Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Feeling Inspired

     Wow - I have not written for a very long time!  I am not sure why - my life has had plenty of exciting things happening!  But I am not going to bore you with the past - I am going to jump right in with today!
     We had ten inches of snow fall in this little pocket of MN today!  It is definitely a winter wonderland around here. I was stuck at home all day so I had to be creative with my workout. I have been trying out Barre Pilates at the Y and my instructor has made videos and posted them to You Tube!!!  Man, that is a hard workout!!!!  I always think as a runner I should have really strong legs - but nope!  I was shaking!
     Due to the weather, I had to cancel my physical therapy appt.  I was sad to do that because I really needed my "Jamie fix."  My therapist is so awesome and totally gets my need to get back out running!!
     Three pies in the oven, three to go!
     I entered a challenge to get me through the holidays in a healthy manner - #HolidaySweat. I am excited to take on this challenge and put in the effort!
     My daughter sent me this today.  Love...

Friday, May 9, 2014

My Beautiful and Amazing Daughter

I am so excited about this weekend's race!!!  My daughter and I will be running her very first race EVER together!  She chose to run a half marathon in the community in which she attends college - Fargo.  Saying that I am proud of her is not enough.  I am overwhelmed with so many emotions.  This little baby of mine has grown into such an amazing and confident young woman.  She went off to college this past year with a few tears (from both of us) and has adapted so well to the life.  Halfway through the year she decided she wanted to run a race. She came to me and asked me if I would help her plan a training program and then she asked me to run it with her!!!!  YES!!!!!!!!!  Macey is not a runner by nature, but she is runner by heart!!!!  During her training she endured long miles on the treadmill (Fargo winters are harsh), a calf injury that sidelined her off and on, and balanced running, homework, and a work schedule!  Tomorrow is her big day!!!  Tomorrow is not about the clock, It is not about the pace. It is not about what was.  It is about celebrating the hard work and effort and the journey and my beautiful and amazing daughter!!!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Zumbro Endurance Run

You know those dreams that you have right before you fall asleep - the ones in which you are falling of a cliff and then your body wakes with a jerk?  Well, three times tonight I started to drift off to sleep when I had one of those dreams except instead of falling over a cliff I tripped over a tree root.  Yep, that's a sign that I ran (this is not the correct verb, but you will find out later why it is not) a trail race today.
Today was the day of the Zumbro 100 Mile Endurance Run.  First, let me clarify - I did not run the 100 or the 50 today (you people are crazy awesome!), but after completing this run I think I will have to put the 50 on my calendar for next year!!  I ran 17 miles - but do not be fooled!  This was not a frolicking run through the woods! This had to have been the most challenging and rewarding course that I have ever run!!!
The run was to begin at 9:00, but at 8:55 I was still sitting in the car with Spider trying to decide if we were really going to run this thing.  It had been pouring for the past hour and Mother Nature threw a little hail in there just for fun (ugh, poor 100 and 50 milers out on the trail.)  I already had it in my head that I was not going to run and was a little crabby when Spider finally made the call that we were going to haul our butts out there and do this! This would be the longest run ever for Spider and a comeback from an injury that sidelined for a month.  Spider wanted to earn the shirt we already had in our hands and get that medal!  I wanted to stay warm and cozy and dry inside the car. Just as we pinned our numbers to our shorts, the rain let up.  I needed a visit to the porta-potty and as I was waiting I hear the starting bell ring.  Dang it - we missed the start.  We weren't worried because we had decided when we signed up to do this run, that it would be a training run for us, not a race (did anyone really race this today??) We found a couple of bathrooms with no line, did our thing, got some directions and started out.
Because of our late start, we were about 10 minutes behind everyone. Soon after our start we caught up with some of the runners.  They were bottle-necked on a muddy ridge.  One at a time, we made our way up and down and around the ridge, sloppy mud making our footing very slippery.  A woman who had run this race before assured us this would be the worst of it.  We ran on.
The rain came and brought along thunder and lightning.  The downpour was just one of the many things that made the run so memorable.  We ran through a "tunnel" of pine trees and I felt like I had entered a magical forest.  We climbed and climbed...and climbed...and climbed ...(one more) and climbed to scenic vistas that I wish now that I would have paused to view.  We slogged through mud and flooded trails.  We picked over rocks and splashed through puddles.  Oh, who am I kidding- we spent a lot of time in water and it was AWESOME!!!  My feet were cold but my socks did the job - no blisters! I don't use the word EPIC very often but in this case I can not find a better word - the trails on the way  down were like a giant Slip -n Slide made of mud.  We slid more than we ran.  Down we went, some on their feet, some on their backs, and some on their backsides.  Spider had just been complimented by another runner on the great form being used before biffing it!  I have never seen anyone bounce back up so fast and smiling also!!!  I watched one woman man-handle that mud - she looked like she was snowboarding!!!  And just like always, the trail gods reminded me how much fun trail running is and threw me down into the mud!
Although the trail was in rough shape from the rains and snow melt. there were areas that were easier.  The sand trail actually felt great after the mud, and there were some gravel paths in which we finally felt flow and our pace picked up.  We had no idea what our pace was or what mile we were on because in our hustle to get out of the car we had left the watches behind.  We agreed that was actually a gift! I might have felt discouraged if I would have known our pace.
The aid stations were amazing - as always, the food spread is phenomenal!  But even better are the volunteers - they are so encouraging and helpful.  I read a comment today on FB that at one station volunteers gave the clothes off their backs to cold, wet runners. At the last station, one of the volunteers yelled out to us "Looking good." That perked us right up.  As we made our way toward the finish line we were estimating about 1 1/2 miles left.  A little further down the road a man told us there was only a quarter mile left! We rounded the bend and heard the crowd cheering and ringing bells.  Spider and I fist-bumped, laughed, and made our way through the finish line.  Amazing feeling!!
The race director knows how to put on a great run!!!  Everything from the course to the volunteers to the shirts to the medals is top-notch!!!! I will return!!




