Winter Running continues…

26 Days until the Little Rock Marathon and the winter running sucks.  I hate it, hate it, hate it.  So sick of being cold or at least parts of my body being cold.

Last weekend was an ice-covered mess, both runs for Saturday and Sunday were CANCELED, I can’t remember any of our weekend runs being canceled before.  Oh well, I enjoyed not being out in the ice and cold.  Monday Kim and I were back at it, neither one of us had run in 3 days, that’s unusual, it’s usually 1 day, 2 max, but 3?  Never. Unless it’s after a grueling marathon.

We were bundled up and ready to run, we only ran about 5 miles, I had to be at work by 8am.  It was not a bad run considering, but we still bitched and complained about the weather and it was treacherous in spots, even after the thaw on Sunday afternoon.  There were spots that were still frozen solid, sidewalks, puddles, anywhere that stays shaded.

Tuesday and Wednesday I ran solo, Kim had to be at work early.  Still cold, but not AS cold as Monday, in the 30’s.  Kim and I planned on running together on Thursday, but low and behold, rain, no run.  Then Friday, rain again, no run.  At least it wasn’t ice or snow.  We were gearing up for our 18 mile run on Saturday.

Our run for Saturday morning was to be 18 miles, both of us dreading it since our runs have been a little lackluster and we didn’t get in a long run last weekend.  Oh well, can’t change what we didn’t run, so might as well suck it up.  We were meeting the Little Rock Marathon Training Group at the ADEQ building in NLR close to the River Trail.  Lots of runners for sure, I guess everyone was a little stir crazy and ready to get back on the pavement.

The temperature was mid 30’s, kind of hard to dress for, and the wind was about 15 mph, so that screws with you too.  I had long sleeve tech top, not a thin one and a fleece vest, should have left the vest.  My Garmin was dead, that really set the tone for the day, I had charged it the day before, but when I turned it on it went right back off, dead.  Great.  Thank goodness Kim had hers, it was so weird not having my Garmin, I would look down at my wrist or when we stopped to get water reach down to stop my Garmin, NO GARMIN!

Our route was mostly River Trail except when we went through Burns Park, which I don’t even remember at all, it’s like a blur for some reason, I know we went through there, but geez I must have been sleeping.

We made our way back to the River Trail and we realized we had to run all the way to the 1.75 mile marker, HOLY COW, are you kidding?  That just sounded WRONG and way too far, but we did it, don’t know how, but we did.

On our way back we knew there was a race on the river trail, the River Trail 15K, we kept expecting to see runners, but where were they?  I was really looking forward to it for a little distraction, anything to keep my mind off my aching feet, back and the wind blowing right in our faces no matter which way you turn!

We were about 2.5 miles from finishing when we ran up on some of the Hot Legs running club who were set up at a water station waiting on the first wave of runners.  We saw our friend Dianne L. and talked to her a second before heading to our finish.  It wasn’t long before we saw the leader, Josh Holt, he is actually one of the guys in my Tuesday Night running club, it was great to see him out in front.  Then we saw Leah T., female winner of the 2009 Little Rock Marathon.  Kim and I had to keep moving over in the grass to get out of the way, those runners were serious!!

It was just a minute or two when I heard my name called, it was Cindy C followed by Brenda, then not far behind, Amy, Jane, Joan, Melissa, it was so cool to see so many people we knew!  Thank goodness they saw us and called out our names, because they were all in a sea of people!

A great distraction for about half a mile, then UGH, we had 2 miles to go.  The wind picked up some more, what the hell?  We were colder than we had been the entire run!  We turned onto Northshore Trail and could finally see the ADEQ building, it’s always a welcome sight, we knew we had it made at that point.

We ended up with a little under 18 miles, but Kim said her old Garmin 301 didn’t always calculate correctly, so 18 in my mind.  We stretched on a bench for a bit until we were frozen and headed home, Kim had a death in her family and we couldn’t do our normal Starbuck’s stop so I just went home and made my own.

Sunday I knew Kim would not be back to run the 10 mile run with me so instead of starting at 6am I decided to wait until about 7am, the main reason was darkness, I didn’t want to run by myself on the River Trail, especially the Blair Witch Project Section (Isabella Jo).  Well, it only appears that way in the summer when it’s like a tunnel and dark as dark can be, but still, not by myself.

