Apr
2012

Five Random Things

categories: Running

1. I decided to go back to school to pursue my Type 75 Certification.  It is a two year program and once I receive my masters, I can continue to be a classroom teacher or be an administrator.  I knew from the beginning of this new career that I was not going to be a teacher for a long time.  I don’t see myself being 50 years old and still being a teacher.

2. I signed up for the Race Around the World Duathlon on June 24.  I will be missing out on the Chicago Women’s Half Marathon.  I guess it is OK.  I can still (hopefully) do one offered by the Divas Half Marathon Series or the Lady Speed Stick Women’s Half Marathon.

3.  I am toying with the idea of running a half marathon in each state.  Originally, I had thought of doing a marathon in each state but quickly changed it to a half marathon.  I’ve been following Kim’s blog at (Just) Trying is for Little Girls and told myself that I could do this too.

4.  During my race on Saturday I developed a pain in my left foot.  My first thought were the orthotics.  I’ve ran in them before but only on a treadmill.  Saturday was the first time I ran outside.  Once I got home I took them off and replaced them with the original insoles.  I wore my gym shoes to work today and my foot feels much better.  I am afraid to run in my orthotics this weekend.  Maybe the 5K on Saturday will be OK but definitely NOT the 10 Miler on Saturday.

5.  I know eventually I will need surgery on my right foot.  I have a bunion that is growing and is giving me trouble.  Usually the pain goes away for a few months with a visit to the podiatrist.  She injects this liquid in my foot and that helps with the pain.  However, I went last month and my foot still hurts.  It could be that the bunion is just getting worse or the podiatrist inserted the liquid in a different part of the foot (she did tell me that she was going to do that).  I am hoping it is the latter because I went all crazy and registered for almost every race I could find in the Chicago area.  My plan is to run until November of this year then take a few months off for the surgery and recovery.


Apr
2012

Brooks Ravenna 3

categories: Running Gear

At one point I owned three different pairs of gym shoes – Brooks Pure Cadence, Green Silence, and Ravenna 2.  I ran in the Pure Cadence from mid November to end of March. I felt fine running in the treadmill but experienced some pain running outside.  The hard concrete, flat feet and a somewhat developed bunion in my right foot is not a good combination. I need more support.

I returned the Green Silence.  I bought them on sale from Running Warehouse.  The company was nice enough to accept them back even though it was past the 60 day return deadline.

I ran once in the Ravenna 2 and knew they were not a right fit.  They felt too tight in the front.  It was weird because I tried them at the Chicago Marathon expo and they felt fine.  Is it possible my feet grew or they got more flat?  I went to Fleet Feet and they were nice enough to exchange them for me.  They no longer carried the Ravenna 2 so I tried the 3. Oh. My. Goodness.  The shoes felt so good.  I tried a size 10 but they felt kind of big so I tried the 9.5.  Much better.  I went home with the same size but in a different style.  I love the color! Brooks Ravenna 3 ROCKS!!

After a two week recovery, I ran 4 miles today in my new shoes.  It felt good to run.  I meant to run last week during my Spring Break but I just did not feel like it so I didn’t.  Every morning I told myself to get up and run.  Nope.  Did not happen.  Something snapped today.  I realized I had a race in two weeks and then one almost every weekend till possibly October.  Yikes!  Better start moving if I want to do well in each race.  Overachiever?  Ambitious?  Maybe, but it is driving me to get out there and run!

Run Happy!


Mar
2012

1,000 miles

categories: Running

I finally hit the 1,000 miles thanks to Dailymile.  However, I’ve been keeping track of the miles I’ve run (in an excel spreadsheet) since 2007 and it’s been more than 1,000.  My goal was to run 1,000 miles in 2011.  However, due to excuses and more excuses, I only banked 736.54 miles last year.   I set the same goal again but to run them before my birthday this year.  I am happy to report that as of today I’ve run 392.33 miles.  Will I accomplish this goal?  Absolutely!  Now more than ever I am determined to achieve it!!


 

Mar
2012

Photos from Marathon

categories: Running

Thank goodness I was off from work yesterday.  I am feeling much better today.  I don’t know if it is the Aleve I’ve been taking or the walking I did after the race and yesterday when I got home.

My running outfit.  Very colorful!  I love my purple compression socks from Running Skirts.  No pain in my calves.

I missed the beer stop here.  At this point all I needed was water.

These looked so cute!  Very tempting to take one just for the heck of it.

One of my favorite medals.  Love it!

Run Happy!


Mar
2012

Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon

categories: Race Recap, Rock 'n' Roll Race

Time to beat was 5:25:22. Finish time for this marathon was 5:16:53. Yes, a PR!! I was aiming for less than 5 hours because I thought I trained better for this race. I know, I know I should be happy (and I am) but I am slightly annoyed. Average running pace was 12:06.

Overall, it is a GREAT race!! The course is flat with just a few inclines. I have yet to be friends with them because I walk through them instead of running. There was wind from mile 13 till about 17.5 miles and then again from mile 20 till almost till the end. That did not make me happy. 🙁

I loved the crowd support. There was a man giving little dry martinis. So cute! I did not dare drink one. I should have because I wanted beer but they were all out. I did not know and by the time I realized it I did not want to run back for it. I think this was about mile 22.5 or so and I just wanted to finish the race.

I love the medal. So colorful! I will post pictures tomorrow when I get home. I am typing this post on my iPad and don’t know how to upload them.

The only thing I did not like about the race was that the start and finish locations were not close together. When I am done with a marathon, I just want to get something to eat and then shower. Today I had to walk about half a mile to get to the shuttle buses and then be on the bus for a 20 minute ride to take me back downtown. I was hurting and I struggled to get off the bus. Well, at least there were buses. Before I found out about the buses at the expo, I thought I would have to take a cab back to the hotel.

If you get a chance to run this race, do so. You will love it!

Next on my list is to run an ultra marathon on March 31st. There is a 7 hour limit so I think I will be OK with finishing in 6:59:59.

Happy running!