Kickrunners.com

You know, I hated watching the fall of coolrunning. I honestly loved Coolrunning. I am a smarter, faster and better runner because of the information I learned there. But then it fell into a terrible place at the same time I just didn't have time to make the effort to make it work. And I love this forum b/c some of my faves from coolrunning are here. BUT, then today I got a rockin' race report from Loopy re the Goofy Challenge. He hit his goals handily and it was awesome to read it all. And it was cool to recognize some of the good ole' cool runners. Dammit, I don't have time for this. But I love this stuff. I miss the folks from Mainstream Racing.

As for me and my running, I was not able to run yesterday despite the nice temps. We were busy all day and my husband was at the office until 6 (supposed to be noon). I got up promptly at 5 this am and hopped on my trusty TM and my knee SCREAMED at me. Clarify, not a questionable scream, a stop now or you will be disabled for life scream. DAMMIT. I don't know if it was the slop conditions the other day or my latest work shoes, but I need to figure it out. It is an accute "knock it off now" symptom - ack! I'll keep you posted. Enjoy the heat wave.

I wish it were July...

Yesterday I was able to run outside for the first time in weeks. I was SO looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it was not a good run. It is still very cold and we just have an insane amount of snow. Because of such a high rate of snow (and consquently a huge use of salt for the roads), the state has had to cut back. So the roads are an absolute mess. I did just over 4 miles, and even with my spikes on, I was slipping all over the place. Upon finishing, my knees were immediately hurting. Bummer. It is supposed to get up to 35 today - boy do I hope it does so some of this snow melts. Right now it is 5 degrees, so I am going to hold off on my run until this afternoon.

The good news is that with all of my treadmill running, my nagging aches and pains (from previously running constantly in snow and slush) are gone. I had been worried that my aches were from 2 marathons in a row, and then immediately ramping back up. But I think the real cause was the slippin and slidin, as evidenced by yesterday's run. It is good to feel healthy again.

And overall, my week was ok. I am tired, but getting into the swing of things. I ran 5 times (well, it will be five if I run today). I am logging very light mileage, but I feel I am running the most I can fit in right now. So I am satisfied. I am trying to find balance right now, and I am doing ok with that mission.

I am actually enjoying the treadmill and playing with the speeds. I certainly can't do anything speedy outside with the condition of the road.

My littlest boy has a raging ear infection - poor thing. I did send him to school Friday as he seemed a little better, but by 11:00 am I was called out of a meeting b/c his school was calling to tell me he was sick. By Saturday morning he was a complete mess and went back to bed (on his own) at 8:00 am. That was a clear sign he did not feel good. So my husband took him to the after-hours pediatrician yesterday and got the diagnosis of "the reddest ear I have seen in a long time." :( Sure made me feel like Mom of the Year. But I took him down to my office in the afternoon to hang some pictures, play on my computer and check out the offices. He had really been wanting to see where it is that I go all the time, so it cheered him up.

On a fun note, we went to the UW/UM hockey game on Friday night. We hosted a box and it was loads of fun.

Joseph, I'm just giving you a hard time. I don't like hot dogs unless I am at a baseball game, where hot dog consumption is mandatory. Brats? I love them. Which reminds me, did I tell you that I wish it was July? The bottom line is that we eat lots of nasty things. We just get used to it and don't think about what it really is. Take eggs for example. I love 'em.

On an opposite view of foods, check out Don's blog. He eats very well and his meals look like masterpieces.

What time?

So I am starting to get into the swing of things at work. Don't I look very professional?!? Heh! To get to the photography studio on Tuesday am, it took 1.5 hours. Yes, a drive that SHOULD have taken 25 minutes was 1.5 hours. Going 5 mph down the beltine through a snowy mess was a nightmare. "Who cares?", you ask. Well my friends, I am now a slave to the billable hour. So I care. That meant no lunch for Mindi. I have been terrible since going back to work about actually eating before 7:00 pm. Not good. Thank goodness I am not running 70 mpw or I would probably be in the state of Amy Winehouse. Well, actually I can't sing at all...really it is scary....And I don't do drugs. BUT emaciated and on the verge of death are the ideas I was thinking here....

