Warm Bodies

 Last week's movie was Warm Bodies, a slightly different take on the zompoc.  This movie is told from the zombies' point of view.  Eight years post-apocalypse, most humans are living in walled cities,
occasionally venturing out to search for supplies  and resources.  There are actually two types of zombies in this movie. The first are Corpses - the more recently deceased who shamble around looking for living creatures to eat.  They can still think somewhat, although they don't remember much about their life, they do know they were once alive.  Though they mostly shamble and wander, when they see living creatures and feel that fierce hunger, they move much faster and attack with surprising strength.  The other kind of zombies are Boneys.  They've been dead much longer, and are basically animated skeletons.  They still eat the living, but they no longer have any connection to being human.  They're much faster and stronger than Corpses, and are dangerous to both humans and Corpses.

Teresa

Back to more normal activity for me.  I ran 24.08 miles this week, pedaled another 66.35 miles on my stationary bike, and did 95 burpees.  I also took a Yoga for Runners class that Steph did as her final project for her yoga teacher certification.  She's a fantastic teacher, and I got a lot out of the class.  I really should do yoga more often. As far as specific benefits to fighting off zombies, it helps with core strength, flexibility, and staying injury-free.  It definitely wouldn't do to pull a hamstring or have IT band issues while being chased by a pack of zoms.

Was I Last?  No!

Thursday was Run(317) Fountain Square, the final Run(317) event this year.  Even though I
stopped halfway through the race and had a White Claw at Sarah's open house, I still finished 452nd out of 568 runners.  The zombies would have a lot to eat before they ever caught up to me.

This is my 5th year being an Ambassador for Run(317).  I have always enjoyed promoting these races and helping out at the events.  No race expos to work this year, and two of the five races had to be virtual, but it was still a privilege to be part of this team and help to bring these safe and fun events to Indy.

Laura

Laura was too busy to give us an update this week - hopefully we'll catch up next week.

 

Cindy

I have been doing lots of flights of stairs this week.  The hotel that Scott and I are staying at now while dealing with our septic issues has lots of stairs, and we're on the 3rd floor.  I know that's not too high, but I've been intentionally walking the stairs a lot.  And at least half of the time I am carrying a 15-20 pound dog, whether going to the house with our Honey or just taking her out to the hotel yard.  She is blind, and although she can do a few stairs, I wouldn't let her try several flights multiple times a day.  I especially feel I wouldn't be eaten this week with Warm Bodies zombies helping keep the Boneys at bay and my legs getting stronger with the stairs.  I've seen quite a few people who don't seem to do much but step out on the balcony and stand around...so the Boneys and even Corpses would go for them!

This Week

We're going to watch Train to Busan, a South Korean zombie movie that I (Teresa and also Cindy) have never seen, but it's on every list of top zombie movies so I'm interested to check it out.  This week is also November Project Homecoming Week!  If you're in Indy, definitely come get fit and have fun with us!

Night of the Living Dead

Last week we watched George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, the groundbreaking 1968 movie that contributed a lot to what we now accept as common zombie knowledge - zombies as reanimated recently dead that eat the living and can only be killed by destroying the head.  The zombies in this movie don't run, but they don't exactly shamble either.  They walk at a pretty good pace.  They're also smart enough to use tools, like using rocks to break the car windows to get at Barbara.  One or two zombies can be easily fought off, but a large group is definitely a threat.  If you find a safe place to hole up, though, like Ben does in the cellar of the farmhouse, they will eventually give up trying to get in and wander off.

Teresa

This was a low mileage week for me: only 11.35 miles running, and 55.91 miles on the stationary bike.  Thursday I got my second shingles shot, and as with the first one the shot made me really sick for about a day and a half, so there was no working out at all on Friday or Saturday.  If the zombie apocalypse happened at the end of this week, I would've had to hole up in my basement and wait it out, because I would not have been able to outrun Romero's zombies.  However, I'm now better prepared for the future, as I don't have to worry about being incapacitated by shingles once the zombie outbreak begins.  Just before my shot I did a short run through my old neighborhood & by this little family cemetery, and I didn't see any signs of the dead returning, so it seemed like a safe time to get vaccinated.

Was I Last?  Yes and No.

