Leader of the pack!

Today’s Route: Highland
Distance: 3.6 Miles

It was cold again, but not too cold. Jojo went with us again, and did really good. She jogged for twenty minutes without stopping. She was slower than us, and had a different turnaround point, but she did really good. She’s been doing the “Couch to the 5K” program in her neighborhood, which is all hills. So when she gets to run on a flat surface, she does really well.

When we turned around today, I ended up in the front of the pack. I decided to go ahead and stay up front, because I was feeling pretty good. I managed to lead the pack all the way back home! It was a good run!

Quick Note

Today’s Route: Byers Avenue
Distance: 3.1 miles

It was freezing, but we were adequately bundled up. A good run. It was fun, and Jojo went with me and made my run a little more special. She couldn’t keep up, but just wanted to go try and improve her own running. So we passed her on our way back, and that’s when she knew to turn around and start heading back up the hill. She works so hard at it! She is good!

Sunday Running

Today’s Route: Landsdown
Distance: 3.0 miles

Ok, so we met at 6:00am on Sunday morning to go running, and the heavy dinner I’d had at 9:30 the night before still hadn’t settled. So it was kind of a sluggish run, but it was really cold, and I was bundled up really well, which made it different and interesting. I never wear a jacket when running, and I had on my long-sleeved under armor on, with a fleece jacket, gloves and a head wrap. About the last mile, I unzipped my jacket and took my gloves off. It was a good run!

The only downside was that daylight was approaching, and usually I can’t see the paths ahead of me (we usually run at 4:45am, and it’s still dark). But on Sunday, I could see all of the hills, and see Gina and Kevin far up ahead, and I had to remind myself to stay calm and keep pushing. I didn’t want to be gasping for air like a fish out of water, so I just kept the pace and push through and tried to keep my breathing level. It was a good way to start a Sunday, except it knocked me on my butt as usual, and I ended up sleeping late and not going to church. If I could just stay up and get ready, I’d be set. But there’s too much down time between when we finish running and when I have to be at church. I take my shower, eat something warm, and then with two hours to waste, I go comatose. I know, I know, it’s no excuse. Must find another way!

Crazy morning!

Today’s Route: Highland Elementary
Distance: 3.6 miles

We ran from Highland Elementary, up 54 to Thruston Dermont Road and back. The first leg up to Thruston Dermont is a long gradual hill. Good times!

This morning, I had a few snafus. Ok, so first off, I get there right at quarter til 5, and it’s raining a little. I thought I was running late, but no one was there, so I thought I’d come on the wrong day or that they were running somewhere else, or that they’d cancelled and forgot to tell me. Knowing how good they were about telling me stuff, I just decided to wait a few minutes while I decided what to do. I even considered running on my own. Then after a dozen or so cars passed by, one finally turned in. It was Pam. I just assumed Kevin wasn’t going to make it since it was so late and I was the only one there. Then once Pam got out, I got out of my car, and Kevin got out of the truck that I thought was sitting there empty. LOL. I’d look pretty silly running down the driveway at Highland by myself with Kevin sitting there waiting for Pam to arrive. They’d have thought I’d lost my mind. LOL. I can only imagine the embarrassment had I chosen to run out on my own. Thank god for patience and rational thinking!

So it was cold and raining. I had plenty to keep me warm, but I was going to get wet. It wasn’t raining hard, but when it hit, it was going right through my shirt. Thankfully Pam had a big rain jacket that I could use. So I put it on and we set off. I knew I was going to get hot, but thankfully, I didn’t get too hot, and the jacket kept the cold rain off of me. Unfortunately, by the end of the run, I bet that jacket weighed five pounds. It was heavy with cold rain water. It was good though. I think I do need to keep a little warmer. Last time it was that cold, I started stripping down, and while I was pretty warm, the skin on my stomach was cold and red when the run was over, so I think a jacket is a good thing.

After we finished running, we got in our cars and headed out. I went home and got ready for work. Then when I went out to my car , I looked, and my “running car key” was still in the driver’s side door! Apparently I just unlocked my car after the run and didn’t bother to take the key out of the door, and drove home with it in my door! Then I just left it in there while I was in the house getting ready. I laughed when I came out and saw it. I’m just glad no neighborhood kids took it upon themselves to take the car key, or unlock my car and rummage through my things.

So it was kind of a crazy morning. The run was a struggle for me, but I kept up and finished right behind Pam. We ran at a 10:03 pace. Pretty good for rain and cold. I’ve really got to start cutting back on the snacks and over-eating. It’s really affecting my running. I’m reminded that I eat too much every time we head out in the mornings, and my breathing is labored. Today was another perfect example. Gotta keep those thoughts on the front of my brain!!! Onward and upward!

The little engine that could....

