Less Than A Week!

I have a bib number assigned to me already for the Pig Half: 16655. Looks like they are doing the chip timing a little different this year. I have never received a bib number prior to packet pick-up either, but it's been a couple of years since I've done this race.

I am not sure if people are able to follow my progress on the flying pig website on race day as I pass over the checkpoint timing mats (nor am I sure anyone would really want to!) All the bigger marathons seem to be doing this now and it is a cool feature. I from last year that at the expo there is a place to sign people up to receive text messages of my time and pace at the checkpoints, which I think are 5K, 10K, 15K maybe and finish. Greg followed me that way in Akron and thought it was pretty cool. It is especially helpful to know when you are trying to meet up with someone after they finish.

Here's the course map. I can't wait!

Come On, Legs

The Flying Pig half marathon is May 3rd. At two weeks away, this weekend was my last time to do a long run before the race. It was a beautiful weekend, but unfortunately, it was an ugly run. As soon as I left the driveway, I knew it was going to be bad. My legs felt like they were full of sand. My breathing was way too hard for as slow as I was going. And the effort also felt really hard for as slow as I was going. I wasn't looking forward to 11 miles of this difficulty. But I knew that if I didn't do it, I'd regret it and suffer more at the race. So I quickly threw out any hopes of maintaining a certain pace and kept telling myself I just have to cover the distance. Which I did, minus one mile, painfully.

After the first 3 miles I felt like I had already ran 10. Anything that wasn't downhill felt like uphill. Half way through I stopped and took a break. I sat down, but really wanted to lie down. I ate my gel and drank some water. Then I started back to home, which made me feel better - at least I was on my way back. I could smell the stable! For a mile or so I felt a lot better. Then everything seemed to pile up again and I had no energy. So I walked occasionally and stopped for breaks. My pace was a crawl by the end. I made myself go to 10 miles, feeling that would be enough mentally. There was no sense in pushing myself one more mile to go the planned 11 when I was hating it so much. It just wasn't my day.

I felt fine later. My legs and body just didn't cooperate with me that morning. I guess their idea for a fun morning was to curl up in the sun with a good book and a cup of coffee instead of my eager idea to go run 11 miles. I just hope they join forces with me the day of the race!

How Many Creative Titles Can One Invent to Say One Went for a Nice Run?

The Pig Half is in 19 days and I get an annoying, unnecessary email from them every day reminding me of this fact (where "fact" is days left until Pig). I need to unsubscribe!

After the Heart Mini, I felt great. However, starting the Monday after it, I did suffer some sort of weird coughing sickness and feel like today is my first full day of not having coughing fits. Relief at last! I was worried that it would carry on and I wouldn't be able to attempt my 12 miles this weekend. I think it is partly allergies (damn trees having to grow their leaves again).

So, yep, 11 or 12 this weekend in preparation for the Pig. The weather is going to be beautiful. I may try to do it Friday to get it out of the way for the weekend. Tonight I ran a quick 2 miles and felt pretty good. Nothing eventful. In fact life in general has been rather mundane recently.

But here's a funny of Steph not thinking before speaking (common practice of mine) and interacting with Old People. Tonight we were picking up wiper blades for Greg's car. I went over to a book section of the store and found an older gentleman and his even older mother (I know because he called her so) looking through crossword puzzle books. I think they were just passing the time, entertaining themselves in the store with the books, rather than buying them. Uh, because what else do you do on a rainy Tuesday night, right? Anyway, I heard (or thought I heard) the man say, "L - O - L ... now what on earth could that one mean!" I stepped nearer and said "laugh out loud", thinking I had earned my badge to Educate the Uninformed for the day. I was also prepared to follow up with what the Interwebs is and how computers work. He looked at me. Then he said, "On no, [pointing into book] I said L - O - L - L. I know what LOL means." Me: "Oh! I thought I heard...er...l-o-l...of course you know what it... " sheepishly scampers away...

So before any of you out there who know me (you know who you are, Jannelle) accuse me of talking down to the old folks because of my disdain for Grumpy Old People (Homo oldandgrumpius, a certain genus that have given me nightmares and cause me to shudder even now!), this example/incident/embarrassing moment is my proof for my innocence. I was simply trying to help. If I was an Old People Hater, I would have snubbed my nose, laughed at the incredulity of someone not knowing what lol means, and maybe even given old grandma a good shove on her walker. See? Sharp contrast here.

