New Adventures!

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A lot has happened in the week since my birthday. The most prominent thing would be a new running group that I organized through Facebook has really taken off. We are called the Fremont Inland Trail Turtles and the group was created based on what I felt was a void in our running community. I am a member of our local club Fremont Elite Runners club and they are a great group of runners but the majority are fast! super fast! I came up with the idea of the turtles after stumbling across a Facebook page for another turtles group in the Akron area, the Towpath Turtles. I fell in love with the idea. I’m a very slow runner. My pace averages around 12 minute miles and I use the run/walk method promoted by Jeff Galloway. I really enjoy it. And even though we have a great running club most people are intimidated by the “elite” in the club name. Though the meaning behind that can be explained away it still stops people from joining or participating in group runs. I wanted to fill a void by setting up a group that encouraged everyone to run no matter how fast or slow. We’ve had several runs and today we actually had 7 “turtles” show up to run. At least 2 of the girls were definitely faster than my pace but that was ok because the ran ahead and kept each other company. Meeting new running friends is what it’s all about. I’m very proud of our little group and I hope it continues to grow and thrive for a longtime to come! Check us out on Facebook. www.facebook.com/fremontinlandtrailturtles

T.

Birthday and beyond

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Another year has gone by. I’ve got one more year in the 40-44 age group and I’ll enjoy it while I can. I was never someone who fretted too much about age. It was always just a number to me but I’m finding the older I get the more I pay attention to that number. I’m not sure what a 44 year old should feel like or look like but I don’t think I would fit into that “norm”. I was never one to fit the mold in life and I’m still a square peg now at 44 years old. And that is ok by me. 🙂

Today is going to be fun. I’m going for a birthday run with Lori this morning and then hopefully some Starbucks is in my future. Tonight let the fun begin… 5 of us are meeting at Lucky Luke’s for a tattoo/birthday party and I’ll be adding to my 26.2 tattoo with a 13.1 celebrating my 5th half marathon this year. Would have been 6th but my damn hamstring went and tore and Cleveland never happened. Grrrrr. Also going to get a little coffee cup on my foot to celebrate my addiction to java. My caffeine sister April is also getting the same tat. Good time, good times.

T.

Spoiled

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Me and April

Ok I’ll admit it.. I’ve gotten spoiled by my running partners. Now I hate to go out and run alone. So much so that I will ignore the mid week runs and run most of my miles over the weekend. Ugh! I need to snap out of this… and soon. I think this is why I struggled so much in Columbus last month because I was so used to having people to chat with that when I ran solo it was just a real bummer. This is definitely something I need to work on. I suppose I should get some new tunes on the iPod to help me pass the time.

The late/fall months are sure though on my running motivation. I always come off the fall marathon/half marathon high and then crash and burn. Last year was especially hard because the marathon just took so much out of me. Honestly, I feel like I’m just now starting to feel normal again after that. Anyone who can run 26.2 miles and still feel like a human afterwards is hardcore in my opinion. I didn’t feel human for a long time.

Tomorrow is my birthday. The big 44. Last year in this age group. YIKES! And it’s a tough age group. These ladies are just getting better as they age. I wish I could say the same for me but right now I’m definitely not improving with age. LOL. I know that it’s in my hands to turn it all around and hopefully I will find my mojo again and get this rear in gear.

T.

Trying to get back on track!

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Well it’s been a very long time since I’ve posted on the blog but here it goes again. I’m going to try to regularly blog again and stay on top of it. 

Since my lost post a lot has happened. I ran a few half marathons, a FULL marathon and suffered an injury that sidelined me for 10 weeks this past spring/summer. It’s been a year full of ups and downs but I’m still chugging along. I completed the Columbus 1/2 marathon in October 2012 after a long journey back from the injury (hamstring tear). It was difficult for sure. Especially since during my down time I managed to pack on some (a lot) of the weight back. It’s been very frustrating to say the least. 

It’s time to find a new race/goal. I’m probably going to sign up for the Cleveland 1/2 marathon in May 2013 but haven’t finalized this decision yet. I better get on the ball while the registration fee is doable. I can’t believe how fast the fees go up and how high they are now. It’s so expensive, especially when you factor in lodging, gas, etc. April and I have yet to run a race together. Both of the 1/2’s in 2012 fell apart either due to my injury or the loss of her dad the day before Columbus 1/2. It’s been one hell of year for both of us. 

It’s also for a new goal with fitness. The running is a given but I need to do some cross training. I just can’t get motivated to do it. Now that I’m no longer a member at the rec center I need to find alternate forms of cross training that I can do during the winter.  have been considering signing up at the YMCA but dang that is expensive as well. 

Until next time.

T.

Week 3 – 5k Intermediate Training

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Week 3 was a tough week. I was doing well until Wednesday evening. After my intervals running on the treadmill Wednesday my shins seemed overly sensitive. Thursday was a 3 mile run and that was a struggle big time. Shin pain was persistent. Friday was a rest day and I did just that.. REST!

I joined some of the Fremont Elite Runners Club members for a group run on Saturday and knocked out 4 miles with Julie. Julie could have definitely kept up with the pack if she wanted to but I was very happy she hung back with me otherwise I would have been solo, those folks are FAST! Still had sensitive shins bothering me. Afterwards I went to Second Sole in Perrysburg and got some good advice from Matt Folk. He thinks the treadmill may have been the trigger and suggested I stay on solid ground for the time being.

