Anything worth doing is worth doing to obsession.
There are only 9 weeks until the Big Sur Half Marathon. Gulp. I decided it was time to start training so I looked up the training plans. Hal Higdon's plan calls for 12 weeks. John Stanton's plan is 16 weeks. I'm already behind!
Yesterday I had another O2 training session. It consisted of an hour of running with the treadmil incline set at 2. It's all about heartrate, so I had to stay within a certain range, and drop down a few times. Last week I had to walk with the incline set a 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 for about two minutes each, then repeat about 5 times. After that, running with the incline at 2 seems easy, where before it was hard. Following the O2 session, I did some situps, pushups, and squats. I felt it today!
Today I went for a six mile run. This is the Dori plan--just do what you think is right, based on nothing rational and hope for the best. I don't recommend it, and maybe by next week I'll have a saner approach. Tomorrow I'll do another O2 session, then Thursday I'll run hopefully at least 5 miles and Saturday I'll go for 9. I'd like to go to 15 miles before my race; I figure that way I'll have the confidence that I can do the distance and maybe I'll be faster than if my longest training run was 10 miles.
The run today was great! I drove out to a trail that I've never been on. It was a crushed limestone trail, flat, and it ran along Lake Minnetonka. I ran west and shortly before my turnaround point I realized that I was on the end of the Wells Fargo 1/2M course that I ran with AmyBee last May. That brought back nice memories.
After I drove home, I rode my bike to Downtown then took a big honking hill on my return. Oy. I should sleep well tonight.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Reunions
A couple of weeks ago, I went running with some of my former ClubRun teammates, including AmyBee. They're training for the TC Marathon and were running 16 miles that day. I knew I couldn't go that far, but I ran almost 8 miles--my knee started to hurt and I walked the last 1/2 mile. I'm horribly out of shape, but they graciously waited for me. Two of my friends, Big M and KT were signed up for the marathon, but their hearts weren't in it and they stopped training, so they volunteered to do a water stop. And AmyK was the bike angel, following on her bike to keep us company which I really appreciated when I had to start walking.
At mile eight, the group ran back to the club and I got a ride with Big M and KT. Then we all met for breakfast, which for me is the best part of a run. It was fun to catch up with everyone. Now that LTF has bought NWAC, I can go to any of the clubs. Of course, part of the discussion was what would happen to Club Run. The two running clubs are very different, but each has its own special qualities. It would be nice if the best of both clubs could be merged, instead of one replacing the other. Things are staying the same until the fall marathon training is completed.
Last Saturday was my turn to staff a water stop. The LTF group that I trained with for Grandma's was doing a 20 mile run on Saturday, so I volunteered to help. This was the Capitol Run, the last 20 miles along the Twin Cities Marathon course. I bought water and the same sport's drink that they're serving at the TCM. And I have a little first aid bag that I brought along, full of 8-hour Tylenol, band-aids, and bio-freeze. I thought the band-aids would be used for blisters, but one guy put them on his nipples. Ouch!
At mile 4, I set up my little card table and poured water and sport's drink into the cups, just like they do at races. I didn't want to put out too much, because I didn't want it to get warm. The slower runners started a half-hour before the others and they were the first to arrive. I filled a few more cups and suddenly a mob of runners descended. It was chaos, but they got through it. Then one of the coaches yelled out that your metabolism resets itself after 30 seconds and they were off.
I offered to do a second stop, so set up again at mile 13. Although there was plenty of sport's drink left over, I stopped to buy more cups and water. This time the crowd was a little more spread out, but it was later in the day and they really wanted cold liquid. Fortunately, most of the beverages were well chilled, and one woman exclaimed that this was the best stop yet! Nothing was left after that stop.
If you ever want to feel loved, do a water stop for a long run. Everybody was so appreciative and showered me with compliments. One person even called me a saint! That's me, Saint Dori, patron saint of water stops. Twenty mile runs are important and I figured the runners needed all the support they can get. I've relied on plenty of volunteers on my training runs and it was about time for me to give back.
When the runners were gone, I went to a nearby coffee shop to get my morning jolt. As I sat there, I kept thinking about that awful stretch down Summit Ave. (One year Coach Gary practically dragged my sorry butt to the finish.) When I couldn't stand it any longer I drove down Summit Ave. to see if anybody needed my help. Nobody looked like they were dragging, but I recognized one woman and asked if she needed anything. She had detoured to find a bathroom and wanted to make sure the group didn't leave without her, so I drove to the end and told them that she was on her way.
