Making our own summer fun

Disclaimer.....this post has next to nothing to do with running. Even though the majority of my posts are related to running, you should know that by the title of my blog, I do much more than running....I hope you read on!

I love summertime! I love almost everything about it; the earlier sunrises, the later sunsets, the heat, the swimming, the outside playtime. The only thing I do not enjoy are the really hot days where you can't really do anything outside. Yesterday was one of those days. The forecast had called for 99*F, so I thought we would get out our inflatable kiddie pool (which we actually use quite often), the sprinklers, "water squirters" as my kids call them and basically, anything that would keep us cool. Then I decided to take our old inflatable pool that actually only inflates about halfway and use it for a water slide. BEST.DECISION.EVER!

The boys thought our water slide was the coolest idea and when I started spraying the bottom with the hose like at the waterpark, it was even better! I would have to agree with them.....they wanted me to go down the slide, too, and of course I couldn't say no! I was running circles with them from the bottom of the slide, back up, down the slide. We had so much fun! My mom was in town for the day and she even joined in the fun, Go Grandma!

At one point I said to her that "This is why I keep running! To keep up with the boys and also to be able to have so much fun!" Before running, I never would have been able to fit on the slide. Now, I didn't think twice (see, I did bring running into it!).

How do you stay cool on the really hot days? Any fun games you play or activities with the kids?


Happy Miles & stay cool!
--Anne

A plan to keep me focused!

Whew! I "finally" chose my training plan for the Columbus Marathon. I ay "finally" because I've been feeling a little lost and lazy the past couple weeks. When actually, there are still 17.5 weeks until the marathon. While it has only been a month since the Cleveland Marathon, it's taken me that long to get over the post-race funk. It's funny really, after USAF Marathon last September, I had NO desire to follow a training plan and really enjoyed my three months of simply running. This time, I seem to need a training plan. I'm wondering if it's partially due to the fact that I had a great experience at USAF and just kept riding that high? Whereas I had a "bad" experience at Cleveland and have been wallowing ever since? Who knows. Weird how our brains work, isn't it?

Anyway.....I've been looking through different training plans and trying to find the one that works best for me and my life while at the same time, helping me to adequately prepare. I've looked at easy plans, I've looked at hard plans, and I've looked at several in between.

It finally jumped right off the table at me.... I was getting ready for bed and happened to pick up my book that I've been reading. It's a fantastic book; Bart has led such an interesting life. I highly recommend it if you haven't read it yet. And let's face it, there are many of us runners that would love to have his job!!! (CRO; Chief Running Officer; for Runners' World!) When I first got the book last year, I glanced at the different training plans he included in his book, but I wasn't physically ready to tackle the "Seasoned" plan and felt like I was past the "Beginner" plan. Glancing through this week, though, I realized that the Seasoned plan was just what I was looking for. 16 weeks of training, includes speedwork, hill work and plenty of miles. Mr. Yasso hasn't steered me wrong yet (using his famous Yasso 800s to increase my pace), so fingers crossed that this plan will work well for me. And who knows? Maybe by following his plan, I'll gain some of his incredible running talent? :)

This will be my third marathon and my third different training plan. Third time is the charm, right?

How do you choose your training plans? Do you agonize like I do or do you just stick with one that has worked in the past?


Happy Running!

Wordless Wednesday

Our weekend in pictures.

Sugarcreek 5 Mile Trail Race Recap

A race in the middle of the week? For $9.00? On a trail? Sign me up! That's what I said about a month or so ago when Jamie mentioned the race. It was a small race put on by a running club about an hour and a half away. We'll make a girls' night of it, we said. I thought, HOW FUN! No online registration, just show up, pay cash, get your timing chip and go!

 ORRRC photo

It was such a laid back race and mid-week, that honestly, I didn't prepare very well for it. OOPS. Looking at the map, I had no idea what kind of trail it would be, single track, dirt, gravel, partially paved, etc. I figured I'd go out and run it as well as I could. The start was funny.... they said "runners, head over that way and wait". So Erin and I stood in an open grassy area, they made a few announcements, drew names for some prizes, and the gun went off. It was a mass start for about 200 racers. We headed to the paved trail for a very short distance to get to a grassy meadow. The grass that we ran on for about the first .5-.75 mies was my least favorite part of the trail. Quickly, we got through the grassy meadow and onto the packed dirt trail. There were some downhills, some pretty steep. There were some uphills, again, some pretty steep. There were creek crossings, LARGE stone steps to navigate. There were roots and rocks and branches. IT WAS GREAT! This was at Sugarcreek Metro Park in Bellbrook, OH and it was absolutely gorgeous! Honestly, I wish it was closer to us so I could go there more often.

The worst part of the run that made me question myself and think that I am in the worst shape of my life was when we turned to go up a hill, that was mostly vertical. Everyone that I saw was walking up the hill. Luckily, there were trees to grab onto to help me make it up the hill. My calves were SCREAMING at me. Then, we made it to the top. Whew! And, we knew that we did NOT have to do that again, thank goodness!

I kept telling Erin to go ahead as I felt like I was holding her back. When was the last time I ran hills?!?! My body was telling me it was TOO LONG ago. Not anymore...I love running hills, I love running trails, time to make sure I do more of it! However, Erin was super sweet (like always) and just stuck with me until the last .25miles of the race. Thanks Erin for sticking with me, it definitely made it easier!

Right before we turned the corner to go up the "mountain". We had no
clue what was coming!
ORRRC Photo

This race tested my endurance, my fitness, my mental abilities and my powers of concentration all in five miles. It was AWESOME! I won't lie...there were several times during the race where I wanted to just quit; or at least sit down and take a break. But, I knew that Jamie and Allen were waiting for us at the end. Also, if I didn't quit during the Cleveland Marathon, I wasn't going to quit during a five mile race! This trail race simply highlighted my weaknesses that I will work on in order to do better at the next race. Overall I am EXTREMELY pleased with my first trail race, especially since my average pace was well over a minute faster than I usually run trails!

Official time: 51:26.7

Overall: 135/192

Age Group: 6/9


Thanks Jamie and Allen for driving, supporting and photographing the finish for us! No matter how many times during the race we were swearing at you, Jamie, I'm glad you found the race for us!

Marathoning and Motherhood

I am honored that Kristen (aka The Running Mom) contacted me about writing a guest post for her blog. At the time she contacted me, I wasn't exactly sure what to write about, then as training for The Cleveland Marathon was winding down, it dawned on me.... so many people ask me how do I balance marathon training and motherhood. I'm happy to tell you that it CAN be done. It's not always easy, but nothing that's worth it is easy, right?

Please visit Kristen's site for more of the story. And, she has a really cool blog; check it out!

Marthoning and Motherhood