What's in your cupboard?

If you think about it, as runners we tend to have a little bit of a masochist in us.  We like to inflict pain on ourselves, we enjoy pushing our bodies to the breaking point and keep going just to feel more pain, we brag about how bad something hurts then we are crazy enough to do it again. All because without the pain we feel like we are not trying hard enough.

People often call me stupid, crazy, insane, mental, and even demented! In reality I love to hear those words, because I know that I am doing something that most people can't nor want to do.

With all the wear and tear that runner's put on their bodies, we try to counter react the damage. We turn to the cupboard with our "magic" pills.

I often wonder if these pills are really doing anything for me. I do think the Chia is working, my HDL aka "good cholesterol"  is up from a low 30 to 42. For my height and weight I should be near 60, so I still have a little to go.

Move Free is for my knees. I had LT knee surgery in 2005. Anything that can keep me off the operating table and months of rehab is worth trying.

Nature's Made Vitamin C to to keep my immunity up. I do work with kids after all and they have all types of cuties and I don't want none of that!

Nature's Made for Her just because Mother always told me to take a multi Vitamin. See Mom I still listen to you.

BAYER, for those ackes and pains I talked about ealier
So, what's in your cupboard?

”I run in the snow, rain, wind and heat. I run until I cannot run anymore then I run some more. I run thru the blur of tears, the aches and pains and then I keep going. I have more running clothes than some running stores, I know Fartklet does not mean like it sounds. I go to bed at 9pm; I get up early just to do it all over again. Why do I do this? Because I am a runner and that's who I am"

Winter Series Race #3 Santa Fe Trail @ Baptist Road

Today when I woke up at 7am I looked out the window I saw snow on the ground. CRAP I thought to myself this is going to suck!  I really thought about calling Kim and telling her that I was going to fold today's run.  I checked the PPRR web site and saw that the run was going to go off as planned, and then Beth's post about Sherry came up.  I really needed to see that because it kicked my butt into gear.

As I got closer to the trail the snow started to come down faster, thank goodness I decided to change out my wiper blades before I left the house.  I do like to run in the snow and in the cold, but 9 degrees and wind chill is a little colder then I prefer.

Not only was today's run the 3rd race of the Winter Series, it was the virtual run for Sherry Arnold. While I was running I kept Sherry on my mind.  I thought about all the people that were running in her honor and what it means to her family that so many people took part in today's virtual run. Every time that I thought about slowing down and giving into the cold, I thought of Sherry and it pushed me thru the lows.

Bleow Kim (on left) and I meet Jeff Gallop (on right).  Later I found out that he writes a blog called, Barefoot Inclined.  He is new to running and I enjoy reading his journey, it makes me remember when I started.

Overall today's run was really great! My time was a little slow but overall I feel pretty good about my times. According to my watch I put out 11 minute splits.  My next run will be a 10K I hope to run it in under 60 minutes, it may not happen since the 4th race is going to be hilly.  So my thoughts could be a little presumptuous.

”I run in the snow, rain, wind and heat. I run until I cannot run anymore then I run some more. I run thru the blur of tears, the aches and pains and then I keep going. I have more running clothes than some running stores, I know Fartklet does not mean like it sounds. I go to bed at 9pm; I get up early just to do it all over again. Why do I do this? Because I am a runner and that's who I am"

February Nielson's Challenge

My running partner, Kim talked me into yet another race.  The upside to this is it is FREE!  See your parent's were wrong, somethings are free.  It is Nielson's Challenge which is run the first Saturday of every month.

At 7:45am, this morning, the weather was 22* F but with the wind chill it was 2 degrees! We registered and instead of standing around freezing our nips off we went out for a little warm up. Once, the blood gets flowing you feel better. 

I have yet to understand why people stand around white knuckling their hands together against their chest and just stand there and say things like, "look at those people they are waisting their energy heading out for a run."  In reality, I really want to tell them how silly they look.

