New kicks! Asics Cumulus 14

It never ceases to amaze me the situations I get myself in with the running community, whether it's running through a richy rich neighborhood in -2 degree temps or wandering into a Chipotle covered in mud.

Today, I found myself doing strides outside a Polaris shopping strip in a dress and hoop earrings.

Fleet Feet had a Diva Night! 20 percent off if you dressed up with bling! I'm sure photos will be posted soon, I'll add them when they are (I also got to play fashion model, but that's a whole different story!)

Back on track -- there was a discount to be had, and I was in the market for some new shoes. I left with a pair of Asics Cumulus 14s. Right now I'm on my fourth pair of Mizuno Precisions -- a neutral shoe, LOVE THEM!! But after my injury, my chiropractor suggested that I run on my heels instead of my forefoot.

(Pause for the running community to collectively gasp, and the non running community to collectively roll their eyes and wonder what the big deal is.)

Shopping in Columbus: Earth Fare

I finally got around to checking out the new Earth Fare store in Columbus, at Gemini Place, and it was fantastic!

It was slightly cheaper than Whole Foods, but not by much. But, the stuff on sale was really on sale so I found some great deals!! I found the store really easy to navigate and the Gluten Free stuff was really easy to find. I was there a half hour before close and the staff was really helpful. One guy was able to answer all of my questions about protein bars and helped me find a good one. Then another worker was really apologetic that they didn't have any Gluten Free ravioli ("no, we really should," she said) and then she took me on a tour of the freezer section and pointed out all kinds of yummy things I could eat.

I just checked and they post their sales online so I can check from month to month to see what the deals are. 

I just polished off the Gluten Free Mac and Cheese I bought. Next time I'll get the GF stuffed shells :)

Here's the loot I scored (my washer has become the unofficial staging area for food finds): 

For $42 I got:

1 organic watermelon

Frozen GF Mac & Cheese Dinner

2 jars of pomegranate fruit spread with organic cane sugar as the sweetener ($2.50 each, on sale, cheaper than Smuckers!!) 

1 jar sunflower seed butter (we'll see how it is!)
GF, low-sodium soy sauce

GF peanut satay sauce (for the pad thai recipe I want to try soon)

4 boxes of GF pasta, 2 brown rice, 2 multigrain ($1.50 each, on sale)

5 Kind bars with protein ($1.50 each)

And bonus: The other day I meandered into Big Lots. Really good deals on dry goods! I scored the following for $9: 

4 bags Plantain chips

2 jars pineapple salsa

1 bag white rice

1 bag brown rice

Now that I'm well stocked, it's time to stay away from stores for a little while!

Thursday update

I've been a bad blogger this week. It goes hand in hand with hitting a small bump in the road with my training, but now I'm back on track! I even cleaned my kitchen. A few random ramblings:

I've decided to go back to the beginner's marathon schedule, at least for a few weeks, in an effort to not kill myself. Maybe I'll add speed work back in later, but right now my main focus needs to be mileage building and hill training.

Traffic has been down on the blog lately, but today I hit 1,000 hits for the month. As usual thanks for reading! Music Monday and weekly goal updates will resume next week.

Lurking around Columbus for work today, and when I come back it'll be time for treadmill hill repeats, cycling and the NROLFA. Long day! Is it the weekend yet?

Urban Dare Columbus race report, and other musings

Life has kept me a little busy lately, in good ways, so this is going to be uncharacteristically short (as in -- here's what I can write while inhaling a hummus sandwich on my lunch break).

First up -- the Urban Dare Saturday. This was a fun event -- though it was more scavenger hunt, less dare. I did it with my buddy Jason. We had no idea what to expect when we got there, we were handed blue shirts to wear and told to await further instructions. There were about 80 teams.


First instruction: Run to the statue 20 feet away. That was easy. We got our other instructions -- all clues of places to go around downtown Columbus. In Columbus, I know where the statehouse is. And Einstein's bagels across from the statehouse. And... that's it.

Thanks to a glorious invention called the smartphone (I'm not cool enough for one, but Jason was) we got online and deciphered the clues, and plugged them into the GPS. They were all statues, restaurants and landmarks.

We got turned around a couple times, and almost ran 3 miles out of our way. We ended up having to run a mile back because we missed a landmark. We also had to stop a couple total strangers on the street and ask them to recreate this photo:

Beyond this, though, the "dares" were pretty pathetic. At most landmarks we just had to take a picture to prove we were there. At one we had to do a 3-legged race. At another we had to jump rope. Far from the rock climbing walls and stuff the event advertised! It was still a good day though.

