Irony at "Run with the Wind 25k"

Today was a busy day. This morning I headed down to Sarcoxie for the Run with the Wind 25k. The course takes you from Sarcoxie HS to Carthage HS and this would be my very first 25k. The race started @ 9:00 am and I also had tickets to the MSU Bears game @ 12:00. So, I wanted to park my car at the finish in Carthage and get a ride back to the start in Sarcoxie so I could leave as soon as I finished the race. Found a ride no problem, only to find out that when I returned to Sarcoxie my freshly charged Ipod is mysteriously dead. Ah, "no problem" I say, there is a charger in the car....oh wait it's in Carthage! Ok, so not really a Shakespearean tragedy, but I did manage to survive. However, I really could have used some music around mile 12 when my legs decided to stop picking themselves up off the pavement and felt like I was lifting cinder blocks with my quads on each step. This is what I get for running a race at a longer distance than I need too, but I kinda had that 10 foot tall and bullet proof feeling going into the race. Thank you rolling hills and very little flat ground for bringing me back down to reality. I obvisouly managed to PR since it was my first ever 25k in 1:53:08. After finishing the race I managed to make it to the Bears game by halftime, but it was well worth it to see them win their first MVC Championship ever. Record crowd of 11,000 + and in 10 years of Bears basketball I have never seen an atmosphere like that except for when Jackie was playing. Go Bears! and Go Aimee! who will be competing in her dream Princess 1/2 Marathon tomorrow in sunny Florida. Good Luck sweetheart, I love you.

Grant's River Greenway

This morning Aimee and I went for a nice long run (12 and 13 miles respectivley) on the Grant's River Greenway in STL. We are in town for a wedding that Aimee is in and we needed somewhere to run. While driving on I-44, we saw an overpass marked with the Greenway Logo that was close to where we were staying, so we looked it up (Grant's Trail). It's always so hard to run long distance while traveling, but this made it super easy. Aimee and I both commented on how we never imagined St. Louis having something like this inside the city, but it was well maintained, very clean, had mile markers, and there were lots of people using it. We were very impressed. Probably the best part of the whole trail was actually getting to run by Grant's Farm. You can even see the world famous Budweiser Clydesdales along the way. After running, I was asked by two different groups of people about the trail who did not live here, which was kinda ironic since neither did we, but I just started rattling off info like I ran it all the time (or had just finished it for the first time). I bring this story up because soon as we get there it is 5:30 am, dark and no one else is around. Then another car pulls up and I ask the guy if the trail is marked with mile markers. He tells Aimee and I "it is, but I have never been able to figure out the system they use" and he tries to tell us approximately where we should turn around. So we take off and quickly realize that it is marked every 1/2 mile! In Aimee's words, "ya real hard system to figure out". In addition to this trail, STL has many additional Greenway trails throughout the city that will give us new places to run in the future whenever we are up here visiting and if you are ever in town and need somewhere to run, now you know where to go.

New Snow Shoes

Tired of running on the treadmill (I only ran on it once), today I decided to make myself some new snow running shoes. As you can see I basically put some screws around the outside of an old pair of running shoes. I did some research online first and all videos suggested using 1/4 inch sheet metal hex screws. Since I did not have any of those and did not want to go out and buy them, I just used some 1/2 inch deck screws. I tested them out this morning with a 5.4 mile snow packed run and they worked great. Well, at least I did not fall. I am not sure if they were any better than normal shoes without the screws but it did not hurt my feet and I felt like I was keeping decent traction. I managed to keep under a 9 min pace, and the only difficult part was in the slushy snow. So, if you have ever wanted to try it out, I can tell you it doesn't hurt and it only takes about 5 minutes to assemble.

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