Land Softly Grasshopper

Lisa has been watching a lot of the Karate Kid lately...the original Karate Kid.  We were doing a workout that required jumping rope.  I asked her how I was supposed to jump rope without hurting my foot worse.  Channeling her inner Miyagi, she told me to "land softly grasshopper".

I thought it was funny at the time and I tried to jump rope and land softly.  Actually I landed on my toes so it wasn't really that painful.  But the more I thought about landing softly grasshopper, the more I realized that I probably caused my foot pain by NOT landing softly.  Working in the restaurant, I'm wearing shoes with poor support and I'm rushing up and down the steps that are all over the place.  So at work I have been focused on landing softly.

I also did not run on Saturday.  Instead of the 7 miles everyone else ran, I borrowed Lisa's bike and rode 14 miles.  Here is a photo of the run group with Lisa's bike...that represents me since I was taking the picture!

Left to right...Keith, Colleen, Laura, Barry, Mo and Pat.  Chris, Don and Mark had already taken off on their run by the time we got there.  I was a little concerned about riding the bike since it's the first time I've been on a bike in a LONG time.  But there is a saying "just like riding a bike" for a reason.  It's easy.  I felt like I was going pretty fast.  I need to do some research on what fast really means on a bike.

So after a weekend of landing softly grasshopper and biking instead of running, I am feeling much better.  While my foot still hurts, it is much less painful than it was on Thursday.  Another week of landing softly and I think I'll still be able to run the Tim Kennard 10 mile race next Sunday.  At least I hope I can!

My Feet Hurt

So it's been almost 3 weeks since I started waiting tables.  My feet are killing me!  I have a pretty serious pain in my left foot so bad that it has been causing me to limp a little.  I got special waitressing shoes but I don't think they provide the support I need.  I am going to put my inserts from my running shoes into my waitressing shoes to see if that helps any.  I cannot afford to tear up my feet this close to the Tim Kennard 10 miler and the half marathon!  Luckily my knees are feeling better...that is great news!

This morning was an "easy" workout and tomorrow is the tempo workout.  I got a text from Colleen saying that both she and Barry have to miss the workout tomorrow morning.  Hopefully Sydney and Laura will show up so I don't have to do that horrible workout alone!

Off to bed to rest my poor aching feet...

No Name and the Prowler

Instead of the normal Wednesday run, Barry, Laura and I went to the gym and did a workout with the sleds.  One is a Prowler and the other I guess is just a sled...it doesn't seem to have a name although after dragging it all over the parking lot, I think it deserves a name.  Since I don't know if there are children reading this, I will refrain from publicly posting the name I was calling it halfway through the workout!  :) 

I convinced Ryann (my teenage daughter) to come along with me.  She did half the sled workout with us then went inside to do some deadlifts.  This girl is crazy strong.  Here is a photo of her deadlifting 155 lbs.  She eventually lifted 175 lbs!  Are you kidding me?

She makes it look easy!

The rest of us did the full sled workout.  8 drags with the no name sled and 8 drags with the Prowler.  Here is Laura pulling the no name sled:

And here is Barry pushing the Prowler and me pulling the no name:

It was really hard to get the sleds going, especially the Prowler.  But once we got them moving, it was kind of fun to push/pull them as long as you ignored the burn in your leg muscles!  I kept pretending I was Ray Lewis doing practice drills.  I had my Ravens headband on after all!

Weekend Recap and Mileage Monday

Since I've started waiting tables, I have found that I have very little time to update this blog.  I apologize if there is actually anyone out there reading this on a regular basis!  Just kidding...I know my mother reads it.  Hi Mom!

Saturday was a windy morning and the running group met at 7 at the bagel shop.  We were joined by Tammie who is one of the members of my mileage tracking group.  It was the first time she had come to play with the running group.  We were so excited to see her and she did a GREAT job!  We hope she joins us again soon.

