Oh. That's just Meghan's dust... Meghan runs much faster than I do. But that doesn't matter because I did some pretty amazing stuff today.
I ran a mile today.
That's right folks. A whole mile! I didn't stop. I didn't walk. I wasn't fast but that doesn't matter. I ran a mile. And not only did I run the entire first mile but I ran/walked 4 miles in 60 minutes.
I'm totally beside myself with excitement. I can't believe I did it. I can't believe I ran that far and for that long. I can't believe I just ran 4 miles. I can't believe I've done any of this.
But I have. And I'll keep doing it. And I'll keep amazing myself and everyone else.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Gravel, Grass, Mud, Dirt and Pavement
So today I ran on a few different kinds of surfaces. It was a little wild and crazy but it was a ton of fun! This morning I ran in the Naked Foot 5K race in DC.
I may not have run completely naked (barefoot), but I did run with plenty of people who did!
The whole theme of the race was to based around the minimalist running movement. They had vendors there selling minimalist footwear and organic power foods. It was a pretty much a hippie festival.
I got there nice and early way before the half naked crowds showed up. The morning started off nice and cool but got very hot very quick.
Notice how clean everyone's feet start out? Yeah, they didn't end like that. These two kids participated in the kids fun run just before the race.
They were pretty fabulous. Even if they were half naked.
The more bare feet I started seeing, the more I thought that maybe these people weren't so crazy... But I had to remind myself, we were starting out on nice soft grass. We were going to be covering a lot of distance and terrains today.
There wasn't just people running barefoot. There were also people like this man who paid 70 dollars for his minimalist footwear. They're a piece of foam and canvas straps! He swore by them though. There were also plenty of people wearing the minimalist shoes with the individual toes. If I were to ever go with the minimalist movement, that's the route I'd go. They look weird but at least I wouldn't be stepping on anything I shouldn't be!
If I had to guess, I'd say only about 30% of the runners were completely naked (barefoot), While another 30% used some form of minimalist footwear. The rest of us wore running shoes.
So then we got started. The course started out in the middle of a grassy field and then quickly turned into pavement. We crossed the Maryland/DC line and there was a volunteer directing the flow of running traffic. She was yelling encoraging words and then started saying, "The soft trail starts just ahead!"
Soft trail?? What? What is a soft trail?
A soft trail is a narrow dirt path through the woods. This was by far the best part of the course! I've never run on dirt before but it was so much fun. It snaked in and out of trees and was so narrow that it had to be taken single file. There were streams that had to be crossed over and massive mud puddles caused by Friday's storms.
I think I loved the soft trail so much because it was smoother than running in the fields but had a nice bounce back to it that pavement doesn't have. I have mud splashed up on my calves from this section of the race! I even ran the entire portion of the trail. It was to much fun not to! The giant puddles slowed everyone down a bit but that's alright.
After the soft trail came good old pavement again. I followed this all through the park and even out to the main road. After that the marked trail led us down a huge ditch and through what was a soccer field. It was beginning to look more like a swimming pool though. The puddles were so deep that ducks were swimming in them. I stayed pretty dry but this was by far the worst section of the course. It was uneven and squishy.
As you run in these huge group races you start to stay partnered up with various people who are running about the same pace as you. I ended up running near a mother and her two children and a father with his two girls. The mother had younger children and they would stop when they needed to and even skipped for some portions. The father however was a fairly demanding tyrant. His two girls were probably about 7 and 10 and they were not the slimmest children I've ever seen. The older girl kept stopping and walking and he would turn around and yell at her to keep up the pace. I was discusted. He kept physically pushing her shoulders to try and get her to go faster. He'd run up ahead, turn around and run back to her. He'd get down in her face and say something through gritted teeth.
Let me remind you all, THIS IS A FUN RUN!! It wasn't even timed. If your children don't want to run, don't make them run. If they do, great! Meanwhile this father is instilling a lifetime of fear of the outdoors. This little girl had already done more than others her age. I know I never even thought about competing in a 5K race at that age. After the race, I told her she did a great job. The three of them finished at the same time I did.
