Friday, April 25, 2014

Long Time NO Blog

Wow what a long break from the blog.  I think life took over for awhile and some things just had to be put on hold.  In the meantime in the absence of blogging I became the middle school cross country coach at Concord Middle School working under the Michigan Coach of the Year and also National Regional Coach of the year David Jordon.

My son ran for Dave while running cross country at Concord.   He took the boys team to State 3 out of 4 years and they won 2 state titles.  It was an exciting ride!  So in 2012 I applied for the job and got it!  I have learned a lot working under David for the past two seasons.  Both my boys team ad girls team were Big 8 champs both seasons and they both won different invitationals along the way as well.  They are a squirrely group of young people to work with but it has been fun.

So I am running in a trail race this weekend in Pinckney MI only doing the 5 miler since I am recouping from a hip injury.  So it should be fun and exciting.

Until next time keep on running!!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Over Extending Myself?

Last weekend I ran the Dexter to Ann Arbor 1/2 marathon.  First time running this well organized event.  There was a nice race expo/packet pick up at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School right across the street from  the Big House! 

I went to the race with my friend Crissy.  We arrived in A2 about 7am and managed to get a parking spot on the 3 RD floor of the parking garage.  We gathered our gear up and heading for the buses that were waiting to transport runners from A2 to Dexter.  We arrived at Dexter High School and had a good hour wait before the gun would go off.  We ran into another runner from the Jackson area and passed time talking in the hallway.  Tons of porta potties and also flush able toilets inside the school!  I checked my long sleeved t shirt I wore that morning at the bag table to be transported back to the finish line.

The race started promptly at 8:30am, why the late start you ask?  Well we had to run over railroad tracks and I was told that the train comes through every Sunday morning by 7:30-8am so starting at 8:30am is safe!  That's good to know!

I have to tell you I felt amazing all the way through this race.  It had lots of rolling hills and a couple that made you really work hard to get up them.  Some people chose to walk up them but I plugged away working my arms to lift me up the hill.  I tried to stay in the shade as much as I could because the sun was HOT!  I normally try to straight line it, going from point to point in the race but for the first 2 miles it was pretty congested and after that I looked for shade!  So at the end of the run I had run 13.3 miles according to my Garmin and i was running 8:09 minute miles pretty consistently the whole way.  I was please with my race and my time I finished in 1:48:45 a new Masters PR for me!

After the race Crissy and I stayed and enjoyed the Taste of Ann Arbor that was going on.  We got some tasty food and had a nice time together.  This was Crissy's first 1/2 ever and she finished just under 2 hours in 1:59:58!!  The hill to the finish line was not so bad it was the last hill before that one about mile 11 I think that was a toughie!

So the following day at work about 12ish I experienced a "health scare".  My right arm went numb, turned a grayish white and the tips of my fingers were blue.  Fortunately many coworkers were around as well as the school nurse.  I could move my hand and fingers and slowly my coloring and feeling came back.  A coworker took me to the ER and they hooked me up to the heart monitor and to an IV they felt i was a little dehydrated.  I had an ultra sound done on my arm and neck, they checked for blood clots and took a look at my arteries.  They found nothing abnormal. I also experienced a warming sensation along with all of this that went down my arm, and up my neck and around my head and back down the left side of my neck.  I have a old shoulder injury I got back in high school my arm was ripped out of joint not all the way but enough to feel it and when I moved it, it went back in.  So now it gets sore and pops all the time.  So my doctor who i saw on Wednesday thinks it could be vascular so i go this Thursday for a MRA on neck to make sure blood is flowing to my brain.  He said something could have been pinched or cut off for the moment, but he wants to rule out the worst case scenario first and go from there.  I have ran since, I went out and ran on Tuesday and Wednesday, took Thursday off and rode my bike on Friday and went back out running today.  Today I ran a route with hills and I had to exert myself on those and i could feel it in my neck and shoulder and experienced the warming sensation again but nothing compared to what happened on Monday.  I think I over exerted myself in Sundays race and now it is time to step back and reflect upon the fact that I might have to hold back on the races and hardcore training and just enjoy my runs while i still can.  We will see time will tell, but one thing is for sure I am not getting any younger!!



Saturday, May 5, 2012

I Can See Clearer Now

I can finally see and feel all the effort I have been putting in week after week doing speed work.  It showed up today in my 5k race I was participating in.  I ran a 22:41!  My goal was to get under 23 minutes and I finally did it.  That averaged out to a 7:19 minute per mile.  My goal this year is to get down to a 7 minute mile when I run anything under a 10k on the road and I think I am well on my way of obtaining that goal this year!

