I was running down the road. It was just me and my dog to the average observer, but I knew there were other runners there. I could see them race ahead of me at the start as they have done in races past. I could hear their encouraging words and us laughing at the silliness of running through the mucky mess the streets had become overnight. I even ran through a water stop no one could see but me — wishing I could pick up a cup to wet my mouth. And at the end, I could see me passing others as they ran out of steam toward the end so I could blast across my finish with a fancy new PR (00:36:41).

Our starting lines were anywhere we chose with a finish line 3.1 miles later after winding through any route our hearts desired. That’s the beauty of a virtual race, and it was so stinkin’ much fun I can’t wait to do it again! And who doesn’t love free registration for a race? Many thanks to our Race Director Doug Cassaro for coordinating the whole thing via Twitter.

I had a 3-mile long run scheduled for training for the Capital City Half Marathon, which coordinated perfectly with the #TwitterRoadRace. It also completed Week 2 of my training, and it was a fabulous end to the week. My dog handled her longest run to date well, too. In fact, for the few short (1-min.) walk breaks I had to take, she would give me a puzzling look wondering why we were slowing down. The 3 miles seemed to fly by, and I got lots of funny looks from neighbors driving along who didn’t understand why I was out in the frigid temps and many inches of snow that were dumped on us the night before (the roads had been plowed, but they were still a beautiful mess). Honestly, I didn’t really understand why I was out there myself, but I don’t regret it. Doug also mentioned more #TwitterRoadRace to come, and I’m really looking forward to that! Hopefully I can work it right into training for the spring half marathon as seamlessly as it did this time

Curious to know how everyone did? Tune in on Twitter at 9 p.m. EST  tonight by clicking here.

1. Please proceed to leave your excuses in the comments.
2. Go out and take a half-hour, brisk walk. (Note: 10 minutes is acceptable if you’re pressed for time. Anything is better than nothing.)
3. You’re welcome.
4. Come back and do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and the next day…you get the idea

It happened yesterday. I woke up to 19 degree weather, 4 with the wind chill. And the snow was blowing in 30mph wind gusts. There are few people I know of in the world who would brave that kind of weather to get their miles in. There are even fewer people I know of in the world who would do that without fancy tech gear. It was more than easy to create my excuse for the day, nix the easy mile I had planned and go out for pizza and drinks in the evening (not that I regret the pizza and drinks!).

Then today rolled around, and I had my first “long” run of 2 miles on the Cap City Half Marathon beginner training plan to finish out the week. And the weather was slightly warmer – 21 degrees that felt like 10 with the wind chill. Ugh. The thing that got me out the door for it today was deciding I would let myself go out, get warmed up and then see how I felt in the brisk winter that seemed to have fallen on us overnight.

I’m glad I didn’t create an excuse today. I was feeling good out there and got 2.6 miles done. And it makes me feel bad that I managed to let an excuse like the cold prevent me from running my mile yesterday. I probably would have enjoyed myself out there. But that’s the thing. Excuses are easy! They’re easy to make, and usually they sound REALLY good. So it won’t be motivation that will get me through these frigid winter days. It’s going to be no excuses!

Otherwise, the first week of my half marathon training went well. I kind of thought when I registered that when I started training, the idea of 13 miles would terrify me. It hasn’t happened yet. I’ve been nothing but excited and looking forward to slowly building my mileage. The only thing I’ve done different from the training plan is an easy mile on my “rest” days. It helps me get out the door every day, and it certainly helps with not creating excuses – it is JUST a mile after all (and usually my legs thank me for it).

On to next week!

1. Run Streak — OK, kind of. In 2011, I ran 137 miles (so far…). The goal will be to run a minimum of a mile a day in 2012 equaling 366 miles (leap year!). I loved doing this as part of the #RWRunStreak for the couple weeks I got in. However, I know and understand that life and things kind of get in the way sometimes (ugh sinus infection) so if I miss a day or something, it happens. Either way, I’m shooting for 366 total for the year. It sounds like a lot compared to what I ran this year, but think about it. In February 2011, I couldn’t even run a mile straight through let alone running 5K or the 5-miler Turkey Trot. Now I can get ready, run my mile and be back home in 15-20 minutes. A mile a day is definitely attainable.

