last run of 2010

I wanted my last run of 2010 to be an enjoyable one. So I returned to Sope Creek for an easy trail run. I ran some... hiked some... walked some... talked some... enjoyed exploring new-to-me trails and chatting with a cute mountain biker :-)  I wondered if one of the runners that passed me, saying hi, was Spurgeon. We've tweeted back and forth for at least a year, I know he runs here regularly, and the guy that I crossed paths with looked similar to his twitter photo. After the fact, I found out that it was him!

I walked the last few miles reflecting on the past twelve months and thinking about goals for 2011. Totally happy! I decided to not set any New Year's Resolutions other than to laugh more (and maybe run a few more miles too). So... here's a toast to you, my friends! May you run happy in 2011.

true love

although my longest running streak, 15 days, came to an end today... their love will last a lifetime... Daisy LOVES Riley!

white Christmas

And we were blessed with a white Christmas! I went for a short run at 4 p.m. after passing off the kiddo to her dad. Slushy rain fell lightly as I ran. And as luck would have it, within minutes of finishing my run, the slush turned into snow. This photo was taken many hours later, after returning home from celebrating Christmas dinner with close friends. Wow!

Daily Mile Secret Santa

After my 7.85 mile run, I stopped at my mailbox before coming inside. Woohoo! I found my Daily Mile Secret Santa gift in the mailbox. Smartwool socks!!! Can't wait to wear them on my next run! THANK YOU Secret Santa!!! (Jim D.)

coincidence?

Warning... this post isn't running related. My daughter and I went to visit my sister and her family today to help celebrate my nephew and niece's upcoming 8th birthday. My sister keeps a magazine basket by the toilet. I swear this wasn't staged... My niece's book was on top of my sister's magazine. I stared in amazement at the resemblance on the two covers. Are Barbie and Christina related?

Life is like a box of chocolates

Life is like a box of chocolates... I felt low on energy earlier than expected in my 14 mile run, but pinapple coconut juice was exactly what I needed. I felt much better after drinking it earlier than I had planned. Started out with run 1 mile, walk 0.05 mile ratio, and later decreased to run 0.5 mi/walk 0.025 mi; and even later switched to taking a 0.025 mi walk break every quarter mile. I could have easily gone longer, but have too much to do today and 14 LSD was what was on my schedule. I listened to several podcasts, but the last thing I listened to was Phidippidations episode 257: The Mojo Loco. AMAZING!  I laughed in the beginning and middle, reliving those conversations. Tears came to my eyes later regarding the amazing bonding that occurred at Mojo Loco. That was THE MOST AWESOME running event that I've ever participated in. 13 people arrived on 12/11/10 as virtual friends and left as family. The podcast came to a close as I approached mile 12 of my planned 14. I contemplated starting another podcast or listening to music, but I just couldn't. I needed silence. Time for reflection. Steve's podcast brought back so many emotions. I laughed so hard at the Mojo Loco; smiled more than I think I have all year; and hated for that day to end. Epic adventure!

the morning after

I woke just before sunrise this morning. I sat on the balcony of our hotel room and watched the sun rise over the ocean while Maddy and Susan still slept. GORGEOUS! What a beautiful way to start off the morning after a most memorable day!

I then hit the beach for an easy 4.27 miles in my VFF's. I only ran 9 miles yesterday, thanks to being in the last leg that was only 1.11 mile. I wanted to get in a total of 13 for the weekend to equal the number of runners that participated in the MOJO LOCO. (Yes, I'm weird like that.)  I love running on the beach and part of me wanted to keep going, but I knew that Maddy and Susan needed to leave mid-morning and joining them for breakfast was more important to me than extending the run.

After breakfast and saying goodbye to Maddy and Susan, I found Elf Edward on the balcony in my souvenier glass, not wanting to leave... neither did I. I wished I could stay longer... but I have to work tomorrow and didn't want to get home too late.

When I left Daytona, the temperature was in the upper 60s. I drove with the top down for about a half hour until the rain clouds started to sputter. As I drove north, the temperature began to plummet. By the time I arrived home, it was 27 degrees and SNOWING! See the white specks on the windshield? What a drastic change!

MOJO LOCO

It is difficult to put into words a description of this most amazing running event. Adam Tinkoff (aka Zen Runner) and Maddy Hubbard were geniuses to create this life-altering event!  Marathon Chris said, we arrived as friends and left as family.