Heart Mini Marathon 15K Report

The weather was less than lovely. About 38º and rainy. But we all know that's worse for the supporters (aka fans) than the runners! Thanks for sticking it out in Brueggers and the Westin, Greg!

I felt very prepared for this race. Didn't do anything stupid like play kickball the night before or eat loads of spaghetti that would sit heavy in my stomach the next day (some of my past mistakes). I was looking at it as a run, not a race, but had a specific pace in mind. My last 15K was the Mason Mini, and it wasn't great. I was hoping that this time I'd feel good, improve my pace and feel better about the upcoming Pig Half. Check, check and check!

Overall the race course seems like it would be boring, but I enjoy it. It goes out Columbia Parkway from downtown, where there aren't spectators except at the water stops. I think it's the rolling hills that keeps it interesting for me.

Going out, I went a tad bit faster than planned, but it was hard to tell from the hills. I felt like my effort was right on target, so I just kept going at that pace. I listened to different runners' stories (kind of eavesdropping I suppose, but I was bored) and that kept me entertained for part of the time. Things definitely improved when the leaders were coming back and I could start looking at other people ahead of me on their way to the finish.

After the turnaround I could only think about Torrence. It is a huge hill and I kept worrying that it would ruin me for the rest of the race. When I got there, I plodded up it trying to keep my heart and breathing rate under control. I was passing people who were walking it, which kept me motivated. After reaching the turnaround to go down, I was relieved, but it was still hard! My quads were definitely getting weaker, and since it was wet, I was extra cautious. I made it to the bottom and heard someone say, "Well now it's just a 5K!". Ug. That was correct. Just a 5K. On thrashed legs!

There was one more large hill back into downtown that felt similar to Torrence. I really struggled up that one. Plus the wind kicked in pretty hard! At one point a gust was strong enough to stop my progress a little, and me and a guy running next to me exchanged "holy crap I don't need this right now!" faces about it. :)

I gave all I had at the end. It wasn't much of a sprint, more of a flailing push.









Tyrannosaurus Rex arms-RAWR! I also need to work on my grumpy face.

So in summary, I felt great the entire time. My breathing wasn't even hard until the hills in the last half. My legs felt good, until they were pushed, but that was expected. My end time was 1:41:09, which is a 10:53 pace. While still not where I was a couple of years ago, this was a HUGE improvement from last fall (11:43 - eek). So I finally feel like I'm improving! And I feel like I'm ready for the hills in the Pig, at least mentally.












Ick!

Heart Mini is coming...

Last weekend I ran 6 miles– my last "long run" before the Heart Mini Marathon this Sunday. I felt pretty good the entire time. My knees got a little wobbly at the end, but I think they were cold and stiff. My pace was slowish but comfortable, so I'm happy. I'm not aiming for a particular pace (well, secretly I might be). This is more of just a practice for the Pig and fun way to get in a 9.3 mile run. I still don't know what my goal is going to be for the Pig. It probably should just be to finish strong and not hurt, but if I can get work under control and train better next month, I might try to up it a bit if I'm better prepared.

There was nothing too exciting experienced during my run. I was kind of bored as I plodded along, but it was a nice mental break from working so much recently. The weather was great– sunny and 55º I think. I was in shorts and a t-shirt, and there was a slight breeze to keep things cool. I did get chased by a teeny-tiny, fat little poodle-looking dog that had a bow in its hair. Vicious! I stopped to pet it and it smelled of shampoo. I think it was wider than it was long, giving it an odd square shape when looking at it from overhead.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be 68º so I will probably run in the afternoon to take advantage of the weather. I never had an invisible friend as a child, but I'm thinking about creating an invisible running partner to talk to while I run- lol. I suppose I could recruit the dogs. Dexter could stand to lose a few.

Broomball Game #3

We played a very good team that had a couple of guys who were clearly not beginners. However, the team as a whole was fun to play because they weren't rough/dirty and they really pushed us to be better.

We scored first. Then they answered. Then we scored again. But in the final minutes, they scored and it was by a girl. Unknown to us, rules in co-ed are if a girl scores it's worth two points. Dumb. So now we have a new strategy - girls are going to play up front more. :)

I'm sore, but no one got hurt this time since it was such a clean game. Recently someone broke a rib after they were slid into, so the league has really cracked down on staying on your feet. Unfortunately, most of our team played on Fountain Square last year, where I guess sliding was what you did. Hard habit to break for some.

