Running Banana

Hey gals, just wanted to let you know about a website I found called runningbanana.com. You can custom design technical t-shirts, and there's no minimum number of shirts you have to order. It looks like the shirts are a little pricey (around $35) but I was thinking that we'd better get on it if we want to make t-shirts for the race! They also have cute premade designs if we aren't feeling creative. Click the "Girl Power" icon under the "Shop" tab...I think "This Chick Can Fly!" is cute :)

Of course, if you want to go the cheap route, I'm all for making our own t-shirts too. Let me know what you think!

Wipe out!

Hey gals,

Well, Allan was here this weekend, and we had full intentions of running 8 miles. There's this 4 mile loop that I've done before a couple of times, and I was planning to run it twice. Well, about 3.5 miles into the run....I totally wiped out, when I was stepping up from the road to a curb (these granite curbs are no joke around here). So I have some battle wounds....the palms of both of my hands & my knee took a pretty bad hit. So uhhh yeah, that run ended early due to my injury & I've been doctoring up my hands & knee with hydrogen peroxide, neosporin & lots of bandages...what a pain!

So hopefully I'll be able to run a couple times between now & Saturday...when I'll be running 10 miles with Annette. I hope I'm not too slow, since I've probably only run 7 miles at most EVER. Hmmmm.

Valerie posted on my wall yesterday:

"Hey! Are you all still going to Memphis? I am planning to go down that weekend. I am not going to officially run the race, but I'll wear my running clothes in hope I can keep you company for a portion."

How were your long runs this weekend? Less than 6 weeks away.....whoa, baby!

Talk soon,

Jen

First 10-miler!

Hey girls! So, what's up? I haven't heard from y'all in awhile. I know you're busy. I hope training and life in general are going well! I hear that Toni and Tessa ran together last weekend, and I am jealous...but Jennifer and I get to run a 10 mile race together next weekend! Yay!

So, I did my first "10-miler" today. It was actually only 9.8 miles, so I'll have to wait until next week to officially break into the double digits. I was happy with how it went! It was a pretty hilly course and I still managed to keep a 10:50/mile pace. So I'm thinking that another 3.1 miles on a flat course won't be too bad! I finished off the pack of Shot Bloks that I started last week, and also ate a pack of lemon Sports Beans (just because the training group had them for us for free). I have a few different flavors of Shot Bloks at home to try over the next few weeks! The sales associate at the running store told me that black cherry, cran-razz, and strawberry are the most popular flavors, so I got one of each.

I will say that I'm sore/stiff in places I never expected. After about an hour of running, I really start to feel it in my abs. I really need to work on my core strength! Tessa, I know you posted exercises from Runner's World awhile ago, but I am a huge slacker when it comes to core workouts...ugh! Also, my hips are pretty sore, which I guess isn't too surprising. I started to feel it after about an hour too. Luckily I don't have any real pain, just some soreness and stiffness. And I'll have to remember to put Body Glide on my toes next time, because I seem to be developing a blister on my little toe.

Stay warm this weekend!

I was feeling sorry for myself while watching the weather forecast this morning because tonight's low is 40 degrees...so tomorrow will be my first run of the year in winter clothes. Then I remembered the Nor'easter hitting the northeast this weekend. Stay warm and dry, girls!

I stopped by the running store last night to pick up some gear. I got some black cherry Shot Bloks for tomorrow's long run. Then I realized that I needed a place to put them. Since my training group puts out water during our long runs, I don't have a fuel belt. The idea of attaching something to me that will jiggle up and down for 9 or 13 miles sounds really awful, so the guy at the running store recommended a Spibelt. (I think the belt pictured in the link is the one I got, but I only paid $20.) It's really low-profile, and the pockets are expandable. He said it's one of their most popular packs. So, we'll see how it goes tomorrow!

Tessa, have you submitted your comps yet? Congratulations or good luck as the case may be! :) You are a superstar and are that much closer to a Ph.D.!!

10K down....1/2 marathon to go!

How's life in ATL, DC, & the 'Burgh? It's gotten really chilly here in NH.....I don't think I'll be able to wear shorts anymore for running outside between now and the 1/2 marathon. One of my coworkers who lives up near Dartmouth (80-90 miles northwest of here) said it snowed 2" at his house this morning & then there was ice between here & there. It was just raining here though. I'm not ready for this weather again!!

So I ran my 10K this past weekend (Allan ran with me) & we almost broke an hour...we didn't stay for official results to be posted, but I clocked it on my watch & we finished in 1:01:19 according to my "unofficial" time. I can't seem to find any results online just yet. So I felt pretty good about the race, and I was just happy that I could run the whole thing (especially since there were a few hills too!).