Today's Route: Daviess County High School – 5-miler
Distance: 5 miles

The “Turkey Day 5 Miler” is coming up in a few weeks, and we decided to run the route for this race on Saturday. It starts at Daviess County High School and goes down Southeaster Parkway, Down Old Hartford road, up Foors Lane, then up through a neighbor hood (Doe Run, Fawn Dr, Antler Ave) and back to Foors, then through the neighborhood, Stone Creek Park. Then after that, back to Foors, back to Old Hartford, back up Southeastern Parkway to DCHS! Whew! It’s a long route, and it's full of hills.... makes me hurt just thinking about it.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2352380

We met up at about 6:30am, and it was cooooold! I wore pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt. I knew I would warm up, and thankfully, I did. The run was pretty rough. I was really tired to begin with, and I’d had Mexican for dinner the night before. Let me just say that Mexican food is not the best fuel for a run. It will weigh you down! Anyway, I had some stomach cramps about the first two miles into it. I slowed down a little bit and the pain subsided, and then I was able to pick up the pace and catch back up. It was another one of those runs where I had to keep encouraging myself to keep pushing forward. It’s like I make sure that giving up is not an option, so I’ve got to tell myself that I’ve just go to keep going. Unless I’m in severe pain, I’ve got to push myself to keep going. If I have to slow down to keep going, that’s ok, just keep going, don’t stop, don’t start walking, keep jogging, and keep pushing. I have to admit, my positive self-talk works, because before I know it, the run is over and I’ve got 5 miles under my belt! Sometimes it’s really rough, but at the end, I’ve done it and I’m proud. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can….. I can! I did! And I can do it again! Hooray for me! :-D

Hills and wind

Today’s Route: Landsdown
Distance: 3.0 miles

We added a little distance to this route today to get right at 3 miles. We had a pace of 10:05, which is good considering the hills and the fact that we were running into a head wind up most of the hills. It was a challenge, but I did good. I didn’t feel the urge to give up until almost the end, and I pushed through. Every now and then, when I’m running, I’ll get this feeling that I need to stop, that I can’t do it anymore and I have to trick myself into keeping up. The only times I’ve ever stopped to walk is if my stomach starts cramping really bad, or if I get a bad side stitch. If it’s just my head, and I’m just tired, then I have to push through. I tell myself that I’m not in any pain, and that I just have to keep going.

Today, with all the hills, I was heaving by quitting time, but I was proud because I’d pushed through. I have to admit that I kinda like hills. I mean I hate them, and they wear me out, but I like the feeling of pushing with my legs and feeling the burn in my rear-end. It makes me feel strong somehow. I go up hills at the same pace as running flat, not because I like being fast on hills, but mostly just to get it over with quicker. Which is better? I don’t know, but just getting to the top is an accomplishment. I didn’t notice this last time, but the last haul up Scotty Lane is awful. It’s all uphill, and it varies from “kinda uphill” to “wow that’s a steep hill!” It was really a challenge. Man. But it’s done! We’re gonna do the “Turkey Day 5-Miler” on Saturday morning. That should be fun!

Yellow Creek

Today’s Route: Yellow Creek Park
Distance: 3.1 miles

We’re running a little different schedule this week, and we started on Sunday morning. We ran at Yellow Creek Park, and this was a first for me. We started up by the entry gate and ran down the front road and made a right by the ball parks, which takes you to a path that runs along the back of the park and on the backside of the lake. Then we ran across the parking lot next to the lake and then down the big hill to the parking lot for the trails. I thought we were going to run on one of the trails, but we just ran a circle around the parking lot and back up the big hill, past the front side of the lake and up the front drive. This lap was about a mile and a half… oh god, and then we did it again. That hill that leads to the trails is a beast. The second time I went up it, I was breathing audibly, trying to catch my breath and keep going at the same time. I almost wanted to scream, just to push myself and make myself keep going. Once I recovered from the hill the second time, Kevin picked up the pace and started running faster, then Pam, and not to be left behind, I started running faster too. Yeah, it was tough. But considering all of the hills, we managed to keep a pace right under a ten minute mile. I was really proud of that.

It was a pretty cold morning. I wore pants and a t-shirt and that worked really well. After running, I went home and took a shower and crashed in the bed. I felt like I’d been hit by a bus. Sunday morning runs do that to me and hills do that to me. Combine the two and you’ve got the perfect storm of pain. Make it burn! I love it!

The hills are alive...

Today’s route: Landsdown subdivision
Distance: 2.8 miles

Gina is someone that’s just started running with us. Well, actually, she used to run with Pam and Kevin, but she recently had a baby, and had been out of commission for a while., so she’s new to me, but not the group. Anyway, Gina lives in Landsdown and so we started off today in front of her house. As Pam put it, “they shouldn’t call it Lands-“down” because it’s all uphill!” And she wasn’t kidding. It was nothing but hills hills hills! As soon as I’d recover from one hill, we were facing another. It was rough a few times, but feeling the burn in my butt and legs made me feel good. It was hard work and I was doing it… it made me proud. So even though it was only 2.8 miles, it was still a great workout. Hills can only be good for you! That means next time I run, I’ll be a little faster, thanks to those awful hills.