Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Plain Clothes Runner





*Awesome Products
*Awesome Fabric that everything is made out of
*Awesome Fit
*Awesome Service
*Awesome Prices


What's NOT to LOVE about Plain Clothes Runner products?

There is NOTHING to NOT like about in MY opinion!

Recently I decided to order my hubs a couple of new running shirts ( he needs new stuff too right?) and the FIRST place I consider was Plain Clothes Runner! So I sent the awesome Mike an email to see about ordering some shirts and see if maybe just maybe he had anything he would like me to review~ and what do ya know he sure DID!! I purchased two running shirts for the hubs, red and white, and he LOVES them! The instant I received them he took the red shirt out of the package and put it on! We also ran a 3k recently and of course he went straight for his Plain Clothes Runner white shirt, although I did BEAT him for the first time EVER, he did look great wearing his Plain Clothes Runner shirt!!

A little info on Plain Clothes Runner (from the web site):
*Currently in their 2nd Anniversary of providing quality and value
* "Run wear- Any wear" apparel
*Plain and simple No expensive Coordinates
*No trendy, tight fitting outfits or prolonged preparation. Just casual, comfortable clothing that let’s you get up and go.

Mike was awesome enough to send me(and the hubs) a Rawlings Runner 1/4 Zip Pullover to try out and review. This jacket has been a lifesaver for me the last week, our wonderful Kentucky weather is so up and down right now that I am just cold all the time~ crazy weather! I have worn this jacket for a 8mi, 5mi and my long run of 20mi its not too hot yet keeps me warm enough!! It even has a key pocket that zips and I love the regular pockets they are deep and hold my gloves and hat! And the collar is just enough to keep my neck warm or cooled when unzipped!



Mike also told me that he will be having some NEW Spring/Summer items soon, I can't wait to see them! So if you are looking for some Awesome, New Running clothes be sure to check out
You WON'T be disappointed!!!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Wk#12 Marathon Training- The Good, The Bad & The Ugly AND.......

Here's how it went for me:

Tuesday- 5mi/49:47
Thursday- 8mi/1:15:43
Friday- 4.38mi/44:00
Saturday- 20mi/3:21:44

The GOOD:
On Tuesday my plan was to start at the park and go into town, when I got to the park I saw my original running buddy (he is 69yrs old and could out run me any day, not sure about now though!LOL) he is recovering from an injury so he is at a run walk pace, NO problem for me I was okay with taking it easy I was just glad to see him out! I ended up doing 2mi with him then finished off the 3mi myself~ might as well finish taking it easy and that I did.

The BAD:
I wanted to do my 8mi on Wednesday but it was storming after work so I went home about 30mins after I was home the storm was over and I should have went BUT I didn't! So Thursday it was a yucky rainy morning, it stopped by the afternoon but it was cold and damp, didn't matter though because I was doing my 8mi no matter what! I felt fine all day and was ready however when I took the first step to run my right leg pain was hurting. I continued on feeling like I was probably slow but too my surprise I wasn't. The pain continued but seemed to not hurt as bad the farther I went so I survived!

The UGLY:
Friday morning my legs were feeling tired so I wore my compression socks to work thinking I would be ready to do another 5mi after work. Once again the weather was cold and damp, Kentucky weather is CRAZY one day it is warm and sunny the next day it is cold, damp and windy, but again I was going no matter what! Since I already had my compression socks on and I was only running 5mi I decided to leave them on and see what happens? Again my leg hurt and hurt BAD from the first step I took but thinking about the day before and how it felt better I decided to keep on going and hope for the best! Well the best NEVER happened and I felt like it actually got worse!! I was trying my best to keep at least a 9:30 pace but was struggling the entire time. I took a couple of short walk breaks and it still hurt while walking so I decided to cut it short and ended up with 4.38mi since I knew we was long running the next day I was worried! I stressed all night about it thinking I was going to have to skip out and I just didn't really know what to do?