The Plymouth club joined the Highland Park club for this run and Coach Jan forwarded this to me from the Plymouth coach:
At mile eight, the group ran back to the club and I got a ride with Big M and KT. Then we all met for breakfast, which for me is the best part of a run. It was fun to catch up with everyone. Now that LTF has bought NWAC, I can go to any of the clubs. Of course, part of the discussion was what would happen to Club Run. The two running clubs are very different, but each has its own special qualities. It would be nice if the best of both clubs could be merged, instead of one replacing the other. Things are staying the same until the fall marathon training is completed.
Last Saturday was my turn to staff a water stop. The LTF group that I trained with for Grandma's was doing a 20 mile run on Saturday, so I volunteered to help. This was the Capitol Run, the last 20 miles along the Twin Cities Marathon course. I bought water and the same sport's drink that they're serving at the TCM. And I have a little first aid bag that I brought along, full of 8-hour Tylenol, band-aids, and bio-freeze. I thought the band-aids would be used for blisters, but one guy put them on his nipples. Ouch!
At mile 4, I set up my little card table and poured water and sport's drink into the cups, just like they do at races. I didn't want to put out too much, because I didn't want it to get warm. The slower runners started a half-hour before the others and they were the first to arrive. I filled a few more cups and suddenly a mob of runners descended. It was chaos, but they got through it. Then one of the coaches yelled out that your metabolism resets itself after 30 seconds and they were off.
I offered to do a second stop, so set up again at mile 13. Although there was plenty of sport's drink left over, I stopped to buy more cups and water. This time the crowd was a little more spread out, but it was later in the day and they really wanted cold liquid. Fortunately, most of the beverages were well chilled, and one woman exclaimed that this was the best stop yet! Nothing was left after that stop.
If you ever want to feel loved, do a water stop for a long run. Everybody was so appreciative and showered me with compliments. One person even called me a saint! That's me, Saint Dori, patron saint of water stops. Twenty mile runs are important and I figured the runners needed all the support they can get. I've relied on plenty of volunteers on my training runs and it was about time for me to give back.
When the runners were gone, I went to a nearby coffee shop to get my morning jolt. As I sat there, I kept thinking about that awful stretch down Summit Ave. (One year Coach Gary practically dragged my sorry butt to the finish.) When I couldn't stand it any longer I drove down Summit Ave. to see if anybody needed my help. Nobody looked like they were dragging, but I recognized one woman and asked if she needed anything. She had detoured to find a bathroom and wanted to make sure the group didn't leave without her, so I drove to the end and told them that she was on her way.
The Plymouth club joined the Highland Park club for this run and Coach Jan forwarded this to me from the Plymouth coach:
Also please give Doreen a special kudos! She is awesome, even there at the end making sure everyone had a ride home. What a star!!It's so nice to be appreciated. :-)
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Suitable for Framing
Last month, I volunteered at the LTF Triathlon and posted about what a wonderful experience it was. I sent a link to Charlie, the volunteer coordinator that I reported to, and he sent me an email expressing surprise that I was so into running. There was going to be a reunion dinner for the volunteers, but I couldn't make it because I was on my trip. When I sent my regrets, Charlie said his wife wanted to send me something which she hoped I would find inspirational.
I received it today--an autographed picture of Olympian Carrie Tollefson! Not only is it autographed, it's addressed to me (with my name spelled correctly!) I was astonished and I immediately called Charlie to express my gratitude. Unfortunately, this Menopause Mama cries whenever she feels any emotion, and I was so overcome that I babbled incoherently as I was leaving a message on his voicemail. Sheesh.
I guess I was coherent enough, 'cause he sent me an e-mail saying he was glad I liked the picture. So how was his wife able to procure this personal autograph. Does she work for an organization that Carrie Tollefson is involved with? No, she is Carrie Tollefson!
Charlie is training for the TC Marathon. He says his training is "less regimented" than his wife's. I'll bet! Good luck to Charlie in his training--at least he's got an expert coach. Maybe we can get him to keep a blog. :-)
Friday, August 18, 2006
Road Trippin'
Here are some more pictures from my recent trip. Since the previous post was so long, I decided to upload these separately.
In front of "Lake Como" at Bellagio
At the Bellagio conservatory
With Red at the M&M factory
Utah!