Chris Russell's blog post, A Convocation of Souls, was the best I have read. Steve Runner's podcast, Phedipidations #257, brought tears of happy memories as I listened to our voices from the day again.

Steve Chopper did an equally excellent podcast about the event as well, A Mile with Me #047. But the most anticipated podcast, 4 Feet Running, was a special treat! They were one of the first podcasts that I ever listened to, as well as one of my favorites.

The Crazy Runner wasn't nearly as crazy as I had expected. Unless you call running four instead of three legs insane. Susan was just as sweet as you would expect her to be from listening to her contributions on The Extra Mile podcast. But Eddie Marathon, who co-hosts the Slow Runners Club podcast, was the most genuinely sweet and welcoming guy I've ever met.

And last, but not least, it was a true pleasure to meet Norm, (we share a birthday), and his lovely family.

Eleven of us met at Starbucks in Daytona Beach at 7 a.m. and then carpooled to St. Augustine Beach where we met up with Nik and Dan at the lighthouse. Steve Chopper was our surprise guest, officiator, and fellow runner. We were assigned numbers: I was 8, infinity. Steve drew three poker chips out of a bag selecting three people to run the first leg: Adam, Maddy and Dan. After they crossed the starting line, the rest of us drove down the road, about four miles, and waited for them to find us.

When they arrived, they selected a chip. Next up would be Steve Chopper, Susan and me. And the cycle continued...  Everyone ran at least three legs of approximately 4 miles. The pace was set by the slowest person, with absolutely no complaints.

Many hours were spent in laughter. No one wanted the day to end. After completing approximately 50 miles from St. Augustine to Daytona, we celebrated at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.  I've had many memorable runs over the years, and this one is definitely one of my top 5. What a unique bonding/running experience!

Twas the day before the Mojo Loco

Twas the day before the Mojo Loco and all through the house... not a creature was stirring, not even the moose.  Well as you can tell the magical elves and reindeer wanted to join in on the fun that would soon be had. They plopped theirselves into the bag that was intended to go in the car (and ultimately to the funnest kennel on the planet). Elf Kendall and Reindeer Moki somehow escaped... knowing that a little girl would be sad if they didn't appear the next day. Elf Edward clung strong until the pups were dropped off... then he magically reappeared in the car for the long drive to Daytona Beach, FL.  Needless to say, I was happy for the company... He tucked himself into the handle on the passenger-side dash, and bopped to the music and podcasts that were blared for hours on end.

I finally arrived and was greeted with hugs from Maddy and Susan at the hotel we would share. The three of us met Chris Russell at Carrabba's Italian Grill for carbo-loading pre-MojoLoco. We shared happy running conversation as well as a good meal. We laughed over sausages and got to know each other better thanks to Susan's interviewing skills. Then Chris entertained us by showing Susan how to stretch her problem area in the foyer of the restaurant. Anticipation lingered as we awaited the next day...

some days are better than others

I had planned to run a long run yesterday, but didn't feel well.  Made up for it today. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and modify the plan. I felt much better today than I did yesterday! My original thought was 8 miles, but still had juice left in water bottle and felt good, so added 2 more miles. Yay!  This is my highest mileage week since June and two 20+ mile weeks in a row = Progress!

And note... the magical elves and reindeer had fun cruising the the top down! Elf Edward loves the sunglasses that I bought at the Chicago marathon Expo in 2009!

best mile of the year

At my daughter's middle school, they take PE for two of the four quarters. She gets it the last half of the school year. She's learned from her friends that in order to make an "A", you have to be able to run a mile in under 8 minutes. So yesterday she said that she wants to start running a mile with me every day. I was ecstatic!!! I've forever been jealous of people whose children like to run with them. She hasn't run in quite a while, so before we even left the driveway, I told her that we should start slow, take as many walk breaks as she needed, and just use this as a baseline. We didn't get very far down the street before she wanted to walk. She begged me to turn around and go back home. This was HARD. I insisted that we keep moving forward and told her that we were going to go a mile, but we could walk as much as she wanted. She slooowwwllllyyy moved foward. I cracked silly jokes and we kept putting one foot in front of the other. I let her set the pace. We walked more than we ran, but we had fun and laughed and knew that the next time we run a mile, it will be faster.

