24 miles and ready for Kansas City

Today was a very good running day. The temperature was 43 when I got up and I wore a lightweight jacket for the first time since Spring. I had a bad long run two weeks ago and decided to run 22 today instead of having a 3 week taper. I was considering running 24 but wanted to wait and see how I felt after 11. I was also going to try a different fueling technique, start the Gu at 5 miles and every 5 miles after that. That worked really well because I got the Gu in before I was tired. Also, I tried out my running shirt for the KC marathon, you could order your number on your shirt: http://www.wearyournumber.com/ I did chafe a little bit under my arms, but other than that, the shirt worked really well and I love the way it looks. It cost 27.95 and I'll get a lot of wear out of it. It was fun to wear the shirt before the event occurred and I saw runners staring at it, trying to figure out what race it was from. I ended up running 24 and I ran the whole 24, stopping only for water or potty breaks. I felt good the whole time and averaged 10:33/mile. My goal is 4:30 for this marathon but that will be a stretch. Today the conditions were perfect and I don't know what KC will be like and with my sensitive stomach, I never know what to expect. We'll see, I'm really looking forward to the marathon, I know we'll have fun regardless and eating at the Cheesecake Factory after we shower will be something to look forward to.

As I finished my run, I met up with Bobby and Sandra and she had just completed her longest run ever, 20 miles. Yea for Sandra, those milestones are to be celebrated! And yea for Bobby for being such a good running partner.

I want to give a shout out to Jason and Lisa. They will be doing an ultra this coming weekend in El Dorado, Kansas. Jason will be doing 100 miles, omg, yes 100 mile and Lisa will be doing the 50 mile. Jason is actually excited, said it is going to be fun. Well, people look at me like I'm crazy too when I say that marathons are fun. I feel like those people do, but, have fun, Jason and Lisa, I'll be praying for you.

After I finshed my run, I showered and went over to a friends house with my hubby, Gary, and we put primer on their window and door frames. My friend has her 3rd reoccurence of cancer and had chemo on Thursday so I know this made her feel better, to see progress being made on her house and we really enjoyed helping her. Plus, it's good to move around a lot after a long run so you don't tighten up, I was up and down the ladder, so I shouldn't be too sore on the following days.

This coming Saturday I'm going to do the River Rush, other than that, I'm into my taper.

Sweet Relief From Heat

Temp showed 66 degrees when I left the house this a.m. at 5:30. I was really looking forward to a great run. Our course was flat and only 10 miles.

We're continuing to have a great turnout and there's lots of other runners and cyclists on the trail. We had a pretty uneventful training run, Becky, Janet and I talked more about our schedule for the KC Marathon.

Our fantastic run leader, Jason, was in a 50 mile run last w/e and said it was the hardest he had ever done, it was so hot and he was drenched with sweat. He's doing another 50 mile tonight but he still showed up to cheer us on and stayed until we were done. I could tell it was killing him to not run with us, especially with the weather being so cool, but that was a good call to rest before tonight. Thanks for being there Jason!

When I got in my car to go home, it was only 8:20 a.m., it was super to get home so early.

Solo Hill Training

I missed hill training last week and I didn't want to miss another one. The thought of running in this 100+ was sickening so I waited until 8:30 tonight and ran up a hill in my neighborhood. It wasn't the same steep climb as 11th and Riverside but I did do it 8 times and it felt good. It was so dark on the way back that I took a wrong turn in my neighborhood (on foot) and got a little disoriented. But I'm really glad I ran the hill. Now...to get up at 4:45 and run again...and that same hill is on my route.

I drank 6 oz of orange juice before I ran and I think that really helped. Unfortunately my Garmin did that "laps database full" trick again so I didn't record my run.

Many Hands at Poker Run

Saturday was another one of Runners World's fun poker runs. We end up with 7 cards by getting one at the start and getting one every mile, then getting one at the finish. At the end, you turn in your cards and, based on your hand, you get to pick out a prize from the items from the Runners World stash. The prizes range from a free pair of shoes, gift certificates, entries to races, running jacket, shirts or shorts, lots of socks and lots of shirts left over from previous races. It is a lot of fun and great of Runners World to give away merchandise and we hang out for awhile and get to visit.

What a hot day! The marathoners started early, at 6:00, and put in 4 miles before we started the 5 mile Poker Run. There were lots of people besides us out running, Fleet Feet training groups and other runners. It is refreshing to see people out here taking good care of themselves, in spite of the heat. I went a little hard for the 4 miles with Becky and Janet and then we took it slower for the 5 miles. The last mile of the 5 was very tiring, I've got to get more acclimated to this heat. We ended up averaging about 10:00 min. miles which was closer to a steady state than an easy run. I did feel pretty tired the rest of the day but had a fun time at a baby shower.


