March 10, 2013 by Darlene

Getting Ready!

EVENT DETAILS:

Sunday, Mar. 17, 2013
7:00 am Start (B-Tag timing)
Start/Finish at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall

I am lucky!! One of the women that I play mah jongg with on Fridays eves owns a condo that is across the street from the start/finish of the race. She was supposed to be moving but it has been delayed until April 1 and she invited me to stay with her!!! One less thing to worry about.

COURSE INFO:

The First Watch Sarasota Half Marathon & Relay Race features a fast and scenic course filled with Personal Record (PR) opportunities for both runners and walkers.

Yes, I have been to Sarasota and it is beautiful. But I know that you have to run across the bridge which is uphill and windy and then back over the bridge again so it will not be fast for the first 5 miles. Hopefully, it’ll get easier after that. (I am not looking for a PR in this race anyway!)

RUNNER & WALKER FRIENDLY EVENT:

Truly walker friendly with the course open for 4 hours (approximate 18 minutes/mile pace), allowing all ages and experience levels to take part in the fun-filled activities throughout the event.

Even I can handle that pace. If my foot and/or ankle starts to hurt a lot and I have to walk, I know that I will finish under 4 hours and get my MEDAL. No pressure!

RACE PERKS:

All participants receive a gender specific tech t-shirt, giant finisher’s medal, goodie bag, aid stations with Lemon-Lime Gatorade, medical support, a post-race refueling party sponsored by First Watch Restaurants (including Siesta Key Cocktails for all participants) and awards ceremony.

Who can argue with that? Sounds perfect! Provided that the weather cooperates. No rain, please!

RACE GOALS??

Pretty Simple: FINISH with a smile on my face!!

Happy Running! Ever run a race with NO FINSH TIME GOALS??

March 9, 2013 by Darlene

Time to Check the Weather…Daily

It’s less than 10 days until my Half Marathon in Sarasota, Florida.

The only thing I pray for is No RAIN and little WIND.

So I will be checking the weather everyday!! I will be checking numerous websites to find the forecast that I like.

Why?? I can’t change the weather. I will run the race no matter what.

And since I leave on Tues and the race isn’t until Sunday, I will have to pack running clothes for all weather conditions anyway. (At least it will not be snowing or freezing, right?)

13.1 miles in the freezing rain!!

7 of the 13.1 miles in the pouring rain

So far, it appears to be in the 70’s all week and CLOUDY and on

Happy Running! Do you obsess about the weather before a big race?

March 8, 2013 by Darlene

The Outfit

: Should I match the bling

: and the bib?

That means wearing BLUE.

Do I wear GREEN cuz it’s St. Patrick’s Day?

The outfit is important, right?

Here are my choices:

OUTFIT A: blue multi-colored skirt from runningskirts.com & a Nike tank (that I have worn to play tennis) & blue argyle compression socks from procompression.com (that I have worn many times)

OUTFIT B:green Nike shorts & mint Champion top (have worn for yoga) & black compression socks from runningskirts.com (have worn these many times)

Happy Running! Cast your vote now: Outfit A or Outfit B?

March 6, 2013 by Darlene

Wordless Wednesday: HM #6

13.1 miles on October 13, 2013!!

Can’t believe I signed up for this? (I haven’t even completed my 5th yet?)

It sells out quickly. (And it did – in 6 days!!)

It’s nearby so I should do it, right?

Happy Running! Do you ever impulsively sign up for a race?

March 5, 2013 by Darlene

2 for Tuesday

1. If you remember, the ankle that I broke started to hurt for the first time during my long 12 mile run on Sunday. It didn’t even hurt the first time I ran on it and it didn’t hurt during the 10 & 11 mile runs. So this was pretty scary. Things from stress fracture & bent screws to OMG, I can’t do this half marathon went through my head.

So my cure: ice, ibuprofen, recovery sock, prayers… then last night, I wore an ankle brace to play tennis. It was fine.

Today, at lunch I wore the brace and ran 3 miles on the treadmill… the ankle felt fine so after work, I ran 3 miles outside (the sun was finally out!!!)

The ankle was stiff but not painful! The real test will be on Sunday when I run 8 miles….

2. I am taking the day off and going to NYC.

Eileen & I with Anna in 2006…7 years ago!!

here we are again

Tomorrow the 3 of us will be re-united!!!

I get walk my poor ankle and foot around New York City. The forecast is for rain/snow…hope they are wrong.

Happy Running!

March 4, 2013 by Darlene

Getting Closer

Week 10 Update:

Mon- Tennis
Tues – ~~3 mile~~ 6 mile run after work
Wed – ~~6 mile~~s 3 miles on the TM after work (RAIN!!)
Thurs – REST
Fri – 4 5 miles on the TM (3 at lunch & 2 after work)
Sat – REST
Sun – 12 MILES

next to last long run in the COLD

Week 11:

Mon- Tennis
Tues – 6 miles after work ( or rest if my ankle still hurts)
Wed – day in NYC (lots of walking)
Thurs – 3 miles on TM at lunch, haircut after work
Fri – 4 miles after work
Sat – REST
Sun – 8 MILES… taper begins!!

Happy Running! How do you Taper?

March 3, 2013 by Darlene

LSD Run

Long and Slow Distance run…12 miles to be exact.

As they say: “If it were easy, everyone would be doing it!”

And it wasn’t easy!

I always seem to struggle with What is the weather going to do? and Where should I run for a good 12 miles? And of course, Will my foot hurt worse? and Will my ankle be more stiff?

I thought running was supposed to be enjoyable!!

