The Anti-Running Runner

Technically, tomorrow is New Year's Day, but I thought I'd wish everyone a Happy New Year today since I'm here. I had a poll question in December about how holiday treats affects you and your running. I must admit, I didn't expect to run as little in December as I did, or to eat as many goodies. I also wrote a lot less than I had planned. On Writing For The Love (my writing blog), I revealed my plan to try writing 50,000 words in December just to see if I could. I didn't participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and thought, why not try it on my own and just see? December was not the best month to pick, but I did manage to write about 11,000 words and that's nothing to be ashamed of. As for running, I took a two-week break somewhere mid-December. It wasn't my intention to do so, but something amazing happened. I relaxed, I got some of those 11,000 words written, and I came back ready to run on Christmas Eve morning with my amazing runner ...

After a hard rain yesterday, the cold weather flew in on the back of gusty winds, making the Jingle Bell Run feel just about right (freezing!) at 7:30 pm. Team Hea and Bria made it, and we did awesome, I'm not ashamed to tell you. And I'd like to thank Jesus for that. For those who don't know, Team Hea and Bria is what I like to call my running partner, Heather, and I when we race together. We almost always stay together during races, and last night was no exception. We ran into a group wearing shirts with Isaiah 40:31 on the back, which drew my attention because that's the verse I repeated during the Gasparilla Marathon when I thought I would die. Then I noticed the shirt also said Calvary Chapel where I go to church. They started a running team, and the director was there and said both of us could join, too, even though Hea goes to a different church. He gave us each a long-sleeved dri-fit shirt (amazing, as you can see) and trusted that we would pay him la...

I have a hard enough time just getting through a regular road race. True, I ran an adventure run called The Claw Run in May that involved going waist deep through a river. I truly thought I would hate that...but I didn't. I kinda loved it. However, there was no mud, no getting shocked, no claustrophobic tunnels to crawl through and no ice baths to submerge into during that race. Therefore, I declined to join my husband and his team on the Tough Mudder this year, but I know my cousin, Alyssa, will be trying to talk me into it from now until next December when it's back in Florida. I did get the pleasure of spectating, which I truly enjoyed. I even got some mud sloshed onto me at a few spots, so I kinda felt involved. This amazing group completed the 12-mile challenge known as the Tough Mudder I'm so proud of my hubby for organizing the team and getting so many people to do it. They all did awesome and I got to see what hardcore really means watching this group con...

My family ran the Turkey Trot in Clearwater Thanksgiving morning, and we had such a great time. Alyssa, my hubby, and I ran the 10K while the rest of the fam ran/walked the 5K. We also ran with Hea and a friend from high school, Karol. The Thanksgiving meal was even better after burning all those calories and making room for all the food. If you've never done a Turkey Trot, I hope you'll consider doing it next year. Makes for a great start to the day. And I'm certainly thankful that God has given me the ability to run and be healthy. But more importantly, I'm thankful for what Jesus did for me when he died on the cross and of course for my wonderful and amazing hubby.

I love the feeling of finishing a race no matter what the distance. Every race is an accomplishment. There is no such thing as "just a 5K" or "just a half" or "just an insert race distance. " All races from 1K to 100 miles are difficult in their own way, though I personally will never know the difficulty of a race beyond 26.2 miles. My cousin, Alyssa, my best friend, Hea, and I ran the Women's Half Marathon yesterday. The race began at 7am amongst a crowd of 10,000 women. Right when the race started, Hea and I almost lost my cousin because she was in the eternal bathroom line. Luckily, she is a speedy girl and caught up to us about five minutes after the horn sent us all off. The pictures were taken by our good friend, Jeremy Carlson, who spotted us along the route several times. Thanks, J.J.! The downtown waterfront in St. Pete is a scene I know so well. We traveled past the Vinoy toward Snell Isle Bridge, made our way ...