On the final leg of the race we got back on to the paved side walks. I may have stopped to pet a pony... I knew I wasn't doing as well with my time since that field screwed me up so much so I figured why not?
Finally, after 50 minutes, gravel, grass, mud, dirt and pavement, I finished the race. I wasn't first. I wasn't last. I finished. Then there were some post race festivities.
There were some free massage clinics.
Live music.
Foot painting.
And even some crazy people jumping and flipping off of boxes for some reason.
Also, apparently this is a thing.
Its a hula hoop workout! They stretch and do other exercises with a hula hoop. I even saw a girl on the trail using a hula hoop while running! It was fairly trippy...
We also did a little shoe collecting for a charity called Soles 4 Souls. They donate shoes to shelters across the country for people in need. My friend Sam helped me donate a garbage bag's worth!
Over all, this may not have been my fastest 5K I've ever run but it was the most interesting and entertaining. Whats the point of all of this if you're not having fun right? I even decided to flash a little toe of my own.
But just for the walk back to the car. We don't want to go too native.
The whole theme of the race was to based around the minimalist running movement. They had vendors there selling minimalist footwear and organic power foods. It was a pretty much a hippie festival.
I got there nice and early way before the half naked crowds showed up. The morning started off nice and cool but got very hot very quick.
There wasn't just people running barefoot. There were also people like this man who paid 70 dollars for his minimalist footwear. They're a piece of foam and canvas straps! He swore by them though. There were also plenty of people wearing the minimalist shoes with the individual toes. If I were to ever go with the minimalist movement, that's the route I'd go. They look weird but at least I wouldn't be stepping on anything I shouldn't be!
If I had to guess, I'd say only about 30% of the runners were completely naked (barefoot), While another 30% used some form of minimalist footwear. The rest of us wore running shoes.
Soft trail?? What? What is a soft trail?
A soft trail is a narrow dirt path through the woods. This was by far the best part of the course! I've never run on dirt before but it was so much fun. It snaked in and out of trees and was so narrow that it had to be taken single file. There were streams that had to be crossed over and massive mud puddles caused by Friday's storms.
I think I loved the soft trail so much because it was smoother than running in the fields but had a nice bounce back to it that pavement doesn't have. I have mud splashed up on my calves from this section of the race! I even ran the entire portion of the trail. It was to much fun not to! The giant puddles slowed everyone down a bit but that's alright.
After the soft trail came good old pavement again. I followed this all through the park and even out to the main road. After that the marked trail led us down a huge ditch and through what was a soccer field. It was beginning to look more like a swimming pool though. The puddles were so deep that ducks were swimming in them. I stayed pretty dry but this was by far the worst section of the course. It was uneven and squishy.
As you run in these huge group races you start to stay partnered up with various people who are running about the same pace as you. I ended up running near a mother and her two children and a father with his two girls. The mother had younger children and they would stop when they needed to and even skipped for some portions. The father however was a fairly demanding tyrant. His two girls were probably about 7 and 10 and they were not the slimmest children I've ever seen. The older girl kept stopping and walking and he would turn around and yell at her to keep up the pace. I was discusted. He kept physically pushing her shoulders to try and get her to go faster. He'd run up ahead, turn around and run back to her. He'd get down in her face and say something through gritted teeth.
Let me remind you all, THIS IS A FUN RUN!! It wasn't even timed. If your children don't want to run, don't make them run. If they do, great! Meanwhile this father is instilling a lifetime of fear of the outdoors. This little girl had already done more than others her age. I know I never even thought about competing in a 5K race at that age. After the race, I told her she did a great job. The three of them finished at the same time I did.
On the final leg of the race we got back on to the paved side walks. I may have stopped to pet a pony... I knew I wasn't doing as well with my time since that field screwed me up so much so I figured why not?