I plan to run a couple evenings this week with my new running partner as long as the weather cooperates (otherwise, treadmill...blah!). We're trying to stick to a Tues/Thurs schedule pretty much every week. Then, I'll do my long run on Sat morning....hoping for 8 miles. I have a pretty good 4 mile loop downtown here in Manchester, so I'm planning to run it twice & see how that goes. There's a 5K on Sunday that I might do just for fun (I haven't registered yet), but that can't really count for much since I need to be running a little more than that. But it's something, right?

So Annette - I'll be in ATL from Thurs night Oct 29th through Sun Nov 1st, so definitely let me know more details about this 10 mile run while I'll be in town. I may be seriously interested in joining you, since I'll need to run either way. It would be fun to do a run together prior to the race too! We'll try to figure out all the details. Maybe we can catch up again sometime soon to talk about plans.

I'm going to ATL for Thanksgiving (funny that I'll be there while Annette is in WV!), so the next time I'll be home is probably Christmas. Will all of you be home for Christmas this year? I'm flying home from the evening of Dec 23 through Dec 27, so I won't be home long. But maybe we'll be able to squeeze in some time to hang out then too. My mom told me there's a new Mi Pueblo in downtown Fairmont on Fairmont Ave. I think we need to check it out in the near future.

I've been thinking....we won't be in Memphis very long, but is there anything that we should try to see/do while we're there? Have any of you been before? Graceland is the only thing I can think of that attracts tourists, other than just going out on Beale Street. I guess we can try to figure out good places to eat too...I'll try to look up some reviews online. I've only been to Memphis once my freshman year of college to see the Dixie Chicks, but I never saw much of downtown.

Toni - did you book your flight? Are we all getting into Memphis & leaving at about the same times?

Well, I've gotta run (no pun intended). Catch up soon! Only 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day.....really close! Ahhhhhh!

Nutrition for running

My running group had a seminar on nutrition after our long run this morning. It got me thinking about my eating habits, and particularly about nutrition while running. I've never tried the gel/gu/shot blocks/sport beans. But I'm thinking that next week's nine mile run is a good time to start trying something! There are so many sports nutrition products that I'm a little overwhelmed by figuring out what to try first! Have any of you used any of these products before? Toni, I'm sure you used some during your marathon training right? Tessa?

The nutritionist said that as athletes (though I'm not sure I really feel like an "athlete"), we should be getting 55-60% of our calories from carbohydrates, 20-25% from protein, and the remainder from fat. That seems like very little fat to me! If I'm eating 2000 calories, that's only 400 calories from fat, which is 44 g of fat. When I mentioned this to Rob, he said I was probably eating more like 3000+ calories a day. I was aghast! No way I eat that much! Of course, I've never really counted calories (or even measured food), so who knows. I figure that I'm at a healthy, stable weight, so what's the point?

Speaking of weight, Rob mentioned that I look "leaner" lately. I was so proud that he noticed! I have managed to lose six pounds in the last month or two. I'm not really sure how--I haven't been dieting (see above, hehe). I think that me becoming aware that my weight was getting a little high made me think twice about how much food I put on my plate. So my pants are fitting much better these days :)

Anyway, back to nutrition, do you carbo-load before long runs? We actually went out to a bar last night (I only had one beer, hehe!) I had a shrimp gyro, salad, and French fries for dinner. Probably not the best pre-long run meal, but I feel like I'll be really sick of pasta if I eat it every Friday night for the next eight weeks! What do you eat after a long run? I was ravenous by the time our seminar ended this morning (I had been done running for 1.5 hours by the time I got home!) For breakfast, I had two eggs, two pieces of wheat toast, three pieces of bacon, and a small cup of oatmeal. I know, right?? The waitress was looking at me like I was an alien. A really hungry one! Hehe! Any other nutrition tips?

I have a running partner!

Hey girls,

How's the running & everything else going in everyone's life? Tessa - I hope you're not letting running stress you out even more than school. I'm sure you'll get through this busy & crazy time. We had an intern start working in our department a couple of weeks ago, and it turns out that she runs (mostly on her own). Our schedules finally jived today so we went on our 1st run together....& we ran for 57 minutes (so I'm hoping that's ~6 miles). We were able to talk some between the huffing & puffing, but it was really nice to have the company. Allan and I have run together a couple of times on weekends when we meet (this past weekend we ran on the carriage roads of Acadia National Park in Maine), but I'm glad to have someone here who is willing to run a couple/few times during the week! She works on most weekends, so I'm not sure if we'll be able to do the really long runs together. I ran last night at the gym on the treadmill & I ran 4 miles at a 9:40 pace (with zero incline of course!). I don't know if I'll run tomorrow and/or Saturday, but I'm running a 10K on Sunday....then I plan to run only longer runs than that each weekend between now & our race.