2. Run a half marathon — In fact, I’m already registered for the Cap City Half. I am SO. EXCITED. I’m looking forward to training for this, and my mile a day goal will help push me out the door on days when I’m lacking motivation.

3. Geocache more — In 2011, I only found 10 caches not including events I attended. That is so pathetic. So let’s set a goal for 117 caches for 2012. That’s an obscure number, but it’ll take me to my #500 milestone I’m taking a long time to get there, but it’s not about the numbers, right?

Aside from those small goals, my resolution is to enjoy 2012 as much as I enjoyed 2011 because over all this year has been awesome!

Is a sinus infection a good enough reason? I’ve been sick for the last week and not just feeling a little icky. I’ve been pretty miserable. And one day, I went to let the dogs outside which I barely had energy for and found BEAUTIFUL 40 degree, sunny weather. I almost cried because I wanted to go so bad and just couldn’t. So I’m here in bed doing my best to get well (because running when you aren’t well doesn’t really help anything). I made a trip to the doctor today since I haven’t been able to fight the infection off in the last week and he set me up with an antibiotic which is making a little progress. Hopefully in the next few days I’ll be back to 100% and can get back to streaking!

There are a lot of days I want to just lay around and feel like a bum (OK every day), but for the most part it doesn’t matter if I’m hurting or not feeling quite right. It’s only a mile. ONLY a mile. Knowing I’ll be back home cuddled in my bed in about 15 minutes gets me out the door. Knowing it’s only 15 minutes I’ll have to endure the ever chilling weather gets me out the door. Hey, I’ve waited longer for the bus on campus!

Also, I’ve been watching my calories lately. Seriously – no dieting. ALL I’ve been doing is tracking calories. Doing that alone has me eating less and feeling more full. How? I have no idea, but that’s how it worked out for the month of November. And I haven’t changed anything else. I’m still eating all the same stuff I did before. So this run streak? I feel awesome when I get to eat a candy bar and not see my numbers go negative That’s got to be worth something, right?

Finally, I LOVE looking at my Daily Mile chart for the week and see a workout every single day:

Last week's work outs. No empty days!

On to Week 3!

It was pretty easy actually, but week 1 of anything is almost always easy. It’s the whole carrying it through an entire month and potentially beyond that that’s difficult. I started this streak as part of the Runner’s World Run Streak Challenge. The goal is to run a minimum of a mile a day, every day, from Thanksgiving to the New Year.

I started my streak with a 5-mile race. On the way to the race, I told my mom that somewhere around mile 3, I’d wonder why I thought 5 miles was a good idea. We laughed about it, but that moment never came for me during my race. I felt great through the whole thing and paced myself well. It was the next day that I hit a wall and wondered what the hell I was thinking starting a run streak with a 5-mile race. When I ran my mile the day after my race, everything screamed at me to chill out, go home and rest. My body did whatever it could to not cooperate and try to make me want to quit my excruciating jog. Somehow, I got through Day 2.

Days 3 and 4 came and went, my body still a little tight and sore. The rest of the week was a breeze. I think at the end of the week, the most difficult thing was getting my lazy rear out of my warm bed to go run in 30 degree weather. Or in the cases of running after work, to avoid my warm bed and run in 30 degree weather.

Oh, and for icing on the cake? Coach Jenny is hosting a holiday challenge as well:

1. Set a personal weekly mileage goal for Nov. 25 to Jan. 1.
2. Run your miles, and post them HERE.
3. Watch Coach Jenny’s blog for weekly holiday gift winners, holiday survival tips, and more.

The first drawing is tomorrow!

I learned from my experience in Lordstown, and I remembered that EVERYONE could run faster than me. I kept that in mind as I lined up at the back of the pack for the 33rd annual Warren Kiwanis Turkey Trot. When the siren sounded, I started off slower than I thought I should and let everyone sprint ahead. I knew once I created some distance between me and the majority of the 665 runners I could really focus. To help me along because I wasn’t very confident in the five mile distance, I came with a plan to run 15 minutes, walk 1 throughout the race until I was done (I enlisted my B210K app to assist with this plan).