It was colder than Saturday, about 32, there wasn’t supposed to be any wind, so I did not wear my Little Hotties Hand Warmers or Toe Warmers, stupid me.  Because of the wind I was cold for the first 8 miles.  I almost turned around oh about 10 times, but I didn’t I kept pushing on and I have no idea how I did it, there was no one out, no one.  All the smart people stayed in bed.  Hobbit had emailed me the route the night before and I was to run to the 3 mile marker, once again, ARE YOU KIDDING?  That’s too far!! But of course it wasn’t, it just felt that way.

I was so happy to turn around, my legs were very fatigued and I was just done, done with running, done with the wind, done with winter.  UGH, this shit sucks.   I just kept trying to visualize myself at different sections on the Trail, the wooden bridge, the concrete bridge, dog park, soccer fields, where we saw the skunks, seeing the ADEQ building and some how I finished.  I hate running anything longer than 5 miles by myself, it’s just boring as hell.  Maybe I should put some tunes on my Shuffle and try that, something, cause that really sucked and being cold for the biggest part of it didn’t help.

Here’s something weird, I thought anyway.  When I got back to the parking log, there was this big Suburban type vehicle, pretty new, clean, had a 8×10 piece of paper taped to the inside driver side window “NO VALUABLES INSIDE”.  I would have never even noticed the vehicle if it hadn’t been for the piece of paper taped to the window.  Is that some new deterrent?

So I know this post is long, but today, thank goodness it is a well deserved rest day after running 28 miles this weekend because when I woke up at 5am this morning what do I see when I look outside?  SNOW!  LOTS of SNOW!  So, I’m not going to work for a while or maybe not at all, who knows.   I hope this crap clears up, because we don’t need this winter stuff anymore, we need to get ready for our looming marathon and Kim needs to get ready for her Ultra!

I will survive

My sister sent this to me and I gasped outloud, watch the entire video!!  It’s worth it in the end.

Winter Storm Watch

I think this is a first for me, staying home because of winter weather.  It’s been predicted all week, but as usual in Arkansas it can change quickly, not this time, the freezing rain was coming down when I got up at a nice 6am.  The forecast is for more ice and snow throughout the day, 12-16 hours of winter weather and temps below freezing today and tonight.  UGH, this messes with my running schedule, I don’t mind missing work at all!  But my running schedule MUST stay on track!

We are scheduled for 18 miles tomorrow, they have already moved it to 8am instead of the normal 6am, but if we get 1/2 inch of ice and then snow on top of that I’m afraid there won’t be a running event in the morning at all.  What will I do then?  And temperatures will drop down to  20 tonight and in the teens Saturday night.  I guess there is a possibility we could do our long run on Sunday.  I’m a creature of habit, I MUST have my long run on the weekend and what about my semi-long run?  When will I do that?  Worry, worry, worry.

I am also concerned about power outages, my yard has 9 mature, huge, oak trees, if they get .50 to .75 inches of ice, limbs will break, roofs will be damaged, power will go out, I’ll be stuck.  I am not prepared.  I have flashlights and food, but no other source of heat.  But I do have hand and foot warmers I can crack open, I received a whole slew of samples from Little Hotties to try out, this could be the perfect weekend to put them to the test!

I did get in 3 good runs this week, 2 with Kim, 1 solo, the temperatures were all over the board, in the 30’s for two days and yesterday 50.  Bizarre weather.

The Little Rock Marathon is just 36 days away and the medal was unveiled, IT IS HUGE, again!   I can’t remember the dimensions, but it weighs over a pound!  Here’s a photo.

Little Rock Marathon Medal 2010

I’ve sat at my desk for about an hour, haven’t seen one car go by, everyone is staying in today as suggested by Highway Police.  Roads will be treacherous and that means Cheryl will be staying in too!

I’m a Slug

Geez, I have no motivation to do anything in this HOUSE, I’m a slug today, well I was a slug yesterday too!