Barry and Lisa ran a mile carrying sandbags as part of their training for the Tough Mudder.  Even with the sandbags, they were faster than Colleen and me!  I will post pictures of them with the sandbags as soon as I remember to download the photos from the camera.  (Again sorry for the lack of time)

Colleen and I were both struggling with some knee pain which caused us to end our run earlier than we had planned.  We both agreed that it was better to cut the mileage short instead of pushing it and hurting ourselves worse.  It is great to have a running buddy to bounce concerns and ideas off of!  Thanks Colleen!

Sunday was swimming practice.  I had missed the last 2 weeks so it was good to get back in the pool.  During my warm up laps, I was really struggling to get back to a good breathing routine.  But once we got into the workout portion, I felt better.  Coach Kelly has been telling me to drop my head when I'm swimming.  I finally felt the difference in my body when I dropped it as far as she wanted me to.  I could feel myself straightening out and I realized I was going faster without any extra effort.  Wow!  I am amazed at how she handles so many different ability levels and makes everyone feel like she is focused on them.  Thanks Coach Kelly!

Here is the chart for this week's mileage.  Tammie has been doing a great job and I've nudged her to reconsider her goal.  I think she could easily hit a more challenging goal.  Great job to everyone!  We are really making progress!!!

Tempo Training

Confession time!  Our core group (Barry, Colleen and me) met a few weeks ago with Lisa to discuss our training plan for the half marathon.  We were concerned about making sure that we were doing the right things to achieve the goals we have set.  One of the problems with our training plans was trying to fit in a tempo run.  Lisa came up with the idea to have a tempo workout at the gym.  Well for the last 2 weeks I have missed the tempo workout.  I was in Miami the first week and at my parents' house the second week.  I felt a little guilty about missing the first 2 tempo workouts since I was the one pushing to have it.  But today I got my payback.

Tempo workouts are HARD!!!  We did 2 suicides, 12 box jumps, 12 wall balls, 12 romanian deadlifts as many rounds as possible in 30 minutes.  There was no joking around, no talking, no fun.  It was all serious business.  In addition to me and Collen, Christine, Ross and Sydney were also there this morning...only Barry was missing and of course we all are going to be giving him a hard time for it.  We got in 7 rounds plus an extra set of suicides.  Sydney beat us all...he got 8 rounds plus an extra set of suicides.

It's now 5 hours after finishing that workout and I am feeling it!  My back and legs are so sore.  Hopefully I will feel better by the time I have to work tonight!  Ugh...but at mile 7 of the half marathon, I will be glad for the tempo workouts!

Creative Hills

Living at the beach has its advantages.  One of the problems with living at the beach is that there are no hills.  Really no hills anywhere.  We have a few creative ways to run hills...the bridge onto Assateague and the parking garages.  Tonight we met at the inlet parking lot, ran up to 12th street and ran hills in a parking garage.  It was a very tight parking garage so the ramps were short and close together.  The parking garage had signs posted everywhere saying "Speed Limit 3 MPH".  That cracked me up considering we were running faster than that!  I wish I had brought my camera on the run to get a photo of it.

After running back to the end of the boardwalk we did a few sprints in the parking lot.  The Wednesday runs are fun because the boys show up.  On the last sprint the boys got pretty competitive.  Barry and Chris were pushing and shoving trying to beat each other.  It was funny.  Here is a picture of the boys:  Chris, Mark, Don and Barry.

And here is a picture of Colleen and me with the boys.  Sorry for it being blurry.

I love running on the boardwalk for one reason alone - the ocean.  It's awesome to run and have the background noise being the crash of the waves.  It's really amazing.  Unfortunately it's always windy on the boardwalk so today's pleasant temperatures didn't quite make it to the boardwalk!  I can't wait for spring!

Rest Days?