Things are going well though. I have the typical worries (billable hours, do they like my work, yada yada yada), but the work is very interesting. I have always loved this stuff - my middle name is "Sue" for a reason! ;) The people I work with are very nice, the pay is great, no complaints.

The family is adjusting and my husband should be up for Sainthood any day (although he does not hear voices that I am aware of :)). My littlest boy had a fever of 102 this morning so we could not take him to daycare. My husband took one for the team and worked at home, which is never quite as productive as you think it will be. Tomorrow we are both busy so we will have to crank them up with Motrin Cold if they are still iffy. Yes, that is terrible. I know. But it is what it is.

Running? Dammit I suck. But I have made friends with my treadmill. It actually kind of rocks. Yes, I really did say that. There is NO WAY I would be running these past 2 weeks if it were not for my wonderful treadmill. I have been running before 6 am, and well, without regard to windchill, it has been b/w -4 and -11 every morning at that time. Ouch. So it is working. Do I LOVE it? No. But it is a helpful solution.

I have some juicy gossip to offer those out of the loop:

Salty frequents strip clubs.
Tuscaloosa eats innards (and not only admits it, but also likes it).
Joe+ is a rockin power ranger.

I'd put in links but I am too lazy at this damn point of the day. Have a good one, ya'll. ;)

Salty, your sister is very witty BTW.

Oh yeah, and I have to send out a professional "announcement" because I rock so damn much. Oh wait, no it is because MARKETING is important. Well, I choose to live in my own little world anyway. :) I am building my contacts. It's on the firm. If you want one, e-mail me your addy.

My First HADD Test

Aharmer, you will be glad to know I did my first HADD test today. Yes, tangible proof of the shape I am in. I almost wimped out because I know I am in pretty pathetic shape, but I really could use a baseline and there is no where to go but up. So here goes:

1.5 miles / 130 / 16:05 (10:44 pace)
1.5 miles / 140 / 14:44 (9:50 pace)
1.5 miles / 150 / 13:58 (9:19 pace)
1.5 miles / 160 / 13:11 (8:48 pace)
1.5 miles / 170 / 12:15 (8:10 pace)

cooldown: .5 miles (9:48 pace).

I allowed my HR to "float" 2 points up or down before I messed with the speed. It was funny too because this is the first time I used the HRM that comes with my treadmill. The downside is that it takes a lot longer to get to the correct HR (and if you want to know how I know that is b/c my geeky self had on both the TM HRM and my Garmin HRM - I had to check for accuracy you know!). It seemed to take a good .2 miles before it got up to where it should be, which was a little annoying, but the upside was that I could see the read out on my treadmill, which is a lot easier than constantly looking at my wrist.

So I haven't read much about this tests. Any interpretations are welcomed.

It is insanely cold. Heh, as Adeel mentioned, flat out dangerous to run in. I logged a whopping 19.3 miles this week and zero pilates (just sit-ups every night). Oh well. I have just been exhausted. With all of the change, my old noggin is going a million miles an hour and it isn't shutting off very well at night. But I am starting to settle in. Next week should be better. The good news is that I have had no time for additional snacking and I am down a couple pounds.

GO PACKERS!!

Now this is just ridiculous

I know Salty had a lot of nice things to say about winter running. And I appreciate those things. Really I do. However, when the information below popped into my inbox this morning, well, you've got to be kidding, right?

TODAY:
Becoming mostly cloudy, breezy, and much colder with periods of light snow and flurries developing; less than an inch of accumulation.

