Annette's running story

Alright, let's get this blog moving with some stories. When you get a chance, share the story of when/how you started running. I'll go first.

I couldn't run at all in high school. Fitness tests were embarrassing. Mr. Fultz made fun of me because I couldn't run around the track four times. Ack!

Inspired by my college roommate, Emily, who was a cross-country runner, I tried running a few times in college. It didn't take.

Finally, right before Rob and I got married, I moved to a new apartment in Atlanta. The complex backed up to Freedom Park, home of a great network of urban running and biking trails. I saw so many people running by every morning and thought, "there must be something to this!" And "how much easier must it be to stay in shape when all I have to do is walk out my front door to start my workout!" Thus began Netto the runner :)

It was hard at first; there was a lot more walking than running. I ran my first race with Toni the week of our wedding. Toni was training for her marathon, so she was a hard-core runner by that time. Me, not so much. But I did meet my goal of not getting passed by any walkers. See? We were 73rd and 74th place, and Toni let me take the 3rd place age group trophy. (As an aside, my mom did not approve of my plan to run a race the week of our wedding. She pictured me biting the dust and coming home with a bloody face or something. Toni joked that she was going to call my mom after the race and tell her that I had sprained my ankle. Bad Toni!)

The awesome thing about being a beginner is that it's pretty easy to make significant improvements. Two months later, I ran in the Four Seasons Run for Research and took more than 2 minutes off my time. (The Run for Research has become one of my favorite yearly races. It raises money for cancer research, there are awesome raffle prizes--it is sponsored by the Four Seasons, after all--and in 2007 it was my first sub-30 min. 5K.)

In 2007, I decided to train for the Peachtree Road Race with my friend Cindee. She is a good runner and a firm taskmaster. There were many times when I said "Cindee, I'm going to walk the rest of the way up the hill" and she said "No." Um, okay. But I made it up the hill every time and was better for it. Without her encouragement, I would have never thought I could run a 10K! We ran the Peachtree Road Race together and finished in 1:04.

I've run two more Peachtrees since then. Michele came down and ran with me last year, which was lots of fun. Of course, I gave up on trying to keep up with her after two miles, but it was fun anyway :)


After seeing that I could run a 10K, I had thought about making the jump to a half marathon. (Never a full marathon...I'm not that crazy! :) But I had never committed to training for a half until Toni suggested it this year as a girls' get-together. I am so psyched that we were able to come up with a race that works for all of us! (Don't ask me how psyched I am at the end of a 10-mile training run, though...)

So, how did y'all become running superstars? :)

Hotel, flights, etc

One more thing that I meant to add earlier....have any of you given thought to hotel, flights, etc? I think we should probably go ahead & reserve a hotel room sometime in the near future. Also, Tessa & Toni...flying into Memphis or somewhere nearby? I know Annette's driving...but we should at least start thinking about travel plans & where we'll stay. Also, will any of you be home the weekend before at Thanksgiving? I haven't booked a flight yet....still considering my options since that would be 2 big trips, 2 weekends in a row.....

You gals are such world travelers!

Annette - glad to hear you had such a nice time on your trip to Colorado....impressive that you squeezed in a run too!

Tessa - how does it feel to be back in DC? Busy semester ahead? I'll talk to you more about my plans for DC next month sometime soon.....phone date!

Toni - I loved your Hawaii pictures....can't wait to go there someday too!

So girls, I'm having trouble with keeping myself motivated to run....plus, our weather hasn't been the greatest lately (lots of rain for summer!). I haven't done much searching on possible running groups around here. I've been trying to run 1-3 times a week....but even still, I haven't done much more than 3 miles at any given time. I'm registered for another 5K on August 13th. Manchester has marathon/half-marathon & if I thought I could do the 1/2 as practice or be ready by then, maybe I'd consider it. But jeez, I feel like I'll be pushing it to be ready for the one we're running!! So what will be the maximum total miles that you'll run on any given day before the race? Right at 13 miles, or much above? I need to check out some schedules & try to stick to something. I've been pretty good about doing other active things...like making it to some of my favorite classes at my gym: zumba, total body, pump it (mostly weights), cardio combo, etc. I haven't done yoga or pilates in years, but my gym offers both. Anyways, I need to get into a routine of running & still being able to do my normal classes at the gym....but maybe less classes, more running!