This is the week I get to eat lots of carbs and train less. It's going to be a good week. Why, you may ask? Because the Women's Half Marathon is this Sunday in St. Petersburg! This last weekend I ran five miles Saturday and five miles Sunday with my hubby and Lance. Did I mention they are both in much better shape than me? They were sweet and stayed with me, though. We had a great time, and it was my last "longer" running before the race. I opted not to do 10 miles on Saturday like I originally planned and broke it up between the two days. I used my Nike+ sensor and ran at the park with the marked mileage so I know it's accurate. I now feel confident about going somewhere else with the sensor. Lance got good and tired for the rest of Saturday and Sunday, just the way we like him. I found out from Kathrine Switzer's Facebook page that she will be at the expo again this year for the race. I'm so excited to see her again. I got to chat with her...

I'm singing it to the tune of "Cel-e-bra-tion!" Another benefit of the iTouch: it comes with a free Nike+ app. Today, I calibrated my new sensor (separate purchase from Best Buy) with the Nike+ app, which means I can track my distances and know for sure that I went ten miles in Georgia! Which I didn't....because I didn't have the iTouch or the sensor yet. But the next time I'm up there, I will know for sure. Or anywhere for that matter. It began with googling "how to put a Nike+ sensor in a non Nike shoe" and of course somebody had a solution for me. Items needed: one of my running shoes, the sensor (19.99 at Best Buy), unknown number of safety pins (I only ended up needing two smaller ones), fabric scissors. Begin with a small snip using the fabric scissors. Carefully, cut the hole wider, but not too wide. Open the box and take out the little sensor guy (read instructions later). See if your hole is big enough......

My first iTouch arrived this week, and I haven't spent a moment apart from it since. Of course, when the newness wears off, I'm sure I'll be able to leave it behind on a trip to the grocery store...maybe. Today, I ran 12 miles as per my training schedule, and it was tough! Probably because I chose to run 12 laps around the park (1 lap = 0.9 miles) and completed the mileage with the 1.2 miles that it takes to get to the park and back from my house. That's the benefit; I knew how far I was going for sure. Last week turned out to be 9.8 miles instead of 10 when we clocked it afterward with the car! Oh well. Close enough. That was almost easy compared to my run today. However, I made it so I really don't want to complain about it. Because my iTouch has now been loaded with all my favorite podcasts, of course I brought it along to listen to the usual ( Dunesteef ). Then I realized I wouldn't need to bring my camera separately. The iTouch is a camera and does vid...

I couldn't be happier with the 10-mile run I did this morning. I ran from 8am to 10am pretty much on the dot, so that would be a 12-minute-mile average. I'm pretty sure that was my speed, so I'm really hopeful I went the full distance. With the Women's Half Marathon on Nov 20th, I've been working hard to keep on track with my training. My husband and I came to visit my sister and her husband for a long weekend. We also brought our dog, who loves it up here. Check out all the pics I took while running on the Photos tab. I was concerned about the cold, because the temperature when I got up was about 50 degrees. I've been used to the 80s for most of my recent jogs, but the cooler air felt great. I started with sweats and my long-sleeved shirt from the Gasparilla Marathon. It's by far my favorite long-sleeved running shirt. After the first five-mile lap I did around the neighborhood, I dropped the sweats off at my sister's house, and my shorts wit...

Sometimes, it's hard for me when a week goes by before I get in another run. However, this was a very important week as I was attending the Florida Writers Association (FWA) Conference in Orlando Oct. 21-23. I wanted to feel prepared, and that included pausing the usual every-other-day running routine. If you're interested in my time at the FWA Conference, click HERE . I finally got to run about 4 miles yesterday, almost a week since the last time, and it felt great. Again, great weather with a pleasant breeze along my usual waterfront route. I found myself behind a woman near the end of my jog, and though I knew I couldn't pass her, I matched her stride to see if I could keep the same distance behind her. It's so funny because she didn't appear to be going fast, but when I started to feel how quickly my feet moved to keep in line with her, I realized how slow I truly am. Honestly, I don't mind, but I am often amazed at other distance runners.

