Tag: fitness

Friday Fitness and Fun

Falling a bit behind on blogging this week because it has been spring break and my family was visiting from out of town while the kids were home from school. Also Mike got sick with a very bad cold and then *I* got sick with a very bad cold.

Stuffing 1000 race packets.

Briefly here is some news. On Monday night the good people from 1:17 stuffed a thousand race packets for Run 4 the Children. Yep, we are expecting 1000 runners and walkers. That means YOU if you are local. Register now, it’s cheap and you get a great t-shirt, a great bag, a concert and lots of food and fun stuff for kids too. Plus the money goes to help families with big hearts for orphans to offset the enormous cost of adoption. Did you know adoption can cost between $25-50,000? The money from the race will also help us care for some orphans that aren’t eligible for adoption.

Another positive piece of news regarding my training…on Wednesday evening my training group held a 5k time trial. That means running like you are in a race. When our coach yelled “Go!” I felt an enormous surge of adrenaline that sent me sprinting but made me feel kind of awful at the same time. I did not like that feeling, but at least now it won’t seem so foreign on race day. I ran pretty fast for the first mile, figuring I could get a jump on my target pace and then slow up later. I did slow up a bit but was surprised to hear from my Runkeeper that I was still running a full minute ahead of my target pace of 12 min/mile. I felt comfortable so I just kept pushing. Believe it or not three miles now seems like not a big deal at all to me. I found myself breathing a little too hard after passing the two mile mark so I slowed to a walk for only maybe 30 seconds and then sped up again. I did really start dragging towards the end, but my average time remained well ahead of target so I was very encouraged and just kept pushing. Once I saw the finish line I kicked it up and sprinted, only to have my friend Deborah pass me at the very end. I was super thrilled with my finish time of 36:53, which is under 12 min/mile. That’s a lot faster than I expected. I also felt like I had energy left in the tank when I was done so I think I could have done another mile at close to that pace.

The amount of pollen I sucked in during that run was unbelievable. I’m highly allergic to everything, you know. Towards the end I almost had to stop entirely because my throat was so full of phlegm I could not breathe. Let’s hope the air quality improves some before race day.

Now I will leave you with some precious photos of my darling niece, the happiest baby alive. Even after she vomited all over my couch and floor and kitchen and everywhere. Poor kid.

10 Things I Think While I’m Running

So even though I’ve been running for more than a year now and I’m consistently doing around 3 miles every run, I’d still consider myself a new runner. Why? Because I still spend most of my run thinking about my run. There are very brief occasions when my mind wanders and I can ponder something more interesting but especially right now while I’m in race training I am very focused on the mechanics and feelings of running.

I read an article recently that talked about how our brains work better when we think less. In turn our bodies work more efficiently when we we can do certain physical maneuvers instinctively instead of consciously. This is true for things like martial arts and football. Yes you have to train mentally first to be able to get to the place where your body moves correctly without thinking, but once you get there you move even better.

I’m not there yet with my running  but I believe I will be someday. I know people that are able to solve all kinds of problems in their heads when they run. Friends speak about creative inspiration hitting while they run. Certainly it’s a stress reliever, even for me.

So here are ten things that go through my head, I swear, every single time I run. Every time. All these things. Some are kind of hilarious even to me. Some are really stupid and should be banished from my head.

1. “What’s that twinge in my leg? Stop that. You are not gonna get injured, stupid knee/hamstring/IT band/foot.”

2. “This is gonna make me feel so awesome when I’m done. So why doesn’t it feel awesome right now?”

3. “I wonder if I’m hydrated enough? Maybe that’s why I’m dragging.”

4. “Darn it I have to pee. Apparently peeing three times before I left wasn’t enough.”

5. “Breathe slower. Big breath in through the nose…man why are my nostrils so tiny and narrow?”

6. “I love this song! Let’s see if it’s the right rhythm for my pace. This song is just a tiny bit slower than I recall. Or maybe I’m faster now…yeah, that’s it!”

7. “Wonder if anyone I know drives by while I’m running. Probably not.”

8. “This is getting hard, my legs are getting heavy. Remember, I’m running for the glory of God and the rescue of orphans. Keep going.” (this is my mantra)

9. “I feel awesome like I could go forever. Don’t slow me down you stupid traffic lights or cars pulling out.”

10. “Am I done yet? Ouch. (Insert lame excuse here.) Think I’ll cut this a bit short today. Next run I’ll do more.”

Sometimes I do cut it short, sometimes I don’t. But I’m always thinking about the next run.

Can you relate to any of these? 

This post is linked up at Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday…check it out for lots more great lists.