Dead, Dead Legs

The Run: 5 miles
The Tunes: Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
The Mood: kind of lazy

Well after Saturdays long run I was still feeling a little beat up. I had been running an easy run on Sundays after my long runs, but this weeks was extra hard on me for some reason so I took this Sunday off. My legs were still a little achy so I decided to do a nice and easy 5 miler today.

Lucinda Williams '98 album, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road set the mood. The mix of country and blues set the tone of an easy, relaxed trot through the neighborhood. But when the song "Can't Let Go" came on I did notice a little pick up in my step.

My legs felt like they had bricks tied to them today. Guess it's time to drink a little pineapple juice, a little trick the NQRFPT'ers learned from the famous Ray Parella at one of our Pasta Dinners at his restaurant. It's supposed to help with the break down of Lactic acid in your legs, and today I think I have a gallon of it in each limb!!

So a slow start to the week, but hopefully there will be improvement tomorrow. I have to run tomorrow morning at 6am because my Tues and Thurs evenings are now occupied with a new activity, I'm an assistant coach for a girls softball team! Tomorrow I'm working with the pitchers so I better go brush up on my pitching skills. I haven't pitched in quite a few years. But the plus side of being a coach is it's about "them" doing it..not me :) And if they screw around I can make them run!! (hey maybe I will get some running in then)

Wanna Guarantee You Don't Come Up Short? Get Lost!!!

Well yesterdays long run turned out to be a pure adventure. I met up with the Fleet Feet gang in the store parking lot at 7am. Some people were running the 10k so they took of from the store to get in a coule extra miles before the race.

Amy, Karin #1, Annette, Steve, Maria, Sylvia, Katie and myself prepared for our supposed 16 mile route. Amy took some time the night before to plot it out and we were off! We decided we has such a nice run on our "Better Homes and Gardens" route that we would try it again...this time with a twist! Amy came up with two alternative endings...kind of like those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books I used to read when I was a kid.

We headed through Cherokee and made the usual turn into Seneca. Once through the parks we continued into St. Matthews and then crossed over Brownsboro Rd and winded down the Indian Hills to River Road. We hit our 10 mile mark as planned and took the much needed bathroom break.

At this point we needed to decide which way back we would take. 1)The Easy Route - Continue up River Road and head back through Beargrass Creek path. OR 2) The Hard Way - Up Zorn, Down Frankfort and somehow end up back on Bardstown Rd. (I say somehow because where we got lost was deciding weather to go Left or Right on Payne St.)

Katie made the decision to take Zorn...My legs are still "thanking" her for that choice...that hill is always so much longer than it looks. Our group started to separate a bit and the run down Frankfort Ave was a nice break from the uphill climb we had just finished. Once we found Pope St. we took a left and headed down Pope Until we got to Payne. We could see some of the walkers still completeing the City Run from where we were and we took a left and continued our run.

Another 5-10 minutes or so into our run "back home" we saw the Clifton Signs and Joe had informed us that we had taken the wrong turn and we were infact heading back up Frankfort and away from Bardstown Rd. To exhausted from the two large hills we had just climbed we decided to just continue on up until we hit Peterson. Once we Hit Peterson we took Grinstead back up to Cherokee and then finally we were home.

So our little 16 mile route ended up being closer to 18...but that OK. Miles in the bank right?!?!?

Amy, needless to say, felt bad about misguiding us on route. But we had a blast. At least once a year we get lost and end up on a run a little longer that planned. They all go down in history and we all end up laughing about it at our Post Marathon parites or one of our many Coffee Chats.

Better Homes and Gardens...and 4 seasons tour

This Saturday's long run was scheduled for an 18 miler and the route of choice was the "Better Homes and Gardens" route. Karin #1, Amy, Leslie, Sylvia, Annette (+1) and myself meet at the Fleet Feet parking lot at 7am and headed into Cherokee Park. We went through Cherokee, into Seneca and then headed down towards St. Matthews.

After dodging the traffice of Shelbyville Rd we continued on to Willis and wound our way around to Brownsboro Road. We had our own version of the game Frogger crossing Brownsboro and once safe on the other side we entered into the portion of the route that gives it the name "Better Homes and Gardens", Indian Hills!!. The weather was beautiful and I even took off my jacket and unzipped my top a little bit...apparently I overdressed to the run.

The nice thing about doing the route is the majority of the Indian Hills neighborhood is a nice, winding, downhill route. The beautiful homes and landscaping lend to a wonderful scenic route that everyone found enjoyable. We continued all the way until we hit River Road and Cox's Park marked our first pit stop for a Gel and Potty Break....however the bathrooms were not yet open and the Water Fountains (or Bubblers as they are referred to in WI) were shut off for the season. So we continued on and postponed the break until we hit the gas station on Zorn.

After a brief stop, water bottle refresh and regroup we headed up Zorn. Our group split up and some continued up Zorn to head back to Fleet Feet. We turned down Mellwood and headed to Spring Street where we would pick up the path by Beargrass Creek. Once we came off the path we realized that we were coming up a little short on our mileage so went back into Cherokee to pick up the remaining 3 or 4 miles.

As we headed into the park the snow really began to pick up. That when we talked about how much the weather changed this morning. We started out with clear, blue, sunny sky's and relatively warm temps. But by the end of the run we were in clouds, wind, snow and down right chilly temps.

So we thought the appropriate name for the run would be the Better Homes and Gardens & 4 Seasons Tour!

