More Coffee, Please

Clearly, I'm not awake.

I just got online to print out Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Schedule: Novice 1. I read what I had printed, and thought - Wow. I didn't realize how easy this training will be.

That's because it was the Novice training for the Half Marathon.

Wake up, Mandy. Wake up.

Personalized Success

I'm not going to lie...I love my 13.1 magnet on my minivan. There are hundreds of dark green Honda Odysseys out there, but not many with a 13.1 magnet. Makes me proud everytime I see it. I worked hard and I earned it. Don't really care what others think. I used to have a neighbor that, for some reason, was bothered by the magnets. Bothered by all the runners in the neighborhood. Just bothered by life in general, I guess. She went out and found a 0.0 magnet.

I have seen several magnets that show the running distance, then the name of the race. I love that more! I like the thought of getting a new magnet for every race I run, with the name of the race and the date. What a great way to remember! No, I wouldn't litter the back of the van with them...one is enough. I don't know...maybe put them on our fridge out in the garage. Or get crafty and make some sort of piece of art with them. Anyway, I found a site that personalizes the decals/magnets!

How cool is that? They come in every distance - you pick the color you want and add the text. $9.98. The site is www.goneforarun.com.

Dude - I Chick'd You

"Chick'd"

That has to be my new favorite running slang. As in, "You totally chick'd that guy at that finish line!" Girl power, right? Read one female runner claim she finds it offensive. If I heard a couple guys ahead of me say, "Dude...speed it up - we're about to get chick'd", I think I would be flattered. Yea...that's right - this middle-aged mom-of-two is about to take you over, so speed it up! I'm actually going to make a game out of it my next race - see how many guys I can "chick". Probably not that many...I'm assuming most of the men at the Air Force Half are going to be in great shape. Just a guess. But, it'll be fun to try. I'll have a mental chick'd list to keep track.

RUN!

It's National Running Day! Get out and run! 6.33 miles today - odd number, but I ran it pretty fast and that was the number when I got home. Found my new shirt at Marshall's yesterday. First time ever I've been in that store. Of course I had to get a shirt that has RUN on it...and for such a great price!

Now it's time for a shower, then run on over to the local specialty running store to see what advice they can give me about this plantar fasciitis I'm developing. I'm such an idiot...I thought that was something you were born with. Well, I know we all have the plantar fascia, I just thought plantar fasciitis must be some sort of "defect", for lack of a better word. For over a week now, it's been painful to walk on my left foot right when I get out of bed. I don't have to hobble - on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the worst), it's about a 5 in the morning. It doesn't last long, but I have enough friends with PF, I figured I better look it up and see if that's what is happening.

After reading about the causes, I'm thinking my PF symptoms are due to upping my mileage and/or my shoes. I feel just fine otherwise. No heel pain, no tight calves...just the sore foot in the morning. Maybe, hopefully, I'm catching it early enough and can take care of it. I will be devastated if it interferes with my upcoming training. Can't let that happen.

Here is a picture from WHOOHA Gear (a clothing company - I like their stuff):

Sums it up, huh? Don't think I have much to add!

**Went to the running store - Blue Mile - and had a very nice girl help me out. ("Girl"...she was probably in her early twenties. Do I call her girl? Young lady? Woman just sounds too old. I can handle woman - 'cause I'm getting up there.) Told her about the issue I'm having with what I think is PF. Since I bought my shoes in Feb (can't remember if  it was early or late Feb. I need to keep track of these things!), she said I could probably hold off buying new ones, but mine were getting to that point. She suggested Comf-Orthotic Sports Replacement Insoles, from Hapad, Inc. "A patented, deformable replacement insole for relief fo chronic heel pain resulting from plantar fasciitis." Again, I don't have heel pain yet, but why wait until it gets to that point? The girl/lady/woman said to try these, and if they don't work, get new shoes. Fingers crossed!

I also bought some Nuun. Lemon-lime. Going to see how I like it. Picked up a couple Gu's, but couldn't do it. I want to try them for convenience sake - finding a place to store all my Honey Stinger chews is tricky (and chewing while running isn't all that easy) - but...ugh...the whole texture thing.

Thanks For The {running} Memories

Just three more weeks left here in Indiana. As excited as we are to get back to Tennessee, there are parts of Indiana that we will miss greatly. For starters, that weather during our stay has been fabulous - just fabulous! We moved here on the tail-end of summer. While I recall some hot summer days, I don't recall many. Autumn seemed to linger for a while here, and it was more than welcomed. I feared winter as we were now in the north, but thankfully, it was mild. Everyone tells us we lucked out - apparently last year was much worse (complete with a horrible ice storm). The spring has been dreamy, and holding out just as long as it can.

All this beautiful weather allowed me to get out and run to my heart's content. Now, it wasn't always blue skies and fluffy white clouds - I've run with winds at 22mph, and on freezing cold days. I refused to stay inside all winter. If the streets were clear of ice, I would run. The coldest day I got out was 20 degrees - it hurt my face for a little bit, but I warmed up. It felt great to be one of those "crazy runners" who got out and did the deed, despite the temps. Sometimes, it felt like I had to kick my own butt to get out and do it on those days, but I did. Shoot, you HAD to run to keep warm going outside in tights! I truly believe that nothing makes you feel more alive than running outside on a freezing cold day - gets the blood going, and the lungs working hard.

One of the best things about this area, is being so close to the Monon Trail. The Monon is a paved trail system that runs from Indianapolis up to Westfield - where we live. I can run 1 mile in one direction and hit the trail through Carmel. One mile in the other direction, leads me to connect on the Monon and run up through Westfied. The path is wide, mostly shaded, mostly flat, and lined by wooden fences in some areas. It's quiet in the mornings, but fills with families, cyclist, running groups, etc. in the afternoons.

The trail is well maintained and I've always felt safe on it (although I do run with mace now in case I run into a stray dog). I see chipmunks on the trail all the time, and the one time I decided to stop and use one of the trail restrooms, I couldn't because an incredibly large raccoon was pacing back and forth in front of it! In autumn, all those beautiful trees turn into brilliant colors, with leaves that fall and litter the trail. It's gorgeous. As I mentioned, it's mostly flat, so I don't run it all the time - I have a hilly route I like to challenge myself on, but if I want a nice, relaxing run, I go for the Monon.

Of course, Indiana will always have a special place in my heart as being the site of my first half marathon...and my second! The Indianapolis Half Marathon last October, held at Ft. Benjamin Harrison State Park was truly spectacular. Not my best performance, but by far the best scenery. The Carmel Half Marathon was just plain fun. We ran through a lot of suburbs, but hit some of the Monon and part of the Carmel Arts District, which was cool.

I didn't know what to expect here in Indiana, but I was pleasantly surprise, and thankful for our short, but sweet, stay here. I have two more days to run outside here - girls get out of school Wednesday, and the husband has gone south for his job. I suppose I could hire a sitter to watch the girls while I run, but I have a feeling it's the treadmill for a couple weeks. It'll work. My mileage will go down (sorry, but I just can't do long runs on the treadmill. The most I have run on it is 5 miles and I thought I was going to pull my hair out!), but the important thing is to keep going. I'll be able to get back on track in TN, before marathon training begins.

Thanks, Indiana. I will remember you fondly.