C.A. had the right idea. The water only came to his ankles at that point; it's not as deep as it appears. We all joined him.
M.J. had a great time talking with the turkeys. The one on the left kept responding when she would "gobble, gobble, gobble."
Feeding the goat. Those are the farmer's children in the background.Thursday, August 17, 2006
See the U.S.A.
...in a Ford Explorer.
Had a great time on my road trip, driving from Southern California to back home. My friend, Paula, and her two kids, C.A. and M.J., ages 6 and 8, drove to visit her family there last month. I flew out to check on building progress of my home and drove back with them, stopping in Denver where I had some business to conduct. P grew up in Torrance and although I'm a SoCal girl, having grown up in the Valley and later living in Orange County, I'm not familiar with Torrance or the beach towns south of Santa Monica and north of Huntington Beach.
I flew into LAX on Tuesday, August 8 at 11 at night, where P picked me up. I spent the night at her sister's house, then the next day we went to Hermosa Beach and played in the ocean. Then I borrowed her truck and drove up the coast to visit my parents and check out the status of my house. My husband was there and we looked at granite, conferred with the cabinet maker on wood, and met the contractor at our home site. We're making progess and it's exciting to watch the transformation from the drawing plans.
On Saturday I returned to Torrance and met P's friends and family for a big dinner party. Paula and I have been friends for over ten years and I'd met her siblings when they came here to visit, but some I only met briefly. Others, like in-laws and family friends I had not met and it was nice meet people she's talked about over the years.
We got out of Dodge early on Sunday morning and made it to Las Vegas without incident. We parked at New York, New York on the strip and had lunch. Then we walked up to Bellagio and watched the fountains dance to the tune of "Hey, Big Spender" (from Chicago). The kids really liked it and then we walked around in the Conservatory at Bellagio. The exhibit included lots of trains and six-year-old C.A., was enchanted. Then we walked to the M & M factory and filled up on multi-colored candies. They have all sorts of colors, from light pink to dark purple and you fill up your bags to mix your own colors. As you can imagine, kids go nuts.
We left Las Vegas and drove across the hot desert into Utah, via I15. We drove through St. George and spent the night in Beaver, UT at the Best Western Butch Cassidy. I guess he was born there. It was around 9 p.m. when we arrived and after unpacking we went to a nearby restaurant, only to find out it was closing in 5 minutes. They wrapped our food to go and we ate at the hotel.
The next morning, I went for a short run. It was a small town, with streets numbered sequentially starting at 100, 200 etc. and separated by Main St. (north/south) or Center Street (east/west.) There wasn't a whole lot to see. I passed by one church, which you can guess what denomination it was, and I also passed the Opera House. This was built in 1908 and was meant to be the "envy of the surrounding communities." It wasn't grand by eastern standards, but made of local stone called tufa. Some of the older homes were made of a local stone that was black. The few people that were out in this small town were very curious about me--I'm sure they were wondering who I was.
We were on the road by 9:30 and headed to Denver. The scenery was spectacular! It killed me to be so close to Arches and not be able to stop and experience it, but that was not on the agenda. We pulled over at one scenic stop and locals were selling necklaces and beaded earrings. I didn't buy anything, but now I'm kicking myself for it.
I had hoped to arrive in Denver by the early afternoon, but miscalculated just how far it was, so I had to push back my meeting to the next morning. That gave us time to play and we stopped in Vail. I had never seen Vail Village and I wanted to check it out. Vail has now surpassed Boulder as my favorite place in Colorado (sorry, Bold) and I didn't realize it was so close to Denver. The mountains are just stunning, and at one rest stop (before Vail) we sat and dipped our feet in the Colorado River. There was a bike path that ran along the road and I would love to run it someday. Driving through the Rocky Mountains was my favorite part of the trip.
We stayed at the Fairfield Inn, which had a pool and access to a health club. P got up early and worked out while I stayed with the kids, then she and the kids went to the pool while I took care of business. I was back at 11, and Paula was anxious to get back on the road, although she stopped at Starbucks so that I could have my fix. Coffee isn't the same unless it's overpriced and made with steamed milk.
After leaving Denver, we stopped in Palisades, Colorado to buy some peaches. This area is famous for its peaches and P bought a case so she could make jam, and some cherries to make a pie. The lady at the fruit stand gave me a peach and it was the sweetest, juiciest piece of fruit I've ever had!
