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	<title>Jogger&#8217;s Life &#187; running</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.joggerslife.com/tag/running/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.joggerslife.com</link>
	<description>I&#039;ll probably never win, but I&#039;ll definitely never quit!</description>
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		<title>The Disney Princess 1/2 Countdown!</title>
		<link>http://www.joggerslife.com/2010/the-disney-princess-12-countdown/</link>
		<comments>http://www.joggerslife.com/2010/the-disney-princess-12-countdown/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:18:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[I Love Gear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Product Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Race Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Races]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[barefoot running]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[barefoot running alternative]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nike free 5.0]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[race training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[running]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.joggerslife.com/?p=2713</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Only 13 days to go, and your girl is feeling pretty badass.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/sweatfestcrop1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2714 alignleft" title="sweatfestcrop" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/sweatfestcrop1-300x189.jpg" alt="sweatfestcrop" width="240" height="151" /></a>The Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon is only a mere 13 days away.</p>
<p>That means that I will be in Florida in 9 days!</p>
<p>Nine.  Days.</p>
<p>Vacation in NINE DAYS!!  Yay!!</p>
<p>So.  Back to the matter at hand.  The Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon is only 13 days away.  I got slightly sidetracked for about 1.5 weeks due to the Great Snowpocalypse of 2010.  My gym was literally closed, so no running was to be had.  As a result, I missed one of my long runs (I believe it was the 7 miler), and it set me back a week on my training.</p>
<p>My running schedule has been very easy: Tuesday recovery run, Thursday is my mid-week longish run, and Saturday or Sunday is my long run.  That&#8217;s it.  Three days of running.  In addition to running, I&#8217;ve been doing kickboxing on Monday and Wednesday for 45 minutes (which is very high impact and intense), and one day of core and stretching.  I&#8217;ve tried hard to keep things well-rounded this time, so as not to revisit <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/category/i-love-my-dysfunctional-body/" target="_blank">Joggerslife Kneehab, 2009 Edition</a>.</p>
<p>In order to feel the least affect from my Snowmagadon-induced long run folly, I decided to bump up my weekday runs the following week.  I was supposed to do 2, 4, 8 that week, but instead I did 3, 5, 7&#8211;which put me 1 mile over my weekly mileage goal, but still didn&#8217;t have to bump up my weekend run to get there.  My past injuries have taught me that when I try to &#8216;kill it&#8217; and bump up that long run before I&#8217;m ready, that&#8217;s when all hell breaks loose.</p>
<p>Since the Snowcation, I have been right on schedule with my runs, and last week, I even banged out my 2 mile recovery run in 20:15&#8211;which felt like a miracle of sorts.  Especially since I felt fantastic the entire run.  However, the fact that I ran a &#8220;recovery&#8221; run faster than even my normal race pace was maybe not the smartest idea&#8230;but it doesn&#8217;t appear that I&#8217;m any worse for the wear, so I&#8217;m just going with it.</p>
<p>In any case, tonight I did my first 10-mile treadmill run ever, and it went pretty well.  I just took it very slow&#8211;10 miles in 1:58, which is about 11:45/mile.  That&#8217;s slow.  I got wicked bored around mile 7, which is my major gripe with the treadmill.</p>
<p>The only thing that kept me going were these:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/jJPN2RHY1iwuejb.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2715" title="jJPN2RHY1iwuejb" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/jJPN2RHY1iwuejb.jpg" alt="jJPN2RHY1iwuejb" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>After searching for over a month for a pair of Vibram Five Fingers in my size (39 must be like the most popular size or something), I got sick of waiting.  After doing some research, I learned that these Nike Free 5.0 V4&#8217;s are touted as a barefoot running alternative, so I jumped on board.  I bought them yesterday for $85, which is basically the same price as a pair of VFF&#8217;s.</p>
<p>It might not have been prudent to inaugurate these bad boys with a 10 mile long run, but I went for it.  I&#8217;m impatient like that.  The verdict is that I like them, but I definitely feel the difference between these and my standard Nike Air Pegasus 25&#8217;s.  It&#8217;s been about an hour since I finished my run, and my forefoot and ankles feel notably sore.  However, <a href="http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/foundations/articles/barefoot-running-easier-feet-running-shoes" target="_blank">research is starting to show</a> that the mark of a good runner is in the strength of their feet, so this soreness is most likely just a sign that I&#8217;m running correctly for a change&#8230;that makes me happy.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m all about making 2010 an injury-free year, so hopefully my Nike Free&#8217;s will help me achieve that goal!</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/siggy.jpg"><img style="display: inline; float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right:       10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; border: 0px initial       initial;" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/siggy-thumb.jpg" alt="" width="175" height="101" align="left" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/405.jpg"><br />
</a></p>
<p style="clear: both">* Have you joined <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=74822808959&amp;ref=ts">my       Facebook Group</a> yet?</p>
<p style="clear: both">* See how <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/train/">my training</a> is going       over here!</p>
<p style="clear: both">* Looking for my <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/ebooks/">eBook</a>?</p>
<p style="clear: both">*Check out my <a href="http://www.letterstomybody.com" target="_blank">body image       project</a>!</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Competitive Cojones Discovered.</title>
		<link>http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/competitive-cojones-discovered/</link>
