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Onward Bound

Sometimes life is tough. Sometimes life is awesome. Sometimes it a little bit of both. Either way, you have to keep going. I'll be running, laughing, crying and sharing it all here.

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    Tuesday, April 25, 2006

    The Elusive 10

    Let me preface this with a fact: I am not a fast runner. I never have been. (ok, that was two facts.)

    They say that when you least want to run is the time you need it the most. And today I fit the bill. After a streak of beautiful weather, it is cold, wet and dreary in Kansas City today. Not the kind of weather that inspires me to be out running. And work today did not inspire either.

    But lately, a lot of you have been inspiring me. Benny with his ironman. KT with her 22 miles. (full account isn't on her blog yet, but she e-mailed me some details.) Jeanne the speed demon and A. Maria who WILL break a 5 hour marathon. So needless to say, I have a lot to live up to. (And those are just the tip of the iceburg when it comes to the RBF.)

    And there's another thing that inspired me. The Trolley Run. A mere 4 mile run that is challenging me to run fast. Ok, fast for me. After all, you can't run "the fastest 4 mile run..." and not set some time goals, right?

    So back to tonight. The run. It needed to happen. And so I returned to my old friend, the treadmill in the weight room at my apartment complex. Won't miss that place. I set the first mile: 5.7 mph., approx. a 10:30 mile. (The one good thing about a treadmill for me is I can see my splits. I need to get a watch, I know, especially if I'm going to turn into a speedster.) And then I did something crazy. I jacked it up to 6.0. That is a 10 minute mile. I don't run 10 minute miles. I just don't. But tonight, I did. And you know what? I did another one. Yup, that's two 10 minute miles and one 10:30.

    Disclaimer: I have to be honest, the second 10 minute mile is actually an 11 minute mile b/c while I kept the speed at 6.0, I took it down for about 45 seconds b/c my face was so hot I thought I was going to pass out. So, technically, I didn't run two in a row, but I did something I had never done before and I'm pretty darn proud of myself. And I'm really proud of myself for cranking it back up to 6.0 to finish the third mile.

    So, what does that mean for Sunday? Watch out "fastest 4 mile in the U.S."


    Monday, April 24, 2006

    House

    I interupt this running blog to announce Matt and I are moving to our first house this month. It's all final. And all I can think of is new running routes and where they will take me...

    Tuesday, April 18, 2006

    Wind

    No, I did not run like the wind, but I ran in the wind, and the wind felt great! It has been so beautiful here lately. Today my boss asked what exactly I was training for...hmmm....good question.

    Sunday, April 16, 2006

    Easter Bunny On the Run


    About three miles into our six mile run this morning, Laura and I were a little disturbed to see a perplexed-looking officer of the law wandering around the trail. He was obviously looking for something (or someone). And, yes, he actually was looking for someone who was described to us as, "involved in an incident." But the best line of the day goes to Laura who said to me before we got close enough to ask, "He must be looking for that bunny we saw a minute ago. Easter bunny the run."

    Thursday, April 13, 2006

    Like an oven

    It was "like and oven out there," as my husband perfectly described the weather today. The wind was deceptively ineffective and my body struggled to get through my short 2.5 mile run. I actually skipped Tuesday's run b/c my hamstring was really hurting after Sunday's 6 miler. But today I only felt a few twinges, so nothing I couldn't run through. The heat was a different story...

    I know it could be the beginning of a long hot summer. Kudos to Josh, Katie and AMaria for their success at the St. Louis Marathon and Half.

    Sunday, April 09, 2006

    Sunday Morning

    Laura and I met today to run 6 miles. I'm so wiped out. The last mile was killer because my hamstring was hurting again, but I pushed through and am now stretching. It felt really good to reach 6 miles again.

    My thoughts were with my blog friends running the St. Louis Marathon & Half Marathon. Can't wait for race reports...

    Monday, April 03, 2006

    Slow and Steady

    Was the motto tonight. The distance? 4 miles. The course? Varied with a very challenging .5 mile hill at the end. The goal? Finish strong. And I did.

    As I was climbing the said hill that seems to never end, I saw a runner in the distance ahead. At first, I thought she had a huge lead on me but her frequent stops and my steady pace brought me to a point right behind her. Her challenges became clear to me as I watched her scramble and stop, and scramble and stop. She was giving it her very best, but she was pouring all her speed and energy into it at once. During one of her stops, I passed her and we shared an understanding eye contact moment. I certainly am not pretending to be a better runner than anyone out there and I understand the meaning of a bad hill, or simply a bad running day. But if I were going to offer her any advice today, it would have beenmy motto: slow and steady. That is not to say that speed is not important, because it is something I'm working on. But I really believe (and someone is going to hold me to this on a bad day, I can see it now) that if there is a challenge, and you find yourself spinning all your wheels at once, you can probably conquer it by slowing down and sticking with it.