 

I had a couple of timed events this week.  On Monday, along with several other Run(317) Ambassadors, I ran the Fountain Square course to demo the RaceJoy app for runners who will be doing it virtually.  I wasn't last because we all stuck together to see how the app was working, so I would've had company if the dead started coming for us.  Wednesday was Race Day at November Project, and I was last.  But Colleen joined me for my last 8 burpees, and she and Blake both ran with me on my final Up & Over, so once again I would've had help fighting off any zombies that caught me.

Laura

 

Laura ran the 48 mile Black Mountain Ultra Traverse, up Mount Mitchell, across the Crest Trail, and back.  Much of that at an elevation over 6,000 ft and temps in the mid 20s.  Night of the Living Dead doesn't address how zombies do in temps below freezing, but a lot of popular zombie fiction has the zombies shutting down & unable to function.  Also, since Laura won the masters female division, she definitely would've outrun any zombies that were still moving up there on the mountain tops.

Cindy 

I would have been last this week against Romero's zombies.   I have been dealing with septic issues and several days have not been able to stay at home; therefore, Ride Owltober is off to a slow start.  But a zombie could fall in the hole in the backyard if I was only being chased by one, or slip and fall in the water in the basement.   We'll try to find the positive in it! 

 

This Week 

We will be watching Warm Bodies this week, a much more contemporary romcom look at zombies, even personifying some that retain some of their personality. 

Who's ready for the Inaugural 465 Challenge?

Don't Miss the Inaugural 465 Virtual Challenge! Shown above: Inaugural 465 Challenge Sticker included with Premium and Basic Registration Packages. Coming January 1, 2020 . . . Inaugural 53-Mile VIRTUAL 465 Challenge! WHO: Fabulously motivated YOU! WHAT: The Inaugural 53-Mile VIRTUAL 465 Challenge is an event conceived by Indianapolis-based Vision Event Management. Why 53 miles? Here's the skinny: Indiana Interstate 465 is a 53-mile loop around Indianapolis. As a kid, do you remember driving somewhere with your parents and imagining yourself moving on a map? Now, dig if you will a picture of yourself running, walking, biking, skateboarding, scootering or performing any physical activity of your choice for the 53-mile loop around the 465. THIS IS A VIRTUAL EVENT SO PLEASE DO NOT ACTUALLY STEP FOOT ON INDIANA INTERSTATE 465!

A Love Letter to my Friends

Two years ago today I ran my first full marathon at the Carmel Marathon.  It was hot, painful, hard, and yet fun too.  I couldn't have done it without the support of so many friends:

• Kathy came out to Blue Mile and ran with me on Saturdays while I was training;
• the Fast Bottom Girls worked one of the water stops (around mile 15 or so I think) and ran with me for a little while;
• Lindsey was at the Athletic Annex water stop around mile 19 and gave me some jelly beans and ran with me;
• I met and ran with Jen (running her 120-somethingth marathon) from mile 20 to 24 and saw her again at the finish;
• Jeanette was at mile 26 cheering and taking pictures;
• Beth met me at the finish line with flowers;
• and Matt & Tim were there in the gear check tent to congratulate me.

If you've never run a marathon, you can't imagine how mentally challenging it is.  I wanted to quit so many times, but having so many friends cheer for me and even run with me for a bit kept me going when I just wanted to lie down in the shade with a cold drink.  I remember thinking then that I was glad I picked Carmel for my first marathon since the support along the course that day meant so much to me, and that I was really lucky to have so many good friends in my life.  I had no idea how true that really was though.

Five days after Carmel, Kevin died of a heart attack, and my life went into a tailspin from which it still hasn't recovered.  And much like that marathon, I could not have made it this far without the support of so many friends.  So many times these past two years, I have just wanted to lie down and quit.  But every time I think I can't take another step, someone shows up with just what I need to keep going for a little bit longer.

I'm humbled and amazed and grateful to have so many wonderful friends in my life.  From friends I've known for over 20 years to friends I recently met.  I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I thank God every day for all of you, because without you I would be a complete basket case all the time, instead of just now and then.

I talk a lot on this blog about my running friends, but I have some pretty awesome coworkers too, and great friends at church, wonderful neighbors, internet friends, classmates from high school, summer camp & college....  I wish I could list everyone out, because I'm not sure you all know how much you help me, and some of you may not realize how much you matter to me.