		<comments>http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/competitive-cojones-discovered/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:12:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[I Love Jogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Race Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[my first smoking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[running]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.joggerslife.com/?p=1841</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I really do have a competitive bone in my body after all!]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Last night, I ran 4 miles.  It was my longest continuous run in 3 weeks.  My leg didn&#8217;t really get wonky until the very end of the run.  I forgot to wear my <a href="https://secure.cho-pat.com/products/product.php?product_type=27">Cho-Pat band</a> (I&#8217;ll be writing a full explanation of this later), so this could be the reason why it got wonky at all.  As soon as I got home, I iced and put the Cho-Pat band on.  Within 10 minutes, all wonkiness had subsided.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m not really writing to tell you about that though.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m writing to tell you about something very exciting that happened during my run.</p>
<p>I became competitive.  Yes, me.  The one who jogs.  The girl who could really give a crap about where she finishes (as long as it&#8217;s not dead last).</p>
<p>It all began on a hill.  I could hear her breathing behind me.  Does everyone know that eerie &#8220;a stranger is breathing heavily in my ear&#8221; sound?  I normally only hear this sound for 3 milliseconds because I&#8217;m so slow that it only takes that long for people to pass me.</p>
<p>However, I&#8217;ve been doing a lot of cross-training, so hills are much easier than they&#8217;ve ever been.  My pace was really good last night (ahem&#8230;for me).  Up until the last mile, I was running nearly 10:00 miles, so that put me almost in other peoples&#8217; comfortable pace range.</p>
<p>So, coming up the hill, I felt good.  Besides the fact that the breathing was really distracting.  This breathing even broke through &#8220;Crazy Bitch&#8221; by Buckcherry.  It was really close!</p>
<p>I decided to continue with my pace.  I was comfortable and I knew that I couldn&#8217;t push my IT band too much too soon, so I let The Breather pass me.  She didn&#8217;t actually pass me until I was recovering at the crest of the hill, so I just let her go.  I wasn&#8217;t giving up, rather, I was plotting.</p>
<p>This, my friends, is when I grew my competitive cojones.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/got-cojones300.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1843 aligncenter" title="got-cojones300" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/got-cojones300.jpg" alt="got-cojones300" width="300" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>The feeling was so foreign.  I realized that I was right on her heels, and all I had to do was pace myself a little to get in front of her and stay there.  I stayed on her heels down the next two small hills because I didn&#8217;t want to speed up downhill since that seems to mess with my IT band.</p>
<p>On the next small uphill, I smoked her.</p>
<h4>OH, THE RUSH!</h4>
<p>I glanced at my watch, and I was running a 7:07 pace.  All was beautiful in my universe.</p>
<p>I maintained that pace for about a 1/2 mile, then I heard The Breather approaching again.  I smiled and let her pass me.</p>
<p>Again, I wasn&#8217;t giving up, just plotting.  All plotting.</p>
<p>There was a small hill coming, then I was going to veer the opposite way to the sidewalk, where we would be running side-by-side, but I&#8217;d be going uphill and she&#8217;d be going downhill.  I knew I could take her again because my hills are strong these days.</p>
<p>I gave her a few seconds to set into her pace and get comfortable, then I smoked her again.  All the way up the hill.  Left her in the dust.  By the time I turned to head home, she was walking.</p>
<p>I feel slightly guilty about this, because I don&#8217;t like hurting people&#8217;s feelings or making them feel bad.  Isn&#8217;t that silly?!  I grow some competitive cojones, and I have a guilt complex about it.</p>
<p>Truth be told, the feeling of having been faster than someone not once but twice was very confidence-building.  It was really an awesome feeling, and it carried me all the way home.</p>
<h3>Are you competitive?</h3>
<h3>Do you have a moment like this where your competitive nature exploded and you grew cojones?</h3>
<p style="text-align: left;">
<p style="clear: both;"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/joggersignature3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; display: inline; float: left;" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/joggersignature-thumb3.jpg" alt="" width="175" height="101" align="left" /></a><br style="clear: both;" />* Have you joined <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=74822808959&amp;ref=ts">my Facebook Group</a> yet?</p>
<p style="clear: both;">* See how <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/train/">my training</a> is going over here!</p>
<p style="clear: both;">* Wonder what <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/eat/">I’m eating</a>?</p>
<p style="clear: both;">* Everyone loves a <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/giveaways/">giveaway</a>!</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Where Have I Been?!</title>
		<link>http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/where-have-i-been/</link>
		<comments>http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/where-have-i-been/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:35:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[I Love Childhood Memories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Jogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love My Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love My Friends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Race Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Vacation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Darien Lake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NKOTB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[race training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roman Runners]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[running]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utica Road Runners]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/where-have-i-been/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>A long explanation as to why I've been a blogging loser for the past (nearly) 7 days. in pictorial format. With words of explanation for those things which cannot be explained with pictures. It's fun, I promise.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Last Friday, after my boss made me cry, I went on a trip.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">I was gone for 4 long days.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Unfortunately, the days were not nearly long enough.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">My hiatus has been fun.<br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">It began with this&#8230;</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638382177/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3548/3638382177_f3ed2027ef.jpg" alt="band" width="500" height="375" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">(p.s&#8230;please love me even though this post contains a mixture of poor quality iPhone pictures. Sometimes I can&#8217;t carry my big girl camera).