not. ;)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

its TIME...


for FALL runs- oh how I love fall mornings like this morning. Enjoy the clear skies, crisp air and CRUNCH under your feet

Sunday, September 21, 2008

TOU Marathon Race Highlights.

Hi friends. Well, it happened. What you say? You actually ran and finished that marathon that you really didn't train for? Sweet! Why yes yes friends I did. I wrote about the more emotional side on my family blog... but figured I'd keep this post more light and running related...sound good? So, here we go the highlights of the marathon, get excited. I'm going to break it up into sections... browse at your leisure.


Pre-Race:
Holy moly, love the clothing options for the TOU marathon. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to buy. I think I'm going to let the GOAL foundation know that they need to expand their clothing options for the Ogden Marathon, who's with me? I got a cute orange hoodie that I will be sporting all winter. Yesssss. I ate pasta that DID NOT agree with my tummy and ended up becoming BFF's with my cousin's toilet. Luckily, it subsided by 1:30ish so I was able to get SOME sleep before the marathon. I had a dream that I slept in til 7 and woke up in a frenzy... it was only 3:05. Good good.

Bus Ride:

It was a school bus for elementary students. I sat under the letters "R and S" and there were a list of "bus rules" most of which all the runners on board were breaking. Hee hee. I also was the last runner off the bus cause I was freezing and chose to stay in the bus as loooong as possible (yes, until the bus driver looked at me like "uhhhh, you running this or am I driving you back down?") which turned out to be a BAD idea cause then I had to go to the bathroom STAT.

Porta Potty:

Oh HOLY. LINE. I needed to go soooooooooooooooo sooooooooo bad and had to wait 20 MINUTES. Dang people that got off the bus before me!!! While in the pot I hear on the loudspeaker "3 minutes til start!" Eeeeek, talk about a stressful way to start the race!



The Race Miles 1-6

These miles went by really really fast. I disliked having to stop every 4 minutes and walk. I felt like I was sprinting every 4 minutes to make up for that 1 minute. The entire running population just springing past you. By mile 6 I was toggling the same group of people consistently. I'm sure that was mentally taxing for them too. We were running the same pace but they were running the entire time and I was getting walk breaks. Oh, get excited cause I was toggling with UNDERWEAR MAN! Manda got a good shot of him from the front. And sad, it looks like his "wife beater" is actually a running shirt too.... maybe we should all pitch in and get him a new outfit and present it to him at the next race.


Mile 7-13
These were the hardest miles emotionally in the race. The canyon was GORGEOUS but I just couldn't focus right. It was a LOT of downhill and it seemed everytime my 4 minutes were up we were cresting and just getting ready for a huge downhill run. I got frustrated that I lost the momentum of running down the hill only to walk, start running halfway down the hill and then have to run up a hill again. I was ready to call it a race, especially when I crossed the half marathon mark and my time as 2:17. GRRRRR. I kept toggling people and not being able to catch up when I stopped to walk. It messed with me emotionally the whole walk/run/walk/run thing. I felt so full of energy and was frustrated that I was wasting it on walking. I got upset with the Jeff Galloway method but figured I needed to stick it out.


Mile 14-19
Oh how I felt like stopping. I came out of the canyon all pumped to see everyone... see everyone... see NO ONE?! Where in the heck are Van and Amanda? Hmmmm. Hopefully they will eventually find me, just keep running, just keep running. (What do we do? We Run. Run. Run.) I looked at every spectators face trying to figure out if one of them was Mel, looking for a boy that looked like Crew... to no avail.. Mel if you were there, I did not see you, sorry!! I loved it when it rained, made me instantly cool. Plus, I can't resist running in the rain. However, when I got to mile 17 this is about how I felt



no, not "about" how I felt. That was HOW I felt. So it was good that I had the cheer up visit from my favorite peeps. I had been toggling this group of three girls for FOREVER. They were kinda annoying at first because they were all giggly and chatty (probably like we are... haha) but by about this point they had lost some of the lovin' feeling. And in a sick, twisted way it made me happy. It meant that the race was draining them too. Then I PASSED them and I giggled as I passed them. WUAHAHAHAHAHA. These peeps also ran by me. Wonder if they were regretting their running wear choice by mile 23


