This weekend Jim and I went to Round Springs to volunteer for the Ozark Trail Association. We helped build trail. We were building a trail that will connect Echo Bluff State Park to the Ozark Trail. Eventually this connector trail will be 3.5 miles long. I really have an appreciation for trail building now. There were 4 crews of about 14 people each. We worked all day and completed about .3 miles of trail. It was all done with hand tools. Now I know how to build a trail. I might just build a trail on my hillside. I thought my arms and shoulders would be sore today but they feel fine.
We camped the weekend. This morning we walked up to round spring the broke camp and headed home. I took a short run on the Al Foster and Rock Hollow after I unpacked.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Thursday, October 11, 2018
5 Chapters on Running
Today I have so much to talk about I am going to break the blog into 5 chapters.
Chapter 1. Book Review
I just finished reading the book "My Year of Running Dangerously: A Dad, a Daughter and a Ridiculous Plan" by Tom Foreman. Tom Foreman had been a runner in his younger years but then family and work took over. Now in his 50s his daughter asks him to run a marathon with her. He goes from couch to ultra marathon in a year. His writing style is amusing. The book will keep you interested and chuckling throughout. I recommend this book.
Chapter 2. New Watchband
For some reason watch companies cannot make watchbands that last as long as the watch does. I have a perfectly good Garmin 630 that was a hand me down from my Slug Sister. I love my Garmin 630. A while back the band was showing some wear. Then the little loop that holds the end down broke. I glued it which worked for a week or so. Then I replaced it with some rubber gaskets. Last week the band was almost broke across where the little metal thing goes through the hole (I obviously don't know the proper name for watchband parts). I was worried that it would split completely and I would loose the watch so Jim fixed it with Duct tape. I ordered a new watchband and it came yesterday. So now I have a brand new watchband. I had to decide if I wanted black again or if I wanted to order one of the many colors available. I went with black.
Chapter 3. Cowbell
I ran the Cowbell Half Marathon on Sunday. I came in second in my age group. You were supposed to pick up your awards at the Big River tent but they had a computer issue so they couldn't hand out the awards. I remembered the Thanksgiving run where we waited forever and they still didn't have the computer issue figured out. Today I went to the Big River Store to pick up my award. It was a cowbell. Everyone who runs the race gets a little cowbell at the expo. This one was a little bigger. How many cowbells do they think I need? I don't even have a cow.
Chapter 4. Race Shirts
I remember reading an article about whether it was okay to wear a shirt from a race you did not run. The answer was absolutely YES. Many races give shirts to the volunteers who definitely earn them by being there for the runners. Often they sell extra shirts at the Expo which people can buy for friends and family. Sometimes a race shirt doesn't fit and it is handed down to someone else. It is fine to wear a shirt from a race that you did not run in. I used to wear a shirt that said "Parkway South Swim and Dive Team". I never attended Parkway South and definitely did not belong to a swim team. I was a proud parent supporting the team. The only thing that is not okay is to tell people you ran a race that you did not run. Today I wore the Huntsville shirt that Kathy brought me from her last marathon.
Chapter 5. Running Trails
Next great thing is the Skippo 10K race the first weekend of November. I told Jim I needed to get some trails and hills on my legs. We had errands and chores to get done today. Since it was gloriously cool today we saved the run for late afternoon. We parked at Sherman Beach and ran to the dirt trail on the West side of the Rock Hollow. We ran up that then down the Rock Hollow. It was not a pretty run. My legs felt good but I had a stomach ache the entire run. Jim did well the first 4 miles or so then his knee started hurting. We were doing walk/run to help his knee but it turned into a walk/hobble for him. After 5.75 miles we just walked it in. Although it wasn't pretty we got some hills/trails miles on our legs.
Chapter 1. Book Review
I just finished reading the book "My Year of Running Dangerously: A Dad, a Daughter and a Ridiculous Plan" by Tom Foreman. Tom Foreman had been a runner in his younger years but then family and work took over. Now in his 50s his daughter asks him to run a marathon with her. He goes from couch to ultra marathon in a year. His writing style is amusing. The book will keep you interested and chuckling throughout. I recommend this book.