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">At which time I learned that not only is my little brother a great guitar player, manipulator and con man, but he can also sing and play the bass. How is it possible for a boy to be so genius, yet so dumb? All at the same time.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638384727/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3638384727_509dea02a7.jpg" alt="ben singing" width="375" height="500" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Shortly after this picture was taken, I met a man.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">I decided to call him Norman No Neck. I don&#8217;t know what his name was. Norman No Neck just seemed to suit him.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Norman periodically talked to My Sista and I throughout the night, filling our ears with anecdotes and one-liners. He really talked like he had no neck. Labored talking. Very labored. He was wearing a skin tight t-shirt with a scowling, drooling wolf on it. I decided that a combination of the tight t-shirt and the angry wolf were making it hard for him to talk.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">I spent approximately 30 minutes of my evening laughing hysterically, while trying to figure out what the hell Norman No Neck had just said to me.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Something about Catsup. I think.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Saturday morning, bright and early (7:15), My Sista and I met my cousin, Cassie for a group run with</span> <a href="http://www.romanrunners.com/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">this group</span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">and</span> <a href="http://www.uticaroadrunners.org/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">this group</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">. Everyone was combined into a pack of approximately 75 runners for a development run. We covered the first 6 miles of</span> <a href="http://www.boilermaker.com"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">The Boilermaker</span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">15K course (my July race). I was simultaneously horrified and elated that Cassie (who is super, way, much faster than me) ran the last 3 miles with me, and My Sista ran about the last 2 with us. It felt like a family bonding session. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">We come from a long line of smokers, drinkers, and cancer-sufferers (not cancer-survivors). Call me overly dramatic, but it felt like that run symbolized the fact that the three of us are breaking that horrific cycle.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">With their support and help, I was able to run my fastest long run ever. I was so happy!!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">So, maybe my fast is your slow&#8230;but, that&#8217;s why I&#8217;m a Jogger.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Jogger for life baby.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">JFL.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638551125/"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2194/3638551125_4eb218e1b3.jpg" alt="run" width="375" height="500" /></a><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">That said, I can tell you that I love My Sista more now and feel closer to her than I ever have. Although we live so far apart, we are sharing these experiences and training together. She&#8217;s helping me out immensely, and her experience is helping me to improve.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">There was eating at Mom&#8217;s.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638426623/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2433/3638426623_2e5971ffb0.jpg" alt="cold pizza" width="217" height="289" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Eating at Grandma&#8217;s.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3639237338/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3378/3639237338_a7fe2ac69e.jpg" alt="single_half_moon" width="314" height="305" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Much more eating at both of those locations than I care to really elaborate on. You can check out my</span> <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/eat/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">food logs</span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">for more info on that escapade.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Sunday morning I had to leave.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">But first, I needed to spend an hour taking pictures of my Mom&#8217;s fish pond and the surrounding vegetation. What can I say, I&#8217;m a little obsessed. I have a</span> <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/go-forth-and-plant-seeds/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">spice garden</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">. That&#8217;s all. I&#8217;m feeling a little void of vegetation in my life.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">It began with Maddie and I.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3639075596/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3644/3639075596_4af1cb7a31.jpg" alt="IMG_2018" width="500" height="375" /></span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Then just Maddie.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638265645/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3094/3638265645_29488f2182.jpg" alt="IMG_2020" width="375" height="500" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">&#8220;Maddie, look over HERE!&#8221;</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3639076684/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3344/3639076684_296539cfa2.jpg" alt="IMG_2021" width="375" height="500" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">My Mom, Dad and Sista were also hanging around at that time.<br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Slowly, I noticed that everyone took off. Apparently they got tired of watching me take pictures.  And then, it was just me and my camera.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">And vegetation. Lots and lots of vegetation.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638266887/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2454/3638266887_37b8763428.jpg" alt="IMG_2023" width="500" height="375" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">And fish. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">I bought these fish for my Mother at Walmart 3 years ago on Mother&#8217;s Day. I threw them in her baron pond, unbeknownst to her. Then I tried to pretend that the fish fairy just magically dropped them into her pond. I fully expected that all of the fish would die within 24 hours. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Miraculously, 3 of the the 5 fish have survived, and one even survived a near live-burial. He swims really funny though. I guess that&#8217;s what happens when you fall 12 stories (in fish terms) to a concrete floor, then suffer without oxygen for an indeterminable amount of time.  I try to give little Nemo a break though&#8211;he&#8217;s had a rough life to date</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Nemo is the stubby little orange guy on the right. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">He is also the fish that Maddie likes to catch with her fishing net.  He&#8217;s the easiest target apparently. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Poor Nemo.<br />