So this blog post is for you.  If you've ever called me, texted me, run with me, gone to the movies with me, bought me a beer, snuck flowers into my office, given me a hug, given me a high five, listened to me cry, laughed at my inappropriate jokes, put up with my crazy mood swings, lent me a power tool, given me home improvement advice, sent me a card, met me for brunch, invited me out, stopped by to see me, or come to some event I organized:  Thank you.  I love you.

When you see me post #hazelstrong, know that it's just an abbreviation.  What I'm really saying is #hazelisonlystrongbecausesomanyfriendsarecarryingher

PR Motivation

I set a new PR last weekend at the 500 Festival Miler Series 3 Miler - 38 seconds faster than last year!  It's a new course and no longer includes the loop with the hill on White River Parkway by the Zoo, but that can't account for all of it.  I'm definitely getting faster.  My watch shows I actually ran 3.21 miles at a 10:14 pace - I had to do a lot of weaving around walkers - but my official time was 3 miles in 32:45 at a10:45 pace.  I ran it in 33:23 last year, so that's an improvement of more than 12 seconds per mile.

I wasn't even planning to try for a PR.  I've been running a lot of miles lately to keep my 20 mile/week average, and the Friday night before the race I did a really hard incline/speed workout on the treadmill (thanks Brandi!), so I expected my legs to be tired, but I actually felt great.

I run a different strategy in a 3 miler or 5K than I do in a longer race.  I usually just go ahead and go as fast as I feel like running from the very beginning.  Not sprinting, but not holding back either.  I think in such a short race that if I try to hold back and pace myself, I will hold back too much and not have time to make it up, so I would rather go at the start, even if I slow down some at the end.  Most times I don't ever slow down, because once that VOICE starts trying to tell me I have to or I'll never make it, I'm usually already past halfway and I know it's lying.

Last weekend, though, I got a bit of an extra motivational push.  Just after halfway, I saw a guy two blocks ahead of me wearing a Duke shirt.  And this was only 2 days after Duke beat UNC in a very close game.  Sorry Dookie, your team might have beat mine, but you weren't going to beat me.  I kicked up my pace a little and passed the Duke fan, resisting the urge to trash talk in case he felt like pulling a Grayson Allen on me, and kept pushing all the way to the finish.  Dude never had a chance to catch back up.  I did look for him after the race to tell him how he motivated me, but I never saw him.

Ringing the PR Bell!

It's not just that race or dudes in Dook shirts.  I actually am running faster lately.  I didn't PR Sunday's Hook-Up 5K, but I came as close as I ever have when I wasn't being paced.  And tonight I ran my personal best at our Thursday Night Run Club: 10:45 pace including stoplights.  I don't know who swapped legs with me, but you can't have them back!  I'm sure I have a bad run coming up - they can't all be good - but lately I've felt really strong and I'm enjoying every run.

Side note on my outfit in the picture at the beginning: that is not what I wore in Saturday's race, although now I wish I had.  It's actually from last year's Race For Roofs, which was on the same day UNC played IU in the Sweet 16 (Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers went down 101-86, in case you don't remember).  The Race for Roofs has been moved from March to July this year, but I'm sure the outfit will make an appearance again sometime during March Madness.

Coming Up: The Polar Bear is this weekend!  I'm running The Bear (5K + 5 Mile), and the weather looks to be just perfect, so it should be a lot of fun.

January Wrap-Up

We are turning the calendar page over on the first month of 2017: Year of Adventure.  I didn't do much racing this month, but I've still been making progress on my goals.  I ran 71.9 miles - a little lower than my goal to average 20 miles per week but not bad.  I read 4 books (plus a couple others still in progress), so I'm on track for 53 books this year, and I'm on track to read the Bible through this year too.  I just today started The Princess Diarist, Carrie Fisher's behind-the-scenes stories from the making of Star Wars.  I'm listening to the audio version, narrated by Carrie Fisher, and it's just fascinating.

Bop to the Top

I already told you about my New Year's Day races in my last blog post.  The only other event I did this month was the Bop to the Top on the 21st.  For my readers outside central Indiana, this is an annual timed stair climb in the OneAmerica tower.  36 floors.  780 steps.  I had never done it before, but it's pretty easy to talk me into trying something new.

View from the top

I was super-nervous and had no idea what to expect.  One kind of cool thing about this event: you don't get your t-shirt at packet pick-up; you get it at the top after you climb.  If you don't finish, you don't get a shirt.

