The Anti-Running Runner

Back on April 28th, I ran the Claw Run 10 Miles with hubby, Hea, and Mike. Our friends Robert and Russ ran the 5 Miles. This race in beautiful Alafia River State Park has become a favorite of mine. I can't believe someone had to talk me into doing it the first time. We ran through forest trails, up and down hills and berms, through a green valley that smelled like mint, slid on our butts down steep slopes, splashed through ankle-deep water, and waded through a waist-deep river (probably my favorite part because it's a wonderful cool down). The best of all was that the four of us stayed together. Usually I'm at the back of the pack but someone is always kind enough to stay with me like Hea or Alyssa (who sadly couldn't make it this year). But this time, we ran as a group and felt like a team. Of course, staying together still meant staying with the slowest person (me), so I was especially grateful that everyone stuck to the plan. Later, it became clear why Mike, t...

That's right. I'm doing it again. And hubby is doing his first marathon. What marathon are we signed up for and when? The X-Country Marathon on Nov 17, 2013 This is a trail marathon in beautiful Alafia River State Park (east of Tampa). Same place where we run The Claw Run 10 Miles. We're signed up for that race again at the end of April. Hubby doesn't like road races, but has wanted to run a marathon. When we found out about this trail marathon not too far from us, he said he would be interested in doing it someday. That day is now officially on the calendar. And it's not expensive. Only $55 for early sign-up. Hea and Mike are signed up. Hopefully, Alyssa will be able to join us, too. I once swore that I would never run a marathon. And then Alyssa talked me into Disney 2009 which was the week before my wedding. I don't recommend that, by the way. After the Disney Marathon, I swore that I would never run another ma...

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...

If the horrible 8-miler I did the week before The Claw Run was an indicator of my finish time for the 10-mile race, I would have guessed a three-hour, sluggish, slow, and painful finish time. Praise God that wasn't the case and my time was a respectable two hours and nine minutes. Luckily, the adventure run took my fears away as soon as the horn sounded. My cousin, Alyssa, and I took off through the woods on a shaded path behind my hubby and Hea's boyfriend, Mike. They got ahead of us pretty quickly, but Alyssa stayed with me the whole time. The sad part was the fact that Hea of Team Hea and Bria had a knee injury and couldn't race with us. She was a trooper and still came to cheer. Two other friends, Robert and Russ, ran the 5 miles and did great. Robert was kind enough to drive us again this year. Alyssa and I raced through forest trails, open fields, up and down "hills" (he...

Last Friday, I ran my last long distance prior to the Miami Half, between 11-12 miles. It's a nice feeling to get a long distance run out of the way, and then focus on shorter runs and resting days and carbs. Two weeks ago, I ran the last 10 miles of Hea's 20-miler. She's doing her first full marathon in Miami. Team Hea & Bria get to start the race together, but she'll be doing twice my race distance. We had a really enjoyable run together. Her boyfriend rode a bike the whole 20 miles, and even carried things for me when I joined them. It was a huge blessing to have him along. I keep thinking about doing another marathon, but I'm so happy that I don't have one coming up. It takes so much time just to train for a half, and way more to train for a full. Alyssa and two of her friends, and a group of Hea's friends will all be doing the Miami Marathon. For many it will be their first. I think we'll all have a blast together. And I'll get to fi...

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...