Sunday, March 9, 2014

Bed in Boston Needed

Hey everyone - I have a friend who needs a room (bed) in Boston for the marathon.  Her hotel plans fell through.  Do you have one or know of someone who might?  Let me know - thanks!

Sunday, January 26, 2014

What Up?

I have been absent from the blogging world lately.  So have some of my favorite bloggers.  I always look for them, I wonder what they are up to, I think about how they are doing with the things that they used to talk about.  Isn't it funny how you get to know bloggers and you feel like they are your friends?  I want to email a few of them and say "Are you ok, friend? Do you wanna go have coffee?"

Anyway, so I am back.  I am starting to put together some plans for 2014 finally and am feeling pretty excited.  My dang hamstring is an ongoing issue for 18 months now, so I feel like I have to readjust some of the goals I have set. But readjusting is ok - as long as I am still striving to reach the goals.

Here is what I have on tap-

For sure
Get Lucky 21 K - March
Zumbro 17 Trail Race - April
Fargo Half Marathon - May
Chester Woods Trail Race - June
Foot Traffic Flat Marathon - July 4 in Oregon
Big Woods Half Marathon - October
Mankato Marathon - October

MN weather has been awful in January!!! My students have had three "cold days", one late start, and two early releases!  And tomorrow has just been declared another "cold day!"  I have been avoiding the treadmill and am lucky enough to have a running partner who is pretty crazy and doesn't mind the cold runs.  We have been out on most of the really cold days, but today's wind forced me back inside!


Bring on summer!!!!




Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Sharing the Trails

It's hunting season in MN which means I have to don the blaze orange (or yellow or pink) when I hit the trails.  Sharing the trails with hunters is not my favorite thing to do.  It's not that I have anything against hunting cute little helpless deer (ok, maybe I do a little bit) it's just that I don't think it would be very fun be a mistaken target.  On a recent day, I was running in a wooded area and saw three deer.  They were about 25 yards ahead of me - they didn't even move as I ran by.  So cool - and then I talked to my friend who was in the same location hunting and he said he didn't see one single deer!! Ha ha!  Maybe deer prefer silent runners in hot pink and Brooks over hunters in camo and boots?

Anyway, that got me thinking about sharing the trails. I have been very lucky that over the last few years I have found a group of runners who like the dirt path that I so enjoy.  Last Saturday I ran with Spider - he loves the trails and rarely runs on pavement.  He has a goal to run his first marathon in June 2014 so he knows he has blacktop beauty in front of him soon.  But for now, he prefers bounding effortlessly (which really makes me mad!!!) around on the trails.  On that Saturday, Bluedoug also joined us - he is pretty new to the trails and I wasn't sure after the run if he really liked it.  But today he texted that he wants to go back out there on Saturday!!!

I think one of the best parts of being a runner is sharing your passion with others, when you get to see someone else get excited!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Numbers

24 hours
2 friends died  - cancer sucks
31 students watched as their teacher cried
8 hours watching the clock
1 3-day old baby brought to me by former student
7 much-needed miles on the trail
124 minutes of conversation with a BFF
5 hours of restless sleep
24 hours