and then this happened...

i suck at keeping secrets. i need to let the cat out of the bag. im running an ultramarathon.... this summer.

no, you didn't miss anything in sporadic blogging. don't bother going back to check old posts.... i haven't run my first marathon yet. yea, i know...it's all a little backwards.

when i couldn't run mdi marathon this fall i decided i would run a spring marathon as my first. i didnt think i could wait a full year to run my first marathon. i didnt want to wait that long. i had already been eager to run mdi for soooo long that waiting an entire year sounded awful (fun fact: im not patient. at all). literally the day after i finished the mdi relay i decided that i didnt think i wanted to run a spring marathon. i had put a lot of effort in getting back on my feet after surgery and if i wanted to run a full in the spring it would mean i would have 2 months "off" before i jumped into a training cycle. i just felt like i was going to burn myself out. i decided that i would skip the spring marathon season and register for marine corps marathon in october. i wanted to focus on my speed and improving my half marathon time. and then there was that fateful day in december...

i was browsing twitter one morning to see that eissa had registered for the great cranberry island 50k lottery, which is held near to where i grew up. i immediately wrote to her and she asked if i was entering the lottery as well. oh hellllll no! i haven't even run a marathon. i decided that if she got in, i would go and volunteer. then i started thinking about it it's only 5 more miles then a marathon and i can walk/run it and there is a big after party and ive been told its an amazing time. so a few days later and after many texts to several marathoners/ultra runners as well as my friend/ co-race director i was registered for the lottery. now i needed to wait a month and a half for the lottery drawing.

because this race is held on a small island off the coast of maine, there has to be a cap at the number of runners it can accommodate. there's only so much road to run on and only so many volunteers so the race is by lottery only. as i was filling out the lottery application all signs pointed toward me getting in. how many ultramarathons have you run? n/a. what's your current 50k PR? n/a.  how many marathons have you run? n/a. what's your marathon PR? n/a. soooo yea, i was off to a good start.

and then, i got the email.

i originally wanted to keep this under wraps. it's not a goal race and it's not my focus. i mean, yea, im going to train for it and all but my eye is on marine corps marathon in october. i will have an incredible base going into mcm training and im pumped about having a killer first marathon. when i was asking some friends whether they thought running a 50k before my first marathon was a bad idea or not i got the same response several times.they are two different races. it depends what your goal is for mcm. if you want it to be the first time you run 26.2 miles and the distance is important then dont run the 50k. if your priority is having a strong race and the best time possible then run the 50k. sold!

i still wasn't sure i wanted to tell anyone. this is what i wanted and i didn't want everyone elses opinion about it. i didn't want to make a big deal about it. but who knows what next summer will bring. my son will be older and able to enjoy more things and i want to have the time to spend with my family. running is something i enjoy and it's part of my life but its not my entire life. my priority will always be my family and ill run when i can. seriously though, who wouldn't want to run this race....



when the few people i have told ask me why i want to run GCI i tell them "it's pretty much going to be one big party". the race is put on by crow athletics (of which i am a lifetime member) the same crew that puts on the mdi marathon. gary and mary hands down know how to put on a great event. for 95 bucks you get: 50k, course support (food, drinks), medal, shirt,  lobster dinner, beer, bonfire, camping, shower access and breakfast!! best bang for your buck i tell ya! also, the 4 time winner of the little rock marathon and olympic trials runner leah thorvilson will be running again....and seriously who doesn't wanna run with her? major BA right there!

the best/worst part is that the island is only 2 miles long. so after an initial 3 mile loop we run 2 miles down and 2 miles back repeat x7! i like that though. i'll get to see everyone running the race the entire time. none of this being out in the woods all by myself wishing i was dead business. oh no...ill be high fiving everyone as i run by them.

in case you thought i was kidding

so there you have it. if you want to see me on the weekends between now and the end of october, i suggest you put on your running shoes. im very excited to be part of this amazing race. ive certainly come a long way from that soccer goalkeeper in college who cried the last mile and a half of her 3 mile run during preseason.

im currently accepting applications for long run buddies...

Chamberlain March Half Marathon

heeeeey! remember that time i ran a half marathon and set a *spoiler alert* huge PR? probably not. why? oh cause i haven't blogged in forever and never even mentioned i was running a half anytime soon...

ok back up. so ive been running. alot. 106 miles in february. my previous highest mileage month was 78 back in september. ive even been doing speed work twice a week (most often at 4:30am with danielle). after i finished the mdi relay in 2:14 my next goal was a sub 2:10 half this spring and then a sub 2 half late summer. given how well my running has been going over the last 2 months i knew that i would crush a 2:10 half and had my eyes set on a sub 2 half. its a time that i knew was within reach but wouldn't come easily to me. i searched around for a few halfs this spring but nothing was calling my name that wasn't stupid expensive or forever away. a friend of mine posted on facebook that he was running the chamberlain march half marathon as his first half. it was near my parents house on a weekend that i had already planned to be there, was only 35 bucks and not too hilly. win. so i signed up....the night before the race :) i talked to sam for a while the night before. studying the elevation chart and figuring out where to bank some time and where to slow up so that i could potentially go 1:58. i felt good about the paces he wanted me to run and was excited about seeing a 1 in front of my half marathon time.

there were a lot of logistics going on race morning with my family and at one point it looked like i was going to go to the race by myself. everyone had to be in different places at different times and my race was not part of any of those plans. my mom then says "but you need a cheering squad! we'll make this work" thanks mom!