It was actually not as hard as I expected.  I thought my legs/glutes would hurt, but it turned out my breathing was the hardest.  My legs were ok, but I was breathing as hard as if I was sprinting.  Maybe that was just due to nerves; I'm not sure.  In hindsight, I probably could have gone a little faster at the beginning, but I really didn't know how to pace myself.  I finished in 9:52 for 11th in my age group, not bad for a first timer.  I would definitely do this again, and perhaps next year I will try the Triple Step option.

Take My House, Please

The biggest thing this month has been starting the process of getting my house on the market.  I'm still sorting through things and donating/gifting/trashing as appropriate, and boxing up what I'm keeping so I can put it in storage.  It's so incredibly hard.  I'm ready, but it's still emotionally wrenching.  I've gone through and donated a lot of Kevin's things already over the past 21 months, and each time I can let a few more things go, but it honestly never gets easier.  It still feels right, though.  At this point I know which 5 or 6 of his sweatshirts I wear all the time.  I don't need to keep 30.

I'm also getting estimates on the repairs and updates I need to make to get the house ready for a new family.  That's hard in another way.  One of the last conversations Kevin and I had just a few days before he died was about the updates and renovations we wanted to make after the kids all moved out and we had the house to ourselves.  We were not planning to downsize - we discussed it but decided we wanted to stay here.  It's hard now to be doing these things without him.  I'm quite sure he would not like my decision to go with a laminate plank flooring downstairs instead of carpet.  I wish he was here to argue with me about it.

 It's all so mentally and emotionally exhausting.  I have been sleeping a lot more than normal this month.  I really just want to go to sleep and let someone else take care of it all.  Wake me up when it's time to unpack and set up my new apartment or rental house.  If it wasn't for the support of all my amazing friends and family, I wouldn't have gotten nearly as much done as I have so far.  I know I'm going to continue to need you over the next few months, too.  Even knowing this is right for me now and I'm ready, it's still going to be incredibly hard to move out of the home we built together and got married in.

Coming Up

February is going to a busy month! I've got to finish with the house.  I've given the kids and myself a March 1st deadline to have: 1) everything out of the house that no one wants to keep; and 2) everything boxed up and stored if we are keeping it but don't need it for the next month or so.  That doesn't really leave very many weekends, so most nights I spend a couple of hours on it too.

Last year's 3 Miler

February is going to be busy on the racing front, too, starting this Sunday with the Groundhog 7.  I'm volunteering as a course marshall.  If you're running it let me know so I can cheer you on!  Next weekend I have 2 races: the 500 Festival Miler Series 3 Miler
on Saturday (I really enjoyed this series last year & I'm looking forward to running it again); and the Hook Up 5K on Sunday (#justlooking).  Then on the 18th I'm running the Indy Polar Bear 5K + 5M.  I've never done this event but it looks like a lot of fun.

After that, I leave for Seattle to take the next class I need for my Certified Housing Asset Manager certification.  I've never been to Seattle, so if you have any tips on what to see/where to eat/where to run, please leave me a comment?

Long Time No Blog

Happy 2017! I hope everyone had peaceful and love-filled holidays.  I didn't have much to say after Vegas, so I took a few weeks off blogging while I concentrated on taking care of myself and getting through the holidays.  You wouldn't have wanted to read anything I wrote those weeks anyway.  It was rough; harder than the first year without Kevin.  It seemed more real this time, and he seems so far away now.  Although as Tiffane pointed out to me, I know that because of our faith in Jesus, I'm actually closer now to seeing Kevin again than I was a year ago.

But, 2017 is here and as always my calendar is filling up with things I'm looking forward to.  The Fast Bottom Girls have dubbed 2017 the Year of Adventure, and you'll see me using that hashtag often on Instagram & Twitter.  Soon it will be time to start spring training, but of course I never stopped running, so I'm ready to start working hard again.

Holiday Recap

I did run a few shorter races after Vegas: the Bolt for the Heart 5K on Thanksgiving, followed by the Burn It Off Double 5K & 10K on Black Friday and the Turkey Legs Trifecta 4K, 5K & 6K that Saturday.  A couple weeks later I went home to see my niece Starr earn her Masters in Nursing, and I ran the Hanukkah 8K with Laura & Mark while I was there.  Since Laura is taking an even longer break in blogging than I did, I will go ahead & share here that both she and Mark won their age groups in that race.

