Boredom in the Heat

So there is nothing new on the running front. I had several fun races in a row and now it all seems very boring - hence nothing to post about. Just been doing your basic keep up the fitness level workouts without any real plan. I will say that I am being way more consistent with my mileage than I have been in the past. Usually, if I am not training for anything, you will see my mileage all over the charts. 15 one week, 2 the next. That kind of thing. This time I have been consistently running between 12 and 15 miles a week - not a lot for some of you, I know - with the hopes of slowly upping the mileage to get to around 25-30 miles a week.

Blah, blah, I am boring myself.

Today I ran 4 miles over the bridge and it was HOT! Summer is here and it is here to stay. I forgot that when it is 80 degrees running anytime after about 9am is not advisable. My plan had been to do 5 miles but I was so miserable that I pansied out at 4. I hadn't thought to bring any fluids with me and my mouth felt like cotton and I was dripping wet and my 10 minute/mile pace felt strenuous. Heat will take it out of you. But, it was a pretty run - I love going over the bridge. Plus, there is always good people watching. Like the guy I passed who was struggling up the bridge wearing baggy denim shorts and white tube socks pulled up to his knees. It was like he had been sitting on the couch and all of the sudden decided, "you know what? I'm going to go for run, just to see if I can." He really couldn't though. Although I am not making fun because,
a) at least he was doing something, and b) he did think to bring fluids with him, so maybe I should have been taking notes!

That is really about all for now. I know, I know, my life is too exciting.

A Very Fun 5K

I guess you could say that I have been a little schizophrenic with my race distances lately. This past Wednesday Wes and I ran a 5k downtown. Obviously I wasn't taking it very seriously since I haven't really trained since before the half marathon. Just a few runs here and there but I was really looking forward to doing a 5k for the fun of it.

This one was called the iFive:K and it was in the evening. That was one reason I really wanted to do it. I am not a morning person and anytime I get the chance to enter a race that starts later in the day I jump at it. Plus it was through downtown Charleston which always makes for a pretty course. Wes and I decided to run separately this time. He is always sweet about staying with me but he is a good 2-3 minutes faster than I am so I wanted him to be able to run his own race.

The race was smallish, around 500 people, so that was a nice change after my last two races. We took off with little fanfare and I easily started passing people. I was trying to keep a steady pace that was challenging but not crazy. I wasn't wearing my Garmin so I had no idea what my pace was and I didn't see any mile markers on the out and back course - there was a water station at what I presumed to be mile one and then of course the turn around halfway through so I used those to gauge my pace. I started seeing the leaders come back - man those guys are fast! Pretty soon I saw Wes and waved and then to my surprise I saw the turn around. I was not too far behind him! Then I noticed that most of the people around me were guys and that I hadn't seen that many girls in front of me. I made the turn and was surprised to see many girls behind me. I started to think I was running faster than I usually did and became very motivated to keep up my pace. I stayed with the small group of guys for most of the race. There was a part where I slowed a little and they started to pull away, but I reeled them back in and even passed a couple at the end.

I haven't seen the official results yet, but as I was crossing the finish line a quick glance at the clock told me I had run 25 minutes 10 seconds. That is 1 minute and 40 seconds faster than I have ever run a 5k before! I was very surprised because I am certainly not in 5k PR shape right now but somehow I managed to do it anyway. I was also really excited because I finished the race feeling absolutely spent. My legs were extremely sore in the last half mile - my quads in particular were screaming - so I knew that I was working really hard. I met Wes at the finish line - he finished in 23 minutes! - and we headed over to the post race celebration where we ate pizza and drank beer overlooking the harbor.

I had such a good time at this race and will definitely do it again next year!

Why I am strangely proud of my black toe nail....

Contrary to what I had thought, I am not a bit sore after these past two weekends of racing. My legs have held up like champs and I felt really fresh running four miles yesterday. However, I do have one souvenir from my races that I am strangely proud of. A black toe nail.

After the half marathon, as I went to take off my shoes, I mentioned to Wes that I would probably have a little blister on my right middle toe. Upon further inspection I found out that it was, in fact, quite a large blister that encompassed the whole top part of the toe. Wes took a look and said, "Oh yeah, that's a good one. And you're gonna lose that toe nail."

Now, four years ago a comment like that would have sent me into a tailspin. Lose my toe nail?! Won't that hurt? What will I do about wearing flip flops? I mean, you can't very well show your feet if one of the toes is missing a nail! All those thoughts would have run through my mind. But not these days. This time I looked at the nail and simply thought, "Cool." I waited for several days to see what would happen and sure enough, after the Bridge Run, I removed my shoe to see that the nail had finally turned completely black and now I am just waiting for it to fall off.

The weird thing is that I am kind of glad that it is flip flop season and my mangled toe nail will be on display for all to see. I can't wait for someone to ask me what happened so that I can casually say, "Oh that? That's nothing, I ran 13 miles one weekend and it will probably fall off. Whatever."

To me that toe nail represents the fact that not only am I a runner, but I am a runner with battle scars. It means that at some point I was pushing past discomfort in order to achieve my goals. It means that my mental toughness is a million times stronger than it used to be. It means that even if my time goal was not meant at that half, that I am still improving in ways that can't be measured by a clock. That I am past the days of quitting when things get uncomfortable. Which is why, even though it is gross to some, my black toe nail is totally cool to me.

2009 Cooper River Bridge Run Race Report

I love it when the city that you live in hosts a huge running event, like the Cooper River Bridge Run - it's like everyone where you live is celebrating your favorite thing with you!



We started the bridge run weekend at the Kid's Expo and Fun Run. Noah and some friends signed up for the toddler races and got shirts and race numbers and a medal.




Of course his "race" was more of what I consider, three year olds and crazed parents with cameras running for 25 yards in a mob, but whatever. I hope it is the start of Noah loving running events and I can't wait until he is old enough to run with me. Plus his shirt fits him like a dress which is pretty funny.


My race experience started at 4:00am. I had to be up in time to get downtown, catch a bus to Mount Pleasant before they closed the bridge, and then wait for 2 hours in the cold. Needless to say I was very ready when they announced that runners should be in there corrals.


Warning.....here comes my insane ranting....Okay, if you are a walker and have signed up as a walker, and been given a bib with a color coded number that tells you to be in the back corral with the walkers, why oh why are you in my corral wearing your cotton t-shirt and fixing your hair and talking about how you hope you don't get run over. Cause you will get run over, because the gun will go off and the runners will attempt to run and you will be IN THE WAY!


Anyhoo...So I started and had to weave in and out of about a million walkers but somehow still managed to be under 10 minutes for my first mile. The bridge appears in the second mile and as we began the climb I was waiting for the crowds to thin out as we dropped the people who had started too fast and then fizzled away on the uphills but that didn't happen. The crowds did not thin out until we hit downtown during mile 5. And even then it was still very packed. Not a good race for trying to PR but fun all the same. I love running over the bridge and into downtown in my favorite city. Plus the weather was perfect, almost 60 degrees and sunshine.


Despite the crazy crowds and my erratic weaving in and out, I managed to finish in 57:53. I was content with that seeing as how I had just run the half marathon the weekend before. I was proud because I pushed the whole way and was always passing instead of being passed and I finished feeling pretty spent.


I don't really know what race is next for me - I don't have anything specific lined up - but I am thinking I will have to find something soon. These past two weekends have reminded me how much fun it is to get out there and race!