High: 14 at midday, then slowly falling temperatures into the single digits by evening
Wind: SW 5-15 MPH AM; NW 12-22 MPH PM; Wind Chills: -5 to -15

TONIGHT:
***WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR SOUTHWESTERN WISCONSIN BEGINNING AT 6 PM, AND FOR SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN BEGINNING AT MIDNIGHT***

Partly cloudy and bitterly cold.
Low: -8
Wind: WNW 10-20 MPH; Wind Chills: -15 to -30

SATURDAY:
***WIND CHILL ADVISORY THROUGH 6 PM FOR SOUTHWESTERN WISCONSIN, AND THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT FOR SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN***

Sunny and bitterly cold.
High: 1
Wind: W 10-18 MPH AM; 6-12 MPH PM; Wind Chills: -10 to -30

SUNDAY:
Partly sunny and very cold; (flurries or light snow developing Sunday night).
Low: -15
High: 6; Wind Chills: -10 to -25

MONDAY:
Mostly cloudy and cold with periods of light snow.
Low: -2
High: 12; Wind Chills: -5 to -15

TUESDAY:
Partly sunny and cold.
Low: -2
High: 12; Wind Chills: -5 to -15

WEDNESDAY:
Cloudy and cold with flurries or light snow.
Low: 3
High: 11; Wind Chills: +5 to -5

THURSDAY:
Sunny and bitterly cold.
Low: -7
High: 10; Wind Chills: 0 to -15

First run on the mill

And it was great! Well, as great as running on the TM can be! Unlike yesterday, my alarm went off promptly at 5:20 and I hit the treadmill. It wasn't too painful of a prospect as it is insanely cold (and only getting colder) and windy here. I settled in on very easy 9:30 miles. HR was lingering in the low 150s, which is way higher than I like, but I am used to it for now. At 4.5 miles, I turned it up a notch for an 8:00 pace for .5, I then upped it to 7:35 for .35, then 6:44 for the last .15. What I found was that I was just above lactate threshhold at 8:00/miles. Crappy news considering I just ran a marathon at a 7:52 pace. Oh well. I'll get there.

Work is going well. I am going to Milwaukee tomorrow for training on all of the billing systems, document managements systems, etc. Plus I get to turn in all of my forms and get my crackberry set up. I am soon to be a slave to the system, my friends. The good news is that I got some very fun work today so I can start billing! Check me out. The kids are adapting too. My 4 y.o. was in tears as I left him this morning (as was I), but when my husband picked him up, he was pleased to announce he had a GREAT day. Ah, big sigh of relief. I know there will be ups and downs, but it sucks to leave your kid for 10+ hours at a place they do not want to be.

Joseph, I think you are right re too many races. I am torn about it all b/c part of me just wants to train half-heartedly and enjoy the races this spring and not get too concerned about the training aspect. I have a whole lot on my plate right now. And I miss all of my running buddies that I haven't seen since summer! Heh. But I think I am going to ditch that "benchmark" race I mentioned for this weekend. Not only is it a hilly course, but this weekend is projected to have a high of 5 degrees. With the wind chill, it is supposed to be -30 degrees. Yeah, I think I'll sleep in and maybe even pour a little Baileys in my extra cup of coffee!

Aharmer - THANKS for the Hadd info. You rock. I will try it out this weekend!

Oh yeah, and thanks Adeel for the tempo advice. As a treadmill novice it would be very easy to fall into the slow/easy routine. I will definitely switch it up - and I know I need to as I feel incapable of that. Heh. That means proving myself wrong. I am always up for that challenge!

A New Era

Today is my last day as a stay-at-home mom. I start my new job tomorrow! Woo Hoo! I am excited and a wee bit scared. But hopefully all will go well. I am excited too because I was talking to a friend when I was out on Friday night and he told me that he is in a position to get a new patent lawyer (he doesn't like the one his company uses), did I know any? Yep, definitely. We have some great ones at my new firm. Then I explained to him that I do IP work, just not patents. I do copyrights and trademarks. Really? Then he told me his company actually is in the process of renaming all of their products because they just got bought out and really need a trademark lawyer. He wants me to call him once I get in and hopefully he can send me some work. So how cool would that be if I could bring in a big new client right away? Hopefully it will work out. It will be HUGE for me if it does.

I made the plunge today and bought a treadmill! I ended up getting the Sole F85. I really wanted the Sole F77, which is a non-folding tm, but I would have to order it online and I will not be here when it arrives. So I went to Dick's Sports today and dropped a ton of cash on a brand spanking new treadmill. I am still waiting for my husband to get home (he had to work today) so we can carry the thing downstairs and put it together. I plan to take it for a test drive tonight. It is supposed to get insanely cold this week too so I'm sure it will get a lot of use.

