2.28.2010

Good Day Sunshine

Saturday's run was a preview of what running in spring time must be like. The sun was shining. The wind wasn't so fierce. And I didn't need gloves. It was wonderful.

Several of my group members were missing. And those of us who showed up seemed a bit sore from the previous Saturday's 10 miles. We were a bit more sluggish than usual.

Still, we finished strong.

Next week is 11 miles. We're getting close to the half-marathon distance.

2.22.2010

Double digits

Why, oh why, must the Creek Turnpike trail be so hilly?

Five miles along there Saturday morning was hard work. Thankfully, five miles was only half the run.

The other five took us on a nice, flat jaunt through Jenks. It rained a bit, but the weather was undoubtedly the best it's been for a training run so far.

Within two hours, my group and I finished our 10 miles -- the longest run many of us, including myself, have done to date.

I ate a laffy taffy at the half-way point. It's not the sports-electrolyte snack of champions, but the pure sugar definitely helped boost my energy.

Last week was the poker run. I'm embarrassed to admit that I couldn't finish the five miles. I had done a seven-mile run the night before, and I don't think I had enough water to hydrate afterward. The consumption of a few adult beverages later in the evening probably didn't help either. I had to turn around before the two-mile mark. :(

You live; you learn, I guess.

My upcoming Saturday runs look like this, in terms of miles:
7, 11, 8, 12, 8, 13, 12, 6, HALF MARATHON

It's getting closer. I'm getting excited.

2.11.2010

Good week for running

I am surprised to say this, but ... nine miles wasn't so bad.

In fact, I wanted to keep going. And I'm bummed that this Saturday's run is only five miles. (It's the POKER run. You get a playing card at each mile marker. Then you get to make a hand at the end and play. You should come out. $5 donation. Meet at Veteran's Park.)

This running thing really is addicting.

I did four miles last night and the night before. I downloaded some more songs from iTunes, so my playlist is pretty good.

I'm feeling confident about my ability to finish a half marathon. And I can already tell that I'm going to keep training after April. I might give a full marathon a try. (I can't believe I just said that.)

2.06.2010

Nine miles??

I'm attempting nine miles this morning. Yikes.

Wish me luck!

2.03.2010

Oops

NERD ALERT: Last night, I decided to skip my training run to go to a social media "tweet-up" in Broken Arrow. I learned more about Twitter and its applications in five minutes from a book publisher there than I have in years of reading articles and working with professors. Amazing stuff, @PublishingGuru. Thanks for your tips.

Feeling guilty about missing my run last night, I made a promise to myself to run this morning. I did it. I ran 3.8 miles. It was cold, but I feel great.

So why the title "Oops" title? I'll tell you.

I have no idea how long it took me to run because I have no idea when I left my house. I know I got home at 5:30 a.m., the time I would have sworn I set my alarm to wake up. I guess I accidentally jumped the clock forward an hour?? That's the only thing I can figure. So I got up at 4:30 to run? I'm not sure. How did I not notice?

I don't know. But I'm making lemonade of this life lemon. I am back at home ready to start to my day early.

2.02.2010

Oh what a beautiful morning

I have good news to report.

I stepped on the scale this morning to see that I have lost three pounds since I began running. That's not much of a change, but it's enough to put me in the "healthy weight" category, based on my Body Mass Index. (If you're interested in figuring out your BMI, there are several calculators. Just Google "BMI calculator.")

This is the first time in my adult life to be in that category. I am thrilled. (I have also noticed some once-tight clothes fitting a little better.)

I made up for my lazy snowed-in weekend with a six-mile jog down Riverside last night. I ran by myself.

I had no idea what a difference running with a group makes! Six miles on my own felt like such work. I had to keep motivating myself, telling myself I was close and doing well.

I'm too proud to even consider giving up when I'm running with the group. I couldn't let them leave me behind.

So, thanks, my fellow Halfsquatches, for making this doable. See you Saturday (if not before then).

2.01.2010

Confessions of a lazy half-marathoner

I didn't run on Saturday. Or Sunday.

I have 82 days left until the half marathon.

I need to get back on track.

I'm headed to Riverside after work. I pinky promise.

Searching for the perfect running playlist

I am in the market for the perfect running playlist.

I have an iTunes giftcard left over from Christmas that I plan to use for this mission.

I get e-mail updates from SparkPeople — a cool online community for weightloss, which I definitely recommend to anyone serious about shedding pounds. Through that site, I found an article raving about using music to intensify workouts. The site suggested the following playlist:

"The Sign" by Ace of Base
"Caught Up" by Usher
"Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel
"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by The Temptations
"Lose My Breath" by Destiny's Child
"Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand
"Rock Your Body" by Justin Timberlake
"Respect" by Aretha Franklin
"When It's Over" by Sugar Ray

Anyone have any other suggestions?