AND The BRUTAL:
I mean seriously what is NOT brutal about running 20miles? Especially thinking I would be walking most of it due to my stupid leg! And what do ya know I wake up with an angry stomach~ thanks stress! And then there was the wonderful weather..... a lovely 35 degrees with no sun and wind of about 18mph~GREAT!!! We decided once again to do part of it in town and the most of it on the country road (Bluegrass Pike for any locals) I like doing the town thing because I can keep up pretty good during that:) and for some strange reason my leg wasn't hurting every now and then I could feel it but not enough to call it painful. For some reason I don't take a GU when we do the town part so my first one was at 10.5mi and I was ready for it! At this point I was still able to keep up pretty well also but I also knew from that point for about the next 2.5mi was nothing but hills up and down and up with no down, so I was a little nervous but once again I was okay. Next GU at mile 13.5 and by this point my feet are killing me~ oh and have I mentioned that I constantly keep getting huge blisters on my big toes? WHY?? I told Sheri "I don't like for anyone to touch my feet but right now I think I want someone to rub my feet for me!" but I kept on going and started slowing down a bit. Mile 15 I was ready to just give up and wait for Sheri to finish and come back and get me but then I talked to myself about how there was ONLY 5mi left and about how proud of myself I am going to be and I was ready to keep on going again. Last GU stop at 16.5 and I was just ready for it to be over! We made one last pit stop at mile 19 as Sheri's toe was cramping, I was thankful though I was needing to stretch out myself also! The greatest part of the whole 20mi for me was mile 20, I was able to stay within 20 - 30 seconds of Sheri the entire time! And the fact that I kept a 10:05 pace for 20miles~HOORAY!!

Hope everyone has had a GREAT week of training, just running or whatever you may be doing now!
THANK YOU for following my journey!!
Happy RUnning!!!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Wk#11 Marathon Training- 2races+5days in a row=Not a good Long Run

I have SO GOT to space out my runs from this point on 37miles in 5days (in a row) has got me so physically tired I feel like I can not move any part of my body.

Here's how it went:
Wednesday- 8mi/1:15:56
Thursday- 2mi/16:46
Friday- 5mi/48:05
Saturday- 3.1mi/27:50
Sunday- 19mi/ 10:30pace Not sure of time my Garmin crapped out just like I did!


Other than running 5days in a row, I actually had some good runs this week until the long run. Wednesday I was ready for 8mi and felt great. My legs were still a little tender but I was still able to maintain a great pace. Thursday was a 3k race that you can read about HERE. Friday the hubs said he would run a little with me and wasn't it great that he said to me "please don't go off and leave me!" since he is used to being faster than me but my legs still hadn't quite recovered yet so I was thinking I would be keeping around a 10min pace, it ended up being more around 9:30:) and the hubs bless his heart was feeling it.  He stopped at 3.21mi and I finished out the 5 again with a great pace. Saturday once again was a race and you can read all about it HERE.
Sunday morning I really wasn't ready to go for 19mi. My leg was bothering me and I was tired. On my way to meet Sheri I ran over a squirrel and hit a bird~oh yea this is how my run is going to be. We decided to break it up a little and run 6mi into town and the other 13mi in the country where we do our long runs. The 6mi was great and I was able to keep a 9:45pace. I was dreading the other 13 due to the hills I knew my tired legs and body was not ready for it. I was only able to keep up with Sheri for the first couple of miles and then slowly each mile her lead got bigger and bigger. We would start out together at each GU/water stop but that was it. I just sucked ~in my opinion anyway. Then I realized somewhere along the way my garmin must have lost satellite or something cause I was about a half mile behind yet I ran the same distance as Sheri. Dang it! That just discouraged me even more than I already was. I knew going into it that morning that I WAS going to be slow and that is okay just do what I can and run it how I can is what I told myself. Well I let my mind get the best of me the farther Sheri got ahead of me, I was super proud of her for doing so well and majorly disappointed in myself, why couldn't I keep up? In the last 3mi I walked about 30 seconds and the last mile well I just gave up and walked it. I was mad, mad at myself, my leg hurt, my feet hurt I felt like a big loser. (My garmin did say my pace was 10:30 which really surprised me.) After a couple of days to reflect and think of how I did all of my runs back to back with no rest day its no wonder I was terrible. That's what I am hoping anyway, guess I will find out after next weeks long run!