Chapter 2. New Watchband
For some reason watch companies cannot make watchbands that last as long as the watch does. I have a perfectly good Garmin 630 that was a hand me down from my Slug Sister. I love my Garmin 630. A while back the band was showing some wear. Then the little loop that holds the end down broke. I glued it which worked for a week or so. Then I replaced it with some rubber gaskets. Last week the band was almost broke across where the little metal thing goes through the hole (I obviously don't know the proper name for watchband parts). I was worried that it would split completely and I would loose the watch so Jim fixed it with Duct tape. I ordered a new watchband and it came yesterday. So now I have a brand new watchband. I had to decide if I wanted black again or if I wanted to order one of the many colors available. I went with black.
Chapter 3. Cowbell
I ran the Cowbell Half Marathon on Sunday. I came in second in my age group. You were supposed to pick up your awards at the Big River tent but they had a computer issue so they couldn't hand out the awards. I remembered the Thanksgiving run where we waited forever and they still didn't have the computer issue figured out. Today I went to the Big River Store to pick up my award. It was a cowbell. Everyone who runs the race gets a little cowbell at the expo. This one was a little bigger. How many cowbells do they think I need? I don't even have a cow.
Chapter 4. Race Shirts
I remember reading an article about whether it was okay to wear a shirt from a race you did not run. The answer was absolutely YES. Many races give shirts to the volunteers who definitely earn them by being there for the runners. Often they sell extra shirts at the Expo which people can buy for friends and family. Sometimes a race shirt doesn't fit and it is handed down to someone else. It is fine to wear a shirt from a race that you did not run in. I used to wear a shirt that said "Parkway South Swim and Dive Team". I never attended Parkway South and definitely did not belong to a swim team. I was a proud parent supporting the team. The only thing that is not okay is to tell people you ran a race that you did not run. Today I wore the Huntsville shirt that Kathy brought me from her last marathon.
Chapter 5. Running Trails
Next great thing is the Skippo 10K race the first weekend of November. I told Jim I needed to get some trails and hills on my legs. We had errands and chores to get done today. Since it was gloriously cool today we saved the run for late afternoon. We parked at Sherman Beach and ran to the dirt trail on the West side of the Rock Hollow. We ran up that then down the Rock Hollow. It was not a pretty run. My legs felt good but I had a stomach ache the entire run. Jim did well the first 4 miles or so then his knee started hurting. We were doing walk/run to help his knee but it turned into a walk/hobble for him. After 5.75 miles we just walked it in. Although it wasn't pretty we got some hills/trails miles on our legs.
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Cross Training
Today Jim and I took a 15 mile bike ride. I was going to do an easy recovery run but he talked me into a bike ride. It was quite pleasant. Even though the temperature was warm the humidity was down so the sweat evaporated which cooled me down.
Monday, October 8, 2018
The Day After
Today my legs felt pretty good. A half marathon is not too hard to recover from. My hamstrings were a little tight. I did some stretching and foam rolling. Jim and I took a walk on the trail. My legs felt good throughout the race. It was the humidity that got to me. The humidity was 95%. The body cools itself by sweating. When the sweat evaporates it cools the body. When the humidity is 95% there is no evaporation happening; therefore, there is no cooling. I felt worse after that half marathon than any I have done. I just kept sweating but it did not cool me.
Jim is still my hero. He was there for me during the race.
Jim is still my hero. He was there for me during the race.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
MO Cowbell Half Marathon
Today was the Mo Cowbell Half Marathon. I got up early and had my usually race morning breakfast - a bagel with peanut butter. Jim was my hero today. He got up early and drove me to the race. He dropped me near the start and then went to find parking. He saved me the stress of trying to find parking. I did my usual stop at the port-a-potties then some leg swings and found the starting corral. I lined up with the 9:00 pace.
While in the starting corral there were many things that went through my head. "This would be much more fun with my slug sister", "Why I am doing this", "I forgot to cut my toenails", "Maybe I should have bought new shoes, these have close to 300 miles on them".
While we were waiting to start they announced that it was warmer than usual today. They said that optimum weather for running is 55 degrees. It was already in the 70s at race start and would be in high seventies by race end. Humidity was 95%. They said that for every 10 degrees above 55 you should add 3% to your finish time. I quickly added in my head that my finish time instead of 2 hours should be 2 hours plus 3 - 6 minutes.