I think I've decided on a fall marathon, the Kansas City one on Oct. 17 http://www.waddellandreedkcmarathon.org/. It is a little bit hillier than the OKC one but I've been told that with the hill training we're doing this summer, I shouldn't have any trouble with the race.


With this heat, I don't want to do the hill training at 11th & Riverside. It's too long of a drive from work and it is too hot. I'm thinking that I will do my hill work in my neighborhood at 8:30 in the evening. We have a good elevation increase just east of my house.


Last week, I tried some new socks. They are by injinji http://www.rei.com/product/728371 and they look like this on my feet:

I ran in them for 8 miles and they felt fine. I can feel a little seam on the big toe so I'll reserve saying they're really good until I take them on a 20 mile. I got them at Backwoods, another one of my favorite stores for outdoor gear.

Another sweaty day

I got halfway to Veteren's Park and felt like something was missing. Shuffle? yes, Gatorade? yes, Visor? yes, Heart Rate monitor? yes, t-shirt to change into? yes, Garmin? no. Oh rats, no garmin and it's too late to turn back. Don't you hate to run without your Garmin? Especially today, since we were doing hills, I wanted to monitor my heart rate. Well, at least I could take off my monitor and not worry about chaffing.

The first 4 miles were really hilly and I took it slow and easy. I felt pretty heavy with the heat and I'm so glad that we are starting at 6 next week instead of 7. When I was first training for marathons a couple of years ago, I hated that early start time and we started at 5:30 but now I really like it. It keeps the whole day from being used up with the run and you get a head start on the heat. Rachel joined us again and it was great to have her cheery spirit to lead us on. It was great to see Greg as well, he had been injured while training for St. Louis and is getting back into training. And it was great to meet Jason's mom, I think this multi-generational running is way cool.

I didn't go to hill training Monday night because I needed to be somewhere else but I learned that people turned out in spite of the heat and Dave brought icy cold sponges so people could be refreshed after running the hills. So, I'm pretty sure I'll be there on Monday and it is supposed to be a litle bit cooler.

I'm reading an excellent book on running, actually like a runner's bible, The Lore of Running by Dr. Timothy Noakes. It covers physiology, training for all distances, what to do for all types of injuries, it will be a good reference book. I also have a couple of books on reserve at the library,

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner (thank you Rachel for the recommendation). Another one that I've already read that was fascinating about the history of women's running was http://www.amazon.com/Marathon-Woman-Running-Revolutionize-Womens/dp/0786719672/?tag=completerunni-20 I will forever be grateful to Katherine Switzer for clearing the way for women's running.
Anybody else out there have some favs you care to recommend?

Easy Does It

It is sweltering today, I elected to run with Cindy's group at 6:00 a.m. instead of my RW group at 7:00, good choice, it was so humid even at that early hour and it sure didn't feel like 78. We ran from Helmrich Park up to Turkey Mountain and on to the west side of the river and back to the park, 10 m on my Garmin but could have been over 11, depending on how much you walked. On our way back as we came to Turkey Mountain parking lot we observed that the sun had just come out in full force and we were so glad that we didn't have much further to go.

I'm so glad I started wearing my heart rate monitor because I felt like I was working so hard but my bpm were in the 150 range instead of the 170 that it felt like. We took it really slow and took lots of walk breaks. Several from this group are going to Seattle for the marathon there next Saturday so there was no need to push hard, thankfully, I was glad when this run was done and really enjoyed the frappuccino at Starbucks. We had someone new join us, Rachel from Broken Arrow, who was a delight to have along and did her 1st 1/2 marathon at the Aquarium Run and finished under 2.00...I'm impressed!

I've been going to the hill work training on Monday night and even though it is so very hot, it is only about 4 miles plus the hill repeats and I know the hill repeats are going to pay off in strength building. I'm the slowest and oldest one there but that's ok, I will get faster and feel younger.

Want a chance to win a free pair of running shoes? Check out http://iwannagetphysical.blogspot.com/2009/06/who-wants-free-pair-of-shoes.html and post a comment on his blog. He's a triathlete.

Great start for Runner's World Route 66 training

Today was our kick-off for training for the R66 fall marathon. We have about 250 people signed up at different distances. We had a great crowd this morning and we were assigned to groups. I think this is a good idea and once we get settled into the right pace group, we'll be smoking. We had a good, easy 6 mile run and I went back out for 3 with Michael M and Rebecca (someone I haven't met before) more afterwards. Jason is our leader and he did a great job of keeping us on pace and encouraging us. He and Leesa just moved into a different house and they were up until 1:00 last night moving in. I really appreciate the dedication of the run leaders. I was glad to see Janet in my group, she pushes me and she's very encouraging. We're close in age and manage to have some good talks while we run. Our group is training for a 4:30 marathon andwe're off to a good beginning. I'm going to try and do the hill work on Monday evening with Dave S. It's really hard to get away from work so we'll see if I can get there by 5:30.

I've started wearing my heart monitor more consistently so I can monitor how hard I am working.