frost on my eyelashes. ice in my water.

This past Saturday was my best run yet. And I really needed a good run. I'd been feeling overall discouraged with my progress, only fueled by a complete lack of motivation, again fueled by my feeling discouraged. It's like debating if the chicken or the egg came first. I even tried to bail when my alarm starting crying at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. I was just thinking of how bad I'd feel if I couldn't complete my run, and there I was on the Monon with everyone to witness. Brett literally poked me until I got up.

Even before we got out on the Monon, I was glad I'd gotten my bum out of bed. Our running coach at The Running Company chats for a couple minutes before we get started, and it's like he was in my brain when he said this is about the point it starts getting hard because the novelty and adrenaline of signing up is wearing off.

Umm. Yes.

But then another Mini-Marathon veteran pointed out how much progress we really have made by the 4 mile mark. From our downtown starting point, the race path weaves it's way west and we'll make a loop around the 2.5 mile famed oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. By 4 miles we'll be making a turn from (or to?) Holt Rd and we'll almost be to track. That's pretty darn close to the half way point because after that loop you're definitely on the homebound path!

Saturday's goal was 40 minutes or 4 miles, depending on your pace. And it was a whole 11 degrees on Saturday morning, making the muscles a bit resistant to warm up! Roughly into the first mile I set my eyes on a couple gals just ahead of me and made a goal to keep them in my line of vision. Having a moving target was awesome, and just like that I was to the half way point and on my way back.

Then I saw the wildest thing. About mid-way through the -back portion of my run, I passed a gal running in the opposite direction and it looked like she was wearing thick white mascara/false eyelashes. I thought that to be an odd for a Saturday morning run. (It was early. And cold. And I'm clearly a novice in the running world.) But that made me notice my own eyelashes, and that could actually see them through my line of vision. I started noticing more and more of my fellow runners with white eyelashes, and white hair, and white shimmers on the shoulders of their running fleece. I couldn't believe it, our own sweat was freezing on our bodies. Even my water I was carrying had started to turn to ice! Oddly enough, that was the motivation I needed to turn my spirits around.



I ran the full time and covered a distance of 3.6 miles. (I use MapMyRun to plot each of my outdoor runs.) If I had a fancy schmany iPhone there's an app for that and it will calculate as you run. I'm sure there's an app for my Droid too, but I run with my iPod rather my phone. That puts me in the neighorhood of an 11 minute pace. I'm happy there.

Now if this snow would just let up a bit...

too.freaking.cold

Ok, I'm done with this "to run outside in the elements or in the climate controlled indoors deal-io."

I had a 40 minute run to complete on Saturday. Given Brett and I had celebrated our birthdays with a nice dinner out Friday evening, I was not about to get my bum out of bed at 7 a.m. to meet my running group on the Monon when I have dozens of nicely paved and wide sidewalks in my own part of town. I'd like to tell you I'm that dedicated but I'd be lying. So I slept in. And when I rolled out of bed at 9 a.m. it was an entire three degrees outside. Yes, as in one...two...three degrees. Hauled my bum down to the treadmill, yes I did.

I.hate.treadmills.

I wasn't even to a single mile and I was willing it to be over. There was no setting a landmark a few blocks ahead before I'd make a turn and set a new landmark another few blocks in the distance and repeat. That works for me. A giant television screen with bad Saturday morning programming and a treadmill that I feel moving beneath me while I make no visible progress whatsoever. That does not work for me.

I'd love to know if this is just my own crazy mental block or if anyone else has a strong liking toward one form of running vs. another.

And I promise to file this topic away after tonight.

spring's cameo

It was a balmy 55 degrees with a hint of sunshine on Sunday afternoon. I'm sure that weather was special-ordered for the beating of the New York Jets by our Indianapolis Colts. (HelLO Super Bowl XLIV!) Monday morning we awoke to a friendly reminder that it IS January, and this IS Indiana. I had another friendly reminder staring me in the face all day: my training schedule.

Week 1 - Monday: Run 30 minutes or 2 miles.

Last time around I mentioned that I preferred running outside in the cold to running on a treadmill. But for the most part our winter was considerably un-Indiana like last year and I wasn't sure how I'd handle below freezing temps paired with the white stuff. No time to dwell though, by afternoon the snow was falling, the wind was blowing and I see this come up on my Facebook newsfeed from the 500 Festival.

--
With the winter weather hitting Indianapolis again, don't be afraid to train in the snow. A few tips would be to run with a partner and wear moisture-wicking fabrics on the inside and moisture-shedding fabrics on the outside. Also, don't worry about running fast, just cover the distance. The extra fabrics will slow you down but add resistance.
--

Well darn't, no excuse now. Plus, I did spend a few dollars at Dick's Sporting Goods in recent weeks on cold weather running attire. So I ran. It was cold. And my Droid was not playing music as I had instructed it to do. (Must set up playlists on my iPod. Must.) The very rare human sighting resulted in odd stares that said "I'm walking my dog, what's your excuse?" But you know, I'm going to stand by my claim of cold-weather running. The snow in my face sucked, true. But the cold kept me running, it was my source of warmth.

