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Showing posts from 2010

The World is My Treadmill

I embarked on a new journey this weekend. I decided to try some trail running with my running buddy. Over the past few weeks I have started thinking about how I am going to continue my training through the winter. I already know that the treadmill is not for me, and there is nothing more relaxing to me than the rhythm of my breathing while my feet continuously hit the pavement; and even better, having random conversations with my running buddy that would not be even remotely tolerable to most human beings. I have contemplated reacquainting myself with the treadmill, trying the whole pool running thing, or simply cross training through the winter. Just thinking about all of these options either gives me anxiety or makes me somewhat sad. Call me dramatic if you will but I know me and I know what will hold me back! This past weekend my running buddy and I went out to Highbanks Metropark to do our last long training run before the 10k this weekend. The trail was not forgiving, as a matter

Self Indulgent Ramblings

I have many different topics that have been rumbling around in my head that could potentially be their own blog posts, but I’ve decided to get it all out at once. Self indulgent you may think? Perhaps, but I'm OK with that. From Seas to Mountains If you ever find yourself traveling to high altitude from almost sea level be prepared for gasping breaths while running, hiking or cycling. More about this in a future post. When I’m Not Blogging I recently took a road trip and spent hour after hour in the car. I wouldn’t do it any differently because my Dukie Man and I had the best time and it forced me to think a lot. I managed to maintain my training schedule while on the road which was amazing in itself but I bet you can guess what happened when I got back to Columbus. That is right, the exercise sabbatical has crept back into my life. This I am not proud of… So here is what I learned, when I am not following my training plan (or when I’m on vacation) I’m also not blogging. You may as

Life Lessons in Running

About eleven months ago I decided to start focusing on my running to improve my triathlon performance. I started with Robert Ulrey and his Couch to 5k program and then hung out with Hal Higdon to train for a 10k. Finally I joined Team in Training to tackle a Half Marathon. Yesterday I learned that I can accomplish ANYTHING!!! I ran a half marathon in under three hours, and will improve my time for the next half I do. I have learned a number of things while training for this half marathon: 1) If you don’t believe you can do it, then you can’t. Running is a mind game; actually everything is a mind game. I’ve learned through this process that you have to believe in yourself to accomplish your goals. 2) Sisters and Brothers are super important to help push you. One of my sisters got me started on these endurance events years ago, my brother provides the realistic support by reminding me I need to do things because I want to do them, and my other sister is always pushing me to do the next d

My Half Marathon Poem

I’m writing a poem so you can see Why you should come out and support me I’ve been training for months to run very far Me legs have hurt from running on pavement and tar If it wasn’t for charity I may have quit But then on the couch I would still sit The running has helped me lose some weight Even with all the awesome food I ate I ran fast in the rain, sleet and snow And now in the heat I’ve become a little slow All the activity has been very neat It only got frustrating when I hurt my feet Three weeks ago while running with a friend My feet said please stop let me mend I took days off so I could heal But today, ready and steady I feel If you’re in Columbus you should know There is a place on Saturday you should go… Head down to Nationwide to see me start Or stand on the sidelines and past you I will dart You could also stand by Nationwide at eleven or so And you will see the finishing show I will cry when I’m finished because I am a sap You would cry too if this was a rap [If you feel

Finding Peace on the Pavement

First I have to say OH MY GOSH, I have neglected my blog!!! Now to the story… I have been running, and running, and running to prepare for this half marathon I will be running in less than two weeks now. I have not been able to find my zone that all of those runners talk about. You know that “runners high”. I can tell you every time I complete a run I feel high but I have recently been told that that is not a true runner’s high. All I could think when I learned that is “ugh, what I am doing wrong!” I went to visit a great friend of mine this weekend, and it just so happens that she plans to run the same half marathon in a couple of weeks. We both had to do a 10 mile run this weekend so we decided to head out on Saturday morning before we would allow ourselves to enjoy any libations. My friend had to work for a couple of hours on Saturday morning and I took this opportunity to catch up on the most recent Runner’s World Magazine where I found a great article on meditative running. As I r

I LOVE the Snow...