When I hit the mile 18 marker I giggled outloud thinking "I am really insane, I just ran 18 freaking miles... and I still have 8 left... I. AM. INSANE!!!!!!!!!" My insanity induced happy spell kept me moving til mile 19 where my posse was waiting. Thank. HEAVENS. Amanda jumped on the running bandwagon and suddenly I had energy and determination again. Praise the Lord!


Mile 18-24

These miles pretty much went like this....
Amanda: [insert really funny story]
Lori: Uh Huh
Amanda [insert funny topic/idiom]
Lori: Uh Huh
Amanda [insert political or intriguing discussion]
Lori: Is it time to walk yet?
Amanda: Okay, time to run.
Lori: Another BLASTED hill? Who ARE these people?
Amanda: [insert encouraging words]
Lori: When is the next water station?
Amanda: .....
Lori: When do we get to walk again?
Amanda: You can do it.
Lori: How long have we been running?
Amanda: Lor, you're doing great.
Lori: Manda, I'm done, I'm really really done.
Amanda: I'm proud of you.
Lori: ....
Amanda: You can DO this!
Lori: I don't WANT to do this anymore.


Yaaah. I was a stellar person to run with. Despite what you think Mand, I DID hear your stories and now that I'm coherent and not wanting to punch anyone in the face I can have an actual conversation with you. Amanda was GOD. SENT. She pulled me out of my "I can't do it" mode and made me run the 3-4 minutes and was pushing me to walk faster. She didn't get down on me when I just had. to. stop. for a second but also didn't force me to the point that I cried. She was wonderful. WON-DER-FUL. So glad I read that in the marathon book. Highly recommend that strategy to anyone running a marathon! Grab a running friend with a fresh pair of legs for the last 6 miles, it makes a WORLD of difference. Oh and we passed the bubbly girls this time and ... their spark? it was GONE. hung shoulders, not talking at all. Inside it secretly made me happy... well, actually it wasn't THAT secret I turned to Amanda and whispered "Not so spunky anymore, eh?"

Mile 25-26
Just imagine a kid in the back of a car towards the end of a really really long road trip...

"Are we there YET?"

Pretty much was me. It was good, I knew we were getting to the end. But the TOU organizers were MEAN and put a HILL a freaking HILL at mile 25. and again at mile 25.3... mean hosers. Amanda was awesome, she kept me moving, kept my mind going, kept my body in it's rhythm. I could hear the finish line music and I knew I was close, but they have their finish line set up all retarded like... they must be in cahoots with Provo River Half, cause you have NO IDEA where it is til you're right there. Amanda cheered me on and ran ahead when there was a block or so left. She ran back and told me "run at the corner!" So, I moved forward with determination to sprint..

Mile 26-Mile 26.2

Okay, there is the finish line. Hmmm. I should really start sprinting. Sprinting? Who am I kidding... just run... yah, move those legs... okay they are moving... Oh there is the finish! Woo woo!! And I skipped across, yes yes I did. SK-A-IPP-ED. Aren't I a peach? Then I was done. THANK GOODNESS. Gave them my timing chip, got my sa-weet medal and downed about 4 mini fat boys. I love ice cream after the marathon. We took these cute shots.


and this one for you Erin, cause ... we're THAT cool.


Final Thoughts

TOU Marathon: It was a nice marathon, well run, well attended and well supported. I enjoyed the course for the first 16 miles... once we got into the town it just got tedious and very looooong running all the switchbacks through the neighborhoods. I probably won't run the course again, I enjoyed the Ogden one much much better. Good to know for future marathons.

