Training Part 11

Today was the first day of my training for the Fargo Marathon in May. And with that the weather has decided to cooperate perfectly and by perfectly I mean negative wind chills and highs in the teens. Awesome. Mother nature is not really helping me stay motivated to pull my butt out of bed at 5:00 am to complete a 6 mile hill run. I made the first run this morning, now only 111 days to go. Look out Boston, you're mine!

Fargo!

So today was a snow day and that only means one thing. That's right, time to sign up for our next marathon! What? Oh yeah, well it kinda goes like this: Fargo is at the end of the school year, a snow day extends the school year, now I don't feel bad about taking my personal day on the last day of school. Anyway, you can check it out HERE and now we know where we'll be running next. This will be my 11th Marathon and state #6 of 50. Not that I plan on hitting all 50 states but it would be a cool thing to do. Actually the Fargo Marathon route includes part of Minnesota so maybe I could sneak it in as two states? Average temperature in Fargo is 45 for the low and 70 for the high in the month of May. This combined with the super flat elevation should lead to one great race! Looking forward to this one. I have had it on my radar for a few months now since I started looking ahead to 2011 back in early December.

Next race for both Aimee and I is this Saturday, January 22. We are competing in the Resolution Run 5k here in Springfield. Women are given a 3 minute head start over the males. Should be interesting. We'll let you know how it goes.

Marlie and I register for the Fargo Marathon.

Cold Run with Surprises

This morning I went for an 8 mile run. It was really cold and I was by myself since Dustin is taking the week off running (good for him!) before he starts training for his next marathon. I was on my way back (about mile 5.5) when I saw a black dog on the trail in front of me running my way. Normally, I would be scared. But, when I saw him skipping around like a gazelle then I knew it was only one dog: Marlie. Not far behind him was Dustin on a bike. He had 2 pairs of pants and his ski jacket on with the hood up but he was freezing. It is much colder on a bike than going for a run! It was such a nice surprise since I only saw one other person out the entire run. Plus, I feel so much more safe once Dustin is there with me so I was able to stick my mace in my pocket, stop looking over my shoulder, and just run. He had a speedometer on his bike so he let me know how fast I was going lol. It was one of those good runs where I kept a good pace and finished by speeding up. It felt great! I sure wish every run could be like this morning!

mmm...Vegetables!

I know when I eat healthy I always feel better. Overall, my body feels cleaner, my mood increases, and I exercise (run) better. When I eat well, I avoid feeling weak or suffering from a sugar crash (it's not pretty folks). This doesn't come as a surprise to anyone, especially since there is so much research on the benefits of eating well. What does come as a surprise is how often I think cookies, ice cream, soda, etc are a good idea. It's funny - I know its not nutritional for me in any way, nor will I feel good after eating junk, but I still indulge in life's "little pleasures". Nothing wrong with that, or anything, as long as its in moderation. Although, I would love to be able to stick to healthy foods more often.
I always try to eat lots of veggies. I love veggies because they fill you up without many calories. Double Whammy! The problem is that they aren't as accessible as, say, a cookie. They go bad quickly, take preparation, and aren't normally found in gas stations or drive thru's when I need something quick or on-the-go. Something that I have found (and wanted to share) to make my veggies last longer in the refrigerator are green bags. I have Debbie Meyer GreenBags, but I think any would do. Here's a suggestion on how to use the green bags to get more vegetables in your diet:
Clean and chop up some veggies at the beginning of the week. Be sure to have a variety of color which provides more nutrition and vitamins. I like carrots, celery, sugar snap peas, cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, radishes, and bell peppers. Throw them in a green bag, fold over the top, and place in the refrig where you can see them! They will stay good for at least a week! You can use them as a side with sandwiches, as the main dish, or steam them for a stir fry - but remember, they are most nutritious eaten raw.
Another tip is that I always volunteer to bring veggie trays to events/potlucks. This way I know there will be something of nutritional value to help keep me away from overindulging but, more importantly, this gives me left over veggies that are already to washed, cut and ready to throw in a green bag for the next week.
This week I have had variety of veggies with dip and LF cottage cheese for lunch everyday. It feels great! If you don't like veggies - be a big boy/girl and try them for a few days. Studies show that you have to eat a food like vegetables at least 8 times before you can develop a liking for them. Ponder this for a moment - Think of the vegetables that you don't like. Did you eat them often as a kid? Have they recently been in your overall diet? If no, then give them a chance. Poor veggies. (side note: I tried radishes for the first time this fall and now they are incorporated in my veggie mix. Lots of nutrients!)
I don't write this post to preach. If you know me well, you know that cookies, brownies, and ice cream are my favorites, not veggies. This is as much to convince me as anyone else! We all need to keep in mind how important your personal health is to yourself and those that care about you, in addition to enjoying physical activity such as running. Take care of your body.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!
Happy New Year
~AW