Then I had a weekend full of parties, getting together with the ladies supper club, the BGR Winter Takeover where we made awesome medal hangers, and the FBG Christmas party where we pulled out planners and journals to work on our 2017 goals.

Finally one last race to finish the year: the Rudolph Run 5K on Christmas Eve.  I hesitated to sign up for this race until the very last minute, because Christmas Eve is also Kevin's and my anniversary.  I wasn't sure if running a race was the best way to observe it, but I couldn't come up with anything especially meaningful, so I decided to go ahead.  If nothing else, I knew it would make me get up and get out of bed for a little while, and running always helps me feel better.

Christmas day was nice - I went to church in the morning, then out for Chinese food for lunch with Josh.  Next we met Kimmy & Colin at the theater to see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  Wow - definitely go see this if you haven't already!  Then all of us went back to the house where we were joined by Nick & Micah, and it was delightful to have everyone all together for a little while.

The week between Christmas and New Year's I spent trying to sort through things and start getting the house ready to sell, with breaks for runs and/or losing myself in a good book whenever I needed.  At this point, I know what I want to keep, but I have piles everywhere: things for Goodwill, electronics that I need to figure out how to dispose of, and all the things I need the kids to go through so they can take what they want.  That last pile is the biggest, and I know it's going to be hard for them.

I celebrated New Year's Day with 2 races, of course!  The Cheers to New Year's 5K with the FBG, and the First Day Trail Run at Monroe Lake with Josh.  Other than the races I did over the holidays, I ran all my runs without my watch.  I decided I wasn't going to track miles, look at my pace, or do anything other than just run for fun.  I didn't listen to music, either.  I chatted with friends or just ran and paid attention to how it felt.  It was kind of nice.

2017: Year of Adventure

Our FBG destination race this year is the Southernmost Half Marathon and Running Festival in Key West in October.  I've never been to Key West, so I'm super-excited about this trip.  I'm running the half on Saturday and the 5K on Sunday for the SoMo Challenge.  And we are working on mermaid outfits for the race, and you know those will be super-cute!

I will again be a Run(317) Ambassador, promoting, running and partying at my favorite local race series.  Other repeats: I'm pacing the Indy Runners Spring Training program which starts in a couple of weeks, and pacing the Indy Women's Half in September, and doing the 100 Miles of Racing contest.

I haven't actually decided on a Spring half.  I kind of need to be an adult and see how things go with the house before I start spending money and committing to races and travel plans.  I am running the Great Chocolate Race 10 Miler in March with the FBG, and the Run Forrest Run 10K in April up in South Bend (another place I've never been).

Overall for the year I've committed to run at least 1000 miles.  The challenge for me will not be in running all that - I think I probably actually did that last year.  The challenge will be in logging all my miles to keep track.  I deal with numbers all day long, so I don't really like to keep a training log or running totals or anything longer than a couple of months.

A fun event that has nothing to do with running: I will be Returning to Roswell (NM) in June for the New Beetle Car Show.  Josh, Starr and I went in 2003 and had a great time.  I'm really excited to be going again.  A couple of other non-running goals: reading 53 books this year (1 more than last year), and reading the Bible through again.

While that's all the definite plans I have, there are some other ideas floating around in my head that I hope to make happen this year too.

Laura's Updates

Laura last blogged on February 8, 2016, so I'm going to go brag on her accomplishments a little bit.  Hopefully she'll post soon and tell us more about all this.  She has been training for a 100 miler for a long time, and she made her first attempt at the Devil Dog Ultra in Virginia on December 17.  While she was not able to finish that day, she ran an impressive 73 miles in very tough conditions: rain and sleet, frozen creeks, several falls.  Most people would've taken a few weeks off to recover before starting over to train again, but Laura made another attempt at the Pistol Ultra in Tennessee over the New Year's weekend.  And not only did she finish, but she finished on the podium!  100 miles in 24 hours 59 minutes, 10th female overall and 2nd in her age group.  That is some serious strength!

Laura has been selected to be an ambassador for Feed Your Crazy running gear, and she is going to be on the newly formed FootRx trail ultra team, along with Mark and Alice.  Let's hope one of her team duties is to blog and tell us all about their adventures.