Up at 4:3o am for our 10 mile run in Murray Park with the newly named Hobbitom Challenge.  Met Kim at 5:45 and we headed to the park, Kim was in a little bit of a mood this morning, apparently it had been a late night, she of course was the DD and had to deal with drunk people, no fun when you are sober.

It was a warm morning, around 50 degrees, so I dressed a little lighted than yesterday.  Cold at first but warmed up quickly.  We were happy to see that Tammy was going  to run with us for a couple of miles and thank you Tom and Hobbit for giving us Murray Park, flat, flat and more flat, my butt and hip flexors were not happy with me this morning after yesterday’s tortuous hilly route.  Even though I hate that route I was loving it this morning.

Tammy stayed with us till about mile 2 and then turned around, it was an out and back course so easy to adjust your mileage.  Oh, and I didn’t wear my new shoes, it had rained something fierce last night and I didn’t want to get them wet on their first outing   never know when you might step in a nasty water puddle.

Kim and I actually only ended up with 9 miles, but who cares, we were both tired, she had work at noon and my legs were killing me anyway.  I headed home for coffee and the newspaper.

Around 11:00 I took Smokey to get a haircut so that meant I got to see Georgie, wow I miss that kitty a lot, his little face was so much darker than it used to be, I haven’t seen him in probably 3 months!  I also found out that Luzette the little kitten Glenn had adopted for George to play with had died last month, he wasn’t sure what happened he came home and she was in the kitchen floor.  She was young, probably not over 9 months old.  Poor George and Glenn.

Got back home around 12:30, had lunch and then took a nap, hmm, what else, oh washed clothes, started picking up a bit and said screw it, I don’t want to do this.  See Slug, definition of Slug – ME!

Rest day tomorrow, no way do I need to run, yikes my legs and butt are toast!!

16 Hilly Miles and new Kicks!

It’s called the Oucho Run for a reason, it is by far the Big Boy Run of the Marathon Training Season, Rahling Road, UGH!  Hills, Hills and more Hills and as the Tom put it, if your unsure of which way to go, it’s the one that goes uphill. HA!!  And that is no lie…

I met Kim at the Gaucho’s parking lot about 10 till 6 this morning, she had run from her house and had managed to clock 3.87 miles before we even started our route for the day!  It wasn’t long before I saw Annette, her, Jane, Amy and Micah had driven in from Cabot just to torture themselves for 16 miles.  Hard core I tell you!

The temperature today was not bad, around 48-50 degrees, but it was hard to adjust, hands hot, hands cold, headband on, headband off, it was just a pain in the ass really.  We made good time considering the route and the route was a bit different today, I think we ran the entire length of Breckenridge Drive, I don’t remember ever doing that before, which in my opinion gave us even MORE hills!

We made one bathroom stop at Burger King and one other “stop” to peer in the windows of a house that was empty and For Sale on Valley Club Drive, it was nice, I’m sure we looked crazy running down the street and then “oh hey lets look in the windows of that house it looks empty”.  One girl we caught up to asked if we lived there, HA! I wish, it was a really nice house in a really super nice neighborhood.

The miles started getting tough around mile 12, the hills just start getting to you, I don’t think I had a body part that wasn’t hurting, even my neck was hurting.  The trek up the most challenging hill (Rahling) was better than expected for me, I was able to run a lot of it, we would walk a light pole and run two, but it was tough and it was painful!  It was such a relief to be finished!  and a sense of accomplishment too!  When you do that route you know you can run any route in Little Rock, including the Marathon!  We had almost 16 miles with a pace of 10:58, good for that route.

After the run Kim and I stretched for a good 10 minutes and headed to Starbucks where the coffee was incredible, made the run worthwhile!  We then headed back to Kim’s house so I could drop her off, we saw Jane and Annette on Rahling going up the “hill” I honked and scared the crap out of Annette, she threw up her arms and I felt bad for honking.

I decided I had to get new shoes TODAY, so after I dropped off Kim it was off to Easy Runner, I have contemplated changing to a different running shoe and today I DID IT!  I talked to Bill at the store and he found a Brooks Glycerin 8 that felt really great, it was still a $100, but better than $140 I was paying for my Mizuno Wave Nirvana!  I will try them out in the morning when we continue our training at Murray Park for 10 miles on nice flat terrain.