I bought a pair of Newton running shoes at the Atlanta half marathon race Expo. The representative told me to start with one mile, every other day, and slowly add to it. So I used today's run with Kyra for my first mile in these shoes. Since we walked more than ran, I can't really give the shoes a review, but they are definitely different from my typical running shoes and I loved the bounce.

Elf Edward arrives ready for the Mojo Loco

Three years ago, our first magical elves arrived at our house. My daughter was in 4th grade and she came home from school one day saying that Grace said that if she wrote to Santa and requested an elf, he would send one to her. So that very night, she wrote to Santa. I had never heard of magical elves and had to do some quick research. Santa wrote her back with a photo of the elf he was sending. I thought she would be thrilled, but she was upset. It wasn't the elf she was expecting. So that elf became my elf Edward. (I was reading the Twilight series at the time.) And the next day, her beloved Elf Kendall arrived; she was exactly what Kyra wanted. If you'd like to read more about our first year of elf adventures, click here and browse through December 2008 blogposts. And if you're really into magical elf adventures, click here and scroll down from 12/24 to Thanksgiving 2009 for last years antics.

This year, she wasn't as eager to write to Santa for the elves to return. But I missed my elf and sent a letter to Santa. Elf Edward arrived during the night and I found him ready to run this morning. He wore my MOJO LOCO headband as a tube top, was in a festive pair of running shoes, had my Garmin 310XT on his arm, my recent half marathon medal beside him, and my running log book open to the page reserved for the MOJO LOCO relay race. Woohoo!!! This is going to be so much fun!

Atlanta Half Marathon - bittersweet

Ahhh... traditions... changing for the better...

I registered for the Atlanta Half Marathon because of tradition. I ran it first in the mid 1990s and numerous years after that. Now I'm on an alternate year schedule...  when my daughter is with her dad.  They changed the course this year; I was sad to hear. I have such fond memories of running the same course over the years with a variety of friends, my ex-husband (when we were still married), and sometimes alone. I know that course like the back of my hand. I had a bad experience two years ago and wanted to beat my time...  But... they changed the course route so I can't compare.

My alarm clock was set for 4:30 a.m., but I woke at 4:17 on my own (or maybe thanks to the pups or kitties). I always fear oversleeping my alarm clock and set back-ups, but more often than not I wake earlier.  I showered, ate, and left home early because I hate being stuck in traffic. Traffic was exceptionally light at 5:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning. Why did I think it would be like rush-hour?  I made it to Turner field and into the parking lot with no delays! I sat and waited...

At 6:50 a.m. I made my way to my starting corral, just a short walk from the parking lot. I kept looking around hoping to see someone that I knew. No luck. Guess they were in a different corral. They did a wave start and I was in wave 4 of 5. They announced 12,000 runners for this morning. Wow! This race has grown significantly; I remember when there were less than 2,000 runners in the 1990's.

For decades, the race began near the Chamblee MARTA train station and went down Peachtree eventually ending in Piedmont park. I used to park at/near the MARTA station, run the race, and would hop on MARTA after the finish to return to my car. While waiting in my starting coral this morning I saw a couple wearing t-shirts that said, "In memory of..." and then had a map of the former route. I smiled nostalgically and totally sympathized. I felt the same way.

They started the waves about 3 minutes apart; at least that's what I'm guessing by comparing my Garmin time to the time I saw when I crossed the finish line. The first mile flew by way too fast, and the second and third as well, despite stopping a few times to try to stretch out my shin cramp that began in the first mile. During mile 5 I settled into a more realistic pace, and was HOT.  It was 57 degrees and foggy when the race began and the forecast was for a high of 60 during the race times, so I wore shorts, long-sleeves and a hat. But the weatherman LIED. 66 degrees and sunny and I desparately wished I had worn short sleeves!

At mile 6, I HAD to stop at the porto-potty.  I hated to lose so many minutes, but I run more for fun than for speedy times, and the much needed relief was well worth the added minutes.  I felt so much better physically, as well as mentally, afterwards! 