i drove up to the race with my mom and younger brother. we got there early, i got my bib, hung out in the warm car and debated on what i wanted to wear. i went on a half mile jog to warm up the legs and then came back to the car to stretch and get ready to start. it was at that point that my entire race plan went down the drain. my garmin beeped at me "low battery". WHAT!? i charged the damn the thing alllll night! it said 100% this morning!!! this can't be happening. oh well, not much i can do now....just use it until it dies....which was about 1 minute later. i got the black screen of death! ohhhhhh shit. minor freak out moment. i texted sam and danielle in a panic. they both calmed me down (i didnt tell them i was sitting in my moms car crying my eyes out because my stupid watch died...but i was). sam asked if there was a pace group i could join. um no, there were maybe 125 people running this race. no pace groups. sam gave me some final instructions gave me plan b and sent me on my way. ok i can do this. im so pissed but there is nothing i can do. i can do this. 

i headed to the start line and listened for anyone that was planning on running a sub 2. there was the lady who was "hoping to run under 2 but im not worrying about it. ive done it before but i don't know what ill do today"... ok, she doesn't sound too promising. then there were the two girls wearing tank tops (it was 38 at the start). hmmmmm, they look fast. probably too fast for me. i didn't have many more people to stalk before it was time to start. ok sarah. you know what to do. just do it. 

with that, the gun went off and so was i. i knew i needed to go out a bit faster then 9:08s (what i needed to average for a sub 2 finish). it was a downhill start and i wanted to bank a little bit of time so that i could slow up on the hills at mile 1.5. problem is i didn't know what 8:40 felt like. i haven't run it enough consistently to know what that pace is like. my biggest fear is that i was going to be running much slower then i should be just because i didn't have the watch to push me. when we got to mile 1 i asked the lady "whats the time?". she looked at me and said "time? like time of day?". ummmm no, "what's the time? the pace?", "oh. ummm...8:00 miles". oh shit sarah! you're toast! slow the eff down!. I said thanks and let her go on her way. about half a mile later tank top girl came up next to me so i asked her the pace. she told me she is pacing her friend 8:30s the entire way. i told her my garmin died and she said if you see me, i'll be running 8:30s. i backed off some more and knew that if i kept her in my sight for the entire race id be ok. if i gained on her i was going to fast and if i lost her i needed to pick it up. perfect. maybe this race isnt going to suck after all.

i saw my mom at mile 2, tossed her my jacket and kept on going. we took a left turn and ran over the joshua chamberlain bridge. just as we started over the bridge, tank top girl and her friend stopped and were rubbing friend's leg. damn...thats my pacer! i passed them and figured they would catch up to me soon. orrrrrrr not. i never saw them again. crap. i settled into what i thought was a 9ish mile pace and just tried to maintain it. i knew that 9:08s were just a tad over comfortable for me and so if i ever felt like this race was easy i stepped it up.i knew miles 2-4ish were a long uphill so i knew i would probably slow down a bit during this section. the hills weren't as bad as i thought and just like that they were over.

my mom had given me her old lady analog watch just for some idea of time. i looked at it when we started so i knew the time and again at mile 6 (for whatever reason i like to note my 10k time...in training runs, races, whatever. strange, i know). by my rough estimate i was through the 10k in 54ish. sweeeeet. see sarah, you can do this. don't slow up. i asked another lady who passed me what the pace was, "pace? forward moving!". awesome, thanks for the help lady. not.



miles 4-7 were around the airport and pancake flat. i was in a good rhythm and feeling strong. through this area i said several times something sam had said to me, this is a half marathon. it's not supposed to be easy, don't give into the pain. the song Belle of the Boulevard came on my ipod. danielle had told me that if she listened to this song for an entire marathon and ran to the beat of the song, she would qualify for boston. so i knew that if i was running to the beat of the song, i was running too fast. if i was just a hair behind the beat i was about the pace i needed to be. this was great to keep my mind off of the pain. i actually listened to the song twice.

mile 5. feelin' good

miles 7-10 are always my worst miles in a half. its all mental, knowing that im over half way there...but not quite. these miles followed along the river and were quite pretty however there were no spectators along this section and it was a bit chilly. it was a long 3 miles for me. my legs hurt, the bottoms of my feet were hurting and i was starting to get some weird pain in my ankle. blah. 

mile 10 brought us back into downtown bangor. i saw my mom again and gave her the look of death hey mom, can i jump in the car and have you drive me to the finish? k thanks. i looked at my watch and by rough estimate it looked like i was still on pace for a sub 2 finish but i knew i had no time to slow down. just after mile 10.5 (i think) things got a bit confusing. i was climbing a hill and gaining on the girl in front of me. i saw her go through an intersection ahead and she started putting her hands up as if to say "where do i go?".  i thought i was supposed to take a right but she went straight and i saw some people ahead of her. i yelled out "do i go straight!?" to which they replied "yes". so i did but i kept looking back at the soldier manning the intersection. he came up and told me i needed to take that right hand turn and go over the bridge. crap! ok. i took the turn and the guy at the top of the hill told me to go over the bridge. i tried to clarify but it was all a bit confusing. so i went over the bridge and then took a right basically making a big U turn. at this point i saw 3 people ahead of me all standing in the middle of the road with their hands up yelling to the soldier about where to go. you have got to be kidding me!. they were alot more pissed then i was about getting lost and all in all i probably went .25 miles out of my way. not only did i loose time but i also lost momentum. we finally figured out where to go and moved on.

