Nashville: Great Week!

I’m glad my Tunica partner in crime did not post a long, witty blog entry because I’m with her on lacking the creative juices this week. Sorry to disappoint – but it just ain’t there folks. However, I do want to give props to the cheesy motivational poster in the Banana Republic break room because it is still helping me get out on the road! (See blog entry from 10/21)

This past Saturday I actually ran by myself….are you reading this trusty sidekick who was catching some Zzz’s while I was running up a sweat??? I hope you are and I hope you are ready for our 3-miler tomorrow, no snooze button action on All Hallows Eve morn! Back to the story. So I got up that Saturday instead of sleeping the extra hour before work (can I get two-snaps in a Z formation for that one?) and made a loop around my neighborhood. Team TMOB fans, I’m gonna go ahead and let you know it was one of my best runs! Even though there were hills and the occasional car I had to make sure I didn’t run into – two items I do not have to worry about while running at Bicentennial Park – I really enjoyed it! I sort of just made up my route as I went and ended up running about 2.2 miles, then walking about .5 mile back home. It was one of those runs where you feel like a million bucks afterward. I ran longer than I intended to and the walk back took up more time than I would have liked, but I was happy to get out there and do it on my own!

My only regret is that I did not get up earlier so that I had enough time to make it to Noshville for their French Toast before I had to go to work. Trust me folks, once you have a bite of this Kosher eggy-bread with sugar and syrup you will be under its spell! (Okay, maybe eggy bread isn’t the best way to describe it, but as I did mention, it’s Kosher – it answers to a higher power, so you know its gotsta be good!) Hmmmm.....even though I'm Methodist, I wonder if I'm looked down upon when I order because I of course have to order a side of bacon with it. Yum! Yum!

Ben, Sadie and I did get up early on Tuesday morning and we had another great run! Probably our best time and I did not have to stop once (another round of applause please and thank you). I would like to share that through the course of this training I have learned that I should not try to keep up our pace dog and Benjamin Jeffrey. As I have stated before, four legs make you faster than two and Ben “high-school football drills” Lambert is obviously in better shape. So I turn on my iTunes, get a comfortable pace and rock it out in my tortoise pace. Now for everyone’s attention, let me just point out what a sweet boyfriend Ben is: we are at the park before the sun comes up, so even though Ben runs ahead of me, he stops and waits for me in the parts that aren’t well lit since you never know what could happen…sigh…what a doll – his momma raised him right, I tell ya! I also have Sadie who doubles as a pace leader and watchdog. She constantly looks back to make sure I am still tagging along and if she gets too far ahead, she’ll turn around and start running towards me. All in all folks, I definitely feel safe during the wee hours of the day at the park. We’ll just have to wait and see how successful our 3-mile run is tomorrow morning. Wish us luck!

Tunica: 10 Miler Update

Well, as planned Bex and I did our 10 mile on Friday morning last week. I was so glad we decided to do it on Friday because I had a wonderful night on the town for my birthday Saturday night! I would not have been able to do so if I had to prepare for a long run the next morning. Bex was right, no need to miss out on 27th Birthday Celebration for a silly little 10-mile run.

So anyway, we started bright and early on Friday. Did 6 miles, took a break. Did the remaining 4. I wish I had more exciting news to report but that's pretty much it. We have decided to do another long run of 10 miles this week as well. We are in the home stretch before Bex' half marathon on December 5th. Unfortunatly I will not be able to run with her for this race but I am confident she'll be fine.

We have planned for our longest run before her race to be somewhere between 11 and 12 miles. I'm sorry I dont have a more interesting post to share, just not feeling my usual geniously funny creative juices today.
More later!

Great Read

I found a great article that would be a good read for all looking at running a marathon or training for one like us.

Built for Distance

Nashville: New Shoes, New Training Schedule and a New Attitude!

I will admit it. I lost focus on running there for a bit and honed in on midterms and slingin’ Banana Republic credit cards all over the greater Nashville area. My horse blinders worked like a charm though because I have A’s in all my classes and was just promoted at work….but hearing about my studies and part-time job at the Green Hills Mall is not why you are tuning in to this on-the-edge-of-your-seat-excitement blog. So here we are: after a two week hiatus from running, Team TMOB hit the park this week rarin’ to go!