Around mile 8, I was gaining on a man wearing a prosthetic leg and a Sports Medicine South t-shirt. I was in awe and my self-defeating thoughts floated away. As I ran past him, I said that Dr. Levengood and his wife are close friends of mine. He lowered his head and then said sweetly, "They are great people." I regret not slowing down and talking with him more. I wish I had asked his name and his story. But I trotted along instead thinking about my amazing friends: Gary & Lisa Levengood and their incredible children. I've known them for 6-7 years now; our girls are best friends; Gary surgically repaired my torn ACL/meniscus in December 2005, as well as treated my IT band, hamstring tendonitis, plantar faciitis, etc.; and Lisa is one of my best friends and we ran the Chicago marathon together with our other BFF, Ty, in 2009. They truly are great people!

The new course brought back memories. We ran past Georgia Tech, where I went to college in the late 1980s. We ran past Ikea, where I bought my couch before knee surgery in 2005 and spent many days/nights recovering on and now the pup has chewed out parts of the cushion (repaired with duct tape). We ran through Piedmont Park which has been a part of many races I've run; most memorably the pup runs with my daughter and our oldest dog, Tasha. We ran past my old office building and later past my current office building.

I slowed again near the end when I saw a co-worker; she was jogging slowly and I slowed down and chatted with her for a while. I couldn't remember her name and was relieved when she asked me mine again; we've only met once or twice briefly, but I recognized her. Caroline... I'll remember her name now. As the end neared, I couldn't help but pick up the pace and finish strong.  2:46:51 according to my Garmin.  Back-of-the-pack, not my fastest or slowest, but I'm okay with it considering the effort. The medal is so much better than the last time I ran this race, 2 years ago!

After showering, I went to one of my best friend's lake house for Thanksgiving. I have the best friends ever! I had such a relaxing afternoon hanging out with Ty, Will, the kids and their relatives. I knew most of them, but enjoyed meeting others and getting to know the rest better. The only thing that would have made this day any better would have been to have my daughter there. The girls have been close friends since before kindergarten. I had so much fun helping cook, playing corn hole, relaxing, chatting... We made plans to do it again next year, and Ty and Cassie said they'll run the half marathon with me. I wonder if Lisa will join us? Looking forward to it!

Stone Mountain Cherokee Trail

Well, once again I find myself a month or so behind on blogging. I need to mow the grass and clean out the garage, but think I'll catch up on the blog instead ;-).  I had a great trail run/hike at Stone Mountain along the Cherokee Trail this afternoon. The temperature was a perfect 66 degrees with the sun shining brightly. The trail was shady with lots of people out walking.  I was surprised to pass my neighbor and his daughter about a mile into my run. The best part, however, was getting a cool-off shower from two golden retrievers that came out of the lake as I approached. They showered me with water as they shook beside me wanting to be pet. The owner said, "Thanks for being tolerant!" after he reprimanded the dogs. I laughed and said it felt good and that I have a golden retriever at home.

At about 3.5 miles I passed a woman and dog that I had seen earlier. She said, "Don't tell me you've gone the whole way around." I said yes and she responded, "Wow, I'm in awe." I said thanks and kept going but was thinking to myself... it's only been 3.5 miles, what's so impressive about that? Then I came back to reality and remembered that most people don't run at all, so I guess it would be impressive to a non-runner or a beginning runner. Glad even my slow pace inspired someone today.

Hmmm... Guess it's time to retire these compression shorts, huh? They've served me well over the past few years.

Zooma Atlanta half marathon

I arrived at Chateau Elan early before the start of the Zooma Atlanta women's half marathon. Traffic was light and I had plenty of time to spare. Since I pulled into the parking lot over an hour before the race, I sat in the heated car for a little while; it was 33 degrees Fahrenheit. I saw my neighbor's car pull into the same parking lot. After visiting a port-o-potty in the dark (quite an experience), I met her near the race start and we chatted with her friends. She's walking the event with several of her work buddies.. I enjoyed hanging out with them before the race start! They postponed the start from 7:30 to 7:45 because a long line of cars was still coming in. We were freezing and have things to do later this morning and were a wee bit disappointed since we had arrived early. I jogged with them at the start and when the slowed to a walk at the first hill, I kept running. I started at a faster pace than I had planned, but it didn't feel fast. I thought that maybe it was because of the cold temp and mostly downhill route rather than overexertion. The first 10 miles were great! and even thought a PR would be possible. But what goes down, must come up... I slowed down on the last three miles which were mostly uphill.