Brooks Glycerin 8

We love the warm weather!

I have bitched and complained about the cold weather for at least a month or more and this week, AHHHHH, how nice it has been.   I know it won’t last, but while it’s here, yummy, I could eat it up!

Monday was a rest day, Tuesday let’s run, it was around 50 degrees I think.  Wednesday and Thursday 58 degrees!  Can you believe it?  We can’t!!  We had no idea how to dress, Kim and I both had too many clothes on yesterday, today perfect.  Tomorrow will be back down in the 40s, but it’s still not in the teens or 20s!  We will certainly take it and we have embraced every mile and every drop of sweat.

I found out on Monday my daughter will be having a girl!  Yippee, I think!  I’m getting more excited as the time goes by.  Me a Grandma?  Not so thrilled about that, makes me sound ancient.  I guess I am ancient.

Gotta go, tired.

Oh, one more thing all you blog peeps, I wear Mizuno Wave Nirvana 5 running shoes, I’m looking to change to something comparable that doesn’t cost $140.00 every 3 months.  Ideas?  Suggestions?

There are good runs and….

Let’s start on a welcome note – Temperatures ABOVE freezing, YIPPEE!!  It’s been nice not being absolutely frozen after running this week, I was to the point of giving it up at one point, the cold was really getting to me!

Some good runs during the week, since my hours were cut at work I have a little extra time in the morning so we took advantage of it on Thursday and ran about 6.5 miles instead of our normal 5.5 miles, it was nice.

Friday I ran solo, Kim was completing an exam for Funeral Directing, I’m sure she did great, but she is hard on herself.  Got in 5 miles before I had to head to the place I hate.

Right now it’s about 60 degrees and I just saw a runner go by my window in shorts and a t-shirt, love it!

Yesterday was a treat for me and Kim.  Tambo our injured partner in running has been out since November and she was doing her first “I’m back” run with us and the Little Rock Marathon Training Group!  Our meet spot this week was the Capitol, scheduled route for us 8 miles, Tammy 4 miles.  It was great to have her back with us asking a million questions   We have missed her.  Kim and I bitch and complain about the same ole crap all the time, it’s nice to have someone else to listen to!

We were able to run with Tammy for about the first 3 miles before her route had her turning off.  We couldn’t have asked for a better running day, temperature was about 46, a little windy, but comfortable.  Kim and I trudged on after Tammy’s departure.

We made a pit stop at the State Capitol around mile 6, I of course HAD to go.  I did not realize there were bathrooms available, but thanks to Tom and Hobbit I am now a regular customer.  Kim and I had no idea where the bathroom was so I stuck my head in the Police office right inside the door and he told me “down the hall and to the left through the metal detector”.  Hmmm, how do they know we are actually going through the metal detector?  one side is completely open and the metal detector just looks like a doorway with no door an in and an out.

We went through the metal detector and thank goodness the alarms did not sound and all of a sudden we are in the rotunda of the Capitol, we are looking up and around, it’s really beautiful, I haven’t been there since I was a child!  All of a sudden we both hear “Ma’am, Ma’m” we are looking up and around, where the hell is that coming from, no one is in there, it’s Saturday morning about 7am, is it God talking to us?  There were these huge marble pillars and behind one of them is a window with a cop sitting inside, saying “Ma’am, Ma’am”.  We were stunned and the police officer was just trying to point us in the right direction.  It was hilarious.

We finally make it down the hall and find the restroom which is humongous, sitting area, stool and mirror, 3 or 4 stalls.  My kind of bathroom.  We take care of everything that needs taking care of, strip off clothes, rearrange and head back out.  We were only 2 miles from being finished.  We ended up with about 8.5 miles.

Today, totally different story, same pit stop, but my oh my the run was not what you would call a good run.  First of all it was raining when we started out, so that meant rain gear, and wind, it was VERY windy today, temps still good, mid 40’s, but with the rain gear we were a little warm, I love saying that, we were WARM!!