#CountdownToVegas Week 15: PR in the Rain

Saturday morning on the Monon

Short blog post today, because it's almost time for the season premiere of The Walking Dead.  I'm not enjoying the show as much as I used to, and I actually think Z Nation is a better show at this point.  But I'm curious enough to still watch at least the first few episodes this season, and see where it might be going.

I had a rather busy week with work and other obligations, plus one day I just plain forgot to pack my sports bra, so I didn't get quite as many miles in this week as I'd originally planned.  I only ran three days, which feels like slacking.  But they were good quality runs, so I've got that going for me.

Monday was reverse hill suicides with #TeamMoHills.  It was a really tough workout, but these ladies always make it fun.  Crazy that it was still in the 80s in mid-October!

3.17 PR

S'more on a Stick!

Thursday was the final Run(317) race of 2016.  It was in the 50s and raining, but I had a great race.  The course was crowded at the beginning, but once it opened up, I was feeling strong so I ran hard.  Not all out since the pavement was wet, but definitely pushing.  My mile splits were 10:38, 10:09, 10:38, and my final time was 33.22, nine seconds faster than my previous best at that distance.  I know some people prefer a straighter course, but for a 5K I like a course with a lot of turns.  Mentally it helps me, because I can break the race down to just running this block, just pushing to the next corner, etc.

The Run(317) races this year were all a lot of fun, even though the weather didn't always cooperate.  I'm looking forward to seeing what they have for us next year.  Now that Indianapolis has a second area code, though, will they have to offer two distances?  Either way, I really hope to see the S'more Mobile again!

Long Run

Saturday was my long run - 16 miles.  I had listed on our What's Next page that I was running the Hendricks County Fall Colors 10K, but I never actually did sign up for it.  Normally I don't list an event I'm not registered for, but I kept intending to do this one.  Every time I brought the website up, though, something stopped me.  So I decided to do my long run with BGR's All About That Base group, and I'm so glad I did.  I ran with Re'Nita for the first 8 miles, Broad Ripple to Carmel.  I was enjoying chatting with her and didn't even feel like we'd gone all that far.  She had a longer run on her schedule than I did, so I turned around at 8 and headed back while she kept going.  It was a gorgeous fall day - perfect weather for a long run.  Average pace was 13:01.  Interestingly mile 8 was my fastest, at 11:41.

Total miles for the week: 28.4

Total training miles to date:  396.05

Winner x 2

Hopefully Laura blogs soon, but while we wait I'm going to brag on her.  She ran two races Saturday: a 10K road race in the morning and a 5 mile trail race that night.  She was 1st in her age group and 5th female overall in BOTH RACES!  Way to go Laura!

Up Next

Two Halloween events this week:  the Athletic Annex Candy Caper on Friday night (not a race, just a fun run), and the Brew HaHa Saturday morning.  Despite Siri's advice, however, I have some good costumes for both races.  Stay tuned to Instagram....

#CountdownToVegas Week 14: Thriving During the Zombie Uprising

Lots to write about this week!  First off let's start with my left knee.  I'd been running in denial since August.  I would not admit my knee hurt, because saying it would make it real, and if it was real I might have to do something like stop running for a little while.  The only person who knew was Josh, because he'd see me icing it, and I would say something sarcastic like "my knee doesn't hurt, I'm icing it just in case it was to start hurting".  Of course he knows how to translate that, though.

I should say here that I was not actually running through pain. It really didn't hurt while I was running, only afterwards.  And on a scale of 1-10, it was a 1 or 2 at most.  But this past couple of weeks, it started to be more of a 3, and I started worrying maybe something was wrong and I was making it worse and damaging my chances to continue to be active long-term.  And once that worry started in my head, it started to suck the joy and fun out of running.  So I made a doctor's appointment.  My doctor is a runner too, so I knew she would get it.  It turned out she was out of town, but Kevin's doctor is in the same practice and he's also a runner, so I made the appointment with him.

I'm glad I went; especially since it was all good news.  He said my knee pain is just from overtraining, gave me some exercises to do, told me to continue icing it and take naproxen.  But most importantly he said it was fine to keep running.  Whew!  And just like that running is fun again!