I finished in 2:38; not my fastest nor my slowest half marathon finish time. I enjoyed the race and the post-race Expo. Instead of a medal, finishers received a necklace. It's kind of plain, but then again, it's something I can wear anytime without being to ostentacious. It has "Zooma Atlanta" and "11.06.10" engraved on the back and a runner girl on the front of this peach shaped necklace. The post-race Expo was inside (where it was warm) and included a bagged brunch, free glass of wine or champagne, a live band and cool stuff to purchase. The course wasn't as scenic as I had hoped, and finished uphill, but overall, I would rate this as an event to repeat or recommend to a friend.

Boo

Remember the weird Wednesday I had? Well last night the black cat re-appeared. My daughter claimed it as her birthday present, but I'm not quite ready to take it in. We already have 3 in-door cats and 2 dogs. I did give it some food and water and let it spend the night in the garage. Even a small piece of salmon that I had leftover from dinner. It ran out when I opened the garage door this morning when I returned home after my 3.14 mile run. Wonder if it will come back? She named it Boo.

black cat birthday weirdness

Freaky morning. I woke up at 4:15 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. I got up at 4:45 (alarm clock was set for 5). As I was setting my Garmin 310XT in the dining room window to catch satelite signals before I went outside, I noticed that the old dishwasher that I had put at the end of driveway last night was gone... It's too early for the trash truck to have come. As soon as I stepped out of the front door, I was startled by a black cat on the walkway staring up at me. It ran away as I was closing the door. A quarter mile into my run I saw a huge possum? scampering across the road. I've never seen one of them in the neighborhood. Then my Garmin was off... this route is almost always 3.11 miles, plus or minus 2 hundreths, but today it registered 3.01 miles. Lots of weirdness on my daughter's birthday. Hope she has a happy 12th birthday!

stick in the foot

I enjoyed an easy run in the light misting rain this morning after a week of not running. Towards the end I felt something stab my foot. Thankfully it was just a stick that got stuck in my shoelaces.

Today would have been my mom's 68th birthday. I miss her! I remember she used to have Chinese for lunch on her birthday, so that's what my daughter and I did tonight. Then my daughter convinced me to get manicures to celebrate (next door to Mah Jong, our favorite Chinese restaurant). We had a great time talking about memories of my mom.

Corn Maze

I didn't get a real run in today, but did take a brisk walk with a few sprints through a corn maze with my daughter at Jaemor Farms. Then we had fun picking a pumpkin (make that three) off the vine in the pumpkin patch. And after that, we had homemade peach and strawberry ice cream and purchased fresh vegetables to take home for dinner. Great day!

The truth about pasta

In case you were wondering...  A ramen noodle, taken out of boiling water and thrown on the ceiling, sticks for a very long time...  At least 24 hours. My precious daughter has learned to make her own snack/lunch of Ramen noodles and thought she'd be cute and toss one up to the ceiling to see if it was done. I was getting my hair cut and she called me laughing so hard that I thought she was crying. I worried that she was seriously injured to only find out that the noodle wouldn't fall from the ceiling. (I climbed up a ladder and removed it the next day.)

Sweetwater Creek State Park

Once a year we have an out-of-the-office business meeting to celebrate our accomplishments from the prior fiscal year. This year our meeting was held at Sweetwater Creek State Park. I know that a 50K trail race is held here so I took my running gear with me to the meeting. I planned to do a trail run, but a little over a mile into it, it turned into a technical hike. I decided to forego the running for the adventure of attempting to cross the creek. Gorgeous! Technical! Great adventure!

Mr. Grinch and the monsters

After my daughter's horse riding lesson this evening, I left her with her step-mom and I headed to the nearby Harbins Park for a trail run. Mr. Grinch* and the monsters started following me at about half-way into the trail run... I passed a scruffy looking guy wearing a backpack and with a dog off-leash and this set my imagination rollling... Thankfully, I made it through the 5.13 mile run unscathed. I should probably limit my trail running to weekend days or with a friend or pup to keep from going psycho. I tried out my new Mojo Loco headband today from http://www.goheadband.com/. It worked as advertised... kept the sweat out of my eyes and didn't slip. It even worked double duty to keep my hair out of my face while crusing with the top down in my convertible afterwards.

