Long Run Jan 31.

No long run tomorrow.  We are off to do the Frostbite River Run 9 am at the Forks.

About that run?.....

I guess I have been avoiding the "memorable run" story all week as it was I who took the 9.5 mile run and short cutt it to a 5 miler. Of course there is a lesson in all this, several actually. Some of which I will share with you all, and some that were ment just for me... I think.

So there we are, 0 degrees outside, a beautiful awesome and warm Sunday morning. Leaving Tim's at 6am to run to the forks. I have planned a great route full of interest and added length through the park, through downtown, and eventually to the forks. 1mile into the run and I was having footwear issues. I haven't really had issues yet, of course sore calves are usual, but here I am having a difficult time with my boots. I am running in my mukluks, which have been fantastic all winter long and now have decided to not stay on my foot. Of course when I really look at the situation...

1. it is 0 degrees out
2. it is slushy
3. it is warm
4. it is beautiful
5. my boots are soaking wet!
6. they weigh allot more than usual!
7. did I mention... they are soaking WET!
   

So after a couples of miles, I admit to my not thinking clearly as I woke up earlier than usual for our run. Finally admitting to the situation that my feet are soaking wet, up to my ankles. We are laughing as G mentions trench foot, and I give in to the defeat of footwear not well planned! I turned the garmin off here and we got to our destination short of all the miles I had planned in between. The picture above are my mukluks, soaking wet. They took two days to dry and I couldn't wear them until Wednesday.
Which led me to my very old runners, and from two days of wearing them out for little things like picking up the kids or the store, I have found my feet to feel cramped up. Could just be in my head? I did go out for a 5 mile run on Monday wearing the water shoes, with a thick thermal sock and found them to be very warm! In the future, like spring, I think I will get the gortex socks G has raved about and use them in the water shoes. Mukluks will not be used in the water again! Although this winter, in the cold they are fantastic. Much lighter than when they are wet!


I did feel awful that I took this really great run and made a mess of it, and I spent the afternoon trying to get over it. I don't mind when someone else gets to call it short, but I had a really hard time with this being MY FAULT?! and it was totally. Again another lesson in humility. I must be getting pretty big in the head or something?..... Or maybe this is just keeping me from going there. Or maybe I am forgetting to thank my creator for the awesome feet He provided me with?! hmmmmm, yup, it is all the above.
So here I will thank Him for my feet and the desire to run. I will let go of the awful run Sunday morning and I will again remember who it is that let's my every step hit solid ground, as long as I look to Him. (and of course He gets the credit as well! especially when I've run and not fallen...)
Nicole

A Memorable Run

Our unspoken motto is 'Nobody gets left behind".   Sometimes you set out feeling great and then realize the run is not going to go as planned, for whatever reason.  In these times it is important to remember we grow from every running experience, it all counts, and we can lean on each other.

 The bog run of last year was my memorable experience. That day I learned the importance of reading signs and not to follow in the steps of a runner with longer legs than myself.  Today it was someone else's turn to have a memorable run, another memory we can laugh about later on.

January 24th, 2010

So here we are again, finishing another week and preparing for the next one!

Tomorrow's long run is going to take us to the forks. We will begin earlier so we have time for a breakfast and coffee afterward. There are places open that early at the forks on a Sunday morning. The meeting place for the morning will be Tim's on portage and westwood at 6am. This route is approx. 9-9.5 miles and I am expecting it to be about a 2 hour run, one way. (I never said we were fast!) I believe we are looking at bussing home from the forks this week, as we prepare to run a return trip in the future....

Just a side note that one of our runners is participating in the Ice Donkey which begins at 8:30am. We hope to cheer him on as he begins his race. (I never said any of us were sane either!)

I wish you all a great sleep tonight! See you in the morning.

Nicole

The urge to feel the ground again was getting stronger,  yet I did not want to spend $200 on mukluks only to find they were not suitable for winter running, so  I compromised and bought these on Kijiji for $50.  It's not as gross as it sounds as they were only worn once or twice by the previous owner and looked new.

A Tarahumara quote came to mind as I took these out for a trial run yesterday, " When you run on the earth and run with the earth, you can run forever."  Wouldn't that be great...

No Long Run Jan 17/10

Sorry for the late notice.  There will not be a long run tomorrow due to conflicting schedules.  Look forward to seeing everyone next week.  Happy running!

Gail

Looking for motivation....