</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638266447/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3593/3638266447_157ce2caa1.jpg" alt="IMG_2022" width="375" height="500" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">And flowers. Flowers for days. Oh, how I love my Mom&#8217;s flowers!<br />
</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/3638268515_6f27a11726.jpg" alt="IMG_2028" width="375" height="500" /></span><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Oh, flowers.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638269139/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2448/3638269139_e2664b956f.jpg" alt="IMG_2032" width="375" height="500" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Flowers and fish. Even better.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638270593/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3628/3638270593_bf44326c66.jpg" alt="IMG_2036" width="375" height="500" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">This fish is like 13&#8243; long. It&#8217;s amazing. If that&#8217;s not an advertisement for Walmart Koi fish, I don&#8217;t know what is.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3639083948/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3614/3639083948_f2f2af756c.jpg" alt="IMG_2044" width="500" height="375" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">When I showed Mom the next picture, she said &#8220;that flower is in MY garden?&#8221; See. She takes her flowers for granted. Ingrate.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">I&#8217;ll trade in her fish pond for a kitchen spice garden, and then see if she remembers the types of flowers in her garden!</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3639086232/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/3639086232_7bb503e0af.jpg" alt="IMG_2053" width="375" height="500" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">I loved this flower, even though it was riddled with bugs. I don&#8217;t like bugs, but they&#8217;re ok as long as they stay on the flower.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3639086710/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2469/3639086710_467bb435f6.jpg" alt="IMG_2055" width="375" height="500" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">And then there are these flowers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">These are the flowers that I picked for my mother as a child. This picture was taken in the apple orchard, next to my mom&#8217;s garden. That&#8217;s also the place where I stepped on a nail when I was 11 years old, and had to walk with Grandpa Tootsie Roll&#8217;s cane for 3 weeks.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">But, the flowers are still pretty. Tetanus shot or not.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638276831/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3387/3638276831_1fa15f339f.jpg" alt="IMG_2058" width="375" height="500" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Then, I got back on the road and drove another 4 hours west.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3639089658/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3371/3639089658_5379a79a61.jpg" alt="IMG_2067" width="500" height="375" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">The entire drive, I marveled at how close the clouds were to the horizon. They don&#8217;t look like that in Maryland.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Sunroofs come in handy sometimes. Especially when taking pictures of clouds.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638279803/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2471/3638279803_24f351fdd6.jpg" alt="IMG_2070" width="500" height="375" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">I&#8217;m pretty sure I wasn&#8217;t supposed to be doing this while I was operating a motor vehicle while doing 80 miles per hour. Don&#8217;t tell anyone.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">It&#8217;s pretty boring when you&#8217;re in a car by yourself for 4 hours.  What else was there to do besides eat Dunkin&#8217; Donuts and take pictures out the sunroof?<br />
</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3639090528/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3309/3639090528_70c4b8ff70.jpg" alt="IMG_2071" width="500" height="375" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">And then, I arrived.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3639281576/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3337/3639281576_bb6d6e6837.jpg" alt="DARIEN LAKE LOGO" width="463" height="406" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">I had a date.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">I couldn&#8217;t be late.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">I&#8217;ve waited 15 years for this date.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638486281/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3605/3638486281_faa4e2ed76.jpg" alt="nkotb1" width="376" height="282" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Finally.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638486321/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3591/3638486321_4d056094fc.jpg" alt="nkotb2" width="377" height="283" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">There was much screaming, and smiling, and carrying on.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">It was worth the wait, and the money I dropped on the tickets and the RV to spend the night in.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Yes, I said RV.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Although it&#8217;s a little dark, this picture (taken from atop a ferris wheel), depicts my sleeping quarters most accurately.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">The little tiny rectangles in the upper portion of the picture? Yep, we slept in one of those. It was very wiggly.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3638507575/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2445/3638507575_364bf6c32a.jpg" alt="RVS" width="375" height="500" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Sadly, this is one of the last pictures of the weekend.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">It was so much fun, but I&#8217;ve missed you guys. Now it&#8217;s back to blogging as usual.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">This was my last weekend excursion until July, when I venture back to good old Central New York for Boilermaker weekend! I&#8217;m getting excited!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Who else is getting excited for an upcoming race?</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.3em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><a style="text-decoration: underline; color: #003366;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37620791@N04/3585620164/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3380/3585620164_8379bacc29.jpg" alt="joggersignature" width="126" height="72" /></a></span><br />