*When my daughter was 2 years old, I made the mistake of taking her to see the movie How the Grinch stole Christmas.  I didn't bother to check the movie rating beforehand, but regretted taking her to a PG movie mid-way through it and even more so afterwards. Mr. Grinch scared her. Beginning that night, and continuing now, ten years later, every night at bedtime, after prayers, she asks me "Is Mr. Grinch or the monsters coming?" To which I always say, "No".  I think now it is more out of habit, but funny how things affect your life.

not Chicago

A month or so ago, my friends and I decided to not do the Chicago marathon. We all had injuries of various sorts that prevented us from training properly. We were all sad this week.  So earlier this week I had decided to run 10 miles on 10/10/10.  But that didn't happen either. Mid-afternoon yesterday a brutal stomach virus hit me. I was sooooo sick.  I can't remember the last time I vomited so much. Not fun. I felt better today, but definitely not up to a 10 mile run. So I settled for just an easy jog/walk in the neighborhood. But hey, I did run/walk the neighborhood loop in 27 minutes and 10 seconds, so I guess I did get my 10 in :-)

Lilburn Greenway extension

I haven't run all week...  I'm feeling yucky...  tired, and couldn't concentrate at work, so left early and came home for an easy run. My goal was just an easy run/walk of about an hour, which was how much time I had before my daughter would be getting off the school bus. I decided to run to Lilburn Park, at a minimum. Once I arrived, I noticed that there is a new section of Greenway Trail. So I decided to check it out.  I followed the main path and ran until it ended at Killian Hill and then returned home. I feel like a sluggard, but happier now that I've finally gotten a run in. Life is good again!

Harbins Park Trail

I needed to do a long slow 10 miles today so I went to Harbins Park Trail. I remember from last weekend (or was it the one before?) that it was a great trail. The first loop was awesome! I startled a few deer. I tried to photograph them, but they are very well camoflauged. The second loop wasn't as much fun. At mile 8 I was wasted and felt the blisters forming on my feet. I slowed to a walk. Oh well, I did complete the entire 10 miles, and it was definitely slow...

I'm an inspiration?

I'm working from home today and decided to go to a nearby greenway trail for an easy lunch time run. I've been extremely busy at work, haven't run in days and definitely needed the stress relief. The first mile was sluggish. Maybe I should have waited a little longer after I ate... I started feeling more into it on the second mile and picked up the pace a little. I decided I would pick up the pace by at least 10 seconds on the last mile. So as I'm cruising along, I see two older women standing in the pathway pointing and staring at one of the new bird houses that have been installed. They looked so happy admiring the bird house and flowers and enjoying their leisurely walk. And then I was totally surprised... As I was approaching them, one said to me, "You're our inspiration". I said, "Thanks!" and smiled. I must admit I was a little perplexed. I'm just plodding along at an 11-minute per mile pace. I had no idea that my stress-reducing lunch time run would prove to be an inspiring moment for someone else. Double the goodness!

XTERRA Harbins Park 10K Trail Race

I arrived home around 9 p.m. last night from a business trip in Portland, OR.  My body and brain were still on Pacific Coast time and I was wide awake until at least 1 a.m.  I forced myself into bed and set the alarm clock. I didn't want to get up. But, the lure of a trail race set me in motion. This is my first trail race of the year. I bought new trail shoes last weekend, since the funk had sunk into my prior pair. My goals for this race were simple:  enjoy 10K of trails.  And it was a success!

• I didn't finish last, although it wouldn't have bothered me if I had;
• I learned about a new trail that's only 30-45 minutes from where I live; and
• I had FUN!!!

They mentioned two more upcoming trail races. One is a 5K next weekend, which I'll probably skip. The other is an 8.5 mile XTERRA Georgia Championship race on October 23. I'll probably register for that one since it will be a guaranteed PR since I've never run a 8.5 mile race. And did I mention... I LOVE trail runs!

Waterfalls

Well, this wasn't a run, but I'm so GRATEFUL to Deb for taking me on a waterfall tour. We hit the Vista Center on the Columbia Gorge, Latourelle Falls, Wahkeena Falls, Multnomah Falls (2nd highest in US), and Horsetail Falls before it got too dark. They were all so different and beautiful in their own special ways. AMAZING beauty!