Getting Ready Again

Have the Brew-to-Brew Relay in a couple of weeks. I am planning on running 22 miles (half of the relay). I registered our 2 teams Monday and everyone is getting excited. With the relay being 44 miles total from the Boulevard Brew Company in KC to the Free State Brew Company in Lawrence we should have a great time together. Last year we weren't a drinking team...I wonder if we will be this year. I know were are packing a cooler but think it might be full of G2 and snacks.

My other race for the near future is the Ozark Greenway's Adventure Race May 31. The location has changed to Richland just past Lebanon which seems to be hillier but who knows. The camping location seems nice and not so primitive and has RV hook-ups so Dad and Beck plan on brining the new RV. There are cabins available and Chanti and Don are checking that out.

The Plan

More info to come but have been eating better and have dropped a few pounds. Been running more and more; now starting training for Brew-to-Brew on April 6.

I am not a professional...

Funny thing happened the other day on the way home from a run; my neighbor stopped me and asked me to give advice to her roommate who is training for the OKC Marathon 15 weeks away. It is hysterical that I can pass along advice that others have given me and even offer to be a support person for her. We will see what she does..she didn't seem so excited about it, but I don't blame her. The person that she has been taking advice from is having her run 7 days a week and she swims. Guess she would be in shape but....AHHHHH, talk about overkill. I would be exhausted.

As for my running....back to the treadmill this week; early mornings in the dark aren't fun and today we have a little ice, snow, and wind. Ran 4 outside (73 degrees) on Monday and 5 on the treadmill today.

New tool, maybe not so cool: In sharing my new found use for Google Calendar with a friend...I noticed that when I wasn't logged into my Google account that none of the dates showed up. So we would need to all share our calendars to be able to view them on a blog or webpage.

Cool New Tool: Google Calendar

Not that this is really a new tool...Google has had it out for a long time but now I have an idea that might help us out. Right now you just see my calendar but Google Calendars have the option of sharing and we could keep track of everyones running schedules and maybe coordinate runs. If you want to be added to this calendar let me know and I will add you.

"Run with the Wind"

...think it might be a little crazy to run a 15 mile race in February when you don't like the cold. Yesterday must have been my lucky day because it was 38 at 7:30am and did get a few degrees warmer. There was a head wind out of the west :-( Wish we would have run from Carthage to Sarcoxie instead of Sarcoxie to Carthage, but it was all good.

The race format is either individual or team and the CRC (the Carthage Running Club) had 3 individuals (Julie-1st place over all, Brady, & me) and 1 team (Chanti-Robert-Debbie: 1st place). Julie and Brady were of course in the front pacing each other with a 8:10 pace and finished in 2 hours 7 minutes. I was a bit behind, but ran 9:16's which was awesome and finished in 2 hours 24 minutes. Ran first section with Chanti (who then rode her bike the rest of the way), the second section with Robert (who set an great pace, got me through the hills, and blocked the wind for me - thank you, thank you, thank you), and Debbie (who kept me going through the last miles when I wanted to walk and complained a lot).

It is so fun running with friends. Next race: Brew-to-Brew - April 6

January Rain Storm

Went out for a 6 miler and should have checked the weather. It had sprinkled earlier but I thought that was over. The wind had even died down a little, temp was almost 70 and it is January in Missouri; unseasonably warm. Little did I know a huge thunderstorm was coming.

So about mile 3 when I am furthest from the house I start to notice lightening coming from the direction I have to go. Was think I could make it home but no; get poured on for a couple of miles with the wind and rain in my face and did I mention it was dark. My own fault, but must admit, it was a little fun. Almost seemed like spring.

Downside...now my good shoes are wet and we all know not to put them in the dryer. Will have to trade down to some older ones while they dry out.

Memphis Marathon Slideshow

Been playing around with some Google tools today and figured out how to use Picasa Google Images and figured out how to make a slideshow. Here are some pictures from Memphis Marathon.