Finally, after 50 minutes, gravel, grass, mud, dirt and pavement, I finished the race. I wasn't first. I wasn't last. I finished. Then there were some post race festivities.
There were some free massage clinics.
Live music.
Foot painting.
Its a hula hoop workout! They stretch and do other exercises with a hula hoop. I even saw a girl on the trail using a hula hoop while running! It was fairly trippy...
We also did a little shoe collecting for a charity called Soles 4 Souls. They donate shoes to shelters across the country for people in need. My friend Sam helped me donate a garbage bag's worth!
Over all, this may not have been my fastest 5K I've ever run but it was the most interesting and entertaining. Whats the point of all of this if you're not having fun right? I even decided to flash a little toe of my own.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Just a Little Note
Dear Loyal Readers,
I failed you today.
Instead of running the required 3 miles for today's workout, I only ran 2. In my defense, it was another day with a code orange in effect and I had spent all day with 23 kids in a pool. I'm beyond exhausted.
5K Sunday morning. I would love to beat my previous 5K time but I'll be happy as long as I meet it.
Apologetically,
Me
I failed you today.
Instead of running the required 3 miles for today's workout, I only ran 2. In my defense, it was another day with a code orange in effect and I had spent all day with 23 kids in a pool. I'm beyond exhausted.
5K Sunday morning. I would love to beat my previous 5K time but I'll be happy as long as I meet it.
Apologetically,
Me
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
The Heat is On
So I wanted to share this with you. CLICK THIS FOR A SPECIAL TREAT!
Did you click it? Don't read until you click it. I'll wait.
Did you click it? OK good. Now that I have that song stuck in your head for the rest of the day...
The heat is on for sure! With a heat advisory in effect until 8pm tomorrow, we hit the pavement anyways. We meaning Meghan and I. Dolce was not invited in this kind of weather and its really best that she didn't come because it sure was hot.
So today we were told to run/walk 3-4 miles with 4-6 sets of 30 second sprints. I didn't do as well with my time today though. We went 3 miles in 45 minutes. But it was hotter than hell outside. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Did you click it? Don't read until you click it. I'll wait.
Did you click it? OK good. Now that I have that song stuck in your head for the rest of the day...
The heat is on for sure! With a heat advisory in effect until 8pm tomorrow, we hit the pavement anyways. We meaning Meghan and I. Dolce was not invited in this kind of weather and its really best that she didn't come because it sure was hot.
So today we were told to run/walk 3-4 miles with 4-6 sets of 30 second sprints. I didn't do as well with my time today though. We went 3 miles in 45 minutes. But it was hotter than hell outside. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Something Borrowed
BRACE YOURSELVES!!
I'm officially switching it up on you people. With the help of my super amazing running buddy we've decided to start up a new training program. Every Sunday at 6:30 in the morning, we'll be meeting up with some fellow crazy people. We're taking a Potomac River Running distance training program. So now instead of tracking how long we've run, we'll be tracking how far we've gone.
So today was the first training session and since I've joined in late in the game, I wasn't able to make today's group run. Instead I borrowed Dolce and we did the run on our own. We went 3 miles in 42 minutes. That's 3 minutes faster than my last 5K! Granted, a 5K is 3.1 miles but I figure since I got stuck at a stop light twice then in that time I would have covered that last tenth of a mile. One week until Naked Foot. Think I can get it done in 40 minutes?
So I attempted to take a good picture of Dolce... She had other plans. This is the best we could do and she sorta looks like she's going to eat my phone right out of my hands...
Heres some outtakes for your viewing pleasure:
I'm officially switching it up on you people. With the help of my super amazing running buddy we've decided to start up a new training program. Every Sunday at 6:30 in the morning, we'll be meeting up with some fellow crazy people. We're taking a Potomac River Running distance training program. So now instead of tracking how long we've run, we'll be tracking how far we've gone.