</span></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.3em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 13px;">* Have you joined my</span></span> <a style="text-decoration: underline; color: #003366;" href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=74822808959&amp;ref=nf"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Facebook Group</span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 13px;">yet?</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.3em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 13px;">* See how my training is going over</span></span> <a style="text-decoration: underline; color: #003366;" href="http://www.joggerslife.com/train/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 13px;">here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 13px;">!</span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.3em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 13px;">* Wonder</span></span> <a style="text-decoration: underline; color: #003366;" href="http://www.joggerslife.com/eat/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 13px;">what I’m eating</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 13px;">?</span></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.3em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 13px;">* Everyone loves a</span></span> <a style="text-decoration: underline; color: #003366;" href="http://www.joggerslife.com/giveaways/"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 13px;">giveaway</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 13px;">!</span></span></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Fartlekkkkkk&#8230;S&#8217;cuse me.</title>
		<link>http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/fartlekkkkkkscuse-me/</link>
		<comments>http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/fartlekkkkkkscuse-me/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2009 21:59:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[I Love Giveaways]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Jogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Race Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Sweating]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cruise interval training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fartlek]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lactate threshold]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[race training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[running]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tempo training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yasso 800's]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.joggerslife.com/?p=818</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Call me silly, but Fartlek has always been a fun word.  Yasso is fun too...but not as fun as Fartlek.  Since I am not a seasoned runner, I had no idea what these words meant as they were thrown around my message board, blog, and running group conversations.  I have perfected the "smile and nod", so I can generally pass myself off as if I am in the know.  In reality, I'm totally clueless.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/fartlek.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-821" title="fartlek" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/fartlek.jpg" alt="fartlek" width="448" height="336" /></a></p>
<p>Call me silly, but Fartlek has always been a fun word.</p>
<p>Yasso is fun too&#8230;but not as fun as Fartlek.</p>
<p>Since I am not a seasoned runner, I had no idea what these words meant as they were thrown around my message board, blog, and running group conversations.  I have perfected the &#8220;smile and nod&#8221;, so I can generally pass myself off as if I am in the know.  In reality, I&#8217;m totally clueless.</p>
<p>Recently, I decided that if I&#8217;m going to really do this whole marathon thing, I&#8217;m going to have to figure out what all of these fancy running terms mean.  It&#8217;s only right.  I can only smile and nod for so long, ya know?</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/jl-page-break.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-400" title="jl-page-break" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/jl-page-break.jpg" alt="jl-page-break" width="435" height="38" /></a></p>
<p>What is a Yasso?</p>
<p>According to an <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-255-624-0,00.html">old article from Runner&#8217;s World</a>, which explains the invention of Yasso 800&#8217;s, they are a  pretty reliable way to determine what your marathon finish time will be.  The basic concept is that if you want to run a marathon in 4 hours, you can train yourself to run a series of several (usually 10) 800 meter sets at 4 minutes for each set.  If you can run each set of 800 meters in 4 minutes, then you will be able to run a 4 hour marathon.  If you can run your 800&#8217;s in 3 minutes each, then you&#8217;ll be able to run a 3 hour marathon.  I can&#8217;t explain it.  Somehow, it just works.</p>
<p>According to the above-mentioned article, Bart Yasso, the creator of this invention, begins running his Yasso 800&#8217;s a couple of months before his goal marathon. The first week he does four 800 meter sets. On each subsequent week, he adds one more until he reaches 10.  According to the article, the last workout of Yasso 800&#8217;s should be completed at least 10 days before your marathon, and 14 to 17 days would probably be better.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/jl-page-break.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-400" title="jl-page-break" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/jl-page-break.jpg" alt="jl-page-break" width="435" height="38" /></a></p>
<p>What is Fartlek training?</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fartlek">Wikipedia</a>, Fartlek is essentially just a fancy way to say &#8220;speed play&#8221;.  I always thought it was much more complicated than that.  It just sounds like something you would need special tools or applicances to accomplish.</p>
<p>Fartlek training was developed by Gosta Holmer, a Swedish coach, for a cross-country runner.  Basically, the Swedish cross-country team was getting crushed by the Finns, so Holmer developed this Fartlek session in order to help the Swedes speed their arses up.  A fartlek session should be done at an intensity that causes you to work at 60% to 80% of your  maximum heart rate.  To figure out your maximum heart rate, just subtract your age from 220.  Mine is 188.  This is where a heart rate monitor comes in handy I suppose.  Too bad mine is broken.</p>
<p>Note to self: Get that fixed.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s Holmer&#8217;s first developed Fartlek workout:</p>
<ul>
<li>Warmup: easy running for 5 to 10 minutes.</li>
<li>Steady, hard speed for 1.5–2 km; like a long repetition.</li>
<li>Recovery: rapid walking for about 5 minutes.</li>
<li>Start of speed work: easy running interspersed with sprints of about 50–60 m, repeated until a little tired.</li>
<li>Easy running with three or four &#8220;quick steps&#8221; now and then (simulating suddenly speeding up to avoid being overtaken by another runner).</li>
<li>Full speed uphill for 175–200 m.</li>
<li>Fast pace for 1 minute.</li>