On Sunday there aren’t near as many people as on Saturday, yesterday it looked like well over 100, today 8-10, something like that.  Well, right out of the gate Kim and I miss Center Street, we are almost in the River Market when we realize, HEY we missed our street and had to turn around.  Oh, well, we both wanted a little more mileage anyway.

It was just tough today, not sure why, seemed like the hills or the incline on some of the streets where just not working with us today.  And that nasty wind, UGH!!  We did make the same pit stop today as yesterday, State Capitol, it was like a freaking sauna in that place though!  My tax dollars at work, at least I have a bathroom to use!

We were all sweaty when we left and then the wind hit us, now we were cold.  It didn’t take long to warm up though, now is the tough part, going up Markham past the Deaf School and then Kavanaugh, more hills.  Around mile 10 I was really tired, we made it over to Riverfront and I was just wanting it to be over with, that is the worst section of road, mentally it is just boring, it’s part of the Marathon course and every time I run it I hate it even more.

We finally get off that piece of shingle and start heading downtown, our destination in sight.  I look at our route and I realize we have to go left, AWAY from the Capitol, that’s always tough, especially at the end, you think you are almost done when you realize, OH NO we are running AWAY from the finish not toward it.  We almost made an executive decision to cut over to Capitol Avenue from Cross Street, but we didn’t we are disciplined runners and did the route as prescribed.

We finally made it to Capitol Avenue, Finish in sight!  Why is it that when you can see the finish it seems to take forever to get there?  Hmmm.  As we get the parking lot in view I can hear a horn honk, and then again, a little toot toot, Hobbit waiting on us.  We were last ones back, again.  I hate that they wait on us on Sunday’s we could call when we get back, but she insists!  What a good Coach she and Tom both are!

We should have some good running weather this week too, 40-50’s.  Today was just not our day, I guess we should just be thankful we were able to get out there and run.

But, we did find some great bargains at Target AND I got a free coffee at Starbuck’s so the day was not lost.

Someone left the door open!

Still cold out! But, not as cold as last week. Monday was a rest day, Best DAY of the week! Tuesday it was about 28 degrees, but a little windy which was not pleasant. Kim and I both bitched and complained about the wind, cramps, gloves, kleenex, snot, you name it. I had to cut our run a little short, I was having horrible stomach issues AND my monthly visitor was in full swing! Does it get any better than that?

We did get some hill work in when we made a shortcut on Fairway, it is up and down all the way to Edgemere and we ran every hill, so that was definitely a hill workout day. We also were pleasantly surprised when we stopped to see if “Blackie” our project neglected dog was out, we almost walked off when I saw a slight shadow sauntering toward the fence. We were so excited!! We don’t see him very often in the cold/dark. Luckily I had stashed some treats in my pocket before I left the house. He was so happy to see us and vice versa. It made the miserable run worthwhile.

Kim couldn’t run today so I blew it off, do I feel guilty, not one stinking bit! It was cold and I’m done with cold! It will be in the 30’s for the rest of the week so I will just run those days instead. There.

My hours were cut at work, down to 37 hours, I’m pissed! All it is – pay cut, they think I will continue to put in 45-48 hours a week and only get paid for 37, they have another thing coming. 37, that’s all I’m working and that’s what I told my manager. I also told her that my JOBS, Payroll, HR and Recruiting was more than one person can do, as much as I would like to be able to do ALL THREE jobs, I can’t. I cannot focus on any specific job and complete it and that makes me crazy!

Here is a cute cartoon my sister sent me.

I was talked off the ledge

I didn’t want to run today, absolutely did not.  My head hurt and I was using every bit of will power I had to make myself get ready to go out and run and I just couldn’t do it.  Kim had sent me a text around 6am – it’s 11 degrees outside.  That did it, I am not running, so I text’d back, can’t do it, I just can’t make myself and my head hurts.

She did the hour by hour temperature, a whopping 15 degrees at 8am, our start time for our torturous 10 miles, same route as yesterday.  I was fine crawling back in bed, then the phone rang, Kim.  She talked me down off the ledge of not running today, not sure exactly HOW she did it, but she did.