Paula would have been happy to drive non-stop to Minneapolis from Denver, but I couldn't handle it. So we planned to stop in Omaha for the night. She dislikes driving through Nebraska, but I didn't find it nearly as bad as driving through South Dakota (which I have done on previous trips, not this one.) Omaha is on the Nebraska/Iowa border. Fortunately we had called ahead because there was a John Deere (tractors) convention in town and there were only 3 rooms available in the entire city. Not wanting to be around a bunch of wild John Deere conventioneers, we stopped short and spent the night at the Country Inn in Lincoln, which is about an hour west of Omaha. It was still daylight when we checked in, and I pulled out my running clothes and went for a 50 minute run. I don't know how far I ran because although I packed my Garmin charger, I neglected to pack the Garmin! I ran until it got too dark for safety--I wasn't wearing anything reflective and cars couldn't see me. But it was so great to use my legs after sitting for so long. The pool was open until midnight, so after my run I took the kids to the pool so they could play. The water was relaxing for me, and they released some of that pent-up energy.
We got up early and had the breakfast the hotel provided, then continued on. Paula and I were both jonesing for a Starbucks, but didn't want to get too far off course to find one. I'm sure there would have been one in Omaha, but I'll never know. We even called a friend of P who works for Starbucks, so that she could look it up, but we got her voicemail. I was relaying this to the manager at my local Starbucks this morning and she told me there was an 800 number (!) that I could call to find out. NOW she tells me. Here's the number, so that when you're on your next road trip, you won't be stuck with inferior coffee: 1-800-23LATTE.
As we approached Des Moines, I saw a sign for a restaurant at the LS Organic Farm. What a find! I had Chicken Masala with rice and red beans and fresh veggies. The chicken was raised on their farm, as well as the vegetables. It was fresh, healthy, and delicious! The couple that owns the farm used to be in health care and they believe that good health comes with eating well, so they left their careers to do this. They hold 6-week classes on nutrition and cooking and I signed up for their soon-to-be-published cookbook when they publish it. Indian food doesn't agree with Paula, so the kids played with the goat and turkeys, while I ate.
In Des Moines, we managed to find Starbucks, but they didn't have sandwiches, which is what Paula was planning to have for lunch. So we got our drinks, then drove through MacDonald's. You KNOW I had the better meal, but three meals, two drinks and a toy cost the same as my organic lunch.
Then we headed North on good old I35. At the border of Iowa and Minnesota, we stopped in Albert Lea (pronounced LEE) to get gas. It was the first time it cost less than $50 to fill 'er up. We were craving some pie and drove through town in search of a bakery. We found a farmer's market, and a stall that sold "pie squares" but we had to wait 20 minutes for the market to officially open. That gave us time to check out the other vendors. The pie square lady proudly told me she doesn't use any hydrogenated oils, only butter. When I asked another vendor of baked good if she used hydrogenated oils, she said no, she uses Crisco! There was a nice Norweigan lady who sold lefse, which I bought. Since my name isn't Johnson, I asked her what to do with it. Warm it up quickly, then spread butter and sugar on it. Sounds delicious. Someone else was selling kolaches, but I forgot to go back to her stall and buy them. I did pick up a dozen eggs--these were jumbo Omega 3 for only $1 a dozen. Who could resist those prices?
We ate our pie squares in the car, and yup, she uses butter. Absolutely delicious! We drove to Ps house, because she lives south of me and then I drove her truck home. She'll pick it up tonight, since she's going to be in town.
It was a really fun trip and I think our friendship is still intact.
Monday, August 07, 2006
O2 B Thin and Fast
Recently I cashed in my birthday present--the personal O2 training. I was waiting to be sufficiently recovered before starting such an intense program. What it entails is running in specific heart-rate zones, on a treadmill for an hour, to develop my aerobic base and train my body to become more efficient at burning fat. I'm hoping it will burn off all my fat and make me run 8-minute miles, in six easy weeks. :-O
Kay, my trainer, is very mature for her 22 years. She encourages me and doesn't laugh when she sez "good job." I think I surprised her when I told her I ran two marathons in the past 9 months. She's training for the Wisconsin Ironman, which is a month from now. It's her first, and she hasn't even run a marathon yet. Part of me wants to admire her for being able to take on such an event and part of me wants her to fall on her face! Can you at least try to make it look hard. What a difference age makes.