<li>The whole routine is then repeated until the total time prescribed on the training schedule has elapsed.</li>
</ul>
<p>Hmmm&#8230;sounds like fun.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/jl-page-break.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-400" title="jl-page-break" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/jl-page-break.jpg" alt="jl-page-break" width="435" height="38" /></a></p>
<p>What is Lactate threshold training?</p>
<p>LT training involves <strong></strong>running at an intensity that produces lactic acid in the blood. This type of training means that you run just under your race pace for a designated period of time, at about 85-90% of your maximum heart rate. It is designed to build your lactate threshold (lactate is that icky stuff that makes your muscles tired), so that you can run faster and for a longer period of time.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/jl-page-break.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-400" title="jl-page-break" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/jl-page-break.jpg" alt="jl-page-break" width="435" height="38" /></a></p>
<p>What is cruise interval training?</p>
<p>Cruise intervals are periods of hard running at 15-20 seconds sloer than your race pace.  The intervals can be as short as 90 seconds, or as long as 10 minutes, but the recovery period should be pretty short.  Much like a lactate threshold workout, cruise intervals will raise the point at which the lactic acid starts to build up in your blood.  A sample cruise interval would include 5-10 minutes of hard running at 80% of maximum heartrate, and a 1 minute recovery period.  <span style="font-size: x-large;"><a name="cruise"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/jl-page-break.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-400" title="jl-page-break" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/jl-page-break.jpg" alt="jl-page-break" width="435" height="38" /></a></p>
<p>What is tempo training?</p>
<p>Tempo training is similar to all of the above training techniques.  In <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--11909-0,00.html">this Runner&#8217;s World article</a>, they refer to the tempo run as &#8221; comfortably hard&#8221;.  Also according to said article, many running coaches feel that tempo runs are the single most effective element in training, and they are also the building block of training plans for those crazy Kenyan runners.</p>
<p>If you have already built a descent endurance running base,  you can perform your tempo run by doing a 15 minute slow warmup, followed by 20 minutes at the &#8220;comfortably hard&#8221; pace (which is usually about 15-30 seconds faster than your normal race pace, or 85-90% of maximum heart rate), and finish with 15 minutes of slow cool down running.   If you&#8217;re not yet built up to a full-on 50 minute run, the above-mentioned Runner&#8217;s World article has a good plan for building up to a full tempo run.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/jl-page-break.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-400" title="jl-page-break" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/jl-page-break.jpg" alt="jl-page-break" width="435" height="38" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">So, I&#8217;m glad that we&#8217;ve got that all cleared up.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">All of this running talk has made me hungry.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/siggy.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-443 alignnone" title="siggy" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/siggy.jpg" alt="siggy" width="175" height="101" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">
<ul>
<li>Have you joined my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=74822808959&amp;ref=nf">Facebook group</a> yet?</li>
<li>See how my training is going <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/train/">over here</a>!</li>
<li>Wonder <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/eat/">what I&#8217;m eating</a>?</li>
<li>Everyone loves a <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/giveaways/">giveaway</a>!</li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Thoughtful Thursday</title>
		<link>http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/thoughtful-thursday-9/</link>
		<comments>http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/thoughtful-thursday-9/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2009 17:49:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[I Love My Dysfunctional Body]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Race Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[race photos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[race training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[running]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[self defeat]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.joggerslife.com/?p=651</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I rubbed, I stretched, I squatted.  No stretch or rub or squat was good enough.  I just could not loosen the thing up.  After 10-12 hours of this, I reach a point where I am too frustrated to even deal with myself.  It makes me feel like I am broken, and I abhor feeling broken (vulnerable, hurt, frail, damaged, defective, injured).]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This is not your average Thoughtful Thursday post . I&#8217;m not feeling fragmented, so there will be no numbered list of random thoughts.  I&#8217;m definitely thoughtful today, but I&#8217;m also thoughtfully focused.  For a change.</p>
<p>Amazing.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s been 4 days since I ran my first 1/2 marathon.  I promise that I won&#8217;t announce the number of days since my first 1/2 marathon on every post from now until my first full marathon, but I am feeling very introspective today about running in general.</p>
<p>I need a morale boost, people.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, I began my 10 week Boilermaker training plan.  My sister actually came up with the plan, and I trust her, since she&#8217;s run the race several times.   I wasn&#8217;t scared by the schedule, it actually seems very realistic, and just has a lot of hill workouts since TBM is a very hilly race.  Tuesday was my first run after the Frederick 1/2, and I did 4 treadmill miles.</p>
<p>The problem?  I had this interesting &#8220;I just ran a 1/2 marathon&#8221; mentality the entire time.  It progressed like this:</p>
<p>Mile 1: I just ran a 1/2 marathon&#8230;.sheeeet&#8230;.I can crank this baby up a couple notches.  Pffft&#8230;.easy run!  Who needs an easy run!  I just ran a 1/2 marathon, bitches!</p>
<p>Mile 2: Well&#8230;nothing hurts, but geez.  This feels a lot faster than it really is.  WHY am I only running at an 11:00 min/mile pace?  I just ran a friggen 1/2 marathon 2 days ago.  I should be able to go faster than this!  How totally pathetic!  I am such a slow ass wussy!</p>
<p>Mile 2.5: Gawd.  This feels so hard.  Maybe I&#8217;ll just walk for a minute.  I was reading about the guy who walked the SD marathon a few weeks ago doing 2:1 (running:walking), and finished in a little over 5 hours.  Maybe there&#8217;s something to that concept.  I mean really&#8230;if I had run a marathon last weekend, it would take me way more than 5 hours anyway.  I can totally ratio this out and still finish at the same pace, while having more recovery time.  Reserved energy, yeah&#8230;that&#8217;s it!</p>