Rave Run: Phoenix, AZ

Over Christmas break Dustin and I visited Phoenix with my parents to celebrate their anniversary and feel the warmth of sun on our skin. There was a path that ran from our resort right to a city park in the desert that consisted of 60 miles of trails and mountains such as Camelback Mountain. We have really gotten into trail running lately so this was quite an adventure for us. We woke up every day and ran the trails – it was a blast! The weather was great; around 60 degrees. We would run along cacti, road runners, and the threat of rattlesnakes. We even saw a coyote when we were up in the mountains. Some areas were so steep that we had to walk or climb. I can’t even describe the fun we had together running those trails. It was so different than what we were used to in Missouri. We are already planning a trip back!

Winding Down Twenty10

This week has been a little rough on both Aimee and I. She had 6 finals in 5 days, I had basketball games on back-to-back nights, and oh yeah - we were both sick! Great timing cold and flu season, but under the careful eye of Day and Nyquil we have managed to survive.

Being sick really makes running difficult. I have tried to keep 20-25 miles a week during December as I prep for another year of running, but this week I did not even run Monday-Wednesday, and after taking a sick day on Thursday, managed to get 5 miles in. Took Friday off too as my symptoms seemed to be sticking around and strongly considered not signing up for the Christmas mile on Saturday, but our friend Rod is the race director and I wanted to support his race so I just figured I would do my best. Well, 5:18 later, I finished 5th and took first in my age category. This is only the second one mile race I have done and I was not a good judge of speed starting out too slow and finishing with too much left. I really think I could have nabbed third place had I started better but fifth is awesome and look to improve next time.

As if running Saturday under the weather was not enough, I had agreed to run in a trail "fun-run" put on by Aimee's trail running instructor from Cox on Sunday. So Sunday morning Aimee and I headed out to the Little Sac River Trail for our first ever trail race. The course was roughly a 5k and there was a better turnout than I expected. The director stressed that is was a "fun-run" but there were a few other people there to "race", so I figured what the heck I'll give it a go. 23:37 later I had nailed down my first ever race win. Even though it was not an official race, and even though most people there could have cared less about their time, I will count it in my book.

2010 is almost over and I am looking forward to and planning out races for 2011. Looks like the Fargo Marathon in May might be my choice for a spring marathon along with a possible tour of Missouri races, but we'll see what Aimee and I come up with. I'll update as soon as we decide.

Running in the cold and Pickle Springs

Brrrrr...it's gotten cold outside! We are starting to see less and less runners out early in the morning since it has been around 20 degrees the past 2 days. We both made great purchases a few weeks ago at the Nike outlet store. We purchased running jackets to help block the wind and keep us warm. They are thin and not obtrusive. That is the reason for spending a little extra on cold gear because they make great materials that keep you warm without the bulk. Speaking of our purchases...
The tags on the (obvious) winter running apparel all said "Stay cool" (maybe this is why they were at the outlet). I thought, for sure these should be "stay warm" since they are long-sleeved and heavier. I thought I would ask the sales associate. Her reply was, "ummm, well, you know when it is really cold outside and you get warm from working out??? Well this will help keep you cool when you are getting too hot from working out when its cold." Really? hmmm...I nodded my head and smiled. No further questions. It should be obvious that when running in 20 degree weather that I would want gear to help me "stay cool". Hilarious. Good try.
Dustin made the comment this morning that he felt like he was wearing a snuggie and could just curl up on the ground and take a nap. I looked at the frost on the ground and decided that I would rather nap at home. I could still wear my new jacket....
Our thanksgiving trail run was awesome. On our 2nd 2mile loop it started getting colder and rainy. Then it rained heavily. We both ended up slipping and falling a few times with all the leaves on the ground, but it was a BLAST. I don't think my dad and brothers thought so since they were walking and wearing wool coats (kinda get drenched easily).
The highlight of the trail run at pickle springs was when we started running down into an area where there were two large rocks (almost canyon-like, but smaller). We hadn't seen Marlie in a while so Dustin called for him. As we were waiting for him to run down the path, he flew over the gap over our heads. It was at least a 6 ft gap. He was just jumping and hopping and playing around. I'm telling you, Marlie is part gazelle!!!