Mile 1: 13 minutes. I knew I did what I was supposed to and was feeling fantastic about my great start so I nixed my plan and decided I would run as long as I could and walk only when necessary. I hear a girl huffing because she started out way too fast. Sooo thankful that’s not me today. I thought my new plan had the potential to backfire, but now I don’t care.

This is the half way point. We had to run around the police car to go back the way we came and get to the finish.

So I kept it up, and I kept going. The day gradually warmed as we ran, and the sun on my face only bettered my spirits. The slight breeze helped keep me cool. Then mile 2 came and went, I circled the police car indicating our turn-around point, hit the water station again and took off. I still had so much energy!

Mile 3: 35 minutes. The thought of two more miles is exhausting. “Two more miles and you get a banana! Run for the banana!” I thought, and that helped me kick it into gear again. Then I realized I was also starting to get pretty hungry and that banana would be a welcome hold-over until turkey dinner at noon.

Mile 4: 50 minutes. I’ve now taken a short 2-minute walk break, and it was surprisingly easy to get going again. However, it was starting to get really difficult to keep going. “The faster you get back, the faster you get turkey dinner…” But now my toes hurt, my ankles are sore “Are they swelling or am I imagining that?”, and what is going on with my right hip?? Ow! I’ve got something going for me though, I’m still standing tall – no slouching, keep moving.

I turned into the parking lot and headed toward the finish. One guy and girl who were running together crossed where the starting line was and thought they were done. They stopped, hugged and started jumping up and down saying “We did it!” I ran past them and turned the corner to find the finish. I ran faster. “Where did THAT energy come from?” I tried to think about that for a minute, but then I realized I could almost read the clock. “What does it say? I see an hour, but what’s after that?” I squinted as I got closer. I’m expecting to see 01:06:something. It became clearer the nearer I got. 01:02:30something. Now I’m just in disbelief, and I pick up speed again. “Can’t I run any faster?” I try. “Guess not.”

As I crossed the finish, a lady to my right shouts “Smile! There’s a camera!” I look up and gave a stupid look on my face which at the time I thought resembled something like a smile. I decide after I cross the finish it was probably not very close to a smile. Mom was taking video so I would find out sooner or later. It turns out, I did a half decent smile at the end and looked pretty happy

The video:

I’m the one in a navy shirt and black pants on the left side of the screen.

Then as fast as it started, it was over. And somehow, I came through the finish on two feet and made better time than I thought I would. I looked over to see about getting the banana I promised myself at mile 3 and with the banana table gone, it was a sore disappointment to realize they ran out before I got there. It didn’t really matter though because I FINISHED! Oh yea, and I had a big, fat turkey dinner waiting for me as soon as I could get home, shower and get to my aunt’s house.

As a final note, this is the start of my #RWRunStreak. From now until Jan. 1, 2012, I will be running a minimum of a mile a day, every day.

Race Results

I did do some training, but not nearly enough to make myself feel ready to run the entire five miles. That’s OK though. I’m comfortable with the plan to run/walk it. I’m considering taking my iPhone along to help out. My B210K (Bridge to 10K) app has each week of runs broken down into run/walk and tells you when to switch off, and I think the app will be an asset to getting through five miles.

I have never run much beyond 5K ever. And I do mean EVER. So even if I run/walk the entire race, it’ll be an accomplishment for me to cross the finish line I also love the idea that no matter what I do out there on Thursday, I will have some type of accomplishment and there’s nearly no room for disappointment. Plus, here’s our local weather forecast for this week:

Um, SCORE! Now, this IS Ohio after all and honestly that could change to just about anything in two days. For now though, that’s what I’ve got to look forward to!

Finally, my Turkey Day Turkey Trot in Warren, Ohio will also mark the beginning of a streak. My goal for the end of this year and to provide an amazing start into 2012 will be to join the ranks of the Runner’s World Run Streak challenge and run at least a mile a day, every day until January 1. That challenge sounded so completely attainable that I didn’t have to think twice about it. I am so looking forward to this.

