Thursday, December 13, 2012

Finale 2012

We sure do clean up well :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adigiphoto/8266983501/

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Turkey Day 10K

I had not run for four days leading up to this 10K and this made me NERVOUS. I had a sinus infection that wouldn't go away even with medication and the 5K the Saturday before was my last run.
With one goal in mind (completion) I met my buddy Amber and some of her friends in Ft. Mitchell to carpool into the city.
We found a great parking spot - shuffled into the cold air downtown and starting finding familiar faces...our Get Fit Family!
After two bathroom visits we settled in at the 11minute mile marker on the start line. Amber had a goal to finish under 1:15 so we put that at the back of our minds and began. After the first line of starters took off we had a 10 minute shuffle to get our start line to the actual start. Nerves were VERY high at this point and I was juggling taking pictures, and starting timers as we stepped onto the blue mats to activate our timing chips.
The first 3 miles felt good. In fact they felt great. I remember crossing the 5K mark thinking, why have I ever walked a 5K? I just ran one without a stop?
Each mile marker caused for celebration - a high five- a time calculation and a new determination to keep on moving. The water break wasn't until mile 4 and we both needed some desperately. As we slowed to walk to swallow some water the only word to describe how my body felt was PAIN. The pain in my hips as we walked for a few seconds was excruciating. I decided then and there that I would not walk again - and we didn't. We solidiered up the last hill to the final bridge to cross the Ohio river and it started to hit us - OH MY GOD we are running an entire 10k!!!
Emotions teetered back and forth from pain  to disbelief, to pride and accomplishment. The last .6 was difficult - I didn't want to make another turn - I just needed to see the finish line. People who had already finished were crossing the run line to get to their cars and spectators were cheering.
There were strangers with signs for us strangers encouraging us along - a funny one said "This parade sucks - where are the floats?" ~ that made me laugh but at that point around 4.5 or so - I couldn't let my mind wonder too far.

When the final banner (same start banner) was in sight it was automation that had taken over to allow us to finish. My hips were burning and Amber's foot was in a lot of pain - but by George we DID IT!!

I would like to say the runners high lasted all day - in a way it did - but my body was in shock. I enjoyed some Hot Flow yoga the next day to stretch out all sore and wounded feeling parts and would highly encourage that or a good massage for these longer runs. I can't imagine running for longer than what we did 6.6 miles in 1:14 (under our goal time) - but I guess we have to because we have a 13.1 mile race on our docket for March!


Boone County Parks 5K

November 17th:
Over 100 bootcampers participated in this run. This time Amber was able to join me in between work (I think I guilted her in coming to run with me actually), either way I was very happy to have her by my side at the start.
The course had been changed since my last time at the parks and off we went. During mile 1, I wanted to keep my faster pace and so Amber motioned me ahead. The park never seemed this big before ~ somehow it wasn't coming to an end.
The mile markers are a nice touch and again I felt a boost of energy after hearing I was under the 11 minute mark on this hilly course. Mile two looped back on itself and I knew I had to just keep going. I pushed myself through the hills to the end (and took several 5 seconds walks) to finish in 32:39. Not shabby considering I ran the flat 5K a week before in 30 seconds less.
I was disappointed that I missed a medal by a minute - If only I didn't walk so often!

Olypmic Day - 5K on the track

A celebration day of sorts for our Get Fit program - where we challenge ourselves to show what we can do within a one hour workout.
I scheduled myself to run a 5K followed by a series of cardio activities to rack up 50,000 points.

Amber had to work so I had to run the flat oval track at Conner solo. That did not excite me one bit, and the track was packed with runners. I had one goal - to run in 35 minutes so that I could complete the other cardio activities I had preplanned.

Mel yelled go - and off I went in a fast but steady pace.
All along the track by the bleachers I saw fellow boot campers giving their best. I had placed my own support signs that my kids created for my me. I looked at them on every lap. I knew I was making good time after mile one - my first under 10 minutes miles :) 9:43~~wohoo. Mile two was tougher, I needed water and my dad was on the sideline to grab my bottle when needed. It was much warmer today than any of our previous weeks of running and that was draining my energy fast. Mile two was completed just under 10 minutes also 9:56. Onto the last stretch and I slowed a bit but finished in a total time of 32:05. A new record for me and off to more cardio I went :)

5K's are meant to be scenic - not wanting to repeat that oval track again anytime soon.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Still here..