<p>Mile 2.5-Mile 4: Agony.  This running shit is complete and total agony, and I can&#8217;t believe what a running loser I am.  Why in the F&amp;CK do I run again?  Please explain this, because I totally f*c%ing suck at this!  And if that guy next to me peeps my slow ass TM speed one more time, I&#8217;m going to kick him in the shin.  Forcefully.</p>
<p>So, my 4 mile run consisted of a lot of self-doubt, self-defeat, and self-loathing.  That&#8217;s exactly what running is all about, right?!</p>
<p>No, it&#8217;s not.</p>
<p>I love running.  So, what the hell?</p>
<p>The really funny part about Tuesday&#8217;s run is that I ended up resorting to a complete 5:1 run/walk plan for about the last 1.5 miles, and ironically, my overall pace was 11:30/mile.  My average race pace on Sunday was 11:20/mile.  The walking didn&#8217;t slow me down that much.  But, a walk is not a run.</p>
<p>Obviously, a part of me is expecting that I am going to get &#8220;better&#8221; at some point.  By &#8220;better&#8221;, I mean faster.  By faster, I mean not competing with walk/runners and <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/race-report-my-first-frederick-12-marathon/">farting walkers</a>.  No doubt that I&#8217;m chronically slow, but I thought I had come to terms with that fact, and I was satisfied with being in the middle to back of the pack.</p>
<p>I guess I was wrong.</p>
<p>Last night, I was intending on doing a 30 minute tempo run.  That would&#8217;ve been my second run after the 1/2 marathon.  All day yesterday, my calf was painfully tight.  I was caught lying on the floor several times yesterday by my boss.  Luckily, he understands my plight.</p>
<p>&#8220;Sorry man, my calf is as hard as a rock.&#8221;</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/broken.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-652" title="broken" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/broken.jpg" alt="broken" width="457" height="244" /></a></p>
<p>I rubbed, I stretched, I squatted.  No stretch or rub or squat was good enough.  I just could not loosen the thing up.  After 10-12 hours of this, I reach a point where I am too frustrated to even deal with myself.  It makes me feel like I am broken, and I abhor feeling broken (vulnerable, hurt, frail, damaged, defective, injured).</p>
<p>So, last night&#8217;s 30 minute tempo run was nixxed in favor of obsessively cleaning and organizing my kitchen, and setting up my Vita-Mix.  Like 458 times.  I moved that thing all over the same counter, within 3 inches of the previous place, 458 times.  At least.  Every single time, I found a reason why that spot wasn&#8217;t good enough.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m noticing a pattern here.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m starting to come to terms with something that <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/2008/in-a-wordgiddy/">Liz</a> mentioned to me about 6 months ago.  She didn&#8217;t exactly tell me that this whole knee/calf/leg tightness issue is all in my head.  But she did suggest that it could be &#8220;neurological&#8221;.  That&#8217;s the polite, clinical way of telling me that it&#8217;s all in my head.  Not that I was not feeling the knee/calf/leg tightness that I speak of.  Just that it was partially synthesized by my head.</p>
<p>I worry about sheeet that doesn&#8217;t need to be worried about.  In turn, I become tense and mentally frail.  While most people might feel this tension in their head, neck, shoulders, or even their back, I carry my &#8220;stress&#8221; in my legs.  This was determined while I was <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/diet-schmiet/">in treatment for my ED</a>.  Jane would ask me where I felt &#8220;stressed&#8221; when we were talking about a particularly tramatic subject, and I would always reply, &#8220;my hamstrings&#8221;.</p>
<p>I never said that I was normal.</p>
<p>Whereas most normal people can &#8220;run out&#8221; their stress, I cannot relax enough to run when I&#8217;m stressed.  Tight, stressed out muscles that cannot relax are not easy to run on.  They cause pain and injury.</p>
<p>So, in conclusion&#8230;there really is no conclusion.  I&#8217;m still a work in progress.</p>
<p>So&#8230;did you enter my <a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/ulimana-giveaway/">Ulimana Giveaway</a> yet?  Because that&#8217;s way more interesting than this crap!</p>
<p>Do you worry about things that you don&#8217;t need to worry about?  How does it affect your life?</p>
<p>Update Thursday, 5:45 PM:  I just got the email with my race photos.  Then I instantly remembered how much fun I had on Sunday at the 1/2.  Now I am going running.  If you want a good laugh, check out my <a href="http://www.marathonfoto.com/index.cfm?RaceOID=22382009S1&amp;LastName=ARMSTRONG&amp;BibNumber=3061&amp;Mailing=22686">race photos</a>.  They really had me cracking up so bad!  The two where I have my hands up in surrender.  The one where I&#8217;m smiling from ear to ear.  I might buy that one.  It&#8217;s friggen hilarious.</p>
<p>And I&#8217;m definitely walking in a few of those.  Damn.  Evidence!</p>
<p>Love for running redeemed with just a few sweaty race photos.</p>
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		<title>Thoughtful Thursday Wednesday</title>
		<link>http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/thoughtful-thursday-wednesday/</link>
		<comments>http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/thoughtful-thursday-wednesday/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:35:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[I Love Jogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Randomness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ice baths]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[running]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.joggerslife.com/?p=522</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It's Wednesday, so it's not Thoughtful Thursday.  But I have something much more fun planned for tomorrow, so I'm deeming today "Thoughtful Thursday".  Hopefully you'll forgive me.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s Wednesday, so it&#8217;s not Thoughtful Thursday.  But I have something much more fun planned for tomorrow, so I&#8217;m deeming today &#8220;Thoughtful Thursday&#8221;.  Hopefully you&#8217;ll forgive me.</p>
<p>And so, here is a small selection of the mess that is in my mind right now.</p>
<p>1) Ice baths are good.  Last night, after a brick-shoed 4 miles, I decided that the only solution for my lead legs was to sit in a tub of ice water for 15 minutes.  I&#8217;ve tried this before, but it never works out.  I&#8217;m sort of a wussy.  This time, I was way smarter.  I filled the tub with cold water, immersed my body into the cold water, became assimilated.  After 5 minutes, I then poured in the bucket of ice.  I was able to stand it for 10 more minutes, and even applied the actual ice to my shoulders and back.  Much more manageable.</p>
<p>2) My 1/2 marathon is in 3 days.  Shit.</p>
<p>3) I can&#8217;t seem to stop staring out my office window at this huge caterpilar cocoon residing in a tree.  It&#8217;s disgusting, and I can only think of the fate of the poor tree.  Aw.  Poor tree.</p>