Many of you who read this are runners and understand the importance of rest days.  I really do understand why rest is an important factor in training...I just don't always like it.  My work day is completely thrown off on Tuesdays since that's my "rest" day.  I have an early meeting in the office every Tuesday so there is not enough time for me to make it to the gym, shower and get to work in time for the meeting.  That's why I have selected Tuesdays as my rest day. 

Invariably I am rushing out the door late for the meeting on Tuesdays.  Now if I got out of bed at the regular time I normally do when I go to the gym every other day, I wouldn't have to rush.  I would actually have tons of time to get ready, eat a leisurely breakfast and get to the meeting.  But I try to fit in an extra bit of sleep.  After all, it is a rest day, right?  Shouldn't that mean I get to rest??? 

I think that resting your muscles is an extremely important part of any training program.  I highly recommend to all my friends that they take a rest day and actually nag them when they don't have enough rest in their workout schedules.  I know there is value in it, I just really can't seem to figure out how to stay on schedule when I'm resting!  I suppose I'm the type of person who needs a routine.  Without my routine of getting up before dawn and going to the gym, I'm hopelessly behind schedule.  Maybe next week I'll make it to the meeting on time.

Wishing everyone a restful Tuesday!

Mileage Monday On Monday!

Well I think I'm going to make it this week!  It's Monday and I'm actually posting the tracking chart on time!  You will notice that I have added the goals onto each person's bar.  It is hard to tell how far people are actually going when the chart tracks the % of goal completed.  Everyone's goals are different so I thought adding the goal to the chart would help clarify that.

Congratulations to Tammie who completed 3.3 miles in one session!  She is doing really well in preparation for her first 5K race.  Also a big high five to Dennis who ran 20.5 miles this week.  That's the most anyone has covered in a week's time so GREAT JOB DENNIS! 

My schedule has gotten very tight recently so I promise to post as often as possible but please forgive me if I go a few days without a post!  I have so many topics I would like to write about so there is plenty of material, just not enough time in the day.  I'm sure you can relate!

How Do I Do It?

As a busy mother of 3 kids, working a full time job and juggling 2 other part time positions, I have very little free time.  That's why some of these blog posts will be sporatic.  However, I have always tried to put my running as a priority.  Things are getting busier and my training seems to be suffering.  I made the comment at the gym this morning that I might as well just back out of the Ocean City Half Marathon. 

Seriously?  Did that really come out of my mouth?  There's no way I'm backing out of the OC Half!!!  Yes it's going to be challenging to find the time and energy to devote to training.  But this is my passion.  This is my escape from the issues and struggles of normal every day life.  Running is fun.  I am a better mother, wife and friend because I am a runner.

People ask me all the time "How do you do it?"  I'm not sure what that question really means but most of the time I figure they are asking how I find the time.  I am lucky that my husband is more than willing to play solo dad while I go out and run.  I am also lucky that most of the time when I'm working out or running, I leave the house before anyone else is awake.  I am also extremely committed to my training despite my recent challenges with my schedule.

Is it easy to train for a half marathon?  NO.  Is it always convenient?  NO.  But it's something I love to do and it's something that I am willing to make sacrifices for.  So I apologize for my momentary lapse of judgement this morning.  I absolutely WILL be running the OC Half regardless of the pressures I am under between now and then.  I will cross that finish line!  My goal is to cross in under 2 hours but if I don't, it just means that the journey continues to another race.  It is a major accomplishment just to finish a half marathon.  I need to remember that sometimes.

So readers...how do you stay focused on training when life's challenges threaten to take you off course?  I'd love to hear some comments.

Mileage Monday

Ok, maybe I need to change the name.  I am not making these posts on Mondays!  I'll give myself one more week and then I might have to make an adjustment.

Anyway, it was another great week of progress.  Congrats to everyone!  Michelle has taken over the top spot.  She is really working hard towards her goal!

















I had my first post-Miami workout yesterday.  I am sore!  Wow.  I am glad to be back in the swing of things though.  I hope to get my training back on track.  The Tim Kennard 10 mile race is quickly approaching and I want to be ready!