Signed up for the Heart Mini-Marathon

I'm signed up for my first "race" of the year, the Heart Mini-Marathon.

It is 15K, 9.3 miles. It's a great race - I've done it once before and happened to catch it on a good weather year that was dry and sunny. We'll see what this year brings!

I have all the races I'd like to do off to the side of the blog for '09. And yes...I've decided to try to do a marathon. (!) It all started from my old friend Sarah - we've discussed how we both are "aspiring" marathoners. She had made a post about whether or not to do one. I told her she should just do it. I was sick of hearing myself saying "someday" and wondered if she felt the same. She agreed. So we're both going to try to do one some time in the fall - probably not the same one, but maybe at the same time so we can share each other's pain! :)

I'm enjoying my runs recently and look forward to spring!!

35º and Sunny... and There Was a Cat

I had a great run from the studio yesterday. I didn't have my watch. I usually have a run that feels fast on days I forget my watch, therefor leaving me not so certain that it was as speedy as it felt. Regardless, it felt great.

It was sunny and cold. I saw a few dogs, a cat, a dead animal (less of it and in a different spot from the last time I was on the trail), a man who looked like a cross between Tom Petty and Johnny Cash, and a lone icicle hanging from a tree branch over the trail. Who says the trail is boring?

Funny thing about the cat. My first thought when I see a stray cat is to be wary of it. I believe this unnatural behavior goes back to a bad experience I had as a child getting off the bus one day. It was a warm, fall afternoon and the corn was still up. I was walking down my driveway (which was long) by myself. I may have even been skipping for joy. But then, I heard something in the corn and saw a cat come out.
















It was meowing, loudly... more like a painful yell. I could tell even from it being not very close that it was hurt. I stopped and it started running toward me. But then I got freaked out and didn't want anything to do with it because I thought it was going to attack me. It looked like it had survived a "Will it Blend" Blendtec demo. I just kept walking, trying to ignore it like you do a big, unfriendly dog. It kept coming towards me, and at one point [warning: gross] I noticed I could see the bones in its tail. At this point I lost it and began half running down the driveway while sobbing. I probably thought I was going to die. My mom was standing by the garage and looked at me like I was nuts. I just thought we needed to get into the house as quick as possible before this thing ate us.

So that's my cat story. I think the cat hung out around our back door. When my Dad got home, I believe he took it somewhere and dumped it, because that is what you do in the country. So back on the trail: When I saw this cat, I'm embarrassed to admit I picked up a stick just in case the thing decided to attack.

And I can go camping with no fear of bears.

Valentine's Day

I'm attempting to increase my mileage for the Pig. The "increase" part shouldn't be hard since I was going from sporadic runs of practically nothing! Before the Pig is the Heart Mini 15K (9.3) at the end of March. I've done that race once and it was great. Will be a nice confidence builder for the Pig.

I went a slow, relaxing 5 miles on Valentine's Day... to celebrate my love of running (just kidding). It was a great run - crisp and sunny. It still hurts to breathe deep though. A couple of weeks ago I had a strange kink in my back that escalated to screaming pain and a trip to Urgent Care. So my back/ribs/indeterminable area deep inside my chest was sore again, but it's getting better.

I have no idea what my pace is right now. I'm just trying to get faster. I can't stand running by myself any more and am very determined to be a tolerable pace to run with others!!

Spring-like Weather in February

Today's forecast was 60º and sunny. Tuesday and Wednesday are also supposed to be near 60º and rainy. It is such a tease.

Unfortunately I didn't get to run in this weather today. Perhaps I'll have a soggy jaunt tomorrow morning. But while I was walking into work today, I had an unexpected flashback to running in Florida.

When we moved to Tampa–for a brief 4 months–it was February. I was looking forward to avoiding the slushy winter of Cincinnati, but was surprised by some chilly mornings when we first got down there. I never had to break out the hat and gloves, but I did wear long sleeves and tights for a couple of days. However, it became "spring" in no time.

We lived on Tampa Bay, or a part of it that was channeled for homes, hotels and apartment buildings to be built along. A quarter mile from our door and you were on the actual bay. I would run along the causeway with the bay on both sides of me. It was my only option, as the other direction was the highway and airport, but I never grew tired of it. When going out from the apartment, off to the right the water started out very shallow. You could see the sand at low tide. Occasionally there would be a small chunk of land off in the distance overgrown with greenery, with many different sea birds flocking around it. I always wanted to get closer to those "islands" and see what they looked like up close. On the left the water was deeper and you could see for miles. Depending on how hazy it was, you could see another bridge in the distance.