My week of running was yet again pretty pathetic.

M - NADA! I didn't make it more than 300 feet and my knee was KILLING me. So I guess that means it is a rest day. :(

T - pilates - knee felt good, but my husband was gone until very late so I couldn't get a run in.

W - 8.51 miles (9:27 pace/151 AHR) - Boy am I out of shape!

R - rest - again husband was gone until 10:00 pm

F - 6 easy (10:07 pace/151 AHR). Seriously. Hard to keep footing as this was a slog through the slush and snow.

Sa - pilates + 6 easy (9:19 pace/154 AHR).

Su - pilates and probably 5 or 6 on the treadmill tonight.

Wow, that sucks. So you understand how much so, I usually run my recovery runs around a 139 AHR and my pace is usually around 9:20. I usually don't hit the 150s unless I am running at least 8:30s or 8:40s. A small part of it is because I still have a nasty head/chest cold that is still hanging on. It is better, but lingering. I know several people with this cold and apparently it lasts a long time. :( But I know the "large part" of it is that I am running 1/3 of the mileage I was during the fall.

In the market for a mill

Yeah, I really am looking to buy a treadmill. I hate the treadmill. The thought alone makes me shudder. But, for reality's sake, I need to make friends with the treadmill if I am going to continue running seriously while also logging 2000+ hours at the office and being a decent parent and wife at the same time. The one I have is just not going to cut it. When we moved to Wisconsin 3 years ago, we got the cheapest possible TM we could find. Yep, I purchased the floor model from a closing Sports Authority for $300. Well, it proved to be worth about $3 for running purposes.

After 30 minutes or so, it starts randomly speeding up by .5 to .7 mph. Then after 50 minutes or so you hit no man's land and it can conk out at any time, which is quite the scary experience. So it is time for an upgrade. The icing on the cake was a couple of days ago my mom, who is seriously overweight, called me and asked me if I would go treadmill shopping with her as she wanted to start walking every day for 30 minutes. Perfect, Mom. You can have mine. It is a win-win situation. And my dad was thrilled about the idea too. Parents get in better shape and I get a new mill.... So, what to get?

I have done a ton of research and it appears the consensus is that if you are a "runner" you need some real horsepower to deal with the speed and time we like to pound out (for me it is more time than speed, but still). Realistically though, I will only run on the bad boy when I have to, such as 5 am or 9 pm...which I guess will be Monday through Friday... Now I have always been a purist and wanted to run outside, but I get paranoid running in the dark alone. Yeah, I have pepper spray, but that only freaks me out more when I have that strapped on my hand. I may as well run with an AK-47. And yes, it is funny because I live in a sweet little town in good old Wisconsin. But then again so did Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer. So back to the treadmill shopping . . . .

I am leaning toward this or this as they have gotten the best reviews. Anyone have any suggestions? The things are so damned expensive! I realize you get what you pay for, but I am noticing they now have built-in tvs, fancy stereo systems, etc. I don't need that. I just need a comfortable ride that I can cope on without it going poltergeist on me. Any and all input welcome. I will also have to name the thing if it is going to cost me over a grand.

For now my running is still pretty pathetic. I ran 8.5 yesterday and felt like I could have run forever. A nice feeling compared to my more "normal" runs of late where I just want to go home. I am still amazingly slow, but my HR is returning to normal levels. I still have a wee bit of a cold. Once I kick that, I am hoping to be in a better place. I am not yet ready for speed work though so my 5K in 9 days should be an ego-kicker to say the least.

Oh yeah, and I start work on Monday. I am so excited. Yay! Adult conversations all day long!!! :) Heh, of course some people will be worse than my 4 year old, but overall it should be an upgrade. It will be sweet to get a big fat paycheck too. I haven't gotten paid in 6.5 years!!