The event was billed as 5-7 miles. I decided to be crazy and I went to MIT that morning and did 6 with Kim, and my hamstrings were screaming from Crossfit two days before. Thanks in part to my superior navigating skills, we ended up covering 9.3 (with lots of stops in between!). Our official time was 3:32 (there were many stops). Total was 15.3 miles for the day, giving me a 27 mile week, my highest since Cleveland.

I'll update later with some more links and stuff. In the meantime, a few other random musings:

Summer lineup

After a week of doing virtually nothing I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. I took the dogs for a good walk with some hills Friday, made like a floundering fish and jumped in the Y pool Saturday and Sunday, and did spinning, some lifting and ran a whopping one mile at a 12 minute pace yesterday. I'm shooting for spinning and lifting today and tomorrow, and then I'm going to jump into the MIT training schedule Saturday with 6 miles.

The good folks at Fleet Feet Sports have another pair of Mizuno Precisions ready for me to pick up Saturday, at 20% off plus a free pair of socks! My ultimate goal is to run the Columbus Marathon Oct. 16 in under 4:20. I'd like to beat a 10:00 pace so that should do it. I'm going to stick with MIT and their training plan, and keep going with the 10:30s.

But until then I have a few other plans. At some point I need to update my Daily Mile upcoming races!

My other goal this summer is to PR in a 5K. My time to beat is 24:27, set Jan. 1 of this year, I'd love to bring it under 24, that's a 7:44 pace.

JUNE 5 Warrior Dash -- I'm really stoked for this one! I'm doing it with my MIT friend Beth, Spark friend Sara and college friend Evelyn, in the 5 p.m. wave Sunday. We need to figure out ... something... costumes, war paint... something! It's in Hocking Hills, a 5K race, but with cargo nets, a mud puddle, a wind tunnel and a scrapyard to climb through, it's safe to say this won't be a PR contender! So instead I'll just toss back a few and have some fun.

Myself, Abbey and Anna.

JULY 17 Greenswell Triathlon relay -- Meet the Manic Mojos, comprised of myself and all-star Newark Advocate reporters Abbey Roy and Anna Sudar. We're doing a short triathalon relay at Alum Creek, women only, for breast cancer research. Since the run is the third leg, I don't know if this would be the best shot for a PR, either, but it will be a good time.

AUG. 26-27 Hood to Coast -- I am a proud member of Coasties and Ghosties of Sparkpeople.com. I'm stoked, and nervous, given that I've never met my 11 teammates before! It will be two days in Oregon, 197 miles starting at the top of Mt. Hood and running to the ocean. It's coming up fast, time to start planning my trip!

SEPT. 17 Hocking Hills Indian Run -- This was my first 10K, and my first trail run, last year, and I am definitely going back. Not sure on the distance yet, probably a 20K or a 40K, I'll compare it to my training schedule later and do what fits.

So, I still need to find a good 5K. I have a free entry for an M3S event, and there's something called the Bull Run in Columbus Aug. 6 that looks fun!

As long as the legs hold up, it's going to be a good summer!

Photos from Cleveland and the MIT celebration!

We are now five days past the marathon and I am mostly recovered. I still feel a little shakiness in the knees. I still feel a little stiffness getting up and sitting down. And most of all I have just been tired.

But more importantly, I have pictures! These are both the Brightroom proofs of the official race pics, and also photos of the wonderful 10:30 gathering on Wednesday at Champps in Columbus.

First the official race photos. Hands down my favorite, I know it was taken during the last .2 miles because I took my earbuds out at the 26th mile marker.

And a nice, blurry procession of me finishing:

 

 

MIT Team 10:30 met at Champps on Wednesday to celebrate all of our races! What an amazing group of people and set of accomplishments! I felt naked with only one medal!

This is Coach Randy, me and Kim. Randy ran the Gettysburg North-South Marathon and Kim ran Cap City.

Sarah, who ran the Pittsburgh full and Katie, who ran the Flying Pig and Cap City halves.

Me, Sarah and Kim.

And speaking of medals, Michelle K. from our pace team pointed out a typo on the medal! The Rite Aid logo says 2010 marathon! It's ok, it still says 2011 in large, funky, psychedelic type!

And, for no reason whatsoever, this is the cat that has taken up residence outside my apartment window. I think it gets great pleasure from torturing my dogs.

Conquer the Creek trail run, Alum Creek, Mar. 19

I'm going to register for the Conquer the Creek trail run Mar. 19. It's 6.5 miles off-road at Alum Creek. Should be a good time. It also fits with my training schedule, I have 10 scheduled that day, so I'll just do a long warmup.

Should be a good time!!

Class picture

Before our long run Saturday the MIT (Fleet Feet Columbus Marathoner in Training program) folks corralled us in the Worthington High School gym for a class photo.

Those are all the brave souls that come out every Saturday, what a good looking group! I'm in there somewhere, in a maroon jacket and blue headband.