I love this time of year. The days are getting cooler, the humidity level decreases, and running feels pretty good. My running routine changes throughout the year. I have quite a few races coming up, so my current schedule is to run every other day (average 3 days a week, sometimes 4). My favorite time to run is after work along the waterfront. I change into running clothes and walk to the security-guarded parking garage where I leave my things in the car. The route I often take from the garage to the Pier and back is about 5 miles. My next race is the Women’s Half Marathon on Nov 21 st , so I’m increasing to 8 miles today. Nice and slow. During the summer, after work is not a fun time to run, but I have a really hard time getting up at 5am to run before. The anti-runner in me hits snooze until it's too late to run before work, and my punishment is to run in the Florida deathrays of the late afternoon. Lately, I have prefered this to waking up early. I...

Today, I ran the Sunrise Run 5K with my husband and our dog, Lance. We had a lot of fun running with so many people we knew from Faith Covenant and other local churches. Karen VanderPloeg has said this is her last year to head up this race and I hope someone will be able to take over the reins for future years. At the award ceremony, Lorraine Yaslowitz, who ran the 1K with Karen, was honored with a medal and a plaque for her faith and testimony after her husband, K-9 Officer Jeff Yaslowitz, was killed in the line of duty. My husband knew Jeff from the SWAT team and it has been incredible to hear Lorraine's message of hope and to hear her unwavering faith in the wake of the horrible tragedy when her husband and another officer, Tom Baitinger, were gunned down earlier this year. A month later, another officer, David Crawford, was killed in the line of duty. They paid the greatest price, and it makes me think and pray often for my husband while he is on duty. I know so many friends...

Sept 24, 2011 ~ One Step Closer to the Cure 5K Team Hea and Bria ran this race in downtown St. Pete a few weeks ago. The race surprised us because we both felt destroyed 0.2 miles into the race. The humidity must have been at 100%. The temp likely began at 88 degrees, increasing to 91 or so by the time we finished. Those numbers may be off, but do reflect my feelings on the matter. Dawn broke just before the race began, increasing the temperature with every second. Meaning, I felt every second of that 28 minute, 11 second race. Yes, it's a decent time and I am happy with it. But in the moment, I wasn't happy at all. St. Pete's downtown waterfront area is beautiful, especially at sunrise or sunset. But I wasn't soaking in any beauty. My lungs felt soaked with water, and Hea and I could barely talk as we plodded along past the Pier and towards the Vinoy. My body felt devoid of energy, even reserves. Everything in me cried out to stop running. Around that time, Hea f...

I have a race coming up this Saturday. The Sunrise Run is a faith-based race that was started a few years ago by Karen VanderPloeg. I'm running the 5K at 7:15am along the waterfront in downtown St. Pete. It's a beautiful run and lots of fun. Karen is an amazing woman of God who has been battling cancer and still plans to run/walk this weekend as far as I know. I've always had great respect for Karen and her joyful spirit through all things. Sadly, my team will be incomplete this year. My best friend, Heather, has been sick and can't make it this time. Illness gets in the way of running and turns even the most dedicated runners into anti-runners...at least while they are recovering.  Photo by Jason McElhaney  Team Hea and Bria, The Sunrise Run 2010  Photo by Karen VanderPloeg  Team Hea and Bria, The Sunrise Run 2009

Despite the name of my new blog, I intend to use it to express my passion and love for running. Sure, the reality of sore muscles, draining days in the Florida sun, and dreadful, early mornings will come into play. Much about running can be like a horror film when you are in it. I had an extremely difficult summer when it came to running. Today is the first day the high was below 90 degrees in I don't know how long. Feels like forever. And I realize that my former days of detesting running may have transformed into something else, but I still have moments where I despise running. Yes, love wins out in the end. But I believe I am the anti-runner who runs, and that will likely become apparent with this blog. Today I ran just under 6.5 miles. I haven't run that far in months. Because the temp was a mere 86 degrees, it felt absolutely wonderful. Next Saturday, I look forward to the Sunrise Run in downtown St. Pete. I welcome comments from runners, non-runners, anti-runners an...