Unless the weather gods decide to spare us, it looks like we'll be running in thunderstorms for at least some portion of the day. There is now a 70% chance of thunderstorms in the morning. So I've wrapped my head around that fun fact that and am just searching for the f-u-n in all of that!
I am excited about the people who will be there to cheer us on. Julie's kids, Liam and Caitrin will be manning the 5-mile water stop. I can't wait to see them. They are always smiling and cheerful, so I know they will be a welcome sight.
Judy from IHN will be near St. Ursula church on McMillan -- around mile 8 -- after we've gotten to the top of the hill. Her sweet face will cheer me up, for sure!
A little further down the road, Mary Reckman will be at the Marathon/half marathon turn point, and has promised she will be the one jumping up and down and cheering us on the loudest. And I believe it. Mary is incredibly supportive -- This morning she stopped by my house and taped a good luck poster to my front window. Love that girl!
The crowds in Hyde Park and Mariemont are always great, and hopefully we'll also see various husbands and boyfriends along the way. We'll see, as the rain might scare them away too (wouldn't blame them!)
Tomorrow's our last trainig run (a little 3-miler) and then we're heading to the Expo to pick up our packets. Hope my next entry will be all about our wonderful experience!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
The countdown begins
Six days until the PIG! We are ready!!! Well, sort of. E still recovering from her nasty, freak fall, and Pam still wishes she was back on her cruise. Julie and I are way too excited...I'm sure our excitement will dim around mile 18 or so! And for sure during the first few miles...Hate those!
We've had a ton of rain -- forecast for Sunday had been 60% chance of rain, but just changed today to sunny with a high of 79. Wish it would be cooler, but guess it won't be too bad when we start out early in the a.m.
Still figuring out the hotel situation and who will be down there to cheer us on.
We've had a ton of rain -- forecast for Sunday had been 60% chance of rain, but just changed today to sunny with a high of 79. Wish it would be cooler, but guess it won't be too bad when we start out early in the a.m.
Still figuring out the hotel situation and who will be down there to cheer us on.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Downtown!
I guess it wouldn't be a marathon training season without getting lost downtown at least once! Julie & I started our 18-miler at Sawyer Point. Pam couldn't join us because the poor thing was on a cruise, and Elizabeth had to work. We ran the same basic route as our 15-miler downtown several weeks ago, but we added 3 miles near Hyde Park so we could get 18 miles in.
Well that was our plan anyway.
I'll start at the beginning. We started out f-a-s-t! Julie wanted to get going to warm up and that we did. The first few miles felt hard, but eventually we made it to 7th avenue where I felt like I was finally in a running groove. The hill came next, and it's always a pleasant surprise that it's not as hard as I think it's going to be. We were rewarded at the top of the hill with a beautiful view of the city. We stopped for our usual photo shoot! (I'm sure Julie will insert a photo here!)
On we went through Eden Park and O'Bryonville with a quick stop at Bob Ronker's for water. Imagine our surprise when it was closed! I looked at my watch and saw we had run from Sawyer Point to there in 69 minutes -- 7.5 miles! I knew we were running fast, but that was a great surprise. Luckily for us the owner of the store heard as at the door and let us in for a quick drink of water. (He let us in, but not happily... They are so much nicer at the Running Spot in Loveland)
Then we were on our way, with Julie totally captivating me with a story as we ran through Hyde Park, and up Madison to Erie. Here's where I added some extra miles -- and also where we took a wrong turn (totally my fault!). We were supposed to turn right to get to Delta, but we turned left...and ran...and ran...and ran...until I started to get an uneasy feeling that we should have come to Delta already. But we kept on running, thinking it's going to be the next block. We were in an area that had very few cars driving by and no one outside. Finally we saw a car coming and waved for the driver to stop. They reluctantly opened their window and told us they had no idea where Delta was. Not a good sign. So then we stopped someone else, and she also wasn't sure, but pointed out a mailman down the road and suggested we ask him. Off we ran to the mail truck to find a nice, young man who confirmed to us that we were running in the wrong direction, and that we were off by 3-4 miles. DARN!
Hard to swallow that little piece of information, but we turned around and headed in the opposite direction. We saw another mail truck and stopped to ask him...Just to be SURE. He confirmed what the first guy told us, but said Delta was more like 5-6 miles away. WHAT??? So we were going to end up adding 10 miles to our 18 mile run...Why that's more than a marathon!!! What to do!!!!???? Well, desparate times call for desparate measures, and I told Julie I was going to stop someone and ask them to drive us back. Yep, the runner's equivalent to hitchhiking -- begging someone for mercy. I saw a Lexus SUV coming out way and took a chance -- A kind, elderly lady was so surprised that we trusted her! She was sweet and mentioined that she had just "run" the mini heart marathon, "but she just did the 5K walk...but could have gone further." Cute. She got us back to the point where we took a wrong turn and we were on our way to Delta again...which came up in under 10 minutes.
Far from feeling defeated, we were on our way again and happy to see Delta so soon! It seemed the the next several miles flew by until we got to the dreaded Eastern Avenue. For some reason, it seemed easier for me this time around. For Julie it was more difficult, but we made it back to our car, thankful we had parked on the east end of the parking lot.
We both felt good -- I seriously haven't felt that good after a long run ever. No soreness whatsoever. I am happily looking forward to the marathon. We're going to have a blast!
Well that was our plan anyway.