Sunday’s run was supposed to be 6 miles. Unfortunately home conflicts caused me to cut that mileage down to 3.25. It may have been a good thing considering I was still having shin issues and could use the extra recovery time. So far in the 3 weeks of training that Sunday change to the training plan is the only time I have deviated from the plan and I’m pretty proud of that!

Week 3 mileage – 18.67

Check back for week 4 update!

T.

Week 2 – 5k Intermediate Training

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YES! I made it through another week. This week was basically a repeat of the first week except for the Wednesday speed work. Instead of intervals it was a tempo run. Now I have researched what exactly a tempo run is and I’m still not sure I actually achieved it but we’ll call it that anyway! Saturday’s 3 miler was listed as “fast” on the training plan but I didn’t exactly follow that. I ran into Kim at the rec. center and we ran the distance on the track while gabbing. It was substantially lower than my previous times but that’s ok. I was so glad to have someone to talk to because as I was unpacking my bag I realized I left my headphones at home! Running 30 laps on the indoor track with no music was almost enough to make me run back home to get them. Thankfully Kim and I kept each other distracted for the 3 miles. On my rest days I did still go to the rec and work out on the equipment. I still want to get in at least 30 minutes a day of exercise even if it is not running. I did make sure to leave my Nike+ sportband at home so I wouldn’t be tempted to knock out a few laps. I know the cross training will benefit me so I’m making a true effort to do it on these rest days.

I turned in my registration for the Melt the Ice on March 20th. Should be fun and I’m kind of anxious to see how my 5 weeks of training up to that day will reflect on the race. I have no high expectations but I would like to see that my endurance level has improved.

Total mileage for Week 2- 16.66 miles.

Until next week!

T.

Week 1 – 5k Intermediate Training

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Yes it’s odd that I’m doing 5k training for a 1/2 marathon but the logic behind this is that I can spread this training out over the next however many weeks and not get bored before the 1/2 marathon in October. My first training plan is 8 weeks and is the Hal Higdon 5K Intermediate. I followed it to the letter and felt great about accomplishing the first week. The intervals on the Wednesday really kicked my butt. Julie suggested I do them on the treadmill so I could watch the distance and speed more accurately. I haven’t been on a treadmill in a while and will remember this upcoming week to point the fan in my direction! OMG I had sweat pouring off me! It was awful. I think I might have even grossed out some of the other people at the rec. It was tough but it felt good too. The 2 rest days are proving to be a mental challenge for me because I feel like I need to run on those days too. I know I have to work on core and upper body so I’m forcing myself to do that on those 2 rest days. The 5 mile run with Julie on Sunday was good. We were able to run outdoors and that felt really good.

Come on spring!!!

2010 and beyond

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Wow it’s been a while since I have updated my poor lonely blog site. I’ll admit I like to try all the new stuff and I’ve been lured away by Facebook and Twitter. I actually went to the blog tonight to delete it. Returning to it was a painful reminder of my lack of motivation the latter part of 2009. I have a bad habit of being very hard on myself so I won’t say it is painful to return to the blog because I feel like a failure. I think as long as I realize I the need to continue to put in an effort to be healthy and fit and try, I’m not failing. It’s when I quit all together I’m in trouble.

This year will be full of many challenges. This past weekend was one of those challenges fitness wise. I participated in the Fremont Indoor 10k and it was really, really hard. I had been to the gym every day but 1 or 2 in the month of January and working at building endurance for this run. I knew I wouldn’t win anything and I wasn’t competing against anyone but myself. I finished the race in 1:12. #77 out of 80 runners and that’s ok. I can handle that.

My plan this year is to run in most of the local races to support our local running club. I have also signed up for a 1/2 marathon in Columbus on October 17th. It’s a long way off but I started printing out various training plans today to plan for the next 35 weeks. Julie gave me a good idea of starting with a 8 week 5k, move to the 10k – 8 week plan and then onto the 12 week 1/2 marathon plan. It’s a great idea and I think it will be just what I need to keep building strength and endurance. My time in the Glass City 1/2 last year was 3:01 and of course I would like to beat that.

This year will also be a new year for my health. I’ve had some changes occur over the past couple of months and these have played a part in my battle with weight. In early January I went to my doctor after struggling with low energy, weight gain and freezing all the time. I had blood tested and it came back showing an underactive thyroid. Now mind you my doctor has been waiting for my thyroid to fail for more than 8 years and I figured she was full of crap. She has had me tested nearly every year and every time it was fine. It would piss me off because every year I was paying for pathology tests that proved nothing. So this time I felt the same way about it and really was surprised when it came back underactive. She put me on meds right away and within a week I felt so much better. My energy level was high and I felt good. Only thing that wasn’t changing was my weight. I went back in 2 week after starting the meds and the weight was the same. This was extremely frustrating to me because I was exercising daily and watching everything I ate. So she doubled my dosage. Energy level is still great, feel good and now finally some of the weight is coming off. I’ve lost around 4-5 lbs since mid January. I have mixed feelings about being on the meds. This will be something I will have to take for the rest of my life but I guess if it keeps me healthy it will be worth it.

So there you have it. I came to delete the blog all together and ended up blogging about it. LOL! If any of my past readers are still around… I’m baaaaack!

Tammy