UK Edition: Run a Mile (Or Four)

First things first, let me acknowledge and thank the wonderful strangers in this world that don't kill you when you ask them a question when you are hot and sweaty, the sun is setting, and you obviously sound like a foreigner. Thank you. Thank you to the young man that told me to just keep running down the hill and turn left. You probably saved my life (and a lot more running...ok maybe not really because I was on the right road and direction, but still). Who knew people like that still existed??

I brushed off my dusty running shoes and used them. To run. Yes, believe me.

I finally ran (for the first time since the Halffer)! What? You don't remember? All that training? You even forgot the freezing-cold-weather training?! Maybe you remember now.

I have really wanted to run while in England but hadn't gotten the chance to. Or more honestly, I have also been lazy when it comes to running, in addition to being busy eating out and seeing the city here. But I did it! And I'm glad I did! The weather has been pretty nice after work this week (minus the rain). It was pouring rain as we left work but a few hours later it cleared right up. It made for a pretty sweaty run but that didn't stop me. It felt great to sweat!

If you read my little introduction you may have already guessed I got a little lost. I was running and running, following my way back to my place from the way I came. I knew I missed my turn when I went down a really steep hill to what looked like I was headed out of town. Not quite right. So I turned around and took a turn on a familiar sounding road (Duchy Road...how do you not remember that?). It looked about right but not quite, so I turned again toward my place. Well, I ended up on a short dead end and knew it was time to ask for help. It was starting to get dark (around 21:30ish) and even though I was wearing a highlighter pink shirt (thanks Meg and Riss!) I didn't want to take a chance if I didn't have to. Thankfully I saw a human sitting in their car with the door open, shuffling through papers or cds. I asked the young man for directions and he quite nicely told me to just keep going. Ahh, I was so happy for nice people! Sure enough, he was right and I was relaxed.

My short, joy-ride jog turned into 36 minutes and nearly four miles (thanks to mapmyrun.com), which I was originally going to blame the slow pace and short time on all the hills and change in elevation but it turns out I didn't have to blame it on anything! I consider it a good run even if it wasn't exactly what I had intended. No worries! I made it home safe and sound.

I wanted to take a picture of the Lunar (?) eclipse tonight so I quick grabbed a camera (after dabbing off at least a pint of sweat) and headed out. I stuck out like a sunburned, sore thumb! Not only was I wearing exercise clothes in a bright color (come on, people dress "smart" here and don't wear athletic clothing out in public), sweating my buns off, and carrying a camera, I was surrounded by families with children dressed in crisp white shirts and black pant school uniforms leaving from what I assume was a band concert of some sort. Ahhh oh well. I wasn't trying to impress anyone (and I surely didn't!).

Have you done any exercising lately? Stuck out like a sore thumb like I did tonight? Twice!

All for now. Cheers mates!

The Halffer!

We did it! We ran the Halffer on May 1 and we all survived. It was cold, rainy, snowy and windy. Not the greatest day for a race but we made it anyways. The best part, my aunt Steph qualified for Boston with only a few seconds to spare!

I'm proud of all of us and am glad we could run our first 13.1 mi together!

Probably not the cutest picture of all of us but that's not the point now, is it. :)

Bring on the next Halffer!

15 Days to the Halffer!

Before our 12 mile run last weekend. Its fuzzy but something about it is just cute.

Happy weekend to all!

Pat Benatar

The scene: Luke and I running together as we are training for the Halffer. He is listening to music on my old iPod. Of course, I put sweet tunes on it that I thought he might appreciate. :) His momentum starts to pick up, usually indicative of a "good song."

We reach the intersection. A car is coming. We stop and allow the car to pass, which probably lasted a mere 4.5 seconds.

Luke: Nuts! I'm on a good song.
Me: What one?
Luke: Pat Benatar.
Me: Oooh, which one?!
Luke: Love is a Butterfly.
Me: A butterfly? (skeptical)
Luke: Yeah. (serious)
Me: Love is a Battlefield?
Luke: Oh, I thought they said butterfly.