Sorry for the disappearance... crazy busy life of mothers.

We have been running though - Friday Nov 9th we did a 2.3 mile quickie to keep moving and grooving.
Saturday Nov 10th was Olympic Day for our boot camp family.
I am definitely proud to say that I ran my best 5K time to date. I ran mile one at 9:43, mile two at 9:56 and mile three at 10:35 for a personal best time of 32:05. For me this broke my milestone (personal goal) to run a mile under 10:00.  Unfortunately my buddy was not able to join us due to work conflicts and I missed having her on my left.

Amber ran an impressive 4 miles on Nov 7th with Running Club .....

We have a 5K this Saturday and I'll let Amber update you on her foot issues :(

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

New roads 4+ miles

Today Amber and I enjoyed the new trail that runs from Route 18 to a busy shopping district on Houston. It was freezing (literally) this morning when we had planned to run, so I begged for a few more hours after checking the weather forecast.
As it happens every time, after a few minutes we are warm and toasty and start shedding clothes.
Today we were planned to run 22, walk 1, run 22  - I would like to say we stuck with that plan but we didn't.
I ran last night (2.8 miles in record time - and forgetting to turn my runkeeper on :(, so unfortunately I just didn't have the energy I usually have in the morning.
We ran about  half (I think this is a fair statement), and were able to get some great conversation in. I'm currently reading "Run Like a Mother" and it's an amazing connection Amber and I both have. Especially since we have similar mothering stories - me: adopting 3 older children internationally (becoming an instant mom) and her: adding four to her two through marriage. We understand, relate, and empathize. That along with our running hopes and dreams have bonded us in a way that words cannot explain - but that miles and miles welcome ;)

Sunday, November 4, 2012

What a great running weekend!!!

Yesterday was my second running 5K this year. I had a goal of beating my time from last week which was 37:37, with encouragement of my buddy Geniene I made it in 35:41 with a pace of 11:31! The course was hilly and we knew that from our preview on Wednesday. It was a little different from Wednesday since we actually followed the course and didn't get lost!

The runners high I had when the race was over was awesome-I love that feeling!

This morning I went to running club and ran 4 miles!!! I had back surgery 7 months ago today and never thought I would run again so it was a great accomplishment.

I am ready to run 6.2 miles in my head on thanksgiving, I hope my body goes along with the plan!!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Run 4 Recovery 5K -November 3rd

The weather check last night around 9pm said today would be clear skies and 40degrees. Perfect running weather! Well it was slightly cooler - more like the freezing mark, but no fear - we runners layer and get out there :)
I carpooled with another Get Fit buddy (Amy) and we headed out to Blessed Sacrament. What a great turn out for their first year event. There were cars and people everywhere. Kudos to the organizers for setting up things so well today - registration was running smoothly and music was getting everyone pumped!
Amber arrived with my bag and we tied on our chip timers onto our laces, and pinned our bib numbers. We met up with a big group of Get Fitters from Melody's Bootcamp Fitness. Even though we were all very cold, there was a great energy present this morning.

I saw a poster near the registration table sharing that several Navy men and women would be running on their treadmills somewhere in the ocean as they serve the U.S., in support of this run. Runners here were asked to wear their chip so that they could record a finish time. How cool is that!
Run 4 Recovery was set up to support men  in The Grateful Life Center (an inpatient rehabilitation center which provides free treatment for men who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Hundreds of lives have been saved by this program). 

I'm really glad we previewed the course this week so the hills were not surprises, and we knew that our course today would be shorter in theory because it would be marked and so we would not get lost :)
We had one goal today - to improve Amber's time. I was excited to run alongside Amber today. For some reason I went ahead last 5K but I much preferred running side by side as we do when we train :)
So with the goal of 37 minutes or less, we took off. With gloves, head band (ear warmers) and three layers we soon warmed up, except the joy of cold weather running is that you seem to leak. Eyes were running, snot was flowing and my buddy Amber was spitting like a cowboy ~ the realities folks sorry....

We reached the first mile marker in 10:41and knew we were definitely on track to beat the 37 minute finish time. Some hills to combat in mile two and the scenic run around the lakes slowed us down a bit to a 12:00/mile. Mile three had the beast of a hill that we decided to fast walk up. After that it was a level/downhill run to the finish. I stopped my tracker after we finished but we tracked close to 11:42 on mile three. 