Also since I have seemed to lost my followers and not get any comments to my weekly questions guess I will skip out on that part this week!

Thanks to all for following my journey!! Happy RUnning!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Run for the Gold 3k & Leprechaun Leap 5k Race Recaps

Yep That's right I did two races this week!! And they were AWESOME races for me:)
First up was the Run for the Gold 3k on Thursday March 17, 11. The age groups for this race goes by 10's, last year I was third but they only gave awards for 1st in each age group, this year the race was a larger and part of another series of races that I don't do and they did the top 3 in age groups but I didn't know that until it was time. I knew with all of the marathon training I have been doing I could do pretty good and hopefully if I am lucky beat the hubs. This race is also know known for having lots and LOTS of kids since it is for a school, and lots of them don't understand the meaning of going to the back if you are slower. This was the worst start of a race I have ever had! Since I am familiar with the course I had thought it out and made a plan in my mind. With all of the dodging and kicking other peoples hills going on at the start I almost forgot my plan. The hubs took off really fast I had a feeling it wasn't going to last since he hasn't ran in for ever. First I found my friend Kelli, we stayed together chatted a little, we got caught up in another slow area on a down hill and split ways and kicked it down the hill to pass them up then we was right behind the hubs! I told him as we was passing" you are about to get chick'd" I don't really think at this point that he thought I WAS going to beat him! The three of us stayed together and we made the final turn to the finish, Kelli looked at me and said" this is it Bobbie" and it clicked, my brain instantly absorbed what she said  and I told myself "you know what, this IS IT!" And I took off!

I am on the left w/braids Kelli is in the grey shirt w/shorts and the hubs is in the back behind Kelli in the white shirt and shorts

 My taking off couldn't have been any better if I had "planned" it:) I went by my mom and daughter so fast they didn't even see me, they had to look at the picture above to prove it was me!
And GUESS WHAT??????


I DID IT!!!!! I beat the hubs and got 1st place out of 120 females in my age group!! 14:36 Needless to say I was thrilled!



Next up was Saturday, March 19, 11 the Leprechaun Leap 5k. I am also familiar with course and really do NOT like it and I had to run 19miles the very next day, SO I decided I was not going to run it hard and just see what happens. None of my running buddies was planning on being there but I knew I would see people there. When I first got there I knew a couple of the race volunteers and asked how many was pre registered, he told me around 125 and it was a beautiful day so I had a feeling there would be more. I really don't want to get caught up in the "racing" of it. Once again since I knew the course I planned it out slow and steady wins the race, right??? There are 3 pretty good size hills the first one I took ok, the second one I walked about 10seconds and the third one I again walked about 20 - 30 seconds. As I was approaching the third hill I heard two guys coming up, I let them pass me while I walked then I got behind them and let them pace me through the last 1/2mile, once we made a turn to finish downhill I knew it was my time to pass them up again. Then in the final turn I heard them say to each other its just around the corner and they was taking off and so did I! Only one of them got past me and I got my best time on this course! 27:50
AND GUESS WHAT ELSE???

                                                  
YEP, 1st place in my age group again, 4th female overall and 25th out of 126!! THRILLED WITH MYSELF AGAIN!!! GO ME!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Shamrock Shuffle 3k