Jeff Galloway Method: I think it was a great way to save your muscles. I feel better after this marathon than I have for the other two. However, it slowed me down. My concern a few weeks ago turned out to be valid and I still puttered out in the end, so... my plan of action for future marathons would be the following: run like normal the first 16-17 miles, when mile 18 rolls around and your body starts to fall apart THEN adopt the walk/run 4/1 method. For me, that would make my time much better... we'll see,when I run another marathon I'll try it and see!

Ps. For those who cheer people on in the twenties? Do not, I repeat DO NOT say the phrase "you're almost there!" or "only 5 miles left!" cause seriously, people? We are NOT almost there and after 21 miles thinking about another hour on the course makes you want to cry. We are STILL not almost there at mile 24... around mile 25 you can start saying "Good job, only a mile left!" The only people I didn't want to punch in the face that said "You're almost there!" were peeps that said it with an accompanying "only 3 blocks left!! ... THAT my friends, is almost-there land.

Running a Marathon Solo: Ummm glad I did it. Not really something I want to do again. I know we ran the Ogden marathon at our own paces, but I still feel like we did it TOGETHER. This was all me. (and manda for the last 6... but you know what I mean) Just a little lonely.


Having cute babies and loving people cheer me on? Pretty much the best part.
I'm proud of myself for finishing. Especially with all the crap that has been going on lately, I had more than enough reason to bail on the marathon but I did it. I finished and I ran 99% of the 4 minute intervals. I'm grateful I've had the opportunity to run 3 marathons and .. ahem...

I'm taking this moment to announce my sabbatical from marathon-ing. (ooo sounds official doesn't it) I really need to get the whole Diabetes thing in check and with having to eat such a constant stream of carbs for endurance sports I just can't keep my carbs under 195g. I'll still be running but I need to focus on my health and get this weight off, get my thyroid in control and once everything is stable for awhile I'll jump back into more than 13 miles. Til then, half marathons, tri's and 10ks baby! Woo woo!!! It'll be like Spring Break!! Yipeee!!! Thanks for your support and cheers, it means a ton. You guys rock (even you silent blog lurkers... we know you read this blog and it gives us warm fuzzies) .

This is Lor, the marathoner, over and out.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

I did it!

I'm alive! YAY! Home nursing my poor, sad, sore legs.

Post comin' soon. Manda is holding my pictures hostage.

But I'm happy and I FINISHED (my main goal) can't complain!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

My visualization exercise.

Yup. It's here friends. The big marathon. The SOLO marathon. Here's my game plan, you excited?

Mile 1: Rock on. A mile, did it in 9 flat. Woo Woo, I'm a rock star

Mile 2: Down hill ROCKS! That was eeeeasy

Mile 3: Dooo Doooo dooo.... (sung, of course)

Mile 3.1: Yesss a 5k... under 30 min, awesome!

Mile 4: Wow. This is great.

Mile 5: Hi brown cow.

Mile 6: Where's the timer thing?

Mile 6.2: Oh, there it is... my rockin' support group will get their text messages. I'm feeling GREAT.

Mile 7: This is cake.

Mile 8: Rock on, we are still in the canyon. I love mountain running.

Mile 9: Already mile 9? My legs are feeling awesome!

Mile 10: Yesss! Double digits. Could this race BE any better?

Mile 11: I heart Jeff Galloway.

Mile 12: Drat, the canyon running is almost over. But that means we get to be cheered on by random peeps.

Mile 13: Good thing I like people cheering. I wonder if I'll recognize Mel.

Mile 13.1: Giggle Giggle, I just ran a half marathon and I feel AWESOME. Text messages sent, yesss.

Mile 14: Just passed "half way" woo woo

Mile 15: Completely out of the canyon, it's getting hotter, but I'm totally channeling my inner Sue Ann.

Mile 16: Channeling my inner Amanda. I feel awesome.

Mile 17: Walk breaks are my friends, but I still feel good. Yes Yes I do.

Mile 18: Oh look the switchback Erin told me about. Mental note, I will see this mile marker again at mile 20. Don't let it deflate me. Feeling good. Loving the walk breaks.

