You know I'm talkin' about you...

So, my great friend and fellow runner is heading out Saturday on her first ever 15 miles run. The group gave her a choice of routes - The Dogwood Dell run through the Fan or the Dump Run in the 'Ville...her choice - Dogwood Dell.
Okay, so she has doubts, is nervous, is thinking bad thoughts.
Well Miss Thing, let me tell you something...you are going to be fine.
How do I know this?
1. You are one of the most determined people I know.
2. You are strong and can do it.
3. You have three great friends running with you.
4. Good sports bra - plenty of support - no swerving trucks.
5. We will catch you when you are ready to hit the grass at the end.
Anyhoo...'nuff said.
I love you and I am looking forward to seeing you finish on Saturday!
MUAH!

My Humps! My Humps, My Humps, My Humps!

(Check it out!)

Maybe it was the lucky visor (seen to the right -->). Maybe it was the flat familiar course. Maybe it was the electrolytes. Maybe it was the amazing pep talk from my BFF/coaches, but OH MY GOSH!

My average pace for long (10+ miles) runs has been in the low 12's. Belle Isle, Dogwood Dell, even this same AMF route a couple of weeks ago were all 12:03 - 12:10 overall average.But NOT THIS WEEK! NOT THIS TIME! No way, no how! After listening to the pep talk (and honestly, not really buying into it), off I set this morning. I started out faster than planned, but still felt good. Slowed down a bit too much, then settled back in to a pace that I never EVER thought I could hold. And not only did I hold it, I tore it up at the end. 10 miles plus a bonus mile to prove that I could get over that 10 mile hump.

Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself! (A shoutout to the folks at ZoneFive Software for their SportTracks -- makes analyzing Garmin data SOOOO much easier!)

Thanks lucky visor! Thanks for the inspiration, coaches. NO CRYING!

Is it okay to cry while running???...

Okay, I have heard enough...It's okay to cry while running!!!
Although I must say you have to be prepared to watch your footing as the blurring foreground traveling at the speed of your footsteps can sometimes become, well, hard to navigate BUT...it is okay to cry while running!
As I watched one of my dearest friends struggling through her long run, tears lingering...I got it!
She told me the next day she was embarassed she was such a wimp and that she should "toughen up"...toughen up??? - she had just run her first 14 miler ALONE...
Let me rewind...crying - running - been there, done that! My favorite memory of crying while running...first marathon finish line, I still get goose bumps. Most recent public bawling - alone at the finish line of the Atlanta marathon - I bawled uncontrollably for atleast what felt like 10 minutes...I had finally overcome my 22 mile hurdle! Most embarassing cry while running - Marine Corps as I told Shannon I was going to crap my pants and die of embarassment. Most meaningful - mile 22 of Myrtle Beach marathon - when I realized I wasn't going to Boston and Maggie and Shannon never left my side.
I have to say that some of my BEST running memories involve a teardrop or two...and I am okay with that. Running and crying are two things that are just mine and both make me feel fantastic...maybe not always at the very moment they are occuring but eventually.
Okay, so hopefully my friend will see it is okay to cry while running.
A few more things I'd like to mention that are okay...
Spitting, snot rockets (look before you blow), farting, cursing, gossiping, venting about life's ups and downs, talking about your siblings behind their backs, going to the bathroom just about anywhere, running through sprinklers, yelling at bad drivers, petting dogs, dodging road kill and most of all - enjoying every second of it with your best friends.
-SpeeDee

AARP Is Next

WHAT brilliant (male) marketing mind at Vanity Fair Lingerie thought that it would be a great idea to add a special promo tag on some of their bras that says

AGE DEFYING LIFT!

With the exclamation point! Yes! It's one thing to be told that we ladies need a moisturizer to keep our face ageless, but geez, how cruel a blow to tell me that my "girls" need some age-defiance.

Sigh. Let me go shove some Kleenex in my cleavage in case I need to blow my nose later and put on my housedress.

The Saddest Thing I've Seen

Flyer in our mailbox yesterday - "lost dog".

Updated flyer in our mailbox today:

OUR DOG IS LOST!
He is completely blind. He is a sweet dog but may be scared.
Please call us with any info.

Would you be so kind as to check under your porch and outbuildings, or anywhere you think he might have hidden. We would like to have him home even if it is as a final resting place for his remains.

We can't thank you enough for your help!

*sniffle* Yes, I went all around our property and went and checked the culverts under the road. God, please watch over Pendleton and help someone find him quickly! You know where all the sparrows are, surely you know where Pendleton is. Thanks.

I Hate Burke

Subtitle: "What's wrong with me?"

I'm talking to you - yeah you. You've never run before except through the parking lot in the rain, to catch the school bus, or 'cause you were forced to do laps in P.E. Now you are (shall we say) mature, and have the epiphany that you need to be in shape.

So you go on the "couch potato to 5k in 10 easy weeks" plan, and then you run your first ever 5k. And come in way faster than me. Or way faster than should be allowed.

Even the (then) fat character Mr. Burke (see above) on the Frazz comic strip decided that he needed to lose weight and run a 5k, and ran a 30:09 on his first try. That's a 9:42 pace, people. Yes, he's a comic strip character, and maybe Jef Mallet the triathalete is just so ultra fit and out of touch with reality that he thinks a 30:09 is perfectly logical for a 50+ year old pot bellied school teacher.

Then there are the live human beings that blog about their first steps toward fitness and running their first 5k, and they also just scream past me. Well, virtually scream past me. I hope beyond hope that these people are not running in the same races I have run.

Meanwhile, I'm still chugging along for almost a year now, just being happy to finish, but still solidly in the 4-digit pace range. Why am I not fast? Grrrr!

Maybe it's because I'm going for distance. My first 13 miler this past weekend, and other than the exceedingly annoying pitiful sniffly self that I was for the last couple of miles, it wasn't bad and I DID IT. OK, the email from another of the runner crew who did his first 13 miles and finished *nearly* an hour ahead of me. I could have done without that. It's AWESOME for him, and I'm super proud of him though.

So, at least I have that. But I am DREAMING of that day when I beat Burke!!