I drug my ass in the bathroom turned on the space heater and proceeded to get dressed in five million layers of clothing.  I feel so constrained.  I did get out and do my warm up run up and down the street, IT WAS FRIGID, but no wind, thank goodness.  Started the vehicle, got all my other garb together, two layers of gloves, toasty toes, gaiter, fuel belt, hat, headband, am I forgetting anything, feels like I have every piece of clothing I own on!

Not many folks at Maumelle this morning, maybe 8, but the big surprise, the Lake was frozen!  The poor ducks and geese were walking around on top of it!  We don’t see that in Arkansas, it never gets this cold much less STAY this cold for any length of time.  It was the oddest thing, we just laughed and stared at the poor water fowl on the frozen lake!

It wasn’t long and we had to take off, Kim said it was 12 degrees, what happened to the 15??  At least it wasn’t windy or snowy like yesterday.  We were off.  First stop about 1.3 miles in, jacket off and around the waist it went, nose blowing, water drink, off again.  The run went by much faster today than yesterday even though my freaking head was killing me the entire time.  All I could think was caffeine, caffeine, I need some coffee.

We ended up with 10.25 miles, uneventful, except for the frozen lake!  One bathroom break around mile 4.5, that was about it, exciting stuff.  I’m just so glad it’s over, huge coffee at Starbucks made me feel better, then we filled up my vehicle at the Kroger gas station and went to Walgreen’s for a little shopping, that’s it.

10.25 miles with about a 10:30 pace, rest day tomorrow, Hallelujah!  The temperatures will be warmer next week, maybe in the 20’s to 30’s when we run, a heat wave!

Thank you Kim for talking me into running today even though I didn’t want to!

Maumelle Back down week

Thank God it was a back down week for our long run, 10 miles!!  Yippee or sort of, temps predicted for around 12 degrees at 6am our normal start time, but our fearless leaders, Tom and Hobbit, decided to push it to 8am!  Yippee again!  It was a balmy 19 degrees!

Kim wanted to pick me up at my house so she could get in an extra couple of miles in before heading to Maumelle, she got here around 6:30 bundled up so much she could barely bend over or turn her head!  While she was out running I continued to get ready and dread the frigidness (is that a word?).

When she got back I had already taken a quick run up and down the street like I always do before long runs just to get things situated.  We gathered all our gloves, lines, hats, gaiters, fuel belts, extra jackets, shoes, OMG, why is winter running so difficult!  We were off to Maumelle, at least we were riding in the Pimp Mobile today with the butt warmers.

We arrived at Maumelle about 15 minutes early which gave us time to pile on all that extra crap, temperature still 19 degrees and a little breezy.  UGH.  Kim signed us in and Tom gave us some last minute instructions on the route, I had to clarify about the turnaround and we were off.

Usually we see one or two crazy people in shorts, not today, we saw one girl in capri tights.  I know every driver that saw this group of runners thought “What the hell are those people doing? It’s too cold out there! They are NUTS!”  And it’s how we felt, NUTS!

It was cold, we kept our gaiters on for a while, but it makes it terribly hard to breathe and you just can’t get a rhythm going.  It’s freezing when you take them off, hot when you put them on.  We pulled off about mile two to readjust, I took my fleece jacket off, my back was hot, we blew our noses, got a drink and kept on moving.

We had to make another pit stop around mile 4.5 where we saw this house boat thing about to tip over in the Arkansas River, we would have gone and investigated but the Keep Out signs were a little too prevalent.  I had to take one sock off my right foot and stick in my pocket, it was just rubbing me wrong with my Toasty Toes!  Yes, I had two pairs of socks on.  My feet was my only body part that stayed comfortable.

On our way back the sun was out full force, but we were running into the wind now and it was not nice.   We did our usual bitch and moan session for the last 3 miles, 10 miles was just as bad as 20 miles today.

Our run was a tad bit long today, well some weeks it’s short, so there.  We stopped at Starbucks and we had the best coffee EVER!  We intend to go back there tomorrow after we run the same 10 mile route again….Gluttons for punishment.

Kim and I did a little shopping after our bitterly cold run, Target (of course) and then to the mall where we just hit a couple of stores and then headed home.

Tomorrow will be just as bad, betcha can’t wait