Mile 19: Yessss only one more mile and I get to run with Amanda. I can totally push through this mile.

Mile 20: HI FRIEND. Oh, hi friend. Oh, hi. Oh... look there is the 18 miler mark. Moving on....

Mile 21: Only 5 miles left! I can do this!!!!!

Mile 22: My legs are tired, but strong. The walk breaks are helping and I'm able to keep running the full 4 minutes.

Mile 23: Almost there, only a 5k + .1 left. I can do this, I AM doing this! I am tired but feeling good, good spirits.

Mile 24: Okay. Two more miles? Good thing Amanda is telling me about last nights baby shower cause I can't talk anymore. Still feel good.

Mile 25: Only 1 mile left. YESSSSSSSSSSSS.

Mile 26: Thank heavens, I can see the finish line! Bye friend! See you at the finish line!!!

Mile 26.2: Skip across the finish line... feeling GREAT and HAPPY!!!!!


WOO WOO!!! Chat with ya'll after the marathon!!! WISH ME LUCK!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Moment of Freakout

Would you all please take this moment to FREAK OUT with me? I am now in SINGLE DIGITS until the Marathon.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Holy Sore Body Batman or The Warm Fuzzy Run

Ok ladies. Here it is. My summary of the half on Saturday. I know you're excited, so please go use the restroom first. ;) Let's get the back story in quickly. Ok, so since Max joined our family I have pretty much exercised like not at all. Well I think I have managed to run a total of like 8 times and lifted maybe 3 times and I haven't played soccer at all. So this week what do I do? Play soccer Thursday and lift Friday, KNOWING that I was going to run a half on Saturday. Brilliant, Manda. Brilliant. Needless to say I woke up Saturday morning already really sore. Awesome. So whilst getting ready I was giving myslef the pep talk.
"You can do it Amanda. It doesn't matter that you're body aches. You can go and run a race and not be competitive. You're not out to win any medals, just to run and spend time with your friend. No need to pass people. Just finish...just finish. You can do it."
And then I gave myself a thumbs up. Uhhhh......nerd alert!

Well we got there and had a moment of spasticness...I know...you're thinking, "Who? Mandori? Never..." But alas it tis true. But to read about that part you'll have to go to my blog to read about that. Then the race started and my body started screaming. Well my legs at least. Oh they huuuuurt, and we were only a hundred yards in! Blast. Not a good sign. Thankfully Lori is a running genius and had decided that we were going to run this half the Jeff Galloway way and run for 4 minutes and walk for 1. Well I'm pretty sure I would have walked all the minutes had Lori not been there pushing me along.
The first 5 to 6 miles of any race is the hardest for me. I never feel good until we're in about 7 miles...which ironically is when Lor starts hurting...so then it's my turn to push. But that job was ripped out from under me by some random boys CC team. They FLEW past us, not once, not twice, but three times! Talk about demoralizing. The second time they ran past us, they really ran through us, so I started dancing....tee hee...secretly hoping to hit one of them while doing so. I'll teach you to run past me like that! So when they came by the 3rd time I tried to take a pic. Well you can see how well that turned out. Blast. Foiled on all sides. ;)

Previous to speed boys, we had the opportunity to run through a cow pasture....or at least that's what we THINK it was. Or maybe it was just a trap to catch unsuspecting runners in the deep murky waters that ran through it. Ummmm....can I say, dry shoes? I hate running in wet shoes. Luckily they'd put some rockin sprang-your-ankle boards over the waters. We were grateful we made it out alive! ;)


In the end it was a great race. The last 5 miles felt great and went by super fast. Lor and I had a great chat which really did leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy. We made each other list 5 talents that we're grateful we have. Try it sometime. It's harder than it sounds. We finished the race strong which I was super impressed with considering she's sick and deaf and I was unprepared and sore to begin with. Our finish time was even faster than the first half we ran together 2 1/2 years ago. Ahhhh....look at how far we've come! It was sooooo good to be out running long distances again and to have some great chat time (though Lor did think we'd need talking points...bah!)
Thanks Lor for such a good run! It was so fun and I was so glad to be running with you again! And no we did not plan on matching. It was fate. So yes I did it! I proved to myself that I indeed could jump into running again. So of course when I got home I had to give myself a thumbs up again....only this time a little more awake and sweaty.