Last Saturday (the 12th) was the Shamrock Shuffle 3k. I really like the picture above its of us walking up towards the start, it makes me think of the movie the hangover when they are walking into the casino:) But anyway..........When I got up Saturday morning I just wasn't feeling the best. Nothing really wrong just NOT in the mood. I was really bummed about that too because this is really a fun race, lots of people and costumes good food. If you could see my face in the pic above you would be able to see it. This year the race just seemed really everywhere and out of control or maybe it was just me I just didn't feel it at all and didn't want to talk to anyone. Both Sheri and I had run the day before and wasn't planning on running this hard and we had our long run of 17miles the next day. Of course that is almost impossible when you are in a race! I feel like I took off way too fast at the start and really lost it at the end. I was able to finish one second behind Sheri and I had to push hard the the .25 to catch back up! I think the official time was 15:55 garmin had 15:56.
After race we went to Bob Evans to eat. Once again maybe it was just me but nothing seemed good to me and the waitress drizzled a little coffee on me! We also stopped at Kohl's and I got a pair of Fila running capri's, another pair of running capri's (not sure what brand) and two tanks~THANKS MOM!!! All in all I just wanted to get home BUT it was a GREAT day anytime you get to hang out with friends:)



Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Wk #10 Marathon Training- 1.13 miles Short......oops

Here's how my week went down:

Tuesday- 8mi/1:18:57
Friday- 7mi/1:04:22
Saturday- 1.87mi/15:56
Sunday- 17mi/2:56:50

The schedule said 5, 8, 5, 17 miles. As you can see above that is NOT how my week went. WHY?? Why can't I just keep on top of this schedule and get the runs done right~ UGGHHH!

But anyway....We decided to go ahead and run the 8miles on Tuesday since that was the only day during the week that we could run together and it was the only day not calling for rain. Our legs were still a little tender from Sundays long run but all in all it was a pretty good run. When we reached the 4mi turn around point we stopped for a moment off we went and umm what, what was that I just felt, yep Sheri felt it also....Rain drops! What happen to the <5% chance of rain GOOD thing it was only a few drops and poof no more~HOORAY!!! The Bad part was I totally stressed by right knee when I felt those few drops and was a little uncomfortable for a couple of miles. Wednesday was a great day for running but my legs were extremely tired as  well as the rest of my body so I chose not to run. Thursday I took my clothes to be able to run after work and warm clothes as it was cold, windy and what not again RAINING! Darn it! I could go to the gym for the treadmill but ugghh I don't want to, so I skipped out. By Friday I knew the week was coming to an end so I decided after work I WILL run 5mi but if I am feeling good I will just go as far as I feel like going to make up some of the other 5mi I was still missing. My 5mi turned into 7mi and it was a GREAT 7mi! The weather was perfect and since I hadn't run for two days I was feeling pretty fresh I ended up with a pace of 9:11~ WOW that is awesome for me:) Saturday was only 1.87mi ~ Why only 1.87 well it was a 3k race and I am working on the race report so that's all I am saying about it here~ Read my report coming up:)

Sunday long run day 17mi = WOW that is about all I can say (well not really) When I first woke up I was really really close to texting Sheri and saying "sorry I don't think I am coming maybe later"  my stomach was terrible and I was worried BUT I didn't and went on. Sheri always breaks the long runs down in her mind and I too have started looking at them the same way it really helps to complete them. Sunday we broke it down into 4.25mi sections, that is when we GU'd up and drank some water. This was the first day that the sun was out the entire run, it was nice and we even got sunburn on our face! The first two sections were great, not as fast as we have been doing on the long runs but only by about 15 - 20 seconds. Then we started off the the third section~ about 2mi into it both of us was feeling tired and ready for it to be over and we stopped for a brief break. Finally in the final 4.25mi section again about 2mi into it we was passing a  small church that was letting out and several of the cars had already passed us, we were over as far as we could single file on the side of the road when we could hear a vehicle behind us. No cars was coming in the other lane and the was plenty of room but this stupid ***** stayed behind us revving her engine until she finally zoomed past us! Being that I work at the DMV I got the license plate number!! Since it is against the privacy law to give out address I told Sheri I think we should write a note and tape it to the front door of the church??  ANY THOUGHTS??

HOW WOULD YOU HANDLE IT? HAVE YOU HAD ANY CLOSE CALLS WITH VEHICLES, ANIMALS OR ANYTHING??

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Running Shoe Keychain WINNER!!

                                                                18


LUCKY NUMBER 18 JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE

Sheridan Lee said...