I'll start at the beginning. We started out f-a-s-t! Julie wanted to get going to warm up and that we did. The first few miles felt hard, but eventually we made it to 7th avenue where I felt like I was finally in a running groove. The hill came next, and it's always a pleasant surprise that it's not as hard as I think it's going to be. We were rewarded at the top of the hill with a beautiful view of the city. We stopped for our usual photo shoot! (I'm sure Julie will insert a photo here!)
On we went through Eden Park and O'Bryonville with a quick stop at Bob Ronker's for water. Imagine our surprise when it was closed! I looked at my watch and saw we had run from Sawyer Point to there in 69 minutes -- 7.5 miles! I knew we were running fast, but that was a great surprise. Luckily for us the owner of the store heard as at the door and let us in for a quick drink of water. (He let us in, but not happily... They are so much nicer at the Running Spot in Loveland)
Then we were on our way, with Julie totally captivating me with a story as we ran through Hyde Park, and up Madison to Erie. Here's where I added some extra miles -- and also where we took a wrong turn (totally my fault!). We were supposed to turn right to get to Delta, but we turned left...and ran...and ran...and ran...until I started to get an uneasy feeling that we should have come to Delta already. But we kept on running, thinking it's going to be the next block. We were in an area that had very few cars driving by and no one outside. Finally we saw a car coming and waved for the driver to stop. They reluctantly opened their window and told us they had no idea where Delta was. Not a good sign. So then we stopped someone else, and she also wasn't sure, but pointed out a mailman down the road and suggested we ask him. Off we ran to the mail truck to find a nice, young man who confirmed to us that we were running in the wrong direction, and that we were off by 3-4 miles. DARN!
Hard to swallow that little piece of information, but we turned around and headed in the opposite direction. We saw another mail truck and stopped to ask him...Just to be SURE. He confirmed what the first guy told us, but said Delta was more like 5-6 miles away. WHAT??? So we were going to end up adding 10 miles to our 18 mile run...Why that's more than a marathon!!! What to do!!!!???? Well, desparate times call for desparate measures, and I told Julie I was going to stop someone and ask them to drive us back. Yep, the runner's equivalent to hitchhiking -- begging someone for mercy. I saw a Lexus SUV coming out way and took a chance -- A kind, elderly lady was so surprised that we trusted her! She was sweet and mentioined that she had just "run" the mini heart marathon, "but she just did the 5K walk...but could have gone further." Cute. She got us back to the point where we took a wrong turn and we were on our way to Delta again...which came up in under 10 minutes.
Far from feeling defeated, we were on our way again and happy to see Delta so soon! It seemed the the next several miles flew by until we got to the dreaded Eastern Avenue. For some reason, it seemed easier for me this time around. For Julie it was more difficult, but we made it back to our car, thankful we had parked on the east end of the parking lot.
We both felt good -- I seriously haven't felt that good after a long run ever. No soreness whatsoever. I am happily looking forward to the marathon. We're going to have a blast!
Elizabeth returns...
Our March 30 run saw the return of Elizabeth to the running trail! We are happy to have her back! Our plan was to do another 18-miler using our 5/1 method to ease Elizabeth back in to running and to see if Julie's legs would cramp up again (they didn't! Yeah!).
Jeff drove us up to the Y (tight squeeze in our Honda, as I forgot we didn't have Elizabeth with us the week before!). Amy joined us for the first 8.5 so she could run off some of those fancy drinks she had on her cruise.
My take on running this method is that I love it toward the end of the run, but I find myself thinking about that 5 minute beep too much - as opposed to just running without thinking that I will have the opportunity to stop in another minute or two. A part of me feels like we are cheating, but if our time is about the same (or even quicker) why do I care? (And yet I do!)
The Y to Loveland and back run is so easy and convenient, but it's so boring, especially during the week when there aren't too many other runners out there.
I can't really remember much about this run! I should have written sooner. At the end of it, Pam (yes, Pam!) suggested we go another mile out and back so we can have our 20-miler done. Julie felt up for it, and I went along for the ride (not too thrilled to do so I might add). Elizabeth took a pass on it, but she did great for not having run in 4 weeks. It was a difficult two miles for me, but I made it. Julie & Pam felt great and had little or no leg pain the rest of the day. I wish I could say the same!
I'm sure there are other things to talk about, but I just can't remember much about that run. will try to add more later. Ladies, feel free to add your comments!
Jeff drove us up to the Y (tight squeeze in our Honda, as I forgot we didn't have Elizabeth with us the week before!). Amy joined us for the first 8.5 so she could run off some of those fancy drinks she had on her cruise.
My take on running this method is that I love it toward the end of the run, but I find myself thinking about that 5 minute beep too much - as opposed to just running without thinking that I will have the opportunity to stop in another minute or two. A part of me feels like we are cheating, but if our time is about the same (or even quicker) why do I care? (And yet I do!)
The Y to Loveland and back run is so easy and convenient, but it's so boring, especially during the week when there aren't too many other runners out there.
I can't really remember much about this run! I should have written sooner. At the end of it, Pam (yes, Pam!) suggested we go another mile out and back so we can have our 20-miler done. Julie felt up for it, and I went along for the ride (not too thrilled to do so I might add). Elizabeth took a pass on it, but she did great for not having run in 4 weeks. It was a difficult two miles for me, but I made it. Julie & Pam felt great and had little or no leg pain the rest of the day. I wish I could say the same!
I'm sure there are other things to talk about, but I just can't remember much about that run. will try to add more later. Ladies, feel free to add your comments!
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