Or so I thought. Columbus has seen the most snow in February since 1900 this year. Well I'm not sure that is was 1900 but it has been a LONG time since Columbus has had so much snow. You should know that I love the cold, I love the crisp mornings, and I love the snow even more. There is nothing better than waking up in the morning to this white blanket of fluffy white stuff everywhere. The best thing about the snow, hands down, is watching my dog frolicking and rolling around in the snow. On the other hand... I've been doing pretty well combating the cold and the snow when heading out for my runs but yesterday was HORRIBLE!!! I went out for a short jog yesterday to loosen up from Saturday's long run. I headed out on one of my favorite bike trails and felt like I was running through sludge. The trail was snow packed until the thaw yesterday, and I literally thought my feet were getting stuck in the snow every step I took. What was supposed to be a short 3 mile jog, turned in

Inspiration from the Olympians!

As 67.5 million US TVs tuned into the 2010 Winter Olympics, I was wondering why so many viewers were so interested. I watched the opening ceremonies and teared up in part because of the sad news about the Luge athlete, but also from the stories of some of the lone athletes from countries that have never seen snow or ice. On Saturday as I was wasting away my day, icing my legs, and planning out what I was going to make for dinner on my cooking days the this week, I turned on the Olympics to watch some skiing and short track speed skating. I was simply looking for background noise, but what I found instead was inspiration. There was a story of Apolo Ohno's rise to the top in Torino, and his rapid road to fame. During the interview Apolo seemed perplexed by the fact that a fan knew him for his appearance on Dancing with the Stars NOT his amazing athleticism that brought him to the Olympics. During this story Ohno's said the following: "Before every day you go to sleep, ask yo

Guilt in Moving

This weekend I had the pleasure of helping my friend move. Seven hours later, everything was out of the third floor apartment and in the second floor apartment (there were no elevators people). Of course there is a story in all of this. I was supposed to run five miles yesterday and it never happened. I woke up this morning mentally motivated but physically fatigued. I had great intentions to get out for the five miles today but it never happened. Do I feel guilty? Or simply move on? It would probably be best if I opted for the latter but it is hard. When you are training for a half marathon it simply isn't that easy. Logging miles is part of the training. It doesn't matter how you log the miles but you HAVE to log the miles (or so that is what I am told). I think this is why I'm feeling so darn guilty... Someone recently told me that when I find myself saying "I really wish I would have," I should follow the statement up with, but I didn't. And then move on.

Contagious!

Dictionary.com defines contagious as: 1) Capable of being transmitted by bodily contact with an infected person or object; 2) Tending to spread from person to person. Typically when we hear the word contagious we think of our colleagues who come to work sick and are spreading the germs to everyone. Or we think of those nasty germs at the gym that could cause you to get some infection on your leg that needs to be cleared up with antibiotics. Or even LICE, Yuck!!! To sum it up, we typically think contagious = BAD! A new trend in the news is good news though and I didn't realize how true it was until recently. I did my first triathlon in 2003 because my sister talked me and my other sister to participate. I probably would have quit doing triathlons but my sister was insistent that I sign up the next year, and I did. My sister has a knack for "recruiting" people to participate in races with her. Does that make my sister contagious? Well here is something to consider. I sta

On the Other Side of 2009!

Hello 2010!!! I promised myself no New Year's Resolutions for 2010. What I decided to do instead was write a list of 100 things I would like to accomplish in 2010, and I discovered something very interesting. About 6 years ago I was an AmeriCorps VISTA member in Maine and I had the good fortune of participating in training sessions with the most amazing facilitator. Not only did I get to participate in her sessions but on one of her visits to Maine I had the great pleasure of picking her up from the airport and spending a lot of time with her preparing for our training. We did an activity during the training that included writing down various goals (large or small, service related or personal) and identify which overall category they fit in when we look at our life as a whole. Some examples could be the following: Goal: pay bills on time Category: Finance Goal: Exercise more Category: Health I don't really remember all of the instructions from this exercise but what I do rememb