Blogged it...


THIS GIRL IS ON A WINNING STREAK, SECOND PRIZE THAT I KNOW OF SHE HAS WON!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR FOLLOWING MY JOURNEY!! TRUST ME THERE IS LOTS MORE TO COME:)

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Wk #9 Marathon Training- Oh the Pain:( and We are Half way There!

First things first......Sorry I have been a bad blogger it just seems like I am always behind! Oh and don't forget my GIVEAWAY HERE the last day to enter is Friday!!!

Okay now here is how my week went:

Tuesday- 4mi/36:41
Wednesday- 7mi/1:11:23
Thursday- 4mi/42:11
Sunday- 16mi/2:41:37

Last week on our long run of 14mi my right well I am going to be honest both of my feet and heels were killing me for about the last couple of miles. By the last mile my left foot felt like phooey. I was worried, I don't have time for an injury right now. Tuesday I told myself I was going to take it easy just complete the miles don't worry about the time. So I only checked the garmin for the distance when I decided to look at the time I already knew there was only a half mile left and WOW was I surprised I was actually fast and that night my right leg started hurting. Wednesday Sheri and I was running together so I was worried my leg would be awful and hold her back, I really didn't even want to tell her about it but I did. At first it wasn't too bad but by about 2.5mi it was feeling worse Sheri asked me if I wanted to go on back but I kept on going I really slowed down in the last mile or so but I finished it! Thursday I was by myself and once again I told myself take it easy just run. I felt the pain straight from the beginning but it wasn't unbearable and I was able to keep about a 9:45 pace umm well until about mile 3. Dang IT, it is HURTING finally I just decided to walk the last half mile as you can see from my time above not the greatest. What the heck am I going to do, I am suppose to run 16mi on Saturday?? I took it as easy as I could Friday and the weather forecast for Saturday was 100% chance of rain! Yay for me we got to delay our long run until Sunday which gave my leg another day of rest:) I went and got some new shoes Saturday night (although I really wanted to order some online I NEEDED them NOW!!!!) Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11 at this point I was willing to try anything. Let me just say the 16 miles was FABULOUS!! Yes my feet got tired and my heels was somewhat sore but my leg did NOT hurt at all!! And we kept a pace around 10:06 which has us WAY above our Marathon finishing goal time.

At this point we are 8 weeks away from completing our first ever marathon! My mental thoughts at this point are GREAT I know in my mind I CAN and WILL do this and hopefully be able to run the entire thing. I know it is NOT going to be easy and that it is not only a mental challenge but also a physical challenge that even though I have aches and pains while training for I wouldn't want it any other way!

Question of the week time.....What kind of mental thoughts did You have while training for your "first ever" event? (Marathon, Half Marathon, 5k etc..) Do you let the "mental" game get the best of you or how do you push on through it?

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Wk#8 Marathon Training- Covering New Distances

From this week on until the Flying Pig Marathon once a week I will be running a new distance that I have NEVER ran before!

Here's how my week went:
Monday- 4mi/40:56
Wednesday- 6mi/59:48
Friday- 4mi/41:20  (Ugghh a dreadmill run)
Sunday- 14mi/2:25:52

As you can see I have been slow this week, however most of the runs this week have been GREAT! Monday was a holiday for me so I decided to go to the park, I wasn't sure if I was going to make two loops around the park or go from the park into town. After getting there I decided to just do a couple of loops around the park so I was near a bathroom just in case. The park is tough and very hilly and it was once again very windy, I struggled a little with the second loop and ended up walking a little.  Wednesday was an AWESOME run, although it was a bit lonely I really felt good the entire run. When I first started I wasn't feeling it then I gave myself the mental pep talk on how I needed to be doing this if I want to become a marathoner I mean how cool will it be to say "ya I DID THAT!!!" Then I started having a perfect run, again not the fastest but perfect.  Friday morning we had terrible high winds ( I think like 59mph) leftover from the storm the night before, I was in hopes it would go away by the end of the day but wasn't sure so I took both sets of running clothes inside and outside just in case. The wind did go away but I already told the hubs I would just go on to the gym with him and it was yucky cold and gloomy out so I hopped on the ole' dreaded 'mill. I've been slow all  week so I took this run the same slow and steady.
And then came Sunday, the day I would run a distance I have NEVER run before~OMG!
We knew there was a chance of rain Sunday afternoon so we decided to head out about 9am. At 8:50am on my way to meet Sheri and this is what it looked like from my windshield
 