hiiii mom. can i jump in your car? this sucks

miles 11-13 sucked. alot.  it was a gradual uphill and i had lost all momentum. i slowed wayyyyyy down. i looked at my watch and knew that a sub 2 was now out of reach...but i wasn't sure how out of reach it was so i kept going. since there were no clocks out on the course i really had no idea where i was time wise, aside from my rough estimate from my watch (and if you know me and math and running, the two dont mix well at all!). i turned the corner and saw 2:05 on the clock! i heard my mom and brother cheering for me which was pretty awesome. and of course the first thing my mom says when i crossed the finish line is "hey, did you get lost?" really mom? was i that slow?. she said that several people came across the fininsh complaing about getting lost just after mile 10. apparently my little group weren't the only ones.



coming into the finish. oy

overall i was really pleased with my race. yes, i was bummed i didn't go sub 2. but given that i ran without a watch, completely on feel AND i got lost costing me about 2:30, i was happy. if you're keeping track at home, thats a 9 minute PR. i don't have plans to run another one anytime soon. i know i have a sub 2 in me but i don't feel the need to go right back out and get it. i will in time. im very pleased i ran and didn't quit at the start or jump in my moms car at mile 10. i learned a little more about how to run a race and am proud of my efforts. i've been training hard and i know im getting faster, this race just proved it.

mid winter classic

way back in the fall (ya know, when it was still 60 degrees and sunny out) i signed up for the mid winter classic. a 10 mile race around cape elizabeth, which is a few towns over from me. as soon as i registered i sent a text to the one i blame for getting me into this mess to begin with about how stupid of an idea that was. i mean really, 10 miles in february, in maine? gross! fun fact: im not a fan of winter running.

i ran 10 miles with danielle just before christmas and it was quite possibly one of my worst runs ever. i was all "hey im making so much progress with my speed, come join me for 10 miles i promise i wont hold you back too much" to her. um, yeah, fail. i chalked it up to a bad run and moved on. christmas came and went and i logged minimal miles. plus i was dealing with a freakish sore hip...a little yoga took care of that but its set me back a bit. by the middle of january i had pretty much decided i wasn't going to run the mid winter classic. i hadn't run any thing over 5 miles in a long time and i honestly wasn't sure i could cover 10 miles at that point. last thing i wanted was to get to mile 8 and have to walk the rest of the way in the freezing cold.

however, planet fitness must have heard me trying to bail on the race and offered a membership i couldn't turn down. so i hit the gym. and hard. if you follow me on dailymile, you know that I have been busting out speed work and miles like its my job (really...i wish it was. anyone looking to hire a kinda slow runner who has lots of determination to get speedy?). ive pushed myself harder then i thought possible and in turn speed work has started to get easier. huh, who woulda thought that hard work would pay off. i've been feeling good about the work that im doing in the gym. while i wish it was outside on the track or on the roads, ill settle for the treadmill. its not as bad as i remember it being. i even managed to get in an 8 mile run a week before mid winter classic. ok fiiiiiiiiine. ill run the damn race. not becuase i want to and i think it will be fun but because its gonna make me better.

so i ran. i really wish i had stayed home and slept in....kinda. i know i would have regretted not running but still, it wasn't a pretty day. this wasn't a goal race and so my "coach" aka slave driver (read: my friend who knows a shit ton about marathons/running whos been pushing me to my limits and has a lot of faith in me that offered to help me out via text, free of charge) decided he'd see what my limits are. he wanted me to go out hard and see how long i could maintain an 8:30 pace. HA! it's no surprise that that i blew up. big time. its a hilly course and i was able to maintain an ok pace through mile 5 but after that i lost it. physically and mentally. my heart really wasn't in the race from the beginning but once i couldn't maintain a pace that should ,on any other day, have been easy for me i checked out mentally. i stopped and walked for a little bit and from that point on it was all over. (also to note. slave driver told me after the race that "i intentionally kicked your ass. i just wanted to turn it into a super hard workout that would beat you up and see what your current limits are") mission accomplished.

i was beyond frustrated. i know that this wasn't a goal race and i know that going out hard was going to impact my ability to hold a good pace but i haven't seen 10s on my garmin in a loooooong time. not being able to hold a sub 10 pace was hard on me mentally. i just feel like i had been kicking butt in the gym and doing so well that 9:20s should have been a walk in the park.

im chasing a sub 2 half and i was hoping to go for that at the begining of march but now im not so sure i have that in me quite yet... ugh. we'll see. monday after the race i got right back at it and did 5 recovery miles. tuesday my son was home sick and so i hit the gym at 4:30am with danielle for a good sweat fest. i missed my wednesday & thursday runs and now it's friday and i need to get back at it. i can't let one bad race knock me down.

i know that sundays race is in no way an indicator of where i am with my running right now. we tested my limits. learned a few things and i vote to never do that again. all i could think of for the last 5 miles was my husband and son waiting for me at the finish. when i finally saw them i heard ruddley say "it's mommy! gooo mommy!". i threw my handheld water bottle to him and grabbed ty from his arms and ran with him through the finish line. ty had the biggest grin on his face and that my friends made my day.

the finish line with ty!

