Cross Country Trails

I talked about this run in the other post but a funny story....Has anyone seen the movie Juno? In the movie to show the passing of time they show a high school cross country team in their yellow singlets running past in different seasons. So let me set the scene of this run...I was running the cross country trails of my alma mater. These trails are through forest so you just see the trail in front of you and then woods all around. But the trails loop through the forest so while you only see your trail, there are others all around you. As I am running through this I keep seeing groups of 4-6 cross country team members in blue singlets running in the distant woods. I would be just running and then they would be there again for a second and then disappear. Hard to explain but it was hilarious!

The other conversation I was having in my head during this run went something like this:

Elizabeth passes a student,
"I wonder if they think I am a college student?"
"I still look like I am 20, right?"
"No, I probably look older to them."
"But I was a student just a couple years ago."
"Wait, no, I graduated almost 10 years ago."
"I am so old."
"Where have the years gone?"

End of run....

National Half Marathon

Gina ran the National Half Marathon like a super star...here are the results:

1:50:38, 8:27 pace, 26/172 in age group (15.1%)

GO GINA!!!

Travels...

Running is hard enough at home but when I am out of town it definitely takes extra effort. First I was at my dad's house outside of Asheville, NC for a week and then visiting friends in Chattanooga, TN for a week. I am not the kind of person that just goes with the flow.....I am neurotic about my running schedule. (This is a confession, I am not bragging!) I have found a nice 5-6 mile loop at near my dad's house that is relatively flat to run. So for the week I was there I managed one tempo, one easy, and one long run in that location. It is beautiful, dirt road, mountain view, fields, streams, cows....an enjoyable change of scenery.

Next Chattanooga: hills are an issue here as well. Ran once from a friends house while she watched one of the boys and the other one napped at another friend's house (oh yeah, husband is at home). Ran for about 3 miles on a highway I had driven on probably a thousand times and thought was mostly flat. WRONG!!! It was like a roller coaster. I decided my life is more important than a run on a highway with a speed limit of 55, no sidewalk, and consistant rolling hills. So I decided to run on some cross country trails. Ran there a little longer than expected (wrong turns, bad signage) but all in all I survived the run.

Needing to do a long run that weekend a friend's husband and I decided to do a 10.2 mile trail race. Background - I have never raced or even run trails......gulp. But I mean it is only 10.2 miles, I have done that many times, shouldn't be too hard, right? Maybe I will just slow my time a little....like a 9 or 9:30 minute mile. Famous last words! I finished in 2:00:46. Seriously. 11:51 minute miles. I didn't think the race would ever be over....There were crazy steep places you had to walk, the "Rock Garden" which I didn't think would ever end, and all the while no mile markers letting you know how far until it was over. But I finally finished. I won't underestimate trail running any more!

Now how am I going to rebuild my broken spirit??

Point Taken

So I learned my lesson this morning. Angie, remember all those times you told me about back to back hard workouts, and not having enough time to recover. Yeah, point taken this morning! Usually Gina, Allison and I swim on Mondays so our hard tempo run on Tuesday morning feels great. The pool is closed all week for spring break so yesterday I decided to go for an "easy" 5 miles and ended up at an 8:33 minute pace. I am such a dummy. About mile 2 of this morning's hard tempo run I thought I was going to die. The funny thing was my heart rate wasn't even that high, but my perceived effort was through the roof! Gina had mercy on me and went ahead the last 2 miles. Following her yellow reflective vest in the dim distance gave me the motivation I needed to finish.

So lesson of the day, when it is an easy day or a cross-training day, follow the rules! Even elite athletes follow the rules.....

Gotta go, my oldest son just walked in and told me my younger son is "trapped".....Great.......

First Race of the Season

St Patrick's Day 8K, Washington, DC
39:06 (7:49MM)
Felt strong and great! Can't wait for the next race!!

Baby Pictures

Better late than never, right? Here are the promised pictures of the newest member of our Seemommyrun Race Team, Angie's adorable Noah. I figure if you finish a marathon before you are born you have a right to be on a team! Angie, you are doing a great job and we want to support you in any way we can! Can't wait for you to start running again although I am terrified you are going to fly by us since you aren't running for two anymore.







Noah's first marathon - he is hiding under the blue "Virginia is for Runners" tee-shirt!