When the race started I wanted to keep this one girl in my age group in my sites, we call her the gazelle.  I did for the first mile and a half after that I focused on those directly in front of me and the girl who was racing next to me.  The Gazelle took off pretty fast and I did not want to blow the race by running fast from the start.  I am all about negative splits!  My first mile was a 7:30 and my second mile was too!  So after that 2nd mile mark the girl who was next to me that kept speeding up and slowing down, I finally sped up and passed her.  From then on I worked that last hill and let the downhill take me into the last 1/2 mile of the race.  I really opened up after the 2 mile mark and when I was coming up to the corner where the finish line would be in sight I started to really pick it up and passed this guy and I don't think he liked that because he was on a dead sprint after that to the finish line.  He was about 6 foot tall and all legs but what he did not know was that I was a sprinter in high school and in college and I was not about to back down.  I was neck and neck with him going to the line and a little boy was in front of me and I had to veer a little to the left to get around him and when I did long legs beat me to the finish and even the boy crossed before me!  It was a great race and the girl who I finally passed came up to me after the race and congratulated me on a great race.  That's what is all about good, fun, competition!

I do want to tell a little about the race in general.  I did this race a few years ago and swore to never do it again because they did not start on time, the runners, walkers and boys and girls quest runners all started at the same time and it took f  o  r  e  v  e  r for the awards.  Unfortunately the area race directors decided to make this race part of the local running circuit so that is why I did it.  So today they had the walkers go first and 15 minutes later the runners went and then in another 15 minutes the boys and girls quest runners went.  The race started about 10-15 minutes late, there was chip timing this time so that was nice and the results were posted quickly.  Age group awards were presented in a timely fashion and I was awarded a pair of giant running socks that are guaranteed to shrink.  So this experience was better but I still feel the race director could do better, maybe he should not run in it and concentrate on making sure everything is running smoothly.  Two weeks until the next 5k in the area circuit we will see how I do in that one!  On to more speedwork.

Friday, May 4, 2012

To Blog or Not To Blog

I seem to be slipping in my blogging this year.  There has been lots of stuff going on lately, but that should not be a excuse.  So down to business and time to get all caught up. 

My last race I ran was an 8k in downtown Jackson in April.  I had traveled back from Nashville TN the day before the race and wanted to sleep in desperately in my bed that race morning.  I pulled myself out of bed put my Marathon Bar gear on and out the door I went.  I told Crissy I just wanted to get near 40 minutes in my finishing time sense i felt out of sorts.  So we line up the gun goes off and i off and running and when I cross the 1 mile marker I tell Crissy we are at our 5k pace and I feel great!  So the first mile was 7:30 and we slowed a little on the 2nd mile, that one came in at 7:50 but once I was over that 2 mile mark I started speeding up and finished the race very strong.  I was female masters winner and the 3rd woman to cross the finish line and 22nd over all.  I finished in a 37:30!  New Masters PR for me!  I won a ORS hat and long sleeve Brooks tech shirt!  I like to win stuff rather than medals I have umpteen medals already give me something I can reuse!

So for my first official Marathon Bar race of 2012 I think I represented very well!  This Saturday I will be representing again and doing a sampling of the bars at another race in downtown Jackson this one being a 5k.  I want to break 23 minutes I hope I can, the morning is suppose to be cool so we will see how it goes.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

MARATHON Time

So I accepted the ambassadorship through MARATHON Bars again for the 2012 running season.  They picked 150 runners this year to represent, down a 100 from last season.  One thing they changed was the requirement to run at least one RnR event, now it is just highly recommended.  I will run Chicago again, but this time I will be rooming with 3 other MARATHON Bar teammates and riding to Chicago with teammate Melanie!  It should be a good time!

So far this year I have run in three 1/2 marathons and three 5ks.  I think i am off to a good start.  The first 1/2 was in January the Snowman's 1/2 marathon in Mount Pleasant Michigan and I ran on very slippery roads and in white out conditions.  My jaw was numb at the end of the race and I could barely speak!  In February I ran the Icecube 1/2 in Mount Pleasant same course and we ran on totally icy roads in very cold and windy conditions.  The 3rd and final 1/2 again in Mount Pleasant was the Muddogs 1/2 in March.  The roads were perfect the weather was cool and threatening with rain.  There was no mud to be had but it did start to rain during the last 2 miles so i was good and soaked to the bone at the finish!  I became a Winter Warrior this season by finishing all three 1/2's.

All three 5k's were local with one run in February and two in March.  Actually nice weather for all three during this unseasonable warm winter we just experienced.  It was a nice break coming off one of the coldest on record the winter before.  Take it when you can get it I guess!