We finished just under 36 minutes, almost two minutes faster than last 5K for Amber. Boy was she a happy camper - talk about Runners High plus victory rolled into a fiery ball of energy :) Awesome to see Amber smiling - so proud of her! Proud of us!

I loved the balloons at the finish line (note to self for my 5K next July). After grabbing a banana and water and hugs we cooled down at the finish line cheering everyone in and uploading to FB. This was a great run for a great cause and I will definitely put it on my race calendar for next year.

Pre Race
Post Race











Next event running event: Boone County Parks 5K November 17th. We both just registered for the Turkey Day 10K November 22nd ~ Half Marathon you are in sight :)

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Girls on the Run practice 5K

That was a treat - running/jogging/walking alongside 4th and 5th grade girls - encouraging them to finish. The coaches had paper banners for them to run through when they finished. Each lap earned a colored bracelet and a change of direction (not too sure about the counting because I didn't quite log 3.3 miles) - but it was good short intervals. I convinced the girls to run the straights and walk the ends which slowed things down quite a bit but kept us moving in the right direction :)
Unfortunately Amber had complications getting to join us. I kept my gear on just in case I'm inspired to run some more later - but as I sit I'm feeling a weariness come on .......

According to my Cardio Tracker history - I've run/walked 6 hours 27 minutes - 29.07 miles in the last 12 workouts (Sept 16-Nov1)- that's pretty cool!

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Preview of Saturday's 5K

So to put this run in context... It's Wednesday, and it's Halloween.
Monday's scheduled run was put off due to scheduling conflicts (yes we are working mom's so we just have to be flexible). I really wanted to get three runs in this week so we put today's run on the calendar after 5:30am boot camp on Monday. We were also determined to stick to it! Saturday's 5K is Run 4 Recovery

Fast forward to today and it's raining, and 40 degrees and downright miserable outside.  When I texted Amber this morning I said something like "rock your day because we are running rain or shine". Well it definitely wasn't shining as we met behind the church at 4pm. After a quick change in the car (note to self: I need tinted windows) - we set out following the course map I had downloaded on my phone. I had even studied the satellite map because the cemetery has way too many road choices. Needless to say - once in the cemetery we got turned around.  We hit a pretty major downhill in mile 1 and all I could think was good Lord - this is going to be a doozy of an uphill on mile 3. Mind you - my language was more in the R rating and not this PG-13 blog. Amber yelled "I quit" once spotting the hill's decline and I reminded her that our runs go in the blog. A few stops for clothing adjustments - map readings and family texts - we did less running than we should have but got in our mileage.The goal was to stick to the course and run our intervals for this week (3 sets of 18mins). Aren't goals great to have :) We spotted a lake soon after entering the cemetery which ended up not being THE lake on the course map. We found the signage funny - no swimming, no fishing and no ice skating - definitely noted!
We spotted geese that looked pretty sedate, dodged geese poop and I saw a large adult white tail disappear into the woods. We had quite the running commentary (no pun intended) on gravestones, names and......what did I find? A rather large memorial to a "Delahunty". Absolutely no relation but it made me wonder! Creepy on Halloween too!


Brian sent the picture off to his mom to do some investigating. On the way out of the park we saw several black squirrels. Unfortunately being as dark as it was - and as dark as they are, my pictures didn't come out. A Fort Mitchell resident commented that they have a lot of them in their community and other visitors are just as curious and amazed by them. I felt like quite the tourist, taking pictures of squirrels - couldn't help myself  - plus we were on the cool down walk back to the cars.
 I have an amazing running buddy to brave the weather and hills with me. We have a long way to go on our running journey - but we have come a long way too. We have our Turkey Trot 10K in our minds and by golly we will complete it - and run it STRONG!

Tomorrow's run is with the Goodridge "Girls on the Run" group for their practice 5K. Thanks for reading! ~Geniene

5K Finished!

