Just Plodding Along

 Pictures from Lost Dutchman Half : Me and this guy look like we are going to die. And that form......ugh am I running or power walking. Coming through the wall (this was really for the marathoners but we got to run through too). I look like I am about to get run over by the guy in yellow behind me. Check out those mountains. So pretty! Hardest effort to date. (2 hour finish you will be mine.....if I do speed work and learn to be less of a baby.) Me and A and our awesome medals. You know someone is a true friend if they will stand this close to you after you have run hard for 13.1 miles. Pictures from Arizona Half This thumbs up is a total lie. Nice race, bad attitude. Probably never been so happy to be done with a race in my life. Once again these are the 'good' photos. I have decided running is not a very pretty sport. But looking at these makes me excited for my next half! A week and a half off of running and I kind of miss it. I m...

February was kind of a bust mileage wise. Only ran 57.3 miles in February. Of course even with leap day this is a shorter month, yes...yes that is the reason. Have run 138.1 miles this year. That is pretty good. Kind of want to see if I can pick it up and hit 1000 miles this year. A goal to consider. Pounds lost in Feb.  = 4 = solid effort (I don't even want the  glitter shoes anymore, but still think I deserve a prize if I ever actually hit my goal weight). Half marathons run in Feb.= 3 Sedona 1/2 Lost Dutchman 1/2 Arizona 1/ 2 Medals obtained in February = 3 Half marathons where I acted like a punk butt: 1 Goals for March: Figure out what the pain in my calf is about and fix it. Work on stretching and balancing my hips. I need to get better about stretching. If I don't bad things happen. Take another week off of running and spend it swimming and pool running to let my calf/hip feel better Continue working on gaining...

This morning the alarm went off at 5:20 a.m.for the Lost Dutchman race. After getting dressed, Hello running skirt, I love you and your three pockets Also wore the Aspaeris short underneath- magical  we headed out the door by 5:50 and drove about 30 minutes (while downing a peanut butter cliff bar) to get to the race start at Prospector Park. Parking was already full in the parking lot so we parked on the road. Glad we didn't get there any later or it would have been quite a hike to the start. I left A in the car to stay warm since her 10k started later than my race and after hitting the bathroom headed to the start line. I didn't carry my camera this time since my goal was to push the whole race and when I take pictures I tend to get distracted (ooo look a butterfly). So this is just mostly words. Lots and lots of words. There was plenty of porto-potties and real bathrooms as well since we were in a park. The race start had pacing areas by mile time. I started in th...

This afternoon my friend A and I headed to Apache Junction (about a 2 and a half hour drive from Tucson) to pick up our race packet for the Lost Dutchman race. A is doing the 10k and I am doing the half. We arrived at packet pick-up around 3p.m. that was held at the Apache Junction multi-generational center- basically a rec center.  The expo was not crowded at all. I walked right up and got my number, long sleeve tech shirt and goodie bag. We wandered around and looked at running stuff but didn't buy anything.  This was the view from the rec center. Really pretty. Cactus- so rare in AZ Race bag and a cookie- ready to go A found a cheap room in Mesa, about thirty minutes away from the race start, at the Homestead Suites Extended Stay motel. It is right next to a Starbucks and a Jamba Juice so works out just fine. After hanging out at Starbucks for awhile we headed to Sauce to carbo load. There is a Sauce down the...

This Saturday I head up towards Apache Junction to participate in the Lost Dutchman Half  .  I have wanted to do this race for two years now so I am pretty excited to do this one. Miners and pots of gold what is not to love? It is an out and back. It is slightly uphill overall heading towards the six mile marker and then slightly downhill on the way back. According to the website there are no significant hills (I am not sure what makes a hill significant versus not, they all seem pretty significant to me). I really want to see how hard I can push it. And even though my left leg is still wonky for some reason (actually I think the reason is my left hip is weak and is out of place, making my left leg short than my right. Only way to fix is strength training and stretching but that takes time and probably won't be fixed before Sunday. How do I know all this, why the internet of course. Am thinking of going to a sports doctor but have to work my way up to it I gues...