Onward Ho!  Into the 2012 season with a 8k coming up in April, couple 5k's in May and my next 1/2 in June the Dexter to A2!  Time to sit down and figure out the rest of schedule but I do know in October I will be running the Wildlife Marathon here in Concord a very challenging course not meant for the weak!  I challenge you to try this small town marathon with an amazing course.  www.wildlifemarathon.org  Come run on the wild side!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Meandering Thoughts About the Whole Marathon Bar Gig

So in May of 2011 I was informed that I was chosen to be part of the Team Marathon Bar team.  I was one of 249 others that were picked out of thousands of other people.  I was excited to know that I had made the cut.  I joked with people telling them that I think it was part where I stated in my ambassadorship form the fact that back in my college days my cross country team would eat Snicker bars after a hard workout or race to get that much needed energy and for me sugar back into our systems.  Protein Bars and Energy Bars were not heard of back in the late 80's.  We had Gatorade and Snickers Bars!!  Could that have been the remark that cinched the deal for me I will never know.  I think everyone was told it was because of their commitment to a healthy active lifestyle.

So now i look back on the whole deal from June until December.  The positives have been I have developed friendships online with fellow runners, I have met some really great people on the team, and i gave and received a lot of encouragement from fellow teammates.  The team inspired to train harder and bring my times down which i did.  I am still not seeing those 6-6:30 minute miles I ran back in the college days, but I am bringing it down consistently.

Some of the things I did not care about the gig was the fact that I had to pay quite a bit of money to participate in at least one Rock n Roll Marathon series race.  I love Chicago, I am glad I experienced running there but I spent quite a bit money of my own to represent a brand.  Really that was the only thing that truly bothered me about the whole deal.  I just feel that Marathon Bars should have paid for our entries into these races and got us better deals on hotel rooms.

I am not much of a "big race" runner.  I don't mind a couple thousand people but when it gets up there around 10-15,000 people well that is just too big for me.  I will take my local events and mid Michigan events any day to another RnR race.  I like to travel and then run in the area that I am staying at.  This summer I ran the "Rims" in Billings Montana that was more amazing than the race in Chicago.  I ran the trails in Munising Michigan and nothing compares to that beauty in the UP.

I liked the crazy mix of people that were chosen for the team.  There were others like me who have run since they were kids, or who had run at the collegiate level.  There were people who fought against obesity and being over-weight and not eating right.  There were all ages and ethnicity it was a great mix!  Everyone had a story to tell.  It was interesting to see some peoples stories go from being obsessed with eating and then taking that obsession and throwing themselves into running and then to have running become their new obsession. 

All I have left to ponder is that I do not know what I will do if I am chosen again for another ambassadorship.  I guess it depends on what is required of me.  I will make that decision if and when it comes this year.  Even with out an ambassadorship I will still be living my healthy active lifestyle like i have my whole life and I will still be inspiring others to join me in my love for running.  Running is very personal to me at one point in my life i thought it was the only thing I could do and do good, but fortunately for me I found other things in life I am good at as well and have identified myself with those things as well.  I will keep running until I no longer can that is my goal!  Stay On Keep On Marathon!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Shoppers High

Seems to be a lot of discussion all over the web and in the workplace about Black Friday shopping.  Black Friday is no longer, the retail giants have now taken over Thanksgiving with their opening stores back up by 9pm on Thanksgiving day.  Workers have protested, shoppers have sung out in glee and some people just down right don't care.  Some people have even tried comparing a minimum wage job to a professional level job.  What I mean by this is they think the people working retail need to suck it up.  Come on they say nurses, doctors, police officers etc have done it forever.  Well duh they have, but they knew what they were getting into when they decided to enter that field and by the way a RN working on Thanksgiving day is making a hell of a lot more money per hour than Sally standing at the cash register getting screamed at by the consumer who could not get the Holiday Barbie that was advertised on sale that morning.  Yeah that's my life's dream! 

Where is our society heading now?  Do we value a "good value" over our families?  Are the retail giants suckering you into thinking your going to get one of those tablet computers for $90 (by the way there are only 3 per store) to get you in early?  Why do we think we have to have everything any minute of the day no matter if it is a Sunday, holiday or any day for that matter?  Why does everyone feel like they are entitled to whatever they want?  Are we setting a good example for our future generations?  I believe we are heading or actually have been heading in the wrong direction in our society.  Family does not mean crap in this country anymore, only self fulfillment does.

My niece is tickled to death she gets to work at Kohl's at midnight when they open good for her!  I actually liked working Black Friday myself but we opened at 7am, oh yeah that was in the early 90's and now that retail establishment is opening back up at 9pm Thanksgiving night this year.  Glad I am not retail anymore.

So where is this rant leading me i don't know.  I guess I just want people to be aware of others value systems.  I value my job, but family comes first.  People are precious jobs are not.  But then again jobs are precious right now since there  are not too many to be had.  I guess I feel more for the guy making 7.50 an hour that has to be to work by 3:45 AM than I do the nurse who will be making 5 times that amount or more who is use to working those kinds of hours in the first place.  I don't care if this is the 21st century people and families need to be valued over some retail giant making a buck.