I did 2 miles instead of 30 minutes. But I did 2 miles, which is 2 miles more than I ran last week. And 2 miles closer to 13. Oh happy cold day in Indiana.

back at it

I started to think about training a couple weeks ago. Which means I spent some time reacquainting myself with the treadmill one Saturday morning, and I bought some new running clothes. It may sound ridiculous - it did to me at first - but spending a little bit of money on good equipment (read: cotton-free everything and fit-to-your-foot-by-someone who knows what he (or she) is talking about shoes) helps. A lot. I suggest raiding the clearance rack at Dick's Sporting Goods. Having well-fitting, good-looking running clothes doesn't mean dropping THAT much money on a pair of running tights. Seriously. They do not flatter thee thighs. And personally, I'd much rather spend THAT much money on a fabulous pair of boots or new skirt!

So anyhoo - I digress. (If you know me in real life you are not surprised right now.)

I did actually do more than just think about training. I ran! Two whole miles. My training program with The Running Company starts on Saturday, and I didn't want to show up having not put the left foot in front of the right foot, at an above-normal pace, in several more months than I care to admit. I made it a running date with my old roommate, it'd been too long since we'd gotten together to chat. We successfully accomplished both. Catching up with her was great, and chatting for two miles helped us both keep pace.

A couple observances so far. First, this part is familiar. The anticipation, completing the first mile(s), feeling like I own those thirteen(pointone)miles. The day-after sore muscles (Yes, I stretched!). I know there will be some hard days when the feet don't really want to keep going and my breath can't come fast enough. The difference is I now know I will get through them. Second, I just feel stronger. I've been going to Pilates class once a week for much of the past year. And having moved downtown last summer, I walk more often than I drive. While I know those two activities alone are not enough to keep me in tip top shape and good health, it's more than I was doing before I started training last year. I'm going to up the Pilates class to twice a week while I'm training, and since I'm fortunate to have a pretty decent workout room in my apartment building, I'm going to make use of it. I know now that having a strong core is key to my being a strong runner.

One last thing, if you're still with me. Visit my friend Joyce and give her a shout out of support too. She's taking on these thirteen(pointone)miles too, and I found a few smiles spread across my face while reading through her posts.

Listen here left foot.

We're not messing around with no stinkin' stress fractures or whatever else you've got in mind this year. I'm officially signed up for the 500 Festival Mini Marathon and with this blog as my witness, iamrunningthirteen(pointone)miles on May 8, 2010.

Last year I signed up to run while fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It was an extremely rewarding experience and I was blessed with meeting Luke. <-- Seriously one of the brightest smiles I've ever encountered. And I'm still humbled when I recall the generous outpouring of support from my family and friends. Seriously. You all rock. But I decided to just run this year. After all, of the two goals I set for myself on this journey last year, actually running 13 miles is the one I didn't accomplish.

OhWait. You mean completing the online registration wasn't the hard part? Shoot. S'pose I should now begin the search for my training schedule and shake the dust off my running shoes.

Any other you a first-timers out there? Or is running the Mini on your check list with grocery shopping and going to the dentist?

i'm still gimpy

It's been 2 weeks since my last run, and I miss it. I received my coach's update for the week, and included were a few pics from this morning's 2 hour run. 2 hours. Wow. I'm impressed with all of you out there training. I have yet to feel a 2 hour run, but one of these days I hope I will. I'm going to set my sights on a fall half marathon and hope my foot heels by then. It's status quo for now - not getting any worse thankfully, but it's also not getting better.

Most days I do walk fine. But that distance includes only short bouts from the house to the driveway, the parking garage to the office and here to there in between.

I have my 2 year old nephew, Little Man, for the weekend. Today, Brett and I took him downtown to visit a museum and see "more animals" at the zoo. [We had OH! So much fun!] But by mid-afternoon, Little Man's stride is faster than mine...

the foot, pt. 2

Good news - The x-rays came back and my foot is not fractured.
Bad news - My foot is still stiff, no less swollen and I still can't walk on it without pain.

The good 'ole doc says to "take it easy." Remember running break I took last week? Sure, it helped. By the weekend, my foot wasn't bothering me a bit. And I gave it one more day of "easy" on top of feeling pretty darn good. So yea, clearly I need to take it easy for longer than a week. That's a lot easier said than done. And while I'm taking it easy I'm also not training. Which will make that half-marathon pretty difficult.

I'm frustrated.