It's Good to be Home

I had a blast in Miami and I'm so glad that I took the trip.  But there's nothing like coming home to your family.  I am so glad to be home.  Tomorrow it's back to the grind which for me is a good thing.  My training suffered considerably while I was there.  I got in 2 runs but they were both much shorter than what I would have run if I had been home.  The second run was Saturday morning.  It was dark, lonely and boring.  There were no walkers on the path and no one was around.  It was all I could do to keep my head in the run. 

Let's Move Miami!

I have to admit that I am a bit of a cheerleader.  It's next to impossible for me to run without saying hello to the people I pass and/or to chat with the people I'm running with.  I never run with an ipod because I feel like it interferes with me enjoying the experience of the run. 

It's always difficult for me to maintain my workout routine when traveling.  I love to run in a new city and experience the different sights, but most of the time it means I have to run alone.  I'm not good at running alone.  I get bored.  Maybe I should try an ipod for those times, but I haven't been able to make myself do that. 

So this morning's run was a test of my dedication.  Yesterday I decided to sleep in and did not run or workout.  I did some stretching and some small exercises but nothing like I would have done if I was home.  This morning I got up and was excited to get my run started.  Across the street from my hotel is a small lake with a path around it. 

I hit the path at about 5:45.  I didn't see anyone immediately but as I turned the first corner I realized that there were several people walking.  As I passed each one, I said a cheery "Good Morning!"  At first they didn't know what to make of me.  Most were so surprised that someone actually talked to them that by the time they decided to respond I was almost too far past to hear them.  It was just under a half mile around the lake and the path was very well lit.  There were several groups of ducks...all sizes and colors.  I had to avoid some of their "droppings" at a few places!

So by the time I was on my second lap, I was passing the same people again.  Not wanting to be rude, I couldn't say "Good Morning" again so I said "Great Job!"  Every single one of them said "oh thank you" in a very surprised tone.  Does no one tell these people that getting up early in the morning and walking around a lake was a great thing?  Well that made me determined to make a difference in these people's day.  On my third lap I realized that the path was getting more crowded.  I greeted the newcomers with my standard "Good Morning" or "Great Job".  When I passed the original walkers, I said "Keep on going!  You are doing great!"  One man actually said "You're the one doing great!"  I laughed and kept on going.  Energy is contagious!  That man made my day and I was trying to make his!   

I absolutely LOVE congratulating people for taking steps to better their lives.  These people were not thin, athletic people.  They were overweight, some were older, some were younger.  But they were MOVING!  They were WALKING!  They were bettering themselves!  I love that.  I can't wait to get up tomorrow and see my new "friends" again! 

Mileage Monday...a day late!

So I have been reading an amazing running blog for about a year now.  www.tallmomontherun.com  If you really want to be inspired and find out great information on products, etc, that blog is amazing.  Anyway, Tall Mom has a challenge for her readers to run 1000 miles in a year.

I have taken that challenge and asked Colleen and Barry to join me.  After talking with Lisa, I thought it would be awesome to modify that challenge for our group.  Because there are so many different levels of ability, I decided that each person should set their own goals and I would agree to track everyone's progress.  I love doing stuff like this!  It's fun to hear each person's weekly struggles with finding time for exercise and how they overcome those struggles. 

Every Monday I will be posting our progress...hence mileage Monday.  It just took me a day longer to get everything "post ready" but every week from here on out the chart will be posted.  Here are our results:

 Great job to Jeannie!  She has been the leader for % of yearly goal completed for 2 weeks in a row.  Her goal is 100 miles this year and she is walking, running and swimming those miles.  Colleen has the most miles covered so far and her yearly goal is 1000 miles.  Colleen's miles are accomplished through running and swimming.  The biggest mover this week is Michelle.  She jumped up to third place!  I'm so proud of everyone's progress and I'm thrilled to be tracking their accomplishments.