I hope you all have a very happy Turkey Day! And for those who are trotting before the big turkey dinner, break a leg

I went to Cancun this week and when I found out I was going, the one ‘must do’ on my list was scuba diving. I wasn’t sure how I would set it up because there were a few different places that offered it, but I didn’t know how far they were from the resort, how I would get there, and some required advance reservations pre-paid/no refunds. So on my way there, I was pretty bummed out thinking I wasn’t going to be able to go. When I arrived at my resort Wednesday, I stopped in to their dive center to find out what it would cost for a dive. We agreed on a price and I filled out the paperwork that day.

I set up my theory session and practice dive in the pool for Friday. When I arrived, we stood pool-side and the French scuba instructor spoke to me about the dive in what he thought was horrible English, but was much better than many native speakers. He showed me hand signals used to communicate under water and went over everything we would be doing when we got in the pool. Then the fun part came. He helped me put on my gear and I went for a practice dive in the pool. He again went over hand signals under water to make sure I followed instructions and knew what he was saying. He had me do things like put water in my mask and clear it under water. He also had me take the regulator (the thing that provides my air supply) and drop it away from me and showed me how to retrieve it. Sometime during the middle of the underwater pool instruction, I started hyperventilating. Breathing under water isn’t normal, and after a few minutes of being under water I started freaking out and had to surface for normal air.  After a break, we gave it another go and I did much, much better. My instructor said this was normal for new divers, don’t sweat it and since I had done much better after I took a break, he was confident my dive would be fantastic. He was right.

Saturday afternoon came quickly, and it was time for me to set out for my dive with three other first-time divers. They provided us transportation from our hotel to the scuba center in Playa del Carmen, a 45-minute drive. At the scuba center, they had a box ready with my name on it and all the equipment I would need. I got my wetsuit on with the weight belt and carried the rest of my gear out through the beach to the boat. The captain and instructors there helped us board and then we were on our way. Once we got to the dive area, the instructors made sure our equipment was ready to go. They strapped us to our air tanks, and once we had our masks on and regulators in, they got us positioned up on the side of the boat. The captain then came in front of me and said “OK, ready?” I shook my head yes so he says “OK, on the count of 3. 1…2…3!” and he pushes me off the side of the boat backward so I’m in the water. That was a little terrifying, but I recover quickly and inflate my jacket so I can swim to the buoy where we will deflate our jackets and pull ourselves down the line to a depth of 30 feet. I had some trouble submerging, but once we were at our dive depth and I settled in, I was good to go.

I did a good job of staying steady and keeping a relatively constant depth. I found that breathing under water is very different than breathing on land in that when you breathe under water, the purpose is more to control your depth and air supply versus just breathing to take in air the way you do on land. That was kind of an entertaining discovery. We got down beside the reef and swam along the side and our instructor kept close eye on our air supply as well as continually asking if everything was OK. He also kept an eye out for marine life and made sure to point things out. We found an eel at one point and it was under a fairly dark overhang so I couldn’t see it well from where I was. The instructor grabbed my hand and pulled me closer so my face was about a foot from the eel’s – it was awesome! The instructor also picked up what looked like a daddy long legs spider type thing from the ocean floor. The only thing I could find online that it might have been was a Yellowline Arrow Crab. When he picked it up it crawled on his hand, and I went ahead and put my hand out for it to crawl on mine. We continued on to see lots of fish and stingrays. The only real disappointment on the dive is the reef didn’t have much color. Everything was brown.

We went a maximum of 35 feet during our dive. About 40 minutes in, our instructor sent two of our first-time divers to the surface because they were out of air. Me and another diver continued on with the instructor for a total of 52 minutes. It was time to surface and the instructor was prepping for our ascent when I saw a massive school of fish swimming behind him. I pointed it out so the instructor turned around and also pointed so the other diver would take a look. It was incredible. When we came to the surface, it was hard to believe we had been under water that long. The instructor said I had impressive stability while diving, and I should really think about getting certified. Breathing under water was an awesome experience, and I’m expecting it won’t be my last.