#CountdownToVegas Week 11: Hookers Don't Wear Muppet Socks

Or do they?  The ones I've seen on 10th Street don't, but I'm certainly no expert.  But I think someone thought I was one today.  I'm not exactly sure what happened.  In the 24 years I've lived in Indy, I've done a lot of walking and running around by myself, and today is the first time I've ever been scared.

I went downtown this morning for the AUSA Indy Ten Miler.  I got there around 6:15 and parked on White River Parkway, and I was walking across the New York Street bridge when this car stopped on the bridge just ahead of me.  I couldn't see anyone in the car besides the driver, but that didn't mean there wasn't someone else in the car, so I got all the way over to the edge of the sidewalk, too far from the car for someone to reach me.  There had been another runner - a male - crossing the bridge earlier as I parked, but he was no longer in sight and there was no other traffic at all.

#CountdownToVegas Week 10: Pace Car

Showing off those tats; pic by Tess Barnard

Week 10 of my 18 week marathon training plan.  That means I'm over halfway ready?  Yikes!  56 days to go.  We've got our hotel reservations and our Fast Bottom Girls tattoos from Mile Markings; time to get those plane tickets too.

This week started out on a low note, as my Nike+ Sportwatch GPS reached the end of its useful life.  I had been noticing some fogginess in the upper right corner after my runs the past few weeks, and although I can't see any cracks, there must be somewhere moisture is getting inside it now.  The data is all still there, because when I connect it to our PC I can still see it, but the display no longer works.

Noooo!

I was pretty sad about it, not so much because of the watch itself but because of what it represented.  Kevin gave me this watch for Christmas in 2012, the year I started running.  I hadn't even asked for it, but he had heard me express my frustration with using apps on my phone to track my running, and he picked this watch out for me.  So looking at this watch reminded me of Kevin and his support for me.  I know I still have that always in my heart, but I will miss this physical reminder on my wrist.

Most of my runs this week were watchless, but since they were familiar routes I still know how far I ran, just not how fast.  In my head, Monday morning's run was really fast as that's when I discovered my watch no longer worked and I pounded out my feelings on the pavement.  I did 2 miles Monday morning, then a 3 mile "taper" hill workout with #TeamMoHills Monday after work.  Tuesday I ran 3 miles in the morning, had to miss BSRC's Prediction Run after work but I did make it to LF Bootcamp where Megan came up with a great workout for us.

#CountdownToVegas Week 9: Old Lady Edition

I am happy to report that my vertigo seems to have cleared up. Tuesday & Wednesday it was just awful. Not coming & going like before but constant, leaving me exhausted by the end of the work day.  The congestion from my allergies was the worst those days too so I really believe that was the cause.  Thursday both started to get better though, and today I haven't experienced any vertigo at all.  I even started car dancing again with no ill effects.

I skipped out on my training Monday & Tuesday because I just felt so off.  But not running didn't feel right either.  So Wednesday morning I got up and ran a couple of miles before work.  I'm not normally a morning runner, but I had a lot to do that evening and I didn't want to skip another day. Besides, I needed to break in my new shoes! Very comfortable! 

Thursday was Josh's birthday. How is it possible that he's 25? How am I old enough to have a baby who's 25?  He was 6 lbs. 14 oz. and 21 inches long when he was born. You could already see that he had red hair. So cute! Now he's over 6 feet tall. He wants to be a wilderness guide, and he spent most of his birthday money on camping gear. 

Since Josh's birthday extravaganza was Thursday evening, I again got up and ran in the morning, 3 miles this time. I'm starting to see the appeal of morning running. I feel the power and energy from my run stay with me all day.  It's different than those evening runs that discharge all the stress I've built up. Maybe I'll just start doing both, on days when I have time anyway.

TheGloRun Indianapolis Race Review

This past weekend, Josh and I had the opportunity to run TheGloRun, a nighttime 5K with glow sticks.  We were given two free registrations for the Indianapolis event in exchange for reviewing the race.  All opinions here are completely ours.

Registration & Pre-Race

Registration was really simple.  The website is easy to navigate and loads quickly.  The mobile version works well too.  There are two options for registration: an untimed fun run for participants who want to take their time through the course, taking pictures and enjoying the glo zones; and a chip-timed race for runners who want the extra challenge.  Both options come with a cute t-shirt and three glow sticks.  (Josh is wearing the shirt in the pic at the end of this post.)  Timed racers also receive a finisher's medal and a small flashlight.  There is extra gear for purchase - light-up headbands, extra glow sticks, upgraded shirts, sunglasses for teams of 5, etc.  