So today was the first training session and since I've joined in late in the game, I wasn't able to make today's group run. Instead I borrowed Dolce and we did the run on our own. We went 3 miles in 42 minutes. That's 3 minutes faster than my last 5K! Granted, a 5K is 3.1 miles but I figure since I got stuck at a stop light twice then in that time I would have covered that last tenth of a mile. One week until Naked Foot. Think I can get it done in 40 minutes?
Heres some outtakes for your viewing pleasure:
Thursday, June 14, 2012
The Charm
They say the third time's the charm right?
Well after trying and failing at this workout twice, I finally was able to complete it today. I was slow as a turtle but that doesn't matter because I ran the whole time! We even made it all the way out to Hamilton, VA today. Don't belive me?
Here's proof. Its approximately 2.3 miles from my apartment. I'm pretty proud of me.
Today's itinerary:
In other news, I've signed myself up for my next 5K race! June 24th I'll be running in the Naked Foot 5K. Its all about the minimalist running movement which I'm not totally into but I thought it would still be fun to see half the people running barefoot. Shoes are totally optional but I think I'd rather run with my tootsies covered. CLICK THIS TO LEARN MORE!.
Well after trying and failing at this workout twice, I finally was able to complete it today. I was slow as a turtle but that doesn't matter because I ran the whole time! We even made it all the way out to Hamilton, VA today. Don't belive me?
Today's itinerary:
- Run 10 minutes
- Walk 5 minutes
- Run 10 minutes
In other news, I've signed myself up for my next 5K race! June 24th I'll be running in the Naked Foot 5K. Its all about the minimalist running movement which I'm not totally into but I thought it would still be fun to see half the people running barefoot. Shoes are totally optional but I think I'd rather run with my tootsies covered. CLICK THIS TO LEARN MORE!.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
All Caught Up
Hello W and OD Trail! Today was the first run back on the mainland. I almost missed it. The beach side walks got very crowded and it was hard to dodge all the tourists. So today Meghan and I attempted to get back into the swing of things. I powered through the first run interval and struggled through the second but was able to finish strong.
But that wasn't the best part.
The best part was being caught in an incredible rain storm. We had just finished our workout and when we turned around the sky seemed to split open above us. It was raining so hard at one point that I couldn't hardly see in front of myself. One thing I did learn, poor Dolce doesn't like rain.
It did eventually clear up for us though.
Today's Itinerary:
 |
| We ran far. |
The best part was being caught in an incredible rain storm. We had just finished our workout and when we turned around the sky seemed to split open above us. It was raining so hard at one point that I couldn't hardly see in front of myself. One thing I did learn, poor Dolce doesn't like rain.
Today's Itinerary:
- Run 10 minutes
- Run 5 minutes
- Run 10 minutes
- Get caught in a torrential downpour
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Aloha ‘oe, Waikiki Beach!
"Farewell to you, Waikiki Beach"
Final Hawaiian run today. 8 miles run up and down the beach. 8 miles of sand. 8 miles of tourist and pidgin dodging. 8 miles of hotel front. 8 miles of Ft. Derussy park. 8 miles of awesome.
So I decided to try and move forward with the program today. I wasn't entirely successful but I did ok for myself. Ran 10 minutes, walked 5, was supposed to run 10 more. I ended up running 7, walking two and sprinting the last minute. Overall, not terrible. I'll be repeating Tuesday. See you in Virginia!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Hana hou
"Encore; Do it again"
Repeated a work out today. It was equally hard but I did it and I'm a bad ass. I'll be sure to post the itineraries for all of my runs when I get back. The Blogger app leaves alot to be desired in terms of features. In the mean time though, here are more pictures from todays run.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Lanakila
Hawaiian term for "to have victory"
Seemed fitting considering I just totally killed today's run. On the first try. That's right. You can say it, I'm epic.
While looking through these photos, take a close look at the mountain in the background. It's a volcano and yesterday, I climbed to the top of it.
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