Original Posting date: 10/27/2012
A chilly morning for a 5K, but I finished in 37 minutes!!! I only walked while I was taking off my hoodie even though I wanted to walk the hills. Had a great time and I can't wait to do it again next Saturday!! ~Amber

5K Complete

So we completed the Panther Prowl this morning. I am so glad it stopped raining but it was chilly 42 but felt more like 30something. Layered up we set out and I had that dreaded mile on my mind. We made it to mile one on a hill and I had left Amber slightly behind. On the way back at the I still had the mile on my mind and I had to stop a few brief seconds to catch my breath. I wasn't out of breath but u was wheezing a bit. Something about the weather today felt almost oppressive. I was determined and ran up the darned hill only to walk for a few seconds at the top. I finished in my best time yet (yes of two) to finish with 34:02. My goal was to finish under 35mins so I'm happy. Amber will fill in her story later.

October 24

Original posting date: 10/25/2012

Run #two of this week and we met to run the 5k course for our race on Saturday. I have never previewed a course before and I was really glad we did. For me - I have a game plan for those uphill now. There are a few small inclines and one pretty steep hill that I might (let me emphasize might) walk on Saturday. I felt better than what I performed yesterday. We should have run 3 intervals of 17 minutes but again ran out of course before our time was up. I think the inclines were a slight shock to the system and messed with our pacing quite a bit.
Amber and I chatted on the phone driving  home afterwards and agreed that we need to find a stretch of road that allows us to put in the time and mileage to stay on track for our 10k which is one month away. Eek!!
We have a 5k the next four Saturdays so that should keep us on track.
I brainstormed with my hubby and I think I have a plan. Now to break it to Amber :)
I'm thankful that my boys are old enough to stay home and get their work done with James in charge so I can run. It's liberating and such a good stress release, and and SO what I need after a long day at work.
Today I stayed in bed instead of going to boot camp. I have been battling a fever all day and have minor vertigo this afternoon. The worst is that I have lost my appetite. I love to eat and my usual eat every three hour schedule did not happen today. I hope I shake it by tomorrow.

Monday Oct 22

Original posting date: 10/23/2012
Well all kinds of disruptions happened last week that prevented us from running as planned. This needs to be remedied so that we stay on track.
Last night we had 30 minutes available before having to pick up my oldest from open gym. We ran 2.4 miles around the Conner campus including a quick warm up walk. After dropping him off at home we ran another 10 minutes (.8).
We are on week 3 of the 10K training and need to be running 3x 17 minute intervals. So better planning for time and mileage in our future!

Rest Days

Original post date:  10/18/2012
Let me just say that I am very grateful that we are running every other day at this point. To fill in the missing detail for the readers (whomever you may be), Amber and I met at 5:30 am Bootcamp class during the fall Get Fit program that Melody's Bootcamp Fitness offers. This is my second session of Get Fit and I plan to enter the maintenance program next spring.

So our running training exists on top of our daily morning workout - and my calves were screaming at me Wednesday morning (well really all day). While it was more of a challenge to get our daily step requirement in for yesterday (15,000 daily this week) - I don't know if I would have been able to run. On the flip side however, sitting in a one and a half hour Council meeting last night did nothing to help improve the tightness in my legs and by 8pm I wish I had gone running!

This morning I have more pain with calf tightness - so I believe some reading about leg muscles is in order.
We have some 5K's on our running agenda, leading up to our 10K on Thanksgiving:
Oct 27 Panther Prowl (North Pointe Elementary)
Nov 3: Running for Recovery (Ft. Mitchell)
Nov 17: Boone County Parks/Melody's Bootcamp Fitness (England/Idlewild)
Nov 22: Turkey Day 10K (Downtown Cincinnati)

Get moving and grooving!~

Run 1 in the 10K Plan - new partner and new plan:)

Original Post Date: 10/16/2012
 
Today's workout consisted of:
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Run 15 minutes / walk 1 minute. Repeat 3 times. Five-minute cooldown walk.
 
We ended up modifying slightly because we ran out of mileage. We parked Amber's car at the hotels 2.8 miles away from my house and ran to it. We walked 5 minutes to warm up, ran 15 minutes. Walked 2 minutes - ran 9:43. At that point the hotel was in sight so we walked 4 minutes to the car to cool down.
I felt really good - the first 15 minutes were pretty flat and I wasn't ready to stop. It was definitely tough to start back up again after the 1 minute walk. Plus the next leg was uphill and crossing the highway. Not the most scenic or peaceful run, but we did it! Amber will fill you in on her accomplishments but I didn't see myself running ever again, yet today I felt like a runner. Those crazy people you see on the street as you drive by and think "why are they doing that?"