I feel like it's been a very productive week with booking the flight to Memphis (getting in ~1pm on Fri & flying out at 1:30 on Sun)...now it's actually real, we're going! We're running this race!! As for the t-shirts, I'm not sure...maybe silhouette shadows of us or something along those lines....a group of 4 people. Or something that has to do with WV, or with all of the states we're traveling from?? I'll have to keep brainstorming a little bit.

I actually booked a flight tonight to spend Thanksgiving (week before race) in Atlanta. Annette, will you be there or not? I'll likely make the trip to ATL between now & then too....I'm thinking about the last weekend of Oct...Halloween. Will you be around then? Let me know.

Well girls, sorry I've once again been sort of delinquent to this blog....I read it & then think...I'll write later...& then someone else always seems to re-post or comment before I say anything! I'm bad. As for the tights, I'll probably be wearing some really soon. Running skirts....yeah right!

Let the countdown begin.....

20.9 miles last week!

I am excited because this is my highest mileage week since fall 2007 (I started running longer distances for no particular reason...I think I got up to 9 miles at a time and haven't done it since!) I figure that y'all are the only ones who might care :)

I skipped my training group on Saturday because they were doing a 10K race in Cartersville, which is 44 miles from home. Our coach told us to get there by 6:45 at the latest. I wasn't up for driving an hour at 5:45 am on Saturday, so I did 7 miles by myself at 9:30 (a much better wake-up time!) I ran the same route as last week and actually took about a minute off my time!


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I must say that I'm getting a little frustrated by the lack of daylight in the morning. I woke up at 6:55 this morning and had to wait 30 minutes for it to be light enough to run outside. I rushed to get ready for work and still didn't get here until 9:30 am! I think I'm going to have to rearrange my schedule next week, at least until Daylight Saving Time ends on Nov. 1 (woo hoo, an extra hour of partying on Halloween!)

Booked my flight!!!!

Hello! Ok, so I am going to get the ball rolling on getting flights booked--well, actually I already did, because I booked my flight this morning!!! I am getting into Memphis around 2 pm. Its a little early, but I would rather that than go with a later flight and risk getting delayed. I don't mind hanging out at the airport until Jen and Toni trickle in. :) I leave on Sunday at 2 pm, which puts me into Washington early evening.
Just wanted to give a heads up--it seemed like tickets were going quick because there was only "1 Seat" left at the lowest price... I wonder if they do that just to make people buy tickets, but that was actually not on there last night when I checked.
Anyway, let me know what you guys find!
hugs,
T.

Ups and downs along the way

Ladies,
Wow, we're trekking along, aren't we? I can't believe its October already! So here are some of my ups and downs from the past 7 days.
Last weekend, when Greg was here to visit, I talked him into doing the Clarendon Day 10 K with me (the picture was taken after the race in my apt.!). I wasn't sure how I would do and whether I was really ready to race yet, but it turned out ok! He was very sweet and stuck by my side the whole time even though I know he could have been running twice as fast if he really wanted! I do have to say, when I saw the 3 mile marker, I was like, "Why didn't I do the 5K instead???" Anyway, we finished in 1:03, which put us right at a 10:20 pace and I was happy with that. It wasn't the most scenic route and half of the race was on an interstate between the Pentagon and Reagan airport (all concrete, no pretty trees!), but oh well. I was definitely sore and exhausted after the race, but happy!
So, that was my high--now comes my low. After the race on Sunday, I only ran once on Wednesday (4 miles) and once yesterday (4.5 miles)!!! I will try to run again today, but I just can't bring myself to do 7 miles by myself. I am so stressed out about my comps--my deadline is in less than two weeks now, that I can't summon up the energy to go run that far!!! I am always so tired after runs and right now I need all the energy I have to push through this paper! I feel like I am doing two marathons at the moment and one is having to suffer while I finish the other.
Bleh. Any motivational words? Suggestions? Ideas? Next week I have a conference all week and it is very doubtful whether I can squeeze in my long run then, too. I hope after that things will get better after that though. Anyway, maybe this is like the 7 mile wall or something... who knows. How are your runs going???
Miss you girls lots and can't wait to see you!! Oh, I can book flights now, so that is definitely on my priority list. I think I will just fly directly to Memphis--I have a bunch of airports here in the area to choose from, so hopefully I can find a good deal. What time should I shoot for?
hugs,
Tessa