And that's when the pain set in. All I have to say is Holy Sore Body Batman.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Running Through HEL (Huntsville, Eden & Liberty)

Well, well, let me tell you what Erin. You missed out on a classic Mandori* Saturday. Truly, truly, you might have disowned us as friends (til about mile 10 when we started back into “normalcy” again… or was it mile 9? Hmmmm) Nonetheless, I will leave it to Amanda to tell you the brunt of our race, because really, she’s funnier than I am. But, here are my highlights.

This is Jim. The pretty girl to his left is his wife Sue. Sue pretty much ran the entire half toggling us back and forth (in the end she finished about 30 seconds before us). Jim was a rockin’ husband and father, he and his son went to each mile marker to cheer his wife on. This meant that the ENTIRE race he’d be at every mile marker cheering us on (okay, he was really cheering his wife on but he threw us a cheering bone…) AND when he drove to the next mile marker he’d roll down his windows and cheer for us. We liked Jim. So, we asked him if we could take a picture with our cheerleader. He obliged.

Thanks Jim!!!!

Amanda and I are 100% addicted to our blackberries, if ya’ll hadn’t noticed, so it was only appropriate that we started the race blackberry’ing her husband… meaning… we had our blackberries with us the entire 13.1 miles. HAHAHAHA. We just can’t put the dang things down. We had to use them as our watches because I forgot my watch at home. Silly me. Don't you worry though, I got an email whilst running (yes, I read it) and Amanda got a phone call at 12.8 miles that she took. (yup!) We're funny.

The Jeff Galloway method? I think it was perfect for us with this half because.. 1) I was still feeling like CA-RAAP from my nice little infection. Plus, I had just been throwing up three days earlier… slightly low on fuel. 2) Amanda hasn’t run longer than 6 miles in the last two months… and pretty sure she’s only run maybe 10 times since May. Therefore, we were able to finish this race with minimal effort and not kill ourselves. However, I think for the marathon I am going to switch it up slightly. Totally going to do the JG method, but I’m going to push harder for those 4 minutes. If I don’t pick it up the extra 4 minutes I run the same pace PLUS take walk breaks… so my 9:30 mm turns into an 10:30/11:00mm which by mile 24 is going to be a 13mm…. so… that’s my thought. I figure if I can bust out the first 16 miles of the marathon I won’t be THAT far off my goal. We’ll see… really, it’s about finishing, right? Right? Keep reminding me of that friends.

New subject, oh, wait, previous subject. Tee hee. Tanget Queen, that’s me. Focus back on running through HEL. The course was GORGEOUS, flat, and soooo random (Manda has pictures) and they were kinda funny water stops. The WSU track team made me giggle…never felt more like a slug in my entire life. Listened to a dude talk to his running partner about how the bible doesn’t have any proof that salvation requires baptism. Hmmmm.

Manda’s hot.

(No, really, she was hot. She'd just taken her long sleeve off)

Manda’s ALWAYS faster than me, even with walking breaks. Yes, this is a walk break.. and she’s what 20 meters ahead? Dang her and her genetics.

But, really, here we go. Erin we’ve told you about him… but here he is. Mr. Underwear Man:
He’s ran both Ogden Marathons with me and was in another random Ogden race too. Always wears this same outfit. What you say? Boxers and a wife beater? Why, yes, that’s what I thought too….but he got up close to me at one point during the race and those shorts really ARE running shorts (what a let down) but it is a 100% wife beater. That didn’t stop me from singing this is in my head everytime I saw him (tuned to Spiderman..)