I started out okay and kept around the 9 minute pace until half way. If I had been running a 10K it would have been great. I was dripping wet. It felt like I had jumped in the river and my shorts were just dripping. Then the sweat rolled down my legs and into my shoes. My socks and shoes were soaked. It was not that hot. I trained in the heat. The humidity and effort of trying to keep a quick pace was tough. The second half I had to slow down. My legs felt fine but my head was spinning. The hill at mile 10 was longer and steeper than I remembered. I finished in 2:02:28 which was 2nd out of 40 in my age group. The first place finisher was a young 60 year old. I didn't hit 2:00 but based on the temperature and humidity I was happy.
The computers were messed up so they weren't giving out awards. They said it could be anywhere from 10 minutes to 5 hours wait to get the computers fixed. We left. I can pick my award up at Big River this week. I think the awards were a cowbell.
Jim rode his bike around and saw me at multiple times along the course. He is amazing. It helped to have him there to cheer me. I did give him my beer.
I saw on FaceBook that due to the heat the medical staff stopped the full and made the full marathoners turn around at mile 17. Many people were able to finish the marathon if they had passed the 17 mile mark at a certain time. I feel bad for people who were trying to qualify for Boston or run a marathon in each state. They are just trying to keep people safe. I know that at mile 17 of a marathon I would probably just run until I fell over. The logical thought processes are not working so well at the end of a marathon.
Just 4 weeks until Skippo and 8 weeks until Wildwood Trail Marathon. I need to get out and run some trails.
While in the starting corral there were many things that went through my head. "This would be much more fun with my slug sister", "Why I am doing this", "I forgot to cut my toenails", "Maybe I should have bought new shoes, these have close to 300 miles on them".
While we were waiting to start they announced that it was warmer than usual today. They said that optimum weather for running is 55 degrees. It was already in the 70s at race start and would be in high seventies by race end. Humidity was 95%. They said that for every 10 degrees above 55 you should add 3% to your finish time. I quickly added in my head that my finish time instead of 2 hours should be 2 hours plus 3 - 6 minutes.
I started out okay and kept around the 9 minute pace until half way. If I had been running a 10K it would have been great. I was dripping wet. It felt like I had jumped in the river and my shorts were just dripping. Then the sweat rolled down my legs and into my shoes. My socks and shoes were soaked. It was not that hot. I trained in the heat. The humidity and effort of trying to keep a quick pace was tough. The second half I had to slow down. My legs felt fine but my head was spinning. The hill at mile 10 was longer and steeper than I remembered. I finished in 2:02:28 which was 2nd out of 40 in my age group. The first place finisher was a young 60 year old. I didn't hit 2:00 but based on the temperature and humidity I was happy.
The computers were messed up so they weren't giving out awards. They said it could be anywhere from 10 minutes to 5 hours wait to get the computers fixed. We left. I can pick my award up at Big River this week. I think the awards were a cowbell.
Jim rode his bike around and saw me at multiple times along the course. He is amazing. It helped to have him there to cheer me. I did give him my beer.
I saw on FaceBook that due to the heat the medical staff stopped the full and made the full marathoners turn around at mile 17. Many people were able to finish the marathon if they had passed the 17 mile mark at a certain time. I feel bad for people who were trying to qualify for Boston or run a marathon in each state. They are just trying to keep people safe. I know that at mile 17 of a marathon I would probably just run until I fell over. The logical thought processes are not working so well at the end of a marathon.
Just 4 weeks until Skippo and 8 weeks until Wildwood Trail Marathon. I need to get out and run some trails.
Saturday, October 6, 2018
Half Marathon Eve
Tomorrow is the race.
Yesterday Jim asked me if I wanted to go with him to our friend's vineyard and pick grapes today. I told him I didn't need to spend a couple hours in the hot sun the day before a half marathon. He said we could go early. I told him the sun would still be hot. We decided to pick grapes on Monday.
This morning we got up and he asked me if I wanted to go for a 15 mile bike ride. I told him that I had not been on a bike in weeks and I didn't need to use muscles I have been using the day before a race.
He went for a bike ride by himself and I did runner's yoga, myrtle exercises and drank lots of water. Normally the day before a race I have pasta. Today we were invited to our great nephew's 2nd birthday party. I had a turkey sandwich and green beans. I figure the bread on the sandwich counted as carbs. I skipped the birthday cake and desserts and had some fresh fruit. I hope my GI system cooperates tomorrow.