Tuesday proved to be one of the best runs Ben, Sadie (our pack leader) and I have had in a long time! I credit this successful dash to giving my body plenty o' time to rest and also the brand spankin' new kicks I’m rockin’ while jogging up a storm! Ben was sweet enough to get me a gift card for my birthday to http://www.athleteshouse.com/ here in Nashville. Sidenote - If you haven’t been and are interested in getting some running shoes go see Eric and he will hook a sista up! In order to determine the right shoe for me he took an imprint of my foot to see the level of my arch and where I put my weight on my feet – and…sigh…being perfect as I am – Eric was impressed by my elegantly high arch and graceful way of evenly dispersing pressure throughout my foot. No Dr. Scholls needed here!

I had my heart set on a red pair of running shoes because as I told Eric, “they look fast!” However the running gods had something different in mind, the Athlete’s House was out of size eights. I did find a great pair of NFL Titan colored blue Saucony shoes which is a big step for me. I’ve been a nike kinda girl all my life. (As I type this I am wearing a Nike shirt that I just ran in) but honey, these shoes are treatin’ me right I tell ya!

To go along with the new zapatilla de tenis (that’s tennis shoes in Spanish for the layman) we also have a new training schedule courtesy of Mrs. Laura Withers herself! Here it goes: Monday means cross train, Tuesday equals run, Wednesday is another word for run, Thursday is my day of reckoning with Jillian Michaels, TGIF because Friday we relax, Saturday is actually pronounced “long-run-day” and Sunday is a day of rest the lord hath made. For those of you wondering where this routine came from, it was what Laura used when training for her 1st half marathon with the Nashville Y….so in other words, it’s legit people.

Another compliment to the new shoes and new training schedule is a new attitude which emerged from a most peculiar source – the break room my work. Yes, when you open the magical “Employees Only” door you will uncover a whole new world full of back stock fine cardigans, business casual attire and the occasional men’s chino….. BUT you will also discover the origin of my inspiration: The Cheesy Motivational Poster. However this motivational poster is so fitting and the quote rings oh so true! I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. Read it. Live it. Love it.

“Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle – when the sun comes up, YOU'D BETTER BE RUNNING.”

Tunica: EMERGEN-C! URGENT!

Again, sorry to have been MIA for a week or so. After Bex weekend camping trip she came back sick as a dog so we took last week off with the exception of a couple low-key gym workouts. So this week we are back in the action. As some of you may know our original plan was to run in this 10-miler on Sunday, October 25th (the BEST day of the year....my BERFDAY!). It is with the Memphis Runner's Club and takes place at Shelby Forest on Sunday morning. However, every single person we have told of this goal has mentioned to us that:

"Shelby Forest is really hilly."
"Shelby Forest is nice. It's hilly."
"Oh, that'll be fun. I've been to Shelby Forest and it is sooooo hilly."

Thanks people. Seriously.

So with it being my berfday weekend and all, Bex pointed out that it really is a buzzkill to have this 10-miler looming over my weekend-o-fun. We made an executive decision to still meet our goal by running our 10-miler on Friday morning instead of Sunday. And in the lovely flatlands of Tunica County to boot. In preparation we ran 5 on Monday, and 8 this morning. The 8-miler this morning was really great, and C.O.L.D. It was like 40 degrees when we started, which in the grand scheme of the Winter is not all that cold. But it sure felt chilly at 6 this morning! We persevered through the elements, though, and beat our previous 8-mile time by 5 minutes. So good news there.

Our 10-mile plan is to run our 6-mile loop, stop at my house for water, and run our 4-mile loop, for a total fo 10. long. miles. So wish us luck because it won't be easy! But there's only one way to find out, yes?

In the past when we've done these long runs I always wind up with a headache half-way through my day, taking an Ibuprofin, only for said headache to turn into a migrain. No fun. Especially when one spends their day surrounded by blinking lights, loud oldies music, and a constant 'bling-bling-ba-blingity-bliiiiiiiiing' noises. And I'm talkin' all the livelong day. Lovely.
So everytime I had to come to work after a long run I would drink TONS of water in hopes that this would help my headache which I assumed was brought on by dehydration alone. Nothing has seemed to work until one weekend my mom was in town and mentioned, "Maybe you need more than water. Maybe you need some Gatorade or something to restore all those nutrients." Genius. Genius woman, I tell ya. So the Gatorade worked for the 6 or 7 milers but any more distance than that and I was still hurting late in the afternoon. So long story longer, I think I have finally found a cure for my dehydration/vitamin deficiency after these long runs. Emergen-C. Yes, you read that right. Anyone out there ever tried it? Emergen-C is a small packet of powdered goodness that you add to a few ounces of water just like you would those little Crystal Light packets. Only Emergen-C has like one bazillion million vitamins in it to give you an instant boost of energy and make you feel great! They come in all different flavors....we like Orange at our house....and it only takes 1 packet per 4 ouces of water. So I usually dump 2 packets in a glass after my long run and I'm good to go for the day! Combined with a banana for potassium and voila! You can get them at your local drug store....they come in packs of 30 for like $18. But I found this website where you can get them half-off. Hey....what a timely post this is....my birthday coming up, I'm telling you where to buy Emergen-C...coincidence? I think not.
An added amenity of the Emergen-C is that it is great for hangovers. At least that's what I heard. I don't know from personal experience or anything.