Well, I hope to catch up with all of you soon.....happy running!!

Running in Denver

I am exhausted after a weekend trip to Denver, but it was a great time! Lindy and Scott's wedding was beautiful and was followed by a fun party :) It was great to see lots of Davidson friends as well!

On Friday, we drove over to Boulder, where Colin is working for the summer. We decided to go hiking, which was problematic because some people didn't have good shoes. (I had my running shoes, which were fine.) We walked uphill for 30 min. or so before a group of us decided to head back down into Boulder. I felt like this trek had been a serious workout, especially at 6000 ft. A few of the guys hiked up to Royal Arch, which would have been fun if we were better prepared (it was also 90 degrees outside, but thankfully not humid!)

I did go running on Saturday morning. Our hotel was on the outskirts of the city, so I didn't get to run downtown. Luckily, there was a nice trail that ran along a creek that connected right by our hotel. That was a nice run. I had slept late, so it was warm outside, but again, not humid. It was glorious! I ran a little over 3 miles at the same pace I typically run in Atlanta, so I guess the altitude in Denver didn't affect me.

I was really surprised at how flat Denver is. As my plane descended, I looked out the window and thought, "Wait a second, this looks like Kansas!" Turns out that Denver is actually on a mile-high plateau, with mountains nearby to the west. We drove into Golden (home of Coors Brewing Company) on Thursday night, and one second we were in the plains and another second we were in the mountains!

It was a beautiful, fun weekend! What have y'all been up to?

Yoga in the park

I've done yoga a few times, but not recently, so I'm pretty much a beginner. After some suggestions from y'all that I give it another chance, I did yin yoga last night. This is the beginner class offered by the Atlanta Yoga Club in Piedmont Park. It's pretty cool to do yoga outside (except for the homeless man who tried to steal the attendance money!) The instructor was great, but I found the class to be pretty difficult. Some of the poses were really uncomfortable.

I think my trouble with yoga is twofold: (a) I am inflexible and (b) my core is weak. I was so confused last night, because we were in some complicated poses, and the instructor kept saying "notice if you have any tension in your shoulders, and let go of it." Same for abs, thighs, etc. I thought, if I let go of the tension in all my muscles, I'll fall on the ground! I was befuddled! And my shoulders do get very tight in some of the poses. (For example, downward dog. There are others that I can't remember.) I have a feeling that my abs and back muscles should be supporting me more, but they're not so thus the shoulder tension. Any input/advice?

The class was definitely good for stretching, which is good after a week of running and a little tiny bit of weight training. I think I'm going to try yoga again next week. Hopefully I'll get better at it after a few classes! For now, I'm off to Denver this afternoon for my good friend Lindy's wedding. Hope y'all are having a good week!

Time to Shape Up!

Hello Ladies!

Well, I'm back from Hawaii and feeling the need to get my butt into gear for this race. Unfortunately, I did not do any running along the beautiful beaches of Kauai--such a slacker!

However, I wanted to post and make a commitment to y'all and myself that I will run at least 3 times this week! Eekk! I can't promise how long I will run, but I will do my best in hopes that this will get me started and ready for August to start serious training!

Also, regarding the strength training...I think it is a good idea. I've enjoyed yoga and do think it's a good form of strength training--especially "the core" as well as pilates! I've been thinking about getting back into the pool, so I may look into the local YMCA.

Adios for now. I'll keep you posted about the 3 runs this week!

Happy Birthday Toni!

Hope you and Ian had a great time in Hawaii!