Oh yeah #2, I finished the quilt top for my race t-shirt quilt. It rocks! I initially contemplated using medals and their ribbons as sashing b/w the shirts, but didn't b/c: (a) I'd never wash it, and (b) I'd never use it. So I got some ribbon that looked like typical medal ribbon and appliqued it on. It looks cool!! I can't wait until it is finished!

whaddayathink???

What do you do with your race t-shirts?

Check out my latest project. I decided to make a quilt out of my race t-shirts from 2005-2007. I believe I am only missing the t-shirts for one or 2 races. I had originally held off on the idea thinking one day I may want to do a quilt of just marathons, but let's face it, it will be at least 20 years before I have enough of those bad boys to make a respectable quilt. The image you see is where I'm at right now. I still need to finish piecing it together, put on a border and a back and quilt the thing, but what do you think?

Running: first day of new schedule was a rest day. It was crazy stormy here this morning and then when I finally made it out my knee was killing me. I'm sure it is because of my high heeled boots I wore last out last night. High heels (and rainy weather) are both bains to my knee. I'm going to have to get some "sensible" shoes for work if I think I am going to continue running!!

Goal Races for Spring 2008

OK. So I am changing gears yet again for my spring training. I have taken your advice and decided to focus on shorter distance races during the spring. I am actually really excited about it because I have never trained for any of the middle distances - only the 1 mile and the marathon. I will start training tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who sent me schedule advice!

I will run my first "benchmark" 5K on January 19 to see where I am at. I am pretty out of shape now and this course is relatively hard (2 big hills), but it will be a good starting point.

Then, my target races will be:

Valentine's Run 5K (2/9)

Shamrock Shuffle 10K (3/15)

Mad City 100K Relay - 20K leg (4/12)

Crazylegs Classic 5 mile (4/26)

Lake Monona 20K (5/3)

Madison Half Marathon (5/25)

Race for the Cure 5K (5/31)

This sounds like a lot of fun to me! I usually do not have time for a lot of the local races because I am in heavy marathon training. And the ones I do run, I am usually completely exhausted from training. It will be interesting to try to run a 10K, 20K and half on relatively fresh legs. Hopefully I can get some high quality work in and earn some big fat new PRs in 2008.

We have been hit with a heat wave (upper 40s) and the snow is beginning to melt! Yay! It has been killing my hips to run on the packed snow, ice and slush. It is not supposed to freeze again until Tuesday, so I should have a couple of days of good runs. I'll take it while I can!! My mileage this week was a whopping 30.2 miles. All done at an insanely slow pace with relatively high HR. I have a head/chest cold that has knocked me pretty hard this week.

It is friggin' cold!

It has been insanely cold here this week. When I woke up this morning, the real temp was -4 degrees. Accordingly to the local weather, it was around -15 with the wind chill. Sheesh. Now that is COLD! I did not run on New Years Day or yesterday because I developed a pretty wicked cold and did not want to irritate it by pushing my tired self in single digit (if that) temps. But today I just plain felt lazy, so I did 30 easy minutes on the treadmill. Certainly nothing to write home about as a workout, but it was something of a triumph for me as I am notoriously unable to run on the treadmill. The good news it is supposed to be slightly warmer tomorrow and this weekend so I should be able to get some decent runs in.

I am still trying to figure out some sort of spring schedule. I love marathoning, but some of you may be right in that it is not worth the attempt if I can't put in decent miles. So I may shoot for a half, or even work on my 5K and 10K times. We'll see. Does anyone have good suggestions for schedules for the shorter distances?

I start working later this month. Once I figure out what I can realistically pull off, I will be in a better place to make a "plan." One of my resolutions is to continue running and racing without putting undue pressure on myself. I am hoping the next 6 months will be an adjustment period where work (and obviously family) come first, running is backburnered. Once I get settled in some, I should be able to get in the swing of things a little better. Of course the additional sunlight hours that come with summer will also be helpful.

Yesterday I got my offer details. Today I formally lined up my child care, which is a huge relief. And my 4 year old is starting to get comfortable with the idea, which is obviously huge. He was very sad at first because he is such a "momma's boy" but I think the whole thing will be good for him. Moving forward . . .

Stay warm!!