Tunica: Awesome Ultimate Athletes

I just wanted to post today to say that Bex and I ran 9 miles this morning. That's right, people, NINE MILES. It felt great! Wednesday we did 6 miles - no stopping - then planned our long run for today since Bex is going camping with Baby Bex and Mr. Bex this weekend. So we got an early start at 5:45 to do 9 long miles! We did a 5 mile loop, stopped for water, and then did 4 miles. And it felt great, we were really proud of ourselves. However, I am about to fall asleep at my desk I am so tired after doing so much so early. At least I will be able to sleep late as can be tomorrow moring...that is a great feeling. 3 o'clock on Friday, ran this morning, the weekend has begun as far as I'm concerned!

Happy Friday everyone!

Tunica: Sprinting or DYING?!?!?!

I feel like I have been MIA for a while. Maybe I have a case of the Caitlins. Hm.

So after the week of Bex Best, I had to take a short haitus. I woke up one morning with a really sore throat and was immediatly convinced I had strep throat. Turned out to just be bad allergies but I took a few days off anyway. So over the weekend I did not do a long run....took the week off. Bex, on the other hand, is a badass and of course did 8 miles by her lonesome on Friday. Good for Bex, Bad for Laura. I really don't feel that guilty for taking off because if you think you're sick, you might be sick. No sense in encouraging the sickness by killing yourself on your runs. If you don't feel good, take a day or two. You'll get back in the groove eventually.

So yesterday I was back in the action. Did the usual Monday 4 miler. Piece a cake. Then I met Bex at the gym this morning. I had agreed to try this Sprint Interval Run she had made up. Pause for dramatic effect. Yes, you heard me. Sprinting. Now as you know I am a self-proclaimed 13 Minute Mile Girl. Not Sprinter Girl. But I have heard from numerous people that this is the best way to really drop some weight. Work in some intense sprint intervals during your weekly workouts. So here's what we did:

Walk: 5 minutes at 3mph
Jog: 2 minutes at 6mph
Walk: 2 minutes at 3mph
Jog: 2 minutes at 6.5 mph
Walk: 2 minutes at 3 mph
Sprint: 2 minutes at 7 mph

And so on and so forth. We did these intervals, increasing our sprint speed by .5 mph with each interval until we reached our fastest speed of 8.5 miles per hour. At this point I was wishing I had given Tom and Reba extra hugs before I left that morning because I was pretty sure I was going to die on that tredmill. But good news....I have lived to tell the story! So anyway, once we reach the 8.5 sprint interval, you decrease your speed at the same rate as before (.5 mph) in each interval. The whole thing should take a total of about 50 minutes, and your distance will be around 4.5 miles. Bex likes to just go ahead and run at a comfortable pace for a few minutes at the end to complete a whole 5 miles. But I couldn't finish it. I got a crazy cramp around interval number...oh, I dunno ONE MILLION and had to bow out gracefully. But I tell you what I was sweat. ing. when I quit. It is intense and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to quickly burn some calories and increase endurance.

In closing I want to give a shout out to my dear friend and former roomie, Kathleen who is a dedicated reader of this blog. She also let me know that she is up to running four miles these days! This makes me so happy because when we were living together she could run....oh, about 1/2 mile? Maybe? I don't know what lit a fire under her butt, but I am so proud of her that she has increased her fitness level in the recent months. Not that she needed to, she is a beautiful size zero but still....it's the principal. And how much do you love this picture of her and Flipper. Love. It.

Hey maybe you and Caitlin could run together sometime? That would be nice. And then you could force her to post to the blog.