The sun was always shining. Early in the morning it wasn't as hazy quite yet. And even at 10:00 in the morning, my fair Ohio skin could get a sun burn after a long run. There were a couple of runs that I saw dolphins. There were a couple of runs I saw slow, calm manatee in the channel along our apartment. I always got so excited and wondered when the novelty would wear off. Small lizards scampered across the paved trail along the causeway, I saw all kinds of different birds that would fly from bush to bush just in front of me, never realizing that I wasn't going to stop interrupting them. Fishermen camped out early in the mornings with their trucks parked half in the sand. A few of my runs went the entire length of the causeway and back. Flat sunny craziness with a hot breeze.

This morning as I walked through Luxottica's huge parking lot toward the building, for some reason it suddenly felt like I was in Tampa. I was startled as the running memories came flooding back so vividly. I clomped along in my uncomfortable heels wishing I was running for the next spot of shade. And then I was interrupted by the sound of Canadian geese honking. I looked up and there were 3 flocks overhead in shaky V formations. I laughed because it sure wasn't the sound of sea gulls or the bay. But I think I should try to pay more attention to what is around me here.

Winter "Storm"

We got some inches, which constitutes a WINTER STORM!!! Take cover!!!






































I hope that it gets packed down enough on the trail to do a run on the bike trail. Right now it is a little deep. They certainly don't clear it, so it will be a slippery mess for a while. But if it's just snow, that's the best.

It could be a few days before I can run outside again. I'm not the most sure-footed and don't find slipping around while running too enjoyable. The trail will probably be my best bet. I did get a 3 mile run in yesterday before the white death came. It was cold, only 23º, but I wasn't really chilled until I got back.

More pictures of the river. I took these after I left the studio today.

Broomball Game #2

Game #2 began with PiMT (Party in My Tummy) using some "key learnings" (forgive my corporate term) at the previous night's Cyclones hockey game we all went to such as: offense should stay in a triangle, center moves all over the place, and clear the ball during powerplays.

Alas, while we had some good strategies, we lost. Gremlins 1, PiMT 0. It was kinda a cheap goal though honestly.

We started out with good energy, but no one switched up the line for an entire 5 minutes– something to work on. Our opponents were a little bit better, or at least had some key players that had some better skills. And they were way more aggressive. Plus most of them had broomball shoes so they were faster. All considered, we held on pretty well.

I don't think anyone on our team got too hurt, but I did take an even better spill than last time. #23 slide tackled me from behind, taking my legs completely out from under me. So I landed on my elbow, stomach and head. There was a collective "Ooooh!" when I hit the ice that I do remember. The guy was of course sorry. It rattled me and I couldn't get up right away, but I did hobble over to our bench. Half time came a few minutes later and I was recovered by the time I went back out. I do have a nice lump on my arm that is starting to turn colors already. I suppose I will be donning my old rollerblade elbow pads for the next game :)

We have a pretty good defense, but miss chances to take the ball into our zone on offense. We get a little too carried away with clearning the ball rather than trying to score. We also need to put more pressure on the other teams when they have the ball. We're in an intro league, so in theory, the other team should be just as crappy at handling the ball as we are.

Post game we went to Gordo's for some burgers and beer. Definitely a great post game strategy. Here are some horrible blurry pictures I snapped while I was on the bench. At least you can kind of get the idea of what it looks like. Our team is in black. The net is bigger than a hockey net and what would be a puck is the orange ball which is about the size of an oversized grapefruit on steroids.

January Is Dark and Broomball Is Fun

Not much news these cold dark days, but in the spirit of posting somewhat regularly, in case anyone actually reads this thing, I'm posting about the most recent fun: broomball! For those not familiar: http://www.cincinnatibroomball.org/

Greg and I joined a league team and played our first game this past Sunday. It was ridiculously fun. Our team, Party In My Tummy really came together with all our novice-ness and managed to not score against the Universal Forest Products. (But they didn't score either!) We did manage to have somewhere around 8-10 penalty points, 6 of them taken by one proud, tripping teammate: Pete. In our broomball league, if you lose control of your body and inadvertently take someone out, it's a penalty whether you meant it or not. So for those of us flat on the ice more than on our feet, this could be a problem!