GREAT I am going to have to run my first 14mi ever in my life in the RAIN!UGGHH! But we waited about 10 minutes and what do ya know it stopped raining:) HOORAY!! I decided this was a good time to break out the fuel belt and give it a try, if I didn't like it I could drop it off and pick it up on my way through, which I ended up doing with my jacket:) I actually enjoyed wearing the fuel belt, mine has 2 bottles I put water in one and some Orange GU Electrolyte Brew (the powder kind not the new tablets) in the other. I also knew that this was going to be the day I HAD to start taking and experimenting with taking more than on GU. I have been worried cause I usually end up with a belly ache and have to go right now, however as bad as I hate to admit it I have had to stop in the bushes more than once so I am kinda getting used to it and it doesn't bother me as horrible as it used to. I have and am learning as a "Runner"  when ya gotta go ya gotta go! So off we went I decided I was going to stop around 3 - 3.5 mi to take my first Pineapple Roctane GU which we ended up stopping at 3.5 and I thought that was perfect timing. Sheri also dropped us water at the 7mi mark so that was Pineapple Roctane GU #2. The first 7mi of this run was absolutely perfect, I felt great legs felt great weather was perfect. Our training place of choice is NOT an easy one there is several hills of ALL sizes I will try to take pics next week. Therefore I was happy at how good I felt, both of us felt just great. We stopped again at 10.5 to take GU#3 (yep pineapple roctane for me:) and so far my belly is okay also but I am starting to notice something in my left foot, I tried to ignore it and just move on. But I was getting slower and slower. When we reached mile 13 I had to stop and pick up my jacket to take back and my foot was really killing me. I truly felt like I wanted to quit but knew there was NO WAY I was going to I mean there is only one more mile left. Again I was slow but I was doing it.  Overall I am EXTREMELY HAPPY with us in the fact that we just completed our first EVER 14 miles in our lives!!! I am still having trouble except now it is my right foot/leg and my heals??? WHY? I will talk more about it in next weeks training post cause it doesn't seem to be going away soon:( I am so hoping I just need new shoes and am planning on getting some in the next couple of weeks.

How do you know if its an "Injury" or just an "ache & normal Pain" that comes with training? When do you decide its time to head somewhere to check it out ( regular doctor or who)?? 

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Another Great ETSY Treasure & Giveaway!



MostEvens on Etsy is one of the cutest Etsy shops I have come across yet! Molly the fabulous creator/owner of MostEvens is a Mom, Wife, Triathlete and AWESOME Crafter that creates the cutest running shoe keychains! Here is the keychain she made just for me:



I absolutely LOVE my keychain:) Molly even noticed on my blog that my goal for this year was to run 1000 miles so she put the 1000 on my great keychain! and on the other side it says "Love to Run" I mean honestly who doesn't LOVE TO RUN right?!?!?!? On the MostEvens shop site there is a few examples of the keychains Molly makes, she even makes a barefoot one~too cute!!! Molly can custom make a shoe keychain if you just let her know what colors or words you want!!

Molly was super kind enough to offer a FABULOUS Running Shoe Keychain to one lucky Winner!! Trust me as a runner, you WANT one of these awesome, cute keychains!!!

How can you win one of your own???

**MANDATORY** Be a Follower of my Blog
**Leave a comment on what you would want YOUR keychain to say
**Spread the word Blog It, Post It on Facebook or Tweet It
Please leave a separate comment for each entry Up to 5 entries per person

That's it~simple!! Entries will be accepted until Friday March 11