18 months

I can't believe Ty is 18 months old. I wish I had thought of this idea sooner but oh well. I'm going to recap his growth every few months. I think it will be fun to go back and look at and see how he changes over the months/years.

Age: 18 months
Weight: 29.4 pounds
Height: 31 1/2 inches
Food: veggies ( its pretty normal for ty to eat 2 huge bowls of peas and carrots in one sitting), fruit of any kind, grilled cheese. at daycare he will eat meat (turkey, chicken, pastrami) ...at home, he feeds it to the dog. go figure
Words: everyday his constant babble sounds more and more like actual words. so far he has mastered mama, dada, stop (in a very whining and raised voice, awesome), up, and please (which sounds more like peeeezzz). There's a lot more that he is trying hard to say but hasn't quite mastered, like banana.
Toys: hes still a big fan of balls (soccer, baseball, football, tennis) he will even roll up the washcloth in the bath tub to the shape of a ball and then throw it (ruddley is still has high hopes of him becoming a left handed pitcher) apparently at daycare he spends hours on the rocking horse and gets annoyed when any other kids stand next to him so they can have a turn.
Teeth: 12 with 4 more coming in
Sleep: YES! knock on wood but he sleeps a solid 12 hours a night. he normally goes to bed between 7-7:30 and if we don't have to get up or anything in the morning he will sleep until 8.
Favorite Song: he enjoys listening to his suzuki cello cds as well as the little mermaid cd i play for him now and then (hes going to kill me when he finds out i made him listen to the little mermaid!) . he really loves any kind of music.
Favorite Book: he likes his First 100 Words book along with his First Colors book. he likes to hold his own  book now while we read a different one to him.
Favorite Game: soccer
Bad Habbits: hitting....mom and dad....and then laughing about it.
Potty Trained: HA! i could only wish
Friends: just the ones i make him play with and the kids at daycare
Favorite memory of the last month: just watching him start to learn and discover new things. he has become so independent over the last month and even though it's a pain sometimes, i love watching him do things for himself. of course having him come running to me and give me a hug when i walk in the door after being gone for a run is pretty cool.

she gave me crap for not giving her credit for these photos

a slice of heaven!

i've never blogged about my kitchen creations. there is one reason for that. i cant cook...or bake. well, scratch that, i make a killer mac and cheese and one specific chicken dish (which i have lost the recipe for. humph). other then that, i avoid cooking. my husband is an amazing cook and so i don't mind leaving most of it to him. he can whip up an kick butt meal pretty quickly with the most random ingredients. i on the other hand need hours to prep my dinners. today however, i am blogging about my amazing kitchen goodness.

back story:
my husband rides to work (35 minutes) with one of his co workers that lives down the road. it saves on gas, time, yadda yadda... the last few weeks he has been starting my car before ty and i leave so that its nice and toasty when we head out in the morning (insert collective "awww how sweet"). well this morning he had to get a few things out of my car before he left so i gave him the keys. when he came in we started talking about something and next thing he knew his ride was here. so off he went.

ty and i continued to get ready and 15 minutes or so later we left. only, not really. i went out and saw that my car hadn't been started so i looked around for the keys inside. nope. no keys to be found. i called ruddley and asked where he put them to which i heard "ohhhhhh f*&k" come from the other end of the phone. yup, he left for work with my keys in his pocket. it wouldn't have been such a big deal except they were on the interstate and the next exit wasn't for another 10 miles which puts them about 30 minutes from our house. his ride kindly turned around and drove back so i could get to work.

i sent ruddley an email later on in the day and said i was thinking about making some stuffed strawberries i had seen on pinterest a few weeks ago. an hour or so later i had an email exchange with his co worker/ ride to work...

J: "Let's go with those cream cheese filled strawberries!!!!"

Me: "I owe you big time too. I'll make some tonight"

J: "Your husband owes me big time!!"

Me: "Which means tonight will go something like this. 'Hey sarah, can you make some of those strawberry things tonight so i can pay back Jeff for driving me home since I screwed up this morning' "

J: "That's too funny Sarah"

oh crap...now im committed to making those damn things. sigh. 

they seriously were the easiest thing to make ever and oh so good! i got the idea from natalie's  blog.

i'm waiting to add the graham cracker topping until the morning. figured it would get soggy. so here's the deal on how to make these gems. the only thing i would do next time is drizzle chocolate over them...or maybe dip them in chocolate if i was really brave.

Ingredients:
-1 lb large strawberries
-8 oz. cream cheese, softened (can use 1/3 less fat)
-3-4 tbsp powdered sugar (4 tbsp for a sweeter filling)
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-graham cracker crumbs

Directions:
1. Rinse strawberries and cut around the top of the strawberry. Remove the top and clean out with a paring knife, if necessary (some may already be hollow inside). Prep all strawberries and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add cream cheese mix to a piping bag or ziploc with the corner snipped off. Fill strawberries with cheesecake mixture. Once strawberries are filled, dip the top in graham cracker crumbs. If not serving immediately, refrigerate until serving.


ENJOY!

more then just a runner

The idea for this blog started a few years ago as I was knocking out some miles on the treadmill at the gym. We all know how painfully boring that can be and how we think of all kinds of crazy ideas. This blog was one of them. I was training, and say that loosely, more like running x miles when the schedule told me to, for my very first half marathon. There was no tempo, no track, no LSD runs... I just ran miles. I wanted a place to record my training and my running and my thoughts on said training and running. I had no idea how big the blogging world was at that point. I mean, yea I had read a few running blogs but really had no idea. 

