Google search: Frostbite

It took a quick search on google images to convince me I did not get a touch of frostbite on my 4 mile run in single digit temperatures yesterday morning. I will spare you the gore of the photos that assured me frostbite is more than just very red skin, but oh. my. god.

The phrases "charcoal black" and "shriveled fingers" should really never be in the same sentence.

Um, but "stinging ice" and "buttocks" should probably not be in the same sentence either.

Training is back on and feeling great. Now, if only spring would come.

Oh and I wanted to mention that someone posted a comment to me about how this Lehigh Valley 1/2 is going to be huge... and it is... and I am getting so freaking excited. I mean, I can already feel the energy. I just hope that energy can carry me for 13.1 miles on race day.

I have mom hair

I need a hair cut. Something that says "I swear, I used to be cool when I was 17" but something that doesn't say "I'm 31 trying to be a cool teenager."

I think there is a fine line.

It needs to not be safe... I think it needs to be.... PINK!

Oh yeah, totally ran 4 miles before dawn.

Meet my new roommate.

Yeah, this guy has moved into my sinuses. So, I have been crazy tired, sick, coughing, sneezing, barely breathing out of the right nostril of my nose. You know, fun stuff.

Got 5 miles in the morning. Kind of slow... It felt labored and my HR was getting as high as it usually does, it was staying atound 158 BPM, but it felt so ... hard... like my legs were made of lead.

Off to bed... again :(

Look at me running in the snow!

Okay, so this is not really me. But every time I think of running in the snow I think of the peaceful, quiet whispers of snowflakes hitting my nose as I swiftly glide through the white powder; effortless strides that tell everyone "I am a runner!"

So when I saw it snowing from my office window, I knew I had to run in it.

I did. I even managed to get some "tempo" action in there.... But, alas, I am sure I did not look like the graceful runner posted above. Still, I like to think I tried.

Just Do It.

You know, when I look at training plans for the 1/2 I think "How am I going to run all those miles?" and my mantra all along has been "Just do it." Today I did 5 miles.

But those three little words are more than a corporate logo/tag line. They represent everything in real life.

If you want to quit smoking, for example, regardless of all the bells and whistles, tools and programs, when push comes to shove, you have to just do it.

But running is a little different. Remember in school, if you had a test, you knew you had to study for it. Unless, you were a natural smartie, you needed to work for it. You may have sat down with a book a few nights before the test... maybe you studied, maybe you got distracted, but you swore the next night you would study more, harder, longer.

It backfired, because that next night, you became overwhelmed with everything. You should have been studying all along and now, the test is only three days away and you still have 10 more chapters to read.

When it came time for the test, you were unprepared. You didn't do well.

Running is like that. You need to prepare all along. A friend of mine who has run several marathons once said to me "Just get in the miles" and it is so true. You just need to do it.

When people talk about not being able to get up in the morning to run, not finding time in the day to work out, or eat well, I think to myself "Just do it."

There are no secrets, there are no mysteries. If you want something bad enough and you know what you need to do to get there, shut up and just do it.

Guess what this is...

If you guessed "Great food before a 3.5 mile run" you would be wrong.


Unfortunately, I thought it would be a great lunch filled with protein and carbs to prep me for an evening run. Unfortunate for me because I had severe indigestion and was burping the entire run following aforementioned lunch.

Did I mention ever time I burped it tasted like salmon sushi?

But I got it in... and it felt good when I was done. Tomorrow morning, a fiver. Something tells me sushi will not be n the breakfast menu.

Running along...

First time on the treadmill tonight for me.. 2 mile slated, but i am feeling like 3... It is so wet and rainy and puddly outside. I really need to get some rainy weather running gear.

Anyway, it should be interesting considering I don't usually run on a treadmill. But, if you rewinded about 6 months ago, I would have never attempted to actually run outside, so it should be fun to see if it feels easier or harder than normal.

Blah. Don't feel like writing much today!

Back on track and sort of freaking out

I did something to my knee. Something I am sure was related to the fact I didn't warm up for the race, nor did I stretch after said race. My knee was cracking and hurting, so I thought I would take some time off, cross train and jump back in the game when I was ready.

And I did. And it was great.

I was sort of afraid to run my 4 miles because I was feeling so good, I didn't want to re- injure myself. But I felt strong, didn't need walking breaks and ran 4.2 miles in about 40 minutes.

But here is the freaking out part. I have exactly 11 weeks until this 13 mile race. And I am beginning to worry about things like fueling during a run, proper hydration. What if I have to pee during the race? What do I eat before the race? What if I start out to fast?

Will I figure it out in the next 11 weeks?

A 5K Personal Record!

I did it!

The race was small... about 100 people or so... in the city I used to call home, West Chester PA. Boy, the town sure did change. It is incredible. Trendy stores, cute coffee shops, lovely bars. It was always there, but now there is just more.

So we got there early, got our race packets, decided what to leave in the car, and got ready to run.

It was a relatively flat course, with two loops to make the 3.1. No chips, no timers... So I began my watch exactly when we started and went off.

The pack quickly left me, which I expected, and so did my running partner (God bless her, at one point I was looking for her shirt in the crowd and couldn't even see her bright red hair in the distance...) I checked my HR once or twice, looked good, felt good, so I pushed on.

I ran by the old gym I used to work out at with my friends. I ran by my old apartment, the first real "place" I had on my own. I ran by the park I used to wander to on spring afternoons. I felt good. And then...

The first "split" I saw said 13:11. I was confused. A 13 minutes mile? I felt defeated... why was I going so slow? I didn't even feel like finishing the race... but I kept moving on.

Then something happened. I began to be happy. I started smiling at all the race marshals, asking hem how far I had to go and making little friends along the way.

I saw the split marker again, but this time there was a crowd standing around. I thought, "Man, all those fast runners are rubbing it in by standing there at the 2 mile split."

I saw my running partner cheering me on " Sprint! You're almost there!" Almost there? I said ' Wait, is that the finish line?" It was!

I ran my butt off and made it... a PR for me at 29:28! A sub 30:00!

We all went back to the bar where we picked up our registration packets. It was nice, intimate and fun. They gave the winners their prizes (Overall winner rant the course in 15 minutes!!) and then we went on our way.

A great day, great race and a really fun time.