I am really looking forward to this Saturday's run in Worthington where they keep the paths maintained. I'm just itching to be able to run outside, no matter how cold. After this winter in Newark, I'll be happy if I never see a treadmill again. 

Holy runners!

My morning: 

• Get up at 6 and drive for an hour down a snowy 161.
• Wait in a long line of cars waiting to get into a high school parking lot at 7:40 a.m.
• Wait in a long line of people to check into the first post-holiday MIT workout
• Wait in a long line to use the ladies room
• Stand outside freezing waiting for my pace group to be called
• Run 5 miles
• Drink hot chocolate
• Go shopping

It was pretty awesome, all the standing and waiting notwithstanding. There are about 600 people in my marathoner in training program. 600! Our pace groups go from 8 minute miles to 13 minute miles to run/walk to walk. I love it, the energy there Saturday mornings is unreal. 

Plus they give us discounts at Fleet Feet Sports in Columbus.

I write a lot about the running gear I buy. Today I bought two new sports bras, of the straight jacket variety, at 50% off. I started to write a blog about the experience of buying them (and it was a new one), but my better judgement prevailed.

I got a ton of hydration products too. Including Margarita flavored shot bloks --- that made me happy. And 10-oz FuelBelt bottles. That made me really happy.

Running school is IN!

I can't decide if I want to do the Cleveland Marathon or the Flying Pig, but right now I'm excited for either because MIT started today!!!!

OK not really. Tonight was just the informational meeting for Fleet Feet Sports Marathoner in Training program. But it was enough to get me pumped.

Sans the holidays I'll meet up with more than 500 other brave souls early Saturday mornings to train for our respective races. Yes it is the middle of winter. Yes I still live in Ohio.

We break up into pace groups, there's a coach for every 20 or so people. We take off from a school in Westerville and run through the parks system. We get access to doctors, physical trainers, nutritionists, etc... They give us a plan to follow for our respective race, and there is just a wealth of information and, more importantly, camaraderie.

At the meeting there was such diversity in the room... young, old, fat, thin, athletic, not athletic. All wanting to run a full or half marathon.

So... what to train for...??????

Race Report: Salt Fork 10-mile Trail Challenge

Not as bad as they were when I finished, but
my muddy feet.

So I come home, tromp up to my 2nd floor apartment and show off my race swag, but Matt just glares at me.

"Umm, are you going to take those off?"

Oh, you mean my running shoes that are caked with mud, before I wander around the house anymore? Yea, probably not a bad call. 

I did the Salt Fork 10-Mile Trail Challenge this morning, about a half hour east of Zanesville. Final time was 1:57:42. On the surface that's nowhere near where I wanted to be. But, given the completely insane course and race dynamics I'm not disappointed. 


Edit: I'm feeling better about my time now. Top female was 1:33:46!

It's December and cold was a given, it was a nice day for a run. Chilly, but no rain or snow and not much wind. I wore my running tights from LL Bean and a pair of athletic pants on top of them. I wore my long sleeved tech shirt from the Nu Race Trail Run, and then my bright yellow polyester fleece from LL Bean. And, of course, my Asics Kayanos, which only have 20 miles left on them:(

I also loaded up my FuelBelt with Gu Chomps, Gatorade and fruit bites.

I forgot my watch. I decided to leave my lucky baseball hat in the car because there was a slight wind. And my cheap Target headphones finally went ka-put, so I ran in silence. Wasn't that bad, a lot of the other runners were chatty. 

Still, it was a great day, great crowd, great event. The course kicked my butt, thoroughly and completely. Even though it was a basic short sleeved tee, I love the shirt.

27 miles this week, and preparing for the long run!

As in, THE long run. The Cleveland Marathon is now 183 days away. Took a couple steps in preparing today. I'll get to those in a minute. But first...

This week marks a new record in weekly miles, 27! Old record was 25. I actually did two long runs this week -- did 11 Monday to make up for a miserable day Saturday, and 10 today. Of course, my short runs were very short, I did 2 miles of hill repeats on Tuesday, normally I do three, and Thursday was an easy four miles on the treadmill.

The old record was 25. Here's the graph:

Today's run was wonderful. I ran the bike trail but took a different route. I started at the Y and ran five miles out, all the way to the cow pasture. I was off today and I have a feeling this was one of the last times I'll be running in the sunlight for awhile. It went well, nothing hurt and I'm not really sore now. Just tired.

Then I went to Columbus. Fleet Feet put a note up on Facebook that there was a new model of my shoe out, the Asics Kayano, so they were closing the one I have out for wicked cheap. Of course when I got there they were already out of my size! But I'll poke around online and try to order a couple pairs, I'm sure it's out there.