The Nielson's Challenge is geared more for beginner's and slower runners who put in the training time to get better.  I want to get faster, so to me this sounded like it would be beneficial to add to my training regiment.  This sounds easy right?  Well, here is the kicker, after you have established your base time, this is used to generate your handicap time.  What! What?  A Handicap time, what it that?  Is it like your bowling handicap?  To answer your questions here is the break down of how the Neilson's Challenge handicaps are computed, by Bob Royse:

To finish calculating the handicap, the program takes the average time for these five (or fewer) fastest times. If a runner has enough recorded times to reach the five limit, this average is her handicap.

If not, a "penalty" is calculated for too few times. So a runner must have ten recorded times in the past 24 months to not have any penalty calculated.

The closer you are to reaching ten races, the smaller the penalty. To figure your penalty, the program takes the average calculated above and subtracts 9 1/2 minutes. A percentage is determined by subtracting the number of races run from 10.

For example if a runner has run six races, her penalty is 4%. Suppose the average of her three fastest races is 14 1/2 minutes, by subtracting 9 1/2 minutes, you get 5 minutes. Four percent of 5 minutes is 12 seconds. These 12 seconds are subtracted from her average to get her handicap.

All calculations are done and times stored to the tenth of a second. Since beginning runners show the most improvement, straight time comparisons heavily favor them. But they have fewer races, so they will have a bigger percentage penalty to offset this somewhat. In addition, since their times are slower, this penalty is applied to a larger number, so they get a bigger penalty even for the same number of races.

So, you got that right?  Easy enough, right?  Pppssshhhhh!  I am no mathematician so it is gibberish to me!  I figure, if I study this hard enough I will eventually get it. 

Tomorrow I have the Super Half and 5K run before the Super Bowl.  See you all other there!

”I run in the snow, rain, wind and heat. I run until I cannot run anymore then I run some more. I run thru the blur of tears, the aches and pains and then I keep going. I have more running clothes than some running stores, I know Fartklet does not mean like it sounds. I go to bed at 9pm; I get up early just to do it all over again. Why do I do this? Because I am a runner and that's who I am"

How many is to many?

This morning I decided that I would clear out a few drawers and move all my big girl clothes in to tubs and down to the basement. After eyeballing what I want to keep, I started to try on what was left. I fit into things I hadn't fit into in years. At my peak weight I wore a women's 10 in pants and a Med or Large in tops. Now I am down to 4 or 2 in pants and a small or XS in tops. So needless to say it was like Christmas!

Finally, I came to my favorite drawer, my running gear. It is amazing how many running shirts can fit into a small place. I am kinda a snob when it comes to technical shirts. I will not register for a race if you get a cotton shirt, they are hot and itchy and take up to much space in my "running" drawer.  

So after looking and counting my shirts I have 34 running shirts...is 34 too many? I wear them once okay, sometime twice before they make it to the hamper, and I do laundry often so I would really never get to wear ALL those shirts. I just can't simply get rid of them. They are like trophies to me. Something I can wear and show people look what I did.

Now what?
What do I do with all these shirts?

What do you do with all your shirts?


"I run in the snow, rain, wind and heat. I run until I can not run anymore then I run some more. I run thru the blur of tears, the ackes and pains and then I keep going. I have more running clothes than some running stores, I know Fartklet does not mean like it sounds. I go to bed at 9pm, I get up early just to do it all over again. Why do I do this? Because I am a runner and that's who I am"

Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold- February 11, 2012

The disappearance and death of Sherry Arnold shocked, sadden and angered her small town in Sydney, Montana. It has also rocked the running world from all over. In one way or another we all feel connected to Sherry.  Some of you may have even cried, prayed and hoped for Sherry's safe return, I know I have.  

Two men were arrested, one from North Dakota and one from South Dakota.  One of the men confessed to killing Sherry.  However her body has not been found.  She was abducted at 6:40am. Which means she was only ten minutes from her home, she was only about a mile give or take a little in to her run. She usually ran near her home and with a small population of 6,000 in Sydney, Montana you would think it was safe.  Apparently not.

