The Anti-Running Runner

The conflict: to run or not to run In the time leading up to the Halloween Halfathon and the Women’s Half, I trained pretty well. At my speed, of course, but I was putting in the mileage that I needed to feel good for a half. After the Women’s Half (as noted in the last post), not so much running going on. A few days here and there, but not much mileage. The St. Pete Rock N Roll is not until February, so it’s been easy to push running off in the midst of the holidays. About four days leading up to Christmas day, hubby and I spent time with my family and new niece in Georgia. It was such a blessing, and we celebrated the birth of Christ together with a lot of great food and more great food. It was cold and rainy, but hubby and I managed one short run during the visit. The trip involved nine and a half hours of driving time each way. Friends and family took care of our animals. We dropped off/picked up animals on the way, adding to our travel time. Sadly, I believe ...

Another fun Jingle Bell Run 5K! I enjoy this race every year. It starts in the dark on the pier, and they seem to have added more stuff this year. More live music, more sights and lights along the way. Good times. It wasn't cold or warm, but pleasant. Hea and I ran a moderate pace together. Normally, we try to PR at this race, but both of us were not up to it this year. She is dealing with knee pain and I had some bad chili the night before (too much info, I know), so we were all about keeping a comfortable pace. And we both ended up feeling great and had fun catching up. My favorite part about running is probably the time spent in good company. We both had our men and dogs their to cheer us on. Afterward, we got gelato with my college roommate, Tavanya, and her family. They all did the 1 mile walk. Downtown St. Pete is festive and decorated for Christmas, which I love. It was so fun to visit with friends and have hubby there. He had been gone all week, I missed him! ...

It’s been over a week, but I’m finally getting to blog about the Women’s Half Marathon in St. Pete! First of all, the weather could not have been more perfect. The cloud cover kept the sun away while a nice breeze kept us cool. It was actually too cool before we started, but after a mile we were grateful for it. Alyssa, my dear cousin, stayed with me during this race just like the Halloween Half three weeks prior. We chatted the entire time again (can you tell we are thisclose?) and missed most of the mile markers. That is the best way to run a race if you can, in my opinion. The only drawback was at the starting line. The corrals fed from the front. Meaning when we tried to get into corral 2, everyone had crowded to the front to the point that there was a line to get in. We had to elbow our way through the bodies, which is awkward and rude, but the only way we could get in. The space is always in the back of the corral, where they usually feed in people for races. So...

This is one of those races I'll remember forever. And this is why... My cousin, Alyssa, and I ran in costume FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! If you can't tell....she is Tinkerbell and I am Ariel. Well, we are their running versions. We talked about doing a Disney race dressed up, but we gave up and finally decided this Halloween race would be the perfect opportunity for way less $$. She brought her two friends, Alicia and Katherine, who were so sweet and fun.   Katherine is a fairy friend of Tinkerbell's and Alicia is Cruella De Ville. I was so shocked that Alyssa and I finished in 2:21 because I thought the wig at least would slow me way down. Turns out the outfit was one of the best I've ever run in. I got the shirt because it was purple and looked mermaidish. I just can't run in a sports bra, and I know that probably would have made it more obvious that I was Ariel, but oh well. It was such a comfy top. The running skirt had spa...

I mentioned my Minnesota trip and my longer runs, but I haven't blogged about those yet. So I thought I would play catch up using pictures. I added all my (better) Minnesota pics to Facebook. The ones here are taken by my iTouch, which is never the best quality, but not terrible either. On one of my runs in Duluth... Down the street from Mom and Dad's house, I saw some deer. I made friends with a neighborhood cat. According to Mom, there aren't very many cats in their neighborhood. This guy was so sweet and friendly. A spot where the flooding from this year caused damage. But still beautiful Fall trees in the distance. A nice downhill trek. Back up, not as fun. Love the Fall colors. Proof that I'm running. Sorta. I guess it's not really proof. It's so pleasant out I'm not even sweating. Lake Superior. More proof. Back in St. Pete....... A ten mile run. Beautiful, HOT day, but there was a nice co...

I'm very behind on blogging. That is to say, I haven't blogged for a while, and that makes me feel like I'm behind. I am running. Slowly. I've done a couple of 10 milers and one 12 that involved a lot of walking. I ran a little in Minnesota but mostly relaxed while visiting my wonderful in-laws and enjoying fall colors. I have the FWA conference this coming weekend. I'm not sure how much running I'll get done this week. My next race is Oct. 28th at Ft. Desoto. My dear cousin, Alyssa, is running the Halloween Halfathon with me. We're dressing up, too. She ran a marathon in Minneapolis a couple of weekends ago. We JUST missed seeing each other. I'm so proud of her because she beat her PR and almost broke 4 hours. My Uncle Gabe and Aunt Marita ran the 10K. Uncle Dave and Aunt Elena (Alyssa's parents) cheered everybody on. I love having a running family. Slow motion. That's how I feel when I run. I've come to accept that's just the...