As I got into it, I started following and reading more blogs, all running related. My focus on this blog up until now has been running with a few random posts thrown in here and there. I've learned alot about running over the last few years. I've learned a lot of "unspoken rules" in the running world, followed people's training plans that have led to an amazing PR. I've read about how every runner has their bad runs and how to recover from that. However, the name of my blog is not "Tales of a Runner". Yea, there's more to me then just a runner. This blog is supposed to be about one mom's adventure in running. So, I've got the running part down around here but I'm missing out on the mom part. While I love running, I'm really quite ok with skipping my run on any given day to spend more time with my family (unless I'm training for something big....like, oh, say my first marathon! yikes!). 

From awesome blog #1 

When I had Ty I started a separate blog for him. I wasn't sure I wanted to connect my two worlds. I've been a bad mommy blogger and I haven't posted anything on his blog in a long time. I know I'm going to regret this down the road when I wonder at what age he started walking, or when he reached other various milestones. It's just that maintaining two different blogs takes a lot of time. I'm hoping it will be different when I combine them all onto one. I've been thinking about this for some time now but the real push came when browsing around on my new love, pinterest. I came across all kinds of crazy mommy DIY blogs. Seriously, how can you not fall in love with blogs that teach you how to make this... 

I'm already planning these for Ty's July birthday! I'm also thinking I'm gonna tell ask Ruddley oh so nicely to paint this for T when he grows out of his current infant decorated room...

Stolen from here

Ohhh and of course I want to make these for the kids at daycare next month...

Amazing DIY mommy blog

Ohhhhh pinterest you are sooo amazing! Now that Ty is getting older we can do more fun things for/with him. It may sound weird but I'm really starting to feel like a mom now. I mean, I know I have been one for the last 18 months but now he's at the age where we can do things with other kids and he actually runs off and plays. In fact, he has his first real play date this afternoon. I'm in no way a crafty person, but for my kid? I think I'll try. So if you read this because you like reading about my running (which I highly doubt cause it's nothing special) then you're gonna have to get used to a few "isn't my kid so cute" posts in the near future. I promise you'll love them :) 

Streak 100

When I got my tattoo, I became a lifetime member of Crow Athletics (getting a crow inked on your body gets you far in the running world!). At the end of December I got an email from them about Streak-100. Crow was offering members of the club a chance to participate in a friendly competition. Here are the rules...

STREAK-100 Decree: 
1. There is no entry fee to take on the STREAK-100 challenge.
2. The STREAK-100 will start at midnight on January 1st and conclude at 11:59PM on April 9th.
3. Official participants must be members of Crow Athletics in good standing during the entire 100 days of the challenge. (Thru April 9th.) 

STEAK-100 Scoring: 
"Honesty is the best policy." Please be honest about your daily running.
1. Official participants must run or walk one mile every day starting on January 1st and finishing on April 9th.
2. Participants may join the STREAK-100 after January 1, 2012 ONLY if they have run every day since January 1st.
3. All participants who complete the STREAK-100 will receive an award. Additional awards will go to the top male and female competitors with the highest mileage.
4. After the completion of the STREAK-100, competitors will be contacted by email. Please be honest. Competitors are encouraged to keep track of their mileage, but are not required to. (Note: Only participants who track their mileage will be eligible for mileage awards.)


I'm not a big sucker for running streaks as I'm a huge fan and believer in rest days. I'm not saying that running streaks are bad or people that do them are not smart runners but my body NEEDS time off and I like to respect that. However, when I saw that you can run OR walk I decided that I could probably do that and it's only for 100 days. So even on my rest days, I could get out and at least walk a mile. Then when I saw there were awards for everyone that completed the challenge I was totally in. I love free things :) I'm not going to attempt to have the highest mileage because I know some of the people running are big time runners and there is no way I could keep up with them and not get injured. This will be a nice way to keep me going for the rest of the winter though.

So I'm 2 days in. On the first day I ran.... one whole mile! Hey, it counts. Today I ran 5 miles which turned into the biggest pacing fail EVER! 9:06, 8:23, 8:44, 10:30 and 9:53. oooooops! I should add that I hit some serious wind on my way home.... but yea, that's no excuse. Sigh, lesson learned. I'd rather learn it now and not in the middle of a race.  I felt pretty good during those first 3 miles and I kept thinking what if I had a sub 8 average for 5 miles! I will be so happy!. I should know by now that every time I think something crazy like that I always end up crashing.

We'll see if I can make it until April 9.

Do you have a running streak?

2012 goals?

apparently the thing to do at the end of the year is recap it in pictures, make some goals and wish everyone a happy new year. so...i'll jump on the bandwagon. why not? get ready, sit back, have a glass of wine and enjoy my 2012 goals.

run...

...injury free

....and happy

...however fast or slow i want

and...

...enjoy every step

 no more of this...

 or that....

but a lot more of this...

 and that!

hope you threw back that glass of wine cause im done.

yup, short a simple. im not going crazy. yea, ive got a few things in mind but if they don't happen, im quite ok with that.

so ive got goals. a few pictures and now ill wish you all a happy new year! peace out 2011...

how the grinch stole christmas & $$ money from autism

When Sam Felsenfeld started the Operation Jack Marathon last year, it was to fulfill his goal of running 61 marathons a year to raise awareness and funds to fight autism.