Even thou I do not know Sherry personally I feel incredibly connected to her, especially when I run. I used to run free and just be one with the road. Now I am leery of every stranger that I pass along the trail, every car I see drive by, every corner I turn I look for evil to jump out. I used to blast my music and get lost in the rhythm of my foot steps on the ground under my feet, the air enter my lungs with every breath that I take and look towards the sky and “just be free”.  Now when I look towards the sky I think of Sherry and how she was doing something that she loved and hope that she is looking down on all of us runners and watching over us.

Beth, Sherry’s cousin from Shut Up + Run has coordinated a virtual run with the blessing of Sherry's family.  It will be Saturday February 11^th 2012 at 9am MST. Mark your calendars

• Print out a running bib and pin it to your shirt (see below)
• Gather your friends, your running club members, your families
• If it’s wet where you are, “laminate” your bib with postage tape and punch holes in it
• If that time doesn’t work, go when you can
• GO. Run as far and as long as you want. Walk, hike, cycle, roller blade if you don’t want to or can’t run.
• Please share this on your blogs, Facebook and Twitters
• Keep it simple. Just run with Sherry on your minds and hearts.

Click HERE to print the bib.

For more information on this run you can read Beth’s blog HERE. Beth has also set up a DONATION button on her page. The funds will go to Sherry’s children, Holly and Jason.

"I run in the snow, rain, wind and heat. I run until I can not run anymore then I run some more. I run thru the blur of tears, the ackes and pains and then I keep going. I have more running clothes than some running stores, I know Fartklet does not mean like it sounds. I go to bed at 9pm, I get up early just to do it all over again. Why do I do this? Because I am a runner and that's who I am"

Winter Series Race #2 El Pomar Youth Sports Park

Even with the weather being in the low 20's it was a great day for a run.  The race started off fast but I was able to settle into my pace with ease.  I knew that all those people that started out way to fast would feel it by Mile 2.  This time Kim and I were able to stick together this run.  I looked down at my watch and noticed we settled into a faster than normal pace. I thought for sure we'd crap out early but I was surprised.

Kim and I noticed a puker before finishing the first mile. I guess a race is not complete unless you pass an early puker before Mile 1.  What's with the Winter Series and people having the need to vomit before even hitting the first mile?  I guess there are just norms in trail races.  Like crop dusting and vomiting :)

By mile 2 I could feel the trail start incline, and it reflected in my splits.  When I hit mile 2 it was all down hill from there.  Kim and I started to pick of those runners that passed us at the gate one by one.  We'd see a runner and fall in a single file line and push around the runner, as we picked them off one by one we started to gain speed.

When we hit Mile 3 we decided to empty our gas tanks and let it all go! We finished strong and was please with my splits and overall performance.  Here are my splits:

Official Time: 00:41:49
Overall: 384/490
Gender Place: 148/226
Age Place 24/34

Winter Series Race #1 Cheyenne Mountain State Park

I was really hoping that I would have run a better race. I checked the snow report the day before and it was noted that 15-20% of the trail was covered in ice/snow. I thought that I could handle that so there was no need for me to put screws in my shoes. Well, the snow report and I were very wrong. It felt like the course was at least 40% or more covered in snow. It was slippery and very slow going, which frustrates the heck out of me because I have been training and wanted to see what I can do.  With the follow the leader race, you get stuck in line and you can’t get out. So my times were very disappointing.

 

Kim and I before the race, this is our traditional before race picture.

The trail was at Cheyenne Mountain State Park. The trail had a 251ft elevation gain, with rolling hills. As many of you know I hate hills and trails! This trail was very narrow and with the ice it made it nearly impossible to pass anyone.

On the upside, we couldn't have asked for better weather! It was sunny with temps in the 50's. So this was ideal running conditions. Besides the ice/snow oh, yes and the mud too.

Overall this race was fun mostly because my Brother (Nick) and his fiance (Carmen) decided to run this with me while they are in town visiting. 

As you can see I knew I was going to have shitty times, so I decided to have fun with this race and "Tebow" it at one point. People around me were laughing :)

Official time: 00:40:11

Overall: 372 / 473
Gender Place: 140 / 220
Age Place: 25 / 34