Today she had me run 4 miles on the treadmill--with the incline set to 2. I could go as fast or as slow as I wanted, and at the end of the program I'll do it again to see how much I improved. I figured 4 miles=50 minutes, but it took me 55. And I took 1 minute walking breaks every 9 minutes. I hope to hell I improve! I'm blaming it on the lack of air-conditioning.
In other news, my health club bought my old health club so now I can run with my old running club. Yay! I haven't yet, but plan to soon. Most of the gang are training for the Twin Cities Marathon, and I am not up to double-digit mile runs yet. I ran 6 last Saturday. How can I run a marathon, and then struggle to do 10 miles? Last Saturday was the Urban Wildland Half-marathon, a race I've done the past two years, but I simply was not up to running 13.1.
On the day of the Twin Cities Marathon, there is also a 10 mile race which is billed as "the shortcut to the capitol." I was hoping to run it, but did not make the lottery. I could have still gotten an entry in exchange for some volunteer work, but I didn't know if I would be here on volunteer day. I'm traveling a lot, because my husband and I are building a house in California and need to check on progress.
Since I'm not doing the TC-10, I signed up for the Big Sur Half Marathon, which is actually in Monterey. The race is on October 29, so I have lots of time to train. I was a little hesitant about signing up, until I looked at the course map. I know that route! I ran it in April '05 for a long run when I was training for the TCM. It has some of the most awesome ocean scenery around. And finishers get that cool hippie medal. It's not quite Tiffany, but it will do.
I will be away from my blog for about 10 days. I'm flying to L.A., then driving back with my friend P and her two kids. P doesn't like to fly, so she drove out there a month ago to visit family and asked me to accompany her back. It should be fun.
In the meantime, Plods and Stephano are back from their respective vacations. AmyBee had a birthday. And Back of Pack is Haulin' Aspen this Sunday. She's one tuff mama. Another tuff mama, 21st Century Mom, ran the San Francisco Marathon on July 30, under less than ideal conditions. She's posted since then, but has written an excellent race report.
C-ya later.
Kay, my trainer, is very mature for her 22 years. She encourages me and doesn't laugh when she sez "good job." I think I surprised her when I told her I ran two marathons in the past 9 months. She's training for the Wisconsin Ironman, which is a month from now. It's her first, and she hasn't even run a marathon yet. Part of me wants to admire her for being able to take on such an event and part of me wants her to fall on her face! Can you at least try to make it look hard. What a difference age makes.
Today she had me run 4 miles on the treadmill--with the incline set to 2. I could go as fast or as slow as I wanted, and at the end of the program I'll do it again to see how much I improved. I figured 4 miles=50 minutes, but it took me 55. And I took 1 minute walking breaks every 9 minutes. I hope to hell I improve! I'm blaming it on the lack of air-conditioning.
In other news, my health club bought my old health club so now I can run with my old running club. Yay! I haven't yet, but plan to soon. Most of the gang are training for the Twin Cities Marathon, and I am not up to double-digit mile runs yet. I ran 6 last Saturday. How can I run a marathon, and then struggle to do 10 miles? Last Saturday was the Urban Wildland Half-marathon, a race I've done the past two years, but I simply was not up to running 13.1.
On the day of the Twin Cities Marathon, there is also a 10 mile race which is billed as "the shortcut to the capitol." I was hoping to run it, but did not make the lottery. I could have still gotten an entry in exchange for some volunteer work, but I didn't know if I would be here on volunteer day. I'm traveling a lot, because my husband and I are building a house in California and need to check on progress.
Since I'm not doing the TC-10, I signed up for the Big Sur Half Marathon, which is actually in Monterey. The race is on October 29, so I have lots of time to train. I was a little hesitant about signing up, until I looked at the course map. I know that route! I ran it in April '05 for a long run when I was training for the TCM. It has some of the most awesome ocean scenery around. And finishers get that cool hippie medal. It's not quite Tiffany, but it will do.
I will be away from my blog for about 10 days. I'm flying to L.A., then driving back with my friend P and her two kids. P doesn't like to fly, so she drove out there a month ago to visit family and asked me to accompany her back. It should be fun.
In the meantime, Plods and Stephano are back from their respective vacations. AmyBee had a birthday. And Back of Pack is Haulin' Aspen this Sunday. She's one tuff mama. Another tuff mama, 21st Century Mom, ran the San Francisco Marathon on July 30, under less than ideal conditions. She's posted since then, but has written an excellent race report.
C-ya later.
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