“Underwearman, Underwearman wears his panties cause that’s what Underwearman does…”
This biggest highlight, however, was running a race with YOU manda. I feel really blessed that I've been able to run a race with each of you, by ourselves, this summer. Erin, because we've never done it! A first memory!! Amanda, it’s been a long time and I loved every second. I especially liked how the race ended. We made each other say 5 things we liked about ourselves and talk about it and then gave each other pep talks. Very happy way to end the race. It was nice to run a race when our lives are pretty even-keeled. YAY! (yes, we're THAT cool...)
Good times, folks. Get excited for Amanda’s post. I’m pretty much waiting with baited breath. Just start laughing now…..


*Mandori's definition: Manda/Lori moments that really no one else would be able to fabricate.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

I HOPE THE RACE WENT WELL LADIES!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Declaration of Running for Running

Preamble of declaration: SAFETY

Lady's! Lori and I had a intense conversation about running safety and being accountable while we are running on our own. The bases of our conversation can be summed up in three points: (1) Since the weather is changing and we all love our fall it means the easy summer mornings of running when its light outside is over for yet another year. (2)Especially now that all our lives/scheduled and where we live is changing. (3)Have you tried to tell your husband where you are going when they are half asleep and have no reason to be awake until its too late? Well, it doesn't work out great if you have given it a try. So because of these three reason, we are going to use the buddy system the night before your lonely workout, either call, text or post if you plan on running in the morning and when you will be back. Then when you return call, text, post (whatever form of communication you have chosen from the night before) and simply say "I AM ALIVE"...if you forget to notify the others- it will only happen once because of embarrassment of having the troops called out to find you will help your remember real quick. Obviously the first step would to call the husband of the missing runner and say, "hey remember that hot girl you love and call wife have you seen her?" and then proceed through the appropriate order of finding one another. COOL! Ya I thought so!
I also think after two or more years of running we pretty much know the drill, but lets take a second and formalize our running declaration, by adding amendments through posts.

Amendments

*I run because my legs and heart are strong enough for me to push through
*I run to be at my psychical best
*I run because it clears my mind and organizes my troubles
*It's not cool to back out of races,(especially when others have already signed up) or training unless a dump truck hits you or something to that affect
*Running is not easy, there may be a million reasons not to go, but the feeling of and satisfaction upon completion out weighs every single one of those reasons
*CUTTING RUNS SHORT DO YOU NO GOOD
*Never walk longer than a minute
*Push through hills, and then they are over

Monday, September 1, 2008

hi friends

i never got around to blogging about our long run Erin... it was fabulous. thank you for being my therapist. i took a lot of what you said to heart and tried to apply it. you're going to be an excellent therapist, i hope you know that! i loved running in uintah (despite the ONE gory hill), i loved each time my watch beeped you'd say "ahh hell," i loved that starbucks gave us free cold water..yumm... and i especially loved that we went into smiths. haha. thanks for sharing that long run with me erin, it meant a lot.

this week's long run was pretty darn awesome. i ran up in the mountains (8000 feet ladies... your lungs DIIIEEEE) and was able to clear my head. what is it about the mountains? nature? i don't know but it's so much easier to open up my heart when i'm out away from it all. i was able to work through the crap i've talked to you both about and feel like i'm on the right track. i feel emotionally ready for the marathon, even if i don't feel quite positive about how physically ready i am to tackle the marathon. but, as we know, running is 90% mental 10% physical... so...hopefully that bodes well for me. :) i'm beyond excited that the weather has started to turn colder...yes yes i am. that means that the marathon MIGHT be manageable weather. yessssss. no sunburn or heat exhaustion. i'm ALL about that.

this week is going to be pretty chill in the running department. tomorrow morning manda and i are going to run 3-4 miles, on thursday morning i'm doing a speed workout and then running the Huntsville Half Marathon on Saturday with Alli and Amanda. should be good times had by all. what are your plans this week, friends?