Frisco Fifty 10 Miler

Yesterday we ran in the Frisco Fifty 10 mile race. It was a very small race that went along the Frisco trail. We started at Willard Middle School and ran to a spot 10 miles down the way where a shuttle bus waited to take us back to our cars. It was such a peaceful run. I forgot my watch which ended up being a blessing. There is something to say about going on a run without constantly calculating a pace in your head and then either reprimanding or encouraging yourself to run faster, keep the pace, or slow down. I felt so good the whole time. I never felt too out of breath. At one point I was about to pass a man as he said, "you gonna be my anchor?". He had one of those high tech GPS watches (by the way Santa, I think they are REALLY cool and one would go nicely with my wrist) that started to beep. I asked him what mile we were at (indicated by the beep) and he said we were three miles into the race. He told me he wanted to finish in 85 minutes. I thought that I would be really impressed with myself if I could keep that pace. When he said he was ahead of pace, I thought, "sweet!", but I knew I would only run for about 5 more miles and then walk a bit. I had only told Dustin that I would run this with him on
Wednesday and it was finalized when I received an email on Thursday from active.com stating that I had been registered for the 10 mile race. I haven't been training for this and I haven't ran over 8 miles since the Bass Pro marathon the first week of November. So, really I figured it would be the typical conversation (my last few marathons) where I run next to someone who plans to finish in about the same pace as me, and they end up passing me towards the end because I have bonked. So frustrating! So, I passed him and focused on passing the 2 girls in front of my that looked to be about my age. Between miles 5 and 7 I actually kept a good pace and passed both of them. After that I spotted a pony tail not too far in front of me. I tried to speed up a bit and began to close the gap until mile 9 where she sped up and I could only match her pace a few yards behind her. As I ran through the finisher's tunnel (a field with orange cones and a guy with a clipboard taking our names) Dustin wasn't there to cheer me on because he didn't realize I would be finishing so soon. I ended up finishing in 1:22, a PR and under BQ pace (it's just 16 more miles lol). I took 2nd in my age category and received this cute little trophy. It has train tracks on it and came with a toy train that goes on the tracks. So unique! What a pleasant surprise :)
Dustin is awesome. He did well too, of course. He is a talented, dedicated runner. He came in forth in his age category, which, unfortunately doesn't get him a trophy. But I am so thankful that he is so patient with me that he slows down to allow me to run with him on the weekends-and I really don't think it bothers him. He actually encouraged me to run with him a few times while he was training for this race. I love running and it feels so good to hit the pavement again. I am still a little sour about the way I performed in the Bass Pro Marathon. Dustin wasn't happy with his performance either, but he is able to shake it off. If it weren't for those weekend runs, I would have never done so well. Now I have a little boost in my confidence level and I am anxiously anticipating training for Chicago.
Thank you Lord for allowing me to have such a great husband. God is good.
~Aimee

A Little Life Mystery

Why is the sun yellow? (that reveals its temperature) Why is the sky blue? (nitrogen in the atmosphere scatters blue light) Why is the grass green? (chlorophyll and chloroplast) Why do bugs fly right where you need to run?

This I do not know the answer to. But, for some reason as the temperature increases, and the days become longer and nicer and I enjoy running more than ever, the bugs seem to find their way into my path. I am not just talking about a few bugs either, but a steady stream right down the whole South Creek Greenway Trail and I mean the WHOLE trail. They follow the middle of the sidewalk, mouth high, turning with each twist of the concrete. It's amazing! How do they know right where to be to tick me off during each of my runs? Are they always there? Is anyone else annoyed by this? This must be one of life's little mysteries.

~Dustin

Running in CA

The weather in Ventura, California is awesome! It seems like every time I am there it is 70 and sunny. Plus, there are exotic flowers everywhere that give the air a continual floral aroma. There is also an endless supply of sidewalk that calls out, "come, run and walk on me". It's a runner's paradise. I was sad that Dustin wasn't with me (girl's trip) to run around the neighborhoods together, but I still managed to get in a few miles. Mostly I walked with Suki. She is a 150 pound Akita dog that would sleep outside my bedroom door, waiting for me to come out. I call her "the Beast". Funny, when we walked together no one seemed to want to be within 50 feet of us. :)
Being in California made me want to move out there. I had almost completely convinced myself until I inquired about the cost of living. To RENT a house similar to our home in Springfield would be ~$1500 a month. Whoa! Maybe we will just stay here and visit from time to time :)
~Aimee

Wind

Finally good weather is here and running has been nice, but mother nature could not leave well enough alone. She's kinda like "I'm gonna make it warmer but that comes with 30 mph winds!" Suck.
Today I was going to do a tempo run, so I decided to run straight into the wind on the way out and that way it would be at my back coming home. Good idea; not so easy to accomplish. Similar to a few weeks ago when Aimee and I were in KC's Power and Light District. There was this jungle juice that came in a bucket: one bucket good idea, three...not so much.
I'm not sure what running in a wind tunnel is like, but I am sure that's what I looked like to the north bound National traffic this morning. There were times when I was sure I was moving, but not moving. I was very thankful to reach the turn around point because the return trip was a breeze (no pun intended).
Days like today remind me of playing high school baseball in north town Aurora. I still believe the constant wind from center field increased my fastball by a few mph. I also think it might have kept me from hitting a few HR....maybe not.
~Dustin

Invest in Yourself Country Days 2010

This is a shout out to all my hommies back in the F-town area. I encourage you to run or run/walk the Country Days 5 mile Fun Run. Its not even April yet so you have plenty of time to train. And, unless you drink too much the night before at Joe's like someone I know (rhymes with "Mickey Bees"), you'll be kickn' off Country Days with a rootin'-tootin' good time. Plus, Edward Jones sponsors the race so my dad would love to see you at the start line. I'm sure dad got tired of me sticking my nose in the air last year as I laughed at the fact that they don't even have timing chips (they use popsicle sticks like in the olden days). Maybe i'll bring a potato gun to fire off instead of hearing "Go!". hehe Its not the most technologically advanced race but there are prizes, food, and its a fun, low-key course! Maybe I can see if they will actually put fruity popsicles on the sticks :)
Hopefully I will be able to get away from Springfield and come join you! Comment if you plan to run!
~Aimee

Running in Topeka

Tuesday we driving back home from Colorado when the transmission decided to die in Topeka, KS. I had night class in 6 hours and I had to be at work the next day. The rental car companies didn't have any cars to rent and were really expensive. They wanted to charge $130 + gas for the 54 mile drive to Kansas, then we would need to find a ride to Springfield! Anyways, we ended up staying in Topeka in a hotel where the check-in advise was "if you go out, make sure it isn't dark outside. And, walk to the right of the hotel because to the left is questionable."
When we woke up the next day we decided to take a run. Luck has it that there was a trail that went by the hotel. So, we suited up with whatever gear we had since we hadn't planned on running (I never thought I would run with a lace-trimmed shirt on, but I guess it looked kinda cute) and ran, to the right of course. It was cold and rainy but it turned out to be a nice run since we hadn't ran in about a week (but we were skiing). And, we didn't run into any trouble. Not that trouble would stop us because I have taken self-defense and could drop an attacker faster than gravity. Anyways...
We still aren't running on a schedule yet which is so nice! We don't take a watch; all we do is tie on our shoes. We are just running for the fun of it, not for the sport of it. ...until June :)
~Aimee

We're Back!

Today Aimee and I officially registered for the 2010 Chicago Marathon! Chicago is the second largest Marathon in the World (behind NY) 45,000 runners. 10-10-10
http://www.chicagomarathon.com