(also, he’s crazy)


((there are 52 weeks in a year, for your reference))


That was last year. This year they brought it back because people loved it. And they’re doing it again next year. And probably the year after that, and after that, and after that. The event, the cause, and the faces behind it have been swallowed up in an outpouring of support from the running community.


Everybody is Team OJ.


Except in Houston, apparently.


If you don't already know, the OJ Marathon raised about $40,000 to fight autism the day after Christmas. It would have raised about $500 more if not for two Grinches residing in the Longhorn State.


On the same day as the race in Southern California, runners across the country participated in Satellite runs that contribute to the cause. From a group of girlfriends running off their Christmas cookie binge with a 10K to a hardcore athlete going out to tackle 26.2, participants completed the run at a location and time of their choice and received a bib, shirt, and medal, for their efforts.


John Strohmeyer offered to coordinate a satellite run in Houston, guessing he’d have about 10 people. With at least five starters and three finishers, it would be an official marathon according to Marathon Maniacs.


So in theory 10 people show up, run 9 laps around a three-mile loop in a park, one guy sits at a table pouring water and Gatorade and money gets raised for charity. Perfect, right? Yeah, so much so that 29 people signed up! Basically, a fun run that counted as an official race and raised more than $1,500 — everybody's happy!


Well, everybody except Michelle Wolpert and Ron Morgan of Houston Area Road Runners Association — Mrs. and Mr. Grinch.


Michelle and Ron caught wind of the charity event and got pissed. If they weren’t allowed to host a big race in the park, well damnit neither can this grassroots foundation raising money for a good cause! 30 people running laps around the park? Absolutely unacceptable. Nuh uh, not fair.


Temper tantrum, party of two.


They went to the park director and got the event shut down. PERFECT! Congratulations, throwing sand in the sandbox and tattling can still get you what you want as adults.


Except shutting down the event wasn’t enough. Shortly after, Ron sent out an email blast to every running club member in Houston planting seeds of doubt about all the good Operation Jack does.


John (OJ Houston) worked with the parks department and eventually did find a new location for the race. Four days before the event. A lot of runners ran at the new location, but a lot of them didn't. The debacle ended up costing the charity about $500 in refunds.


Congrats Grinches, you sure showed 'em. Merry Christmas.


Why am I telling you this? Not only because I’m a supporter of Operation Jack. Or that I really enjoyed the event. Or that I think(thought?) the running community is a loving and supportive group of people that band together to do great things both individually and together, and share a mutual love of RUNNING.


Mostly, I want you to hear the story of how two spoiled Texans with delusional senses of entitlement fought to shut down a charity event that brought funds and awareness to a worthy cause.
And I want to call them out for it. Because it angers me that there are people like that in the world.
(probably the same ones that leave their shopping carts in the parking lot and don’t wave when you let them out in traffic)


Feel free to let them know how you feel about it. Or congratulate them – I’m sure autism research really didn’t need that $500+ anyways… Michelle can be reached at michelle_wolpert@hotmail.com and Ron would love to hear from you at ronmorgan9@yahoo.com.


More importantly, SPREAD THE WORD. Repost, link back, email, Twitter, Facebook. Buy a billboard. Pass out flyers on the bus. Print it out and mail it to 10 people and insist they have to do the same or the chain will be broken and they’ll never meet their true love.


And then ask your cootie catcher if JTT will ever ask you out. (he’s still hot, did you know?)


Whatever you choose to do, thanks for your support. 

Operation Jack Satellite 10K: Hometown Style

December 26, 2011, time for the annual Operation Jack Satellite 10K. For those of you who are not familiar with it...you should be! I am feeling super lazy tonight so I'm stealing right from the Operation Jack Marathon website.

"In 2010, more than 200 runners in 45 states and five countries participated in Operation Jack Satellite runs on December 26. To commemorate the 61 full marathons Sam Felsenfeld ran in 2010 as part of Operation Jack, participants ran 6.1 miles in their hometown. Due to initial demand, the Satellite Run option will be available again.

Participants will receive the Operation Jack Marathon t-shirt and medal. This year, the suggested distance is 10K, 6.2 miles. All proceeds will benefit the Operation Jack Autism Foundation, a 501(c)3 charity. The primary beneficiary of the Operation Jack Autism Foundation is Train 4 Autism, also a 501(c)3 charity"

Truth be told. I did not want to run this. Last year we had a killer crew running with Team Maine and it was AWESOME! I had promised (first mistake) that this year would be bigger and better. For whatever reason I was unable to pull together a group of runners this year. I know it wasn't for lack of interest. Several friends had family obligations with Christmas and all plus a few that just didn't have the funds to spare so close to Christmas. I know, I get it. I was feeling kinda bummed about not being able to pull anything together. However, I wasn't going to bail. Not on this run! Instead of rushing home from my family Christmas 2.5 hours north to run with my crew....or lack there of, I decided to do the run in my hometown and spend another day with my family.

Last week I blogged about how warm and snow free this winter has been and how excited I was about that. Well Santa brought a nice gift Christmas morning....SNOW!!! I woke up early and wanted to get my run done so I could be utterly lazy for the rest of the day. I bundled up and headed out. Get ready for a 6 mile tour of my hometown.

the top of my parents driveway. 