Pre-race communications were good.  We received several e-mails reminding us of packet pickup times and locations, event schedule, and just hyping the fun.  Packet pickup was conveniently located at Blue Mile in Broad Ripple from 11am to 6pm the day before the race.  It was well organized and we didn't have to wait at all.  There were also options for event day pickup, or having your packet mailed to you ahead of time for a small extra charge.

Countdown to Vegas Week 4

Thankful for the cloud cover

The countdown has moved from triple-digits to double-digits: just 98 days till we run Vegas!  Training is going well.  This is the part I always like: I'm feeling strong and enjoying my runs and workouts.

Monday - Hills

Four rounds of long hill-short hill runs ending in strides, plus a couple extra laps just because.  I can definitely tell in the 6 weeks or so I've been doing these hill workouts that they are making me stronger.  I'm making some great new running friends too.

Total miles: 4

Tuesday - Cross Training

I got stuck in construction traffic on the way to BSRC, so I only did half a lap before heading off to boot camp.  Since most area schools are on balanced calendars and started back this week or last week, the theme was Back To School: a countdown-style total body workout that I confess I pulled straight from Pinterest.  It was a good workout though.

Total miles: 1.2

Wednesday - Rest Day

I did not get up for sunrise yoga.  Actually, I did get up, but after about 10 minutes I decided to go back to bed.  It wasn't so much the yoga as the thought of how I end up dragging by 3pm on these days I go into work at 7 instead of closer to 9.

Total miles: 0

Thursday - Speed

I went to Flat12 early and left about 30 minutes before our normal run time to get some extra miles in.  Following my advice from last week, though, I did let Patrick know I was there and what route I would be running.  Since it was the first night of GenCon, I ran down to Georgia Street and over to Capitol.  I didn't see very many costumes - most people save those for Saturday - but I did see a lot of fun nerdy t-shirts.  I was of course wearing my Battlestar Galactica Viper pilot double tank and channeling my inner Starbuck.

Total miles: 5

Friday - Recovery Run

Five miles, Cultural Trail to Pogues Run Trail and back, split between morning and lunch time.  Friday runs are fun because I get to listen to Lindsey's podcast: I'll Have Another.  If you enjoy podcasts, I definitely recommend you give hers a listen.  She always has fun and inspiring guests on, and she herself is so fun and inspiring.

Total miles: 5

Saturday - Long Run & A Surprise Race

Remember when I told you I didn't have any races in August?  Well Jen remedied that for me.  She messaged me earlier in the week that the church youth group had 10 entries in the Run For One 5K to benefit Purchased.org, and they didn't have 10 runners going so I was welcome to join them.  I got up early Saturday and ran 6.2 miles before sunrise, then showered and changed (why? who knows?) and met Jen and the youth at Southeastway Park.  It's a beautiful place to run.  There was a lot of shade and a nice breeze on the paved running trail.  The race was untimed, but my watch showed a time of 35:15, average pace of 11:23.  Not bad for running a 5K after running a 10K.  It was a fun event, with Chick-Fil-A sandwiches and a Zumba cool-down after the race.  Since I was only at 9.3 miles and I needed 10, I then hit the woodland trails around the park.  I really felt like I could keep going all morning, but I'm sticking to my training plan so I stopped at 0.7 miles.

Total miles: 10

Sunday - Rest Day

Today didn't feel very restful.  I  went straight from church to the airport, where I then had to wait for a delayed flight.  I feel like all I did was sit, but yet I'm really tired for all that sitting and waiting.  But I'm safely here in Detroit now.  I can see Canada from my hotel room, but I can't go there.  I keep meaning to renew my expired passport, but $165 is 5 or 6 race entry fees.  Maybe I need to sign up for a race in Canada?  That would motivate me.

Total miles: 0 (since I didn't track walking through airports)

Total weekly miles: 25.5

Total training miles to date:  81.05

Up Next

I'm in Detroit all week for work.  This is the continuation of the training I started last fall in Philadelphia.  I had plenty of time there for running and sightseeing, and I plan to do the same here.  If anyone has any recommendations for what to see or where to run while I'm here, leave a comment or send me a message.  I'm looking forward to checking out a new city.