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. - Hebrews 12:1

So I found this quote on the Fargo Marathon site tonight as I am trying to motivate myself to get out of bed early for the ability to get a run in. Looking ahead to this years challenges, and it is early so I am apprehensive to sign up for things in case of injuries but I don't want to wait too long for fear that I won't get in in time. This happened last year as I waited too long before I signed up for Regina's' Queen City Half Marathon and I was very torn up that I was too late to get in and they were full. So here it is January and I am looking forward to this upcoming year and I wonder what will be too much.

I only ask about too much because I did three half's last year in one month. I figure if I'm training for one, why not do them all. If I can do the distance once I should be able to keep it up. I had hoped that eventually the distance of 13 miles would be less daunting if I could do it over and over again, and so it is, less daunting. This year I look forward to the challenges of distance, weather, altitude, and I'm sure there will be others I will find along the way.

Distance: first marathon
Weather: first winter half marathon, in Canada
Altitude: first mountain area half marathon (not yet sure if I will have the time for this one, but here's to hoping)

I have decided that I will recognize that I am not a fast runner, although I have yet to find how far I can go. So this year will begin a new journey in running where I will learn new lessons along the way to finding new distances and challenges.

So I guess this is a "See you in the morning, along the road" answer to the question of "just how crazy are you feeling tonight?"

Keep thinking of what you would like to accomplish this year and let me know. Once you say it out loud it feels like more of a commitment, it keeps us accountable to ourselves and each other.

Nicole

January 9th long run

I am having a faint recollection of a lesson (that I should have learned?)that is in the back of my mind, nagging at me......

Oh yes, there it is #52 Listening to your body! Oh well, I guess I will have to work on that one as I travel through today. Which I have to say is not as unpleasant as I thought it would be, just a bit tender in the knees. Yesterday I had a hard time as me knees and legs protested the length of our run later in the afternoon, but of course where helped out (for a short time) with a nice sit in the hot tub I missed out on last week.

After 3 weeks without doing any real distance work I feel that maybe I might have overdone the run yesterday. Note for next time I suppose. But now that it is out of the way I am looking forward to getting some work in this week so I am better prepared for next weeks long run.

I did run this with mukluks. As we are still trying to run with a minimalist view, and I really do not see us inside on a track for the length of time it will take to accomplish a long run. We all may turn crazy with that thought! I was pleasantly surprised that the mukluks were not as slippery as I thought they might be, and they are still very warm. I have run in -32 with them as well and with one pair of thermal socks they are toasty warm; I am a suck for cold and will almost always overdress.

See you next week.
Nicole

See what happens when the organized one goes away?  We get the meeting place, date and mileage all mixed up.  On the upside we ran just over 10 miles when we thought we were running 8. Nicole will post an accurate run for next week.

Address Update for Today's Run

Nicole tells me the address I posted is the Unicity location.  We are meeting at Tim's by the car place which is by the perimeter and across from the cemetary, not the one at Unicity.  Sorry I cannot find the address in the phone book.  

Long Run Sunday Jan 3/10

We'll meet at Tim Horton's  3649 Portage at 7:30 am.  I am told it is located across from Chapel Lawn Cemetary.  We'll run 8 miles to the same destination as last week so remember to bring a swimming suit.  There is a bridge across Assiniboine River that we should sprint across.  It is not pedestrian friendly and is unerving should a semi pass inches away as we are crossing it.  Other that that little sprint it will be a long slow one as usual.  How will we get home you ask?  I'm working on that part.

Running in Cold Weather

I recently came across an article that recommended stopping outdoor running if the temperature drops below -20C.  Today it was minus 30 something  (with wind chill)  and  we all felt quite comfortable.   Granted we did not have the infamous western facing wind to contend with.

 The hot tub at the end of the run was an all around hit.  Thanks to Mr. & Mrs. C for their hospitality.

Long Run Jan 4/2010

This  run will not be done to prove we are crazy so much as it will take us where our running hearts desire.  Having a fun destination keeps our running fresh even in inhospitable temperatures.

 In a few days we'll  start out at 7 am for a  12 miler out on the bald prairie which at times has an  unforgiving western wind.  There is a hot tub at the end of this journey so don't forget a bathing suit along with your emergency supplies.  If you would like to join us please let me know via the comment section or email.  Looking forward to seeing Nicole next week when she returns from her vacation.  I miss both her and her garmin!

Gail