As I started running,  I started thinking. A lot. It was very quiet on the streets and the only cars that were on the roads were snowplows. I was looking in the windows of various houses as I ran by and saw families eating breakfast and playing with Christmas toys. It was pretty cool.

I didn't become a runner until after I moved away from home and so I haven't actually run around my hometown much. I started thinking about my childhood and growing up in this town. How nice it was to live in a small town where everyone knows everyone. I ran by houses and wondered if my friends grandma still lived there (I'm pretty sure she doesn't). I remembered the sleep overs I used to have there and we would sneak into the freezer and steel ice cream sandwiches.

I thought about the 2 buildings at the bottom of this hill. The one on the left used to be a frame shop owned by friends of my parents. They also sold fudge. This is where my love for chocolate mint fudge was born. I remember going into the store as a kid with my parents and sitting at the counter, swinging my legs and eating fudge. I'm not sure what is in the building now. The building on the right used to be a mom and pop video store. I remember going in with my mom and being so excited because she would let me "sign" for our movies. Now it's one of probably 6 Real Estate offices in our small town. (John, The Gagnes live directly to my left in this picture :) )

Then I ran past the Fish Net. Mmmmmmm....it's a take out joint with over priced burgers, fries and ice cream. Oh, and seafood but I don't like seafood so that doesn't count. It's only open in the summer and employs all kinds of high schoolers. I used to know everyone that worked there. I'm afraid I wouldn't know anyone there now. As a kid I used to invite friends over and then we would walk to the Fish Net for lunch. Ya know....what all the cool kids did.

New Cargoes...my first real job. A nice retail store in the center of town. I worked here during college. This place has also been a mom and pop pharmacy, Rite Aid, an empty building and now this. I would have stopped in but they were closed. Booo.

On my way to the back roads I ran through the hospital parking lot....where I was born almost 28 years ago to the date (January 5 in case you were wondering. Feel free to send presents).

Then I took a turn onto a road thats pretty quiet. Lots of summer people live on this road and so theres not a ton of traffic during the winter but a lot of real pretty, big, fancy houses. You really can't find a flat route to run in my town. This road is no exception...full of lots of hills. I was having a hard time with my footing and the snow was stuck to the bottom of my sneakers. I felt like I was skating half the time. Winter running, I've already had enough of you!!

Soooo pretty...at the top of this hill I looked to my left and there was this...

and this...

I'm so lucky to have grown up in such a beautiful town. Of course at the time I didn't realize it but moving away to "the city" I appreciate it when I come back to visit.

#onlyinmaine

I ran down this road for a while before turning around and heading home. As much as I didn't want to get out of my comfy, warm bed I was so grateful to be out there running and supporting a cause so close to me. I thought of Zach who was at home designing car washes with pipe cleaners, cable ties and straws that he got for christmas from Santa. Yes, at 14 he still believes in Santa. I thought of Jack who I've never met, who had no clue hundreds of people were out there running for him that day. As always, I was pleased I got out and went for my run but I was especially pleased about this one. Even though I was running alone, I really did feel like I was running with a large group. I knew there were lots of people running Satellite 10Ks all over the US and Afghanistan as well as the OJ Marathon & Half in California. The best part? We were all running for the same cause: Autism.

And seriously, for a 35 dollar donation where else can you get a kick ass shirt an even better medal AND a bib for the collection? Well done Sam. Next year I'll get my act and a team together.

oh, hello winter running!

As I'm sure most of you know we've had a crazy warm winter so far (and since I'm writing that I know we will be punched in the face with sub zero temps for the next month...It's just how things work). Once we get dumped with snow and the sidewalks are covered in ice I will no longer be running outside. You see, there is no law about having to shovel sidewalks (or maybe there is but it doesn't get followed) and so once winter hits my outside runs become much more dangerous. I am jumping snow banks, skidding across patches of black ice and spending more time concentrating on not breaking and ankle or getting hit by a car then I am on my running. Really, I'll use any excuse to not run outside in the winter if I can help it. Infact, I probably would have resorted to the gym several weeks ago buuuuuut I kinda canceled my gym membership when I was injured up this summer. I am waiting for the "Hey! It's the new year, everyone come to the gym and get fit for a month and then give up that resolution and start eating like crap and sitting on the couch all day" deal to hit Planet Fitness. If I sign up now it's 29 bucks and then 15/mo. If I can wait just one more week it will go down to a 1 dollar sign up and 10/mo. I WILL hold out!

Mother nature has been very kind to me though and provided me with 40-50 temps to run in after work. I really have no excuse to not run outside. Warm temps, clear sidewalks and a college track 3/10 mile from work. Last wednesday I had a great 8 mile run. I haven't done many long runs since MDI but focusing more on track workouts and tempo runs. I was eager to get a few long runs under my belt before the Mid Winter Classic 10 miler in February. I texted Danielle after my run and asked if she would be up for a 10 miler on Sunday. She agreed....until we discovered that it would not be 50 degrees....or even 40. Nope, in fact we were going to be running more miles then it was degrees outside. Sweet, whos idea was this!?

We were lucky enough that the temps reached 15 before we set out. The run was ok and by ok I mean, my legs felt like lead pipes and my butt was so frozen I was pretty sure it had fallen off and at one point as we were running into the wind I couldn't feel my face. I must have apologized to Daneille 101 times for my slow pace. I keep telling her I am rocking my runs and kicking butt and then we run together and I suck. Haha. Luckily shes a great friend and said "We can't always have a good run". Ahhhhh....true friendship right there. It felt really nice to get out there and log the miles, despite the pace. 10 miles is better then 0 miles, correct? While on our run she assured me that "I don't think it's ever been this cold for the mid winter classic". Thanks, cause I was seriously thinking of bailing on it. Who signs up for a 10 mile race in February in Maine? Oh wait, me. Oy!