Bahhh, I busted a nut. At least it got me through the next half mile!



Luke and I at one of his motocross races two summers ago. He's taller, not me.
An oldie but a goodie!



F.O.U.R.

Luke and I ran FOUR miles Saturday! Together! Eeeeeek! And in a little over a 10 min/mile pace! Early in the morning, plenty of time left to enjoy the rest of the day, hang with friends and family. It was glorious.

Sure four miles may not be the greatest distance ever to be ran but to us it was pretty sweet. We all (sisters and Luke) officially started our 10-week training programs for the Halffer last week. Luke and my first long run was four miles and by golly we did it and we got to do it together. We stuck pretty close to our scheduled number of miles throughout the week too. Could've done better but pretty dang good considering the chilly weather and week one of training.

I guess that's all the more of an update I have for now. Just wanted to share the joy of our fun run together.

Packers Game Day

Today is the big day! I can hardly wait for kickoff, I feel nauseous. In honor of my favorite team, a little Packer love, and to show my support I sported this today on my run...get ready, you'll be stunned.

Wahoo! My Rodgers jersey fit perfectly on the outside of my coat so I of course couldn't resist wearing it. It was great! Before leaving my apartment building I got a "Nice jersey!" compliment and before even running for one minute I got a "Go Pack!" cheer from another runner wearing a vintage Packer hat. It was wonderful. I only hope I was able to make a few people smile as they saw me showing my Packer love. Its really not a great picture, I know. Except for the green and gold. And that I was so bundled up for the single digit temperature. But its worth it.

I can't wait!

Run #2

I think I'm ready! For the Halffer that is! Run #2 of the year completed tonight. For some reason, maybe it was the delicious rice krispy I ate before I started, I was on a roll, couldn't stop running! I ran 2.77 miles according to mapmyrun.com in 30 minutes without stopping to walk. Sure its a 10:49 mile but I think its pretty dang good I ran the whole time. I wanted to keep going but didn't want to push it and overwork my horribly out-of-shape body.

We (my Halffer team and I) have approximately 14 weeks to go. In other words, we need to get our butts in gear! Eeek time is going by so fast! I'm not planning on giving an update every time I run but I thought this was a milestone and needed to share.

Resolutions

In hopes that I will stick to my current hopes and desires, I am opening my brain to you lovelies to share my "resolutions." I'm not a huge fan of resolutions becuase any time is a good time to start doing something different. Sometimes people just need a kick in the pants (like the start of a new year) to get them going. Well, I wouldn't really say that is what happened in my case. These things just came to me before and during the holidays and I have collected my thoughts "in the new year."

Create a masterpiece once a month.
Some sort of artsy or crafty project, cheap and useful. Enough said. I'll share my designs.

Train for the Halffer!
I don't want to slack off until the last minute for this one. It will take time and dedication and I want to give it that. I also hope to at least be active after its over. Maybe I'll like it so much I want to do another one!

Life and friends.
Life is what you make it. There is no waiting around for the next part of your life because THIS part of your life is happening NOW. This came to me while driving home from shopping the other day. The things you do with your time make you you, so why sit around and wait for something new to happen? Friends are a part of life (just as family is, which is a given in my book because I love my family) and only make it sweeter, which is why I am going to be more proactive about keeping in touch with them.

Let the new year begin (now that we are four days in)!

I think I need to add "Take more pictures" to the list. I wanted to post a recap of the holidays but have little to no pics to show! Definitely more pictures to be made in 2011.

Ready, Set, Run

Ever since I have personally known people that run marathons (yes, multiple) I have wanted to run one myself. Sure I'm not exactly the most athletic or in shape person but I do like to run...when I actual get out and do it, that is.

Well I'm doing it! Along with my sisters and Luke. The half, that is. Our aunt is doing the full. May 1 is the big date! That leaves quite a bit of time to train but considering my current state of in-shape-ness I decided to do something about it tonight. You betcha. So did Luke!

My trusty running shoes. My newest best friends!

Thirty minutes and approximately 2.5 miles in less than 10° F weather I feel great! Its a start. Wish us luck!