<p>4) 3 days.</p>
<p>5) This weekend, I&#8217;m going to try my had at making some raw <a href="http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/blog.php?b=12496&amp;goto=next">Golden Tortilla Chips</a>, recipe courtesy of Matthew Kenney, who is apparently one of the Gods of raw foodism.  I was going to make them last night, but I stopped at MOM&#8217;s and bought a bag of regular old organic nacho cheese chippies, then proceeded to eat like half of the bag before my run.  So, I thought better of filling my house with even more tortilla chips.  Raw or not&#8230;I just don&#8217;t trust tortilla chips right now.</p>
<p>6) It&#8217;s <em>possible</em> that the 1/2 bag of pre-run tortilla chips contributed to my lead feet during the run, but it&#8217;s a <em>lock</em> that they were the reason why I kept almost barfing up nacho tortilla chips.  The puke threshhold was not far off.  It&#8217;s never a good time when children are riding bikes through the park and I&#8217;m gagging as I run by.</p>
<p>7) And what don&#8217;t people understand about the words &#8220;ON YOUR LEFT!&#8221;?  Seriously&#8230;does that make sense to you?  Because it makes sense to me!  This is my standard &#8220;get the F&amp;CK out of my way&#8221; expression as I&#8217;m running.  Sometimes, people ignore me.  Other times, they dance around and do a little jig, then run directly into me.  I don&#8217;t get it.  If someone is behind me, and they say &#8220;ON YOUR LEFT!&#8221;, I will move to my right.  Isn&#8217;t that the standard move?  Do people really not know the difference between left and right?  Because that really worries me if that is the case.</p>
<p>7a) I dunno.  I can&#8217;t explain it.  I just like this picture.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/p1260040edit.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-528" title="p1260040edit" src="http://www.joggerslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/p1260040edit.jpg" alt="p1260040edit" width="342" height="327" /></a></p>
<p>8 ) In the same vein&#8230;why do people allow their newly-walking babies to run out in front of me while I&#8217;m running?  Do you want your child to be trampled upon by a lady with BRICKS FOR FEET?</p>
<p>9) As long as I&#8217;m on a roll here&#8230;why do people let their DOGS run out in front of me?  Last night, this guy was running towards me with a small puppy on a really long leash.  Like really long.  It wasn&#8217;t one of the retractable jobbys, and the guy was just letting the leash chill&#8230;all 55 feet of it.  I passed this guy 3 times, and each time, he let the puppy charge at me.  He didn&#8217;t correct the puppy or rein in any of the 55 feet of leash.  He apparently thought it&#8217;d be a good idea to just make me have to hop, skip, and jump over the mutt so that I didn&#8217;t crush him with my LEAD FEET.</p>
<p>10) Have I ever mentioned that two of my biggest pet peeves are as follows: a) annoying, unresponsive, self-centered parents, and b) annoying, unresponsive, self-centered dog owners.</p>
<p>But I love you.</p>
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		<title>Jumping Hurdles</title>
		<link>http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/jumping-hurdles/</link>
		<comments>http://www.joggerslife.com/2009/jumping-hurdles/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:26:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jogger</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[I Love My Dysfunctional Body]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Race Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Love Races]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[race training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[running]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vegetarianism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://joggerslife.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/jumping-hurdles/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m trying to keep it all together over here.
In my universe, this time of year means year-end closing for 4 companies, taxes, audits, and an overabundance of sheer annoyance.  I always take 2 steps forward&#8230;just so that I can take 3 more back.
I need a Valium.
My training is severely suffering this week.  Sunday [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;m trying to keep it all together over here.</p>
<p>In my universe, this time of year means year-end closing for 4 companies, taxes, audits, and an overabundance of sheer annoyance.  I always take 2 steps forward&#8230;just so that I can take 3 more back.</p>
<p>I need a Valium.</p>
<p>My training is severely suffering this week.  Sunday was my fantastic 8 miler.  Tuesday my plans for running 6 miles after work were foiled because I left work late, and the dogs were completely out of dog food.  Sometimes I need a personal assistant.</p>
<p>Last night, the plan was to make up the 6 miles that I missed.  I brought some work home with me (even though I have no place to sit down and comfortably do it, since the new dining room table we ordered 4 weeks ago has still not arrived), so I was comfortable with the idea of taking an hour of my scant free time to run.</p>
<p>I began the run tired.  I jogged tired.  I gasped and hacked and coughed.  Still tired.</p>
<p>Then my shins got tired.</p>
<p>Then my brain completely shut down.</p>
<p>The end.</p>
<p>I proceeded to walk home with my tired body and shins and brain.  After completing only 1.85 miles.  Pffftttttt!!!  I went home and cried.</p>
<p>Then I started working, got about 20 minutes in, and decided that if I remotely changed the resolution on my work computer, it would speed up my connection at home (VPN).  Yeah, don&#8217;t ever try that.  Make your resolution changes prior to leaving your real computer at the office.  Otherwise, you will cry again, and won&#8217;t get any more work done for the rest of the night.</p>
<p>It was basically a completely awful and unproductive evening.</p>
<p>I ended the evening with a pity party and a veggie fest of a dinner.  I suppose that the veggies were my only positive during for the night.  Thank God for veggies.  I had grilled zucchini squash w/ mushrooms, mashed cauliflower with cheddar, steamed broccoli, and some of my favorite cottage cheese.  My Gazelle&#8217;s reaction?</p>
<p>&#8220;Aren&#8217;t you havin&#8217; any steak?&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Meh.  Steak is for men.&#8221;</p>
<p>And now, I am trying to put on my happy face because today is our anniversary!  He has to work tonight (naturally), so we&#8217;re doing lunch today to celebrate.  It was a lovely surprise when I slugged into work today and found two anniversary cards (a funny and a sweet) and this cute little desk plaque thingy in my purse:</p>
<p><a href="http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e265/elisabeth0710/?action=view&amp;current=photo-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e265/elisabeth0710/photo-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a></p>
<p>It does make me smile when I look at it.  I love the simplicity of it.  And the way that he left the price tag on it.  It&#8217;s so&#8230;so&#8230;him.</p>
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