No, I'm not referring to the Honey Bucket visits from the last post. Horrible runs meaning extremely difficult jogs. My last few runs (a six and a couple eights with shorter distances thrown in there) have been quite challenging. I blame the heat (seriously, it is KILLER here), but I also blame my lack of talent as a runner. And my inability to get up early. I don't have "it" like some people do. But that's okay. It's not a complaint. I do have perseverance, so that's in my favor. But getting back up to higher mileage is such an ordeal for me. As a 10-12-minute miler, it takes a long time for me to get some of these runs done. I guess this is one of the reasons why I'm the Anti-Running Runner. While in Georgia meeting my new niece (!!!) I got a chance to run in my sister's neighborhood two weekends in a row. I've mentioned before how much I love running there. Here I am doing one loop around her neighborhood (about 4 miles). It was ho...

I left off the last post sharing my first Hood 2 Coast experience. In the dark, I got through my second leg (something like 4 miles), but I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. I was exhausted. I couldn't believe I had to run one last time. Slight tangent: Each Hood 2 Coast team decides whether the runners will do the driving or whether someone who is not running will drive. My sister had raced the year before, and decided to volunteer to drive instead of run this time. She says it's actually more stressful being a driver than being a runner. My parents decided to follow our van (van 1) since both my sister and I were there just to spend time with us and the family. They had borrowed my uncle's mini van. In this post-second leg time frame, I had to visit the Honey Bucket a few times. This in itself is not a pleasant experience. In the dark, after some hundreds of runners have already visited the port-a-potty before me...you can imagine. I rea...

My first Hood 2 Coast continued... The relay is over and I would bet people are already planning for next year. I left off the Pt 1 post with the Wonder Women. This was the shirt for our team in 2004: front back Because my family had been doing the race for years, I got to jump on board the team of mostly family members. I can't quite remember who talked me into it, but I know my cousin, Alyssa, and many of my aunts gave me great advice on how to train. My sister, Larisa, had done it the year before, and I wanted to try it. I started long-distance running in college. After college (I had no job except jewelry-making at the time), I spent a month in Oregon visiting family and training on the hills around my aunt's house. There is one really huge hill that is the perfect trainer for a Florida girl coming to do Hood 2 Coast. I did a lot of stairs during the months leading up to my trip, which helped. The relay begins at Timberline on Mt Hood. I was in van 1, le...

As this is a review about a running book, I thought it fitting to include on both my writing blog and my running blog. I’m actively submitting my novel, Sprinter , to agents and publishers. In the meantime, besides working on other writing, I’m searching for books similar to mine because that is a question often asked in the submission guidelines: which books are similar to yours? When I found The Lola Papers , I thought it might be somewhat similar to my book. In some ways it is, as both main characters are female, runners, and pursuing running goals while taking note of how much running parallels life. In other ways, not so much. My book is fiction, Lola is non-fiction. But I enjoyed every minute I spent reading it. Lola is a runner’s journey from sporadic and half-hearted running to serious racing. Her coach, Mr. Speedy Pants, provides the wisdom and insight of a seasoned and studly runner who isn’t ashamed of his own awesomeness. Following our main character throug...

Part 1 of...who knows how many When it comes to relays, Hood 2 Coast is the largest in the country. World maybe? I should really fact check before I start throwing out statistics. Mt. Hood is near Portland, Oregon. My place of birth. For the race, they created a trek from Timberline on Mt. Hood to Seaside (on the coast, naturally) about 200 miles away. I think. Again, I should fact check. I do know that the race is happening AS I TYPE. It is very fitting that I reminisce about Hood 2 Coast while thousands of people are running, driving, not sleeping, watering their runners, cheering their runners, finding places to park, finding places to sleep briefly, loading up on Gatorade and Imodium, trying not to smell while using the Honey Buckets, searching for flashlights to carry, and running some more.  And I found it. Something with facts on it. At least in 2006 it was the largest relay in the world. They have a website and I particularly enjoyed reading about the history...

I went six miles in the Vibrams last Sunday. It was really hot, so that was a challenge. The toes were okay. I had remembered to Body Glide them. Yesterday, after a rainy day, the weather was fantastic. The air felt cool. I left work, ran my waterfront route around the St. Pete Pier, and felt awesome the entire time. Except my toes...I forgot to Body Glide them. P.S. I don't have pretty feet. The tape is keeping the bandaids on so far. Oh, and I had to stop for a bathroom break that took quite a while, but you don't want to hear about that. Toes were painful, but I finished the distance and now you see how my feet look today. It was so sad, too, because I felt so great otherwise. Not often the case. As my hubby points out, raw toes is a problem that may mean these are not the shoes I should wear for my half marathon. But I'm stubborn. I want these to work so bad! I love how they feel. When my toes haven't been rubbed raw, they are great. So...

As promised, another tale of my past running adventures. I had to share the story of my first half marathon because it will forever stand out in my mind. Disclaimer: I do not condone "rogue running" or whatever it's called when you race without a number. But these were extreme circumstances. So I do not apologize for what happened in the following story. And neither do my heroes: Alyssa and Jenni. In 2008, I was signed up to run the Disney Half Marathon. I had run a 15K before, so I felt confident that I could make it, especially because my dear cousin, Alyssa, would be running with me. Alone meant possible failure. With her, I could do anything. My dad drove us to the race, and Alyssa's best friend, Jenni, joined us. This is the same Alyssa and Jenni who ran the Miami Marathon, and I ran the half and blogged about that crazy adventure earlier this year. In fact, Alyssa and Jenni just moved into a house together. Hubby and I went to help them with some pr...