Danielle and I post 10 miler in our stylin' MDI Marathon jackets!

So thank you winter for punching me in the face. Can we make up and be friends now? I really didn't mind the 50 degree temps.

coming back with a bang...

One of the things I've been itching to do since being laid up after surgery is to get another tattoo. I wanted something that symbolizes and represents all that I went through. The highs, the lows, the strength and patience I needed to get through tough days. Tough days when I was popping vicodin every 2 hours so that I could stand up straight. Tough days when I was getting in trouble at work for forgetting things (maaaaybe all those pain meds didn't help in that department). Tough days when I burst out crying for no reason except that I was tired of living like this. Yeah, I know this whole ordeal only totaled 6 months of my entire life but it was a difficult 6 months for me.

This summer I spent many hours watching NY Ink....oh, Ami please open a shop in Maine, k thanks. Every time I watched it my idea for my tattoo got bigger and a little crazier. Of course twitter didn't help "just go for it Sarah", "go big!". I designed and redesigned for several weeks. I had pretty much figured out what I wanted to get.

A few days after the MDI Marathon relay a new idea popped into my head. MDI was a killer race for me. It's where I grew up. It's a  tough course that going into I just hoped I could finish. It's a race I felt so strong, so happy and so blessed. It wasn't easy but I did it. I've never really been emotional during races but the last mile of that race is one I will always remember. My relay buddy Ally met me 1 mile out from the finish and I remember saying "I'm on my way to a killer PR, just get me there!". I came into the finish and heard the announcer say something about a strong women (Or in my mind thats what I heard. Really, I have no clue what exactly she said). At that point I threw my hands up over my head and had a huge smile plastered over my face. As soon as I crossed the finish line I pumped my fists my friend and one of the race directors came up and gave me the biggest hug ever. We twirled around for a while and she told me how proud she was of me. Then I saw Jamie who finished the race hours before (still not quite sure why he was still hanging around) and I gave him a huge hug and yelled "Jamie! 6 minute PR!". He later told me he saw me coming into the finish and saw the look on my face that he had no choice but to be equally as excited for me.

Annnnnnyway, you get the idea. MDI was huge for me. I was supposed to be running my first full that day. I probably shouldn't have been out there running as hard as I was but I busted my butt to get back in shape and I was not going to miss it.  The course is absolutely beautiful....

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

I swear...these are all views along the course taken the day after the race. It's hard to pick a favorite spot on the course but one of them would have to be the couple mile stretch along Sargent Drive. No cars and you literally run along side the water. Sargent Drive is also home to THE tree.

My original idea for my tattoo involved a Celtic Tree of Life. Symbolizing a new life and strength. A few days after the race though I decided to scratch that idea and use this tree. A tree thats a long a course that means so much to me. After countless drafts and various ideas of how to make it work we came up with this...

Live Life Full Throttle is a motto I really like, but also means a lot to me. I added the crow because A. I like it and B. Crow Athletics is the host running club of the MDI Marathon (among a ton of other kick butt races) and anyone that gets a crow tattoo becomes a lifetime member...so naturally I had to do it. I'm a lifer! Caw! Caw!

So in the spirit of living life full throttle I'm thinking about my 2012 plans. It's going to be awesome. I just don't want to plan/announce too much too soon.... last time I did that I was out of commission for 6 months. No more of that! I'm taking it day by day but be prepared for some exciting things!

What's 2012 looking like for you? Anything you think I should add to my list?

I'm baaaaaack!

Yeah, I know....it's been a while....a long while. HEY! It's my blog, I'm allowed a break. I needed a break. I needed to step away from social media and spend time with my amazing family. We've been super busy this fall...

We've been to baseball games...

camping... 

apple picking...

to the fair...

to the top of cadillac mountain... 

and trick or treating!

I've had an amazing fall, setting PR's like it's my job and falling in love with running....speed work....hard work and sweat. I'm refreshed and ready to come back. This fall I ran a half marathon and PRd by 3 minutes, in the pouring rain, heavy winds and a nutrition bonk at mile 10. Then 2 weeks later I ran a 2 person marathon relay on a difficult course and PRd my half again, this time by 6 minutes. I also ran a couple 5ks this fall. The first one was on a Sunday and I PRd by 10ish seconds?? Then I ran one the following Thursday and set another PR, this time by 50 seconds! I tried to write race reports but I couldn't. I wanted to share with you how excited I tell you about the highs and lows of every mile. It just wasn't coming to me, believe me I tried. I have several drafts but nothing was working. I couldn't accurately express how blessed I was to be able to run, to run well, and to love every minute of it . Instead of trying to write them now, I'll just share a few photos. I think they say it all...

ally just completed her 13.1 mile leg and im about to take off on mine

the top of some hill (hence the "i wanna die right now" face)  

the finish line after a kick ass 13.1 mile leg and a 6 minute PR on a tough course

ally my relay buddy,  danielle who just became a maniac and me!

So don't fear. I'm still here and I'm defiantly still running. I just needed a bit of a break.  I'm ready to kick some butt in 2012!