And it is when the weather is nice & I have no pain. Unfortunately, this half marathon training period has not gone as hoped.

So the positive is that the half marathon will be so much more fun!!! I can’t wait!!

I want to run here!

not here…

Of course, it was cloudy & cold and windy…like every LSD I have done this winter. The forecast was for snow showers. Fun fun.

So to mix things up, I wanted do run the route that I used when I was training for my other half marathons (running from my house into town and back I did not discover the bike trails until Nov 2011.)

When I got up it was in the 20’s, the teens with the wind chill and snowing! My hubby convinced that it would be too dangerous to run in the road with the snow so I drove to the Corning bike trail.

Though the snow wasn’t sticking to the roads, it was sticking to the trail and it was snow-covered and very slippery.

So Plan B: back to Delmar and run in the roads.

not too thrilled with this weather

I ran on the roads for 3 miles and turned around.

pretty dreary – the road was wet but clear of snow

I usually run shorter distances in these neighborhoods so this run took me to roads I had never been on.

saw farms

who knew?

After 6 miles, I was half done but felt totally done. I stopped at my car for water & fuel and then headed out for 6 more. This time I ran in the other direction for 3 miles before turning around.

I must say that the first 6 miles were painless but now my right foot started to hurt. As always, it was bearable and the pain would come and go. But at mile 9 (my turn around point), my ankle started to hurt… a lot. It hurt in the front and was getting stiff so it was hard to run without limping. Yes, I should have walked at this point but somehow I made my way back to my car.

12 painful slow miles done!!! It took me 2:26:xx and the 2nd half was a lot slower than the first.

This long run made me wonder whether I was capable of doing a half marathon. Was I in lala land about my ankle??? Could I really run long races ever again??

I went home, took ibuprofen and iced it… it was still sore.

To take my mind off of it, I went to the movies with my running friend Mary (she is running the same half). She tried to boost my confidence. And she did. If my ankle hurts, I’ll rest until the half and then the for the race, I will walk as much of it as I have to. I will get that medal!!

we saw it because we love French movies but it was SOOO depressing!

On a shopping note – look what I picked up yesterday:

look what I picked up yesterday...I was supposedly stopping to buy dinner!

…I was supposedly stopping at Hannaford’s to buy dinner! They came in handy today (a change from my GU) I liked the cliff shots gel but the powerbar energy busts made me nauseous.

a new shirt...it was on sale & I had a coupon...at least I didn't buy another pair of running shoes

and a new shirt…it was on sale at Olympia Sports & I had a coupon…at least I didn’t buy another pair of running shoes

Happy Running! Did you do LSD this weekend?

March 1, 2013 by Darlene

Bring on March!

March is supposed to be the windy month but it seemed to me that it was February this year!

February Update:

2 Races – one 4 miler and one 7K

AJH got 2nd place...we won a lunch bag which matches the race shirt

AJH got 2nd place…and I got 3rd!!

I finished knitting a pair of socks

so what if it took almost a year…

I played tennis every Monday…that’s 4 times in one month!

I did a better job of following my half marathon training plan by adding an extra day of running…

in Jan, I was worried about my foot & only running every other day

This month I ran 84 miles! The most miles in a month since 2011!

Nisky Bike Trail – one of my favorite places to run

I tried to eat fruit and vegetables everyday!

love mandarin oranges & craisins in my salad

I even used the treadmill several times when the weather wouldn’t cooperate.

ipad & water required

I read quite a few books. In addition to my YA fixation (I finished Insurgent & started Matched), I read 3 Joy Fielding mystery thrillers.

I did not do any yoga…I did not use the exercise bike during lunch…I did not see my mentee… oh well, there’s March!

Hope we have nicer weather in March (and an early spring!!!)

GOALS

Complete my 6th Half Marathon (and 1st since the 2012 injuries)
Take a running break to heal my aching foot (only a week or 2…next race is a 5k on Mar 30 or a 5 miler on April 14)
Do yoga instead each week
Continue tennis once a week
Sign up for another half marathon
Continue to eat healthier

Happy Running! How was your February running? Anything new planned for March?

February 28, 2013 by Darlene

3 Things Thursday: Winter, Diet & Anna

Reverse the roles: my hubby is the women & I am the guy

1. The forecast again was for snow yesterday and rain today so although I had worked 11 boring hours at the bar exam on Tuesday, I dragged myself to the bike trail (it was nearby) and ran (sorta) 6 miles. It was late and I was extremely tired but I just had to do it.

It was getting dark when I arrived so I brought a flash light. Then it got really dark (there are no lights) and kinda creepy to be alone on this trail.

So after 3 miles, I got back in the car and finished my run under the street lights of Delmar. I am so glad that I did it. On Wednesday, I woke up to snow.

It quickly turned to rain and my run turned into 3 ugly miles on the treadmill after work.

2. In the theme of healthy eating, my work had a Salad Bowl Potluck lunch yesterday. Everyone brought a salad ingredient and you just added what you wanted to make a big salad. It was fun.

so yummy!

It would have been even more healthy if I didn’t have this snack before lunch.

I was happy until I read that it had 480 calories and didn’t really taste that good.

And I went out to dinner with friends…at a Lebanese restaurant. The food was great, too. (The waiter took a liking to us and gave us free appetizers and free coffee.)

I had Mixed Schawarma (and took 1/2 home)

3. Anna from Russia is Back in the USA for a short vacation. She arrived in NYC on Tuesday. She is going to DC and then returning to NYC. I plan to see her next Wednesday. Can’t wait!!