I am not feeling speed at all. I have no idea how the race will go.
Yesterday Jim asked me if I wanted to go with him to our friend's vineyard and pick grapes today. I told him I didn't need to spend a couple hours in the hot sun the day before a half marathon. He said we could go early. I told him the sun would still be hot. We decided to pick grapes on Monday.
This morning we got up and he asked me if I wanted to go for a 15 mile bike ride. I told him that I had not been on a bike in weeks and I didn't need to use muscles I have been using the day before a race.
He went for a bike ride by himself and I did runner's yoga, myrtle exercises and drank lots of water. Normally the day before a race I have pasta. Today we were invited to our great nephew's 2nd birthday party. I had a turkey sandwich and green beans. I figure the bread on the sandwich counted as carbs. I skipped the birthday cake and desserts and had some fresh fruit. I hope my GI system cooperates tomorrow.
I am not feeling speed at all. I have no idea how the race will go.
Friday, October 5, 2018
The ExMO
Today I went to the ExMo to pick up my packet for the Mo Cowbell Half Marathon. Jim went with me then came up with several other errands we needed to run while we were out. The ExMO was very nice. I thought it was much better than the Go St. Louis Expo last spring. The race shirts are full zip long sleeve which are very nice.
This afternoon I went for a quick 2 mile run. Jim thinks I should be tapering and not run. I explained again that tapering does not mean you quit running. I went at 4:00. It was 86 degrees with a heat index of 92. Summer is back. It will be in the 60s Sunday when the race starts and the 70s by the time I am done. I was hoping for cooler weather but it won't be bad. I am not feeling fast but I know I can run 13.1 miles.
This afternoon I went for a quick 2 mile run. Jim thinks I should be tapering and not run. I explained again that tapering does not mean you quit running. I went at 4:00. It was 86 degrees with a heat index of 92. Summer is back. It will be in the 60s Sunday when the race starts and the 70s by the time I am done. I was hoping for cooler weather but it won't be bad. I am not feeling fast but I know I can run 13.1 miles.
Thursday, October 4, 2018
Running in Mascara
This morning I got up and dressed to run. Jim said he wanted to run but he needed to take the car in to get the oil changed. By the time he got back it was too late to run because I has a lunch planned with my two of my favorite people. I had lunch with my slug sister and Marti. It was great to visit and talk about running and everything else that came to mind.
After I got home and my lunch settled I had this conversation with Jim:
Me: I am going for a short easy run
Jim: We could wait until the morning
Me: I have a 3 mile run on my schedule. I am going today
Jim: You are supposed to be tapering
Me: Tapering does not mean that that you don't run, it means that you run shorter and with less intensity.
Jim: That's not what it means to me.
Me: What does tapering mean to you.
Jim: It means taking two weeks off.
Me: Well it works for you but not for me. I am going for a run today.
We went for a run. We saw Kathy on the trail. Kathy and I still had mascara on from our lunch earlier in the day. We often see women in full makeup at races. I only run in makeup if I had an event earlier in the day.
After I got home and my lunch settled I had this conversation with Jim:
Me: I am going for a short easy run
Jim: We could wait until the morning
Me: I have a 3 mile run on my schedule. I am going today
Jim: You are supposed to be tapering
Me: Tapering does not mean that that you don't run, it means that you run shorter and with less intensity.
Jim: That's not what it means to me.
Me: What does tapering mean to you.
Jim: It means taking two weeks off.
Me: Well it works for you but not for me. I am going for a run today.
We went for a run. We saw Kathy on the trail. Kathy and I still had mascara on from our lunch earlier in the day. We often see women in full makeup at races. I only run in makeup if I had an event earlier in the day.
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Wednesdays
Wednesday I get to watch my beautiful granddaughter. I always take her for a walk in the stroller. I do ab workout when she is doing her tummy time. Today Jim took over babysitting while I went to Dr. Lauren. I had not been to her for a while because I have been running pain free. I woke up with a stiff neck a few days ago so she adjusted my neck and back. I also mentioned my foot where I feel like my sock is wadded up in my shoe. She worked on that too. Now I am adjusted for my half marathon.
Monday, October 1, 2018
Easy Run
This is my taper run. Today was an easy 5 miles with Jim. I would like to break two hours for the half marathon but I don't know if that will happen. I am just not feeling the speed right now.
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