We started the game with probably only 3 or 4 of us truly understanding the floating blue line. (Once you are in your offensive zone, the blue line "floats back" to the red line and you get a bigger playing area.) So we had confused teammates screaming "offsides!" from the bench the entire game. And then there are those with soccer history that while playing defense think they can't come up past a certain line to keep the ball in the zone. And the rest of us just floated around on the ice not really knowing where to go or what to do. Did I mention the other team was a mirror of our fantastic skills? All put together this made for some GREAT broomball! :)

No one seemed to get too hurt on our team. I fell and smacked my helmeted head on the ice, which was just shocking rather than painful. I think trying to stop yourself from falling makes things worse. The other thing I learned was when you attempt to purposely slide on the ice, as in your body not feet, you go WAY faster and farther than you thought you would.

After the game, Greg and I went to dinner with our friends Shawn and Sarah and discussed strategies and ways to make it better. They played on a league last year at Fountain Square's rink, which is about a third of the size of the Gardens' rink. So the rules were a bit relaxed and the action quite a bit different. Positions weren't so important. We all agreed we need to go to a Cyclones game and pay attention to the positions. Having grown up watching hockey, I get the positions, the offsides, etc etc. The main difference is you don't change directions on a dime like you do in hockey. It was like we were all in slow motion. Hilarious to watch.

The ref was awesome, explaining all the rules and penalties and plays as they happened. By the end of the game, I think because everyone was so tired we just all kind of stood around looking at each other after a whistle. He had to yell at us to hurry up to faceoff a few times. :) Other key learnings: don't take your helmet off while at the bench (in case a tired teammate needs you to sub... NOW!), you can kick the ball but be prepared to fall, and remember a freakin' water bottle.

Good fun. Next week I'll remember to take my camera to our bench and snap some action shots. I'm definitely sore and could use a massage right now. Know some things to practice. I'm even thinking my studio building could be a nice indoor practice area :)

January Work

Running has been rough. The weather has matched my motivation - gloomy, dreary and cold. I haven't gotten out there. I know that's no excuse and I should at least be hopping on my bike......... but....... I haven't.

Business-wise, things have been going well. I am filling in at Luxottica for a girl who is on vacation and then going on a OneSight mission. I have another "fill in" opportunity coming in February for someone else going on a mission. It is great to have the hours lined up. It pays to be a tiny, affordable small business right now. On the other hand, I have been thinking more and more about where I want to take this business – what kind of work do I want to be doing, how much of it, etc etc etc. I think I have come to the conclusion that I can't do what I really want to do with the business on my own, solo. If I want to do more creative things outside of production and reformatting work, that just takes collaboration with others. So I either need to 1) scale back my scope of work, be a freelancer, and maybe try to focus on becoming an artist (for money and for enjoyment) or 2) get a business partner.

Some upcoming changes in the economy and Greg's work may effect the outcome of future decisions. We shall see. I'm really happy with any of my options, I just need the adjustments to happen sooner than later I think.

Happy New Year!

Well it is 2009...here's to a great new year. I have always loved the turning of the calendar from the old year to the new. Not because of the partying (though that can be quite enjoyable as this year proved), but because of the fresh start and new beginnings. It's a clean slate to start marking up– new dreams to create and fulfill, new places to see and experience, and new accomplishments to hopefully, uh, accomplish. It's life, I suppose.

So moving on to the progress of running- I hope to see that happening in the next few weeks. I am not a fan of cold weather. Recently I've been very poo-poo about the coldness, whining about not wanting to run in the cold, dark, rain, snow, etc. But I think I'm just going to ignore it and see how that goes. Pretend there is no weather. I know people would say, well when it's 90º outside this summer you'll wish it was cold! No. No I won't.

Rough plans for running this year are to:
1. Actually run regularly (imagine that!)
2, Do mid-distance races like half marathons and under. First race will probably be the Heart Mini-Marathon which is 9.3 miles. The Pig is in May and marathon buddies Paula and Daryl will be coming down for that one (I'll be doing the half). Then I'm not sure what else.
3. Fulfill the ongoing goal of becoming fast enough that Greg the Speedster can bear to run with me by springtime... when he comes out from his running hibernation hole, finds his shoes and starts to run again.

So here's to a great running year and interesting blog posts about it!