When we got back to the store we were surprised to see Terry's truck in the parking lot. After getting an email the day before telling us about the nasty bug he caught it didn't think he'd make it out for the race. Silly me for thinking that, it is hard to cage a beast!! And he is a running animal (now shooting for 4 marathons again this year after stating he was only doing 2 just a few short weeks ago).

Amy and I met up with Terry and Graham at Heine Bro. to catch up on how the Anthem 5k went for everyone and share our usual lovely stories. I don't know what it is about our group. Every conversation starts out harmless, but somehow we alwasy end up talking about poop. :)

Piling the Miles On

Well I'm starting to enter into the "Meaty" part of the Marathon training. The long runs are ranging from 16-20 miles and I'm getting in some decent weekly mileage. Last week I got in two 7 milers and two 5 milers before taking on a challenging 15.2 long run.

Our talented Karen #2 plotted out our course, actually she gave us 3 options, and surprisingly we all picked the hardest one. At the time it seemed interesting and new. In reality it was pretty hellish. Basically it was the last 15 miles of the Derby Marathon course, revamped into a loop course to get us back to Fleet Feet. Running this course brought back a lot of memories of last year's Derby Marathon.

We started with about 15 people in our group. At around mile 4 those training for the Mini turned off and we were down to about 10. As we headed into downtown we all separated into little small pace groups. The lead pack seemed to take off once we were crossing the 2nd St. bridge. I decided it was time for a small CarbBoom Break. Once I got down that yummy apple cinnamon treat I played catch up with the lead group. I finally caught up to them in the “turn around” area in Indiana and we regrouped and headed back across the bridge.

Once back to the “Ville” nature was calling for three of us and the friendly folks at the Courtyard Marriot let us borrow their facilities. The rest of the group took off and after a brief restroom break we started the long run back to Fleet Feet.

We ran into the runners preparing for the Run To The Sun and our good buddy George Lindsay was giving the race participates a quick pep talk over the loud speaker. As we ran by him we quickly said our “Hello” and George announced to the crowd the passing of the Not Quite Ready For Prime Timers!!! Thanks for the shout out George!!

We made the turn down Breckenridge and I thought I would have a little trouble remember the rest of the course, but the nice little hill by the Come Back Inn jogged my memory and the rest all came back to me.

By the end of the run my legs were pretty beat up. I actually maintained a halfway decent pace, which means that the training during the week is starting to pay off.

After re-gathering at Fleet Feet it was time to put our feet up at Heine Brothers. We shared great conversation over our favorite TV shows. The Office, Grey’s Anatomy and 24 are usually the top choices amongst the group.

Now it’s time to prepare for an 18 mile long run this weekend.

Skating Through The Park

The Run: 10 Miles
The Tunes: None-Just friendly conversation
The Mood: It’s a back down week! More coffee time!!

This morning I meet up with some of the NQRFPT’ers at 7am at the Fleet Feet parking lot. This week was a back down week on our schedule and after last weeks tough 14 miler, 10 miles was welcomed with open arms.

After weighing our options of potential routes we chose to run through Cherokee, up to Seneca, around the loop and back. With the light dusting of snow on the ground we decided that staying on the road and avoiding slippery sidewalks would be the safest route to take. But we later found out that the parks provided their own tricky spots and while I had a couple close calls of wiping out myself, Pam and Dave had a 2 person pile up.

We had an early enough start that we were able to get through the park and finish the run before the 5k race started. We also finished well before the snow picked back up for the day.

As we took shelter in the warm surroundings of Heine Brother’s those of us traveling to Nashville discussed our upcoming trip. We recently found out that the headliner for the post race concert is going to be Sara Evans, so we are talking about extending our trip by a day to stay the night and enjoy the free concert.

Terry kept us entertained as always. We learned from him that the Clarksville Hooters is a much desired location to work as a Hooter waitress because of the friendly atmosphere and camaraderie of the staff there. He also share with us his views on our Customs System and how much he enjoys going to Tijuana (in total sarcasm of course).

Next week we are back up to higher miles and I am looking forward to some spring like temps to return. My winter running wardrob is a lot smaller than my summer running collection and I am getting tired of wearing the same few things over and over again. Time to breakout the shorts!

Is that Love in the air I smell....or is it just me?

The Run: 4 Miles
The Tunes: DEE-DEE(self titled album)
The Mood: It’s V-Day! I’m in the mood for Love!

Got in a quick 4 miles this evening before a lovely Valentine's Day dinner with the hubby. We went to Limestone (one of my fav’s) and I always throw out any diet when I’m there.

Today’s tunes were courteous of a DJ called DEE out of Montreal. To sample some of his “electro-pop” sounds you can visit the site http://www.myspace.com/deemontreal. The funky sounds and upbeat tempo work great to keep up the pace. I got a free download of their latest song “Miles and Miles” off of the Ford website because it is featured in their commercial for the Ford Edge. You can’t help but pick up the pace when that song comes on!

The run was pretty fast paced as it was my shortest run of the week. My legs told me later in the evening that the run was at a quicker than normal pace for me, but with speed workouts coming up soon it was a good warm up.

I actually got in a morning run this week! This is kind of a big deal for me lately since for the last 2 months I’ve been setting my alarm to get up in the morning and run and have hit the snooze button every time and opted for an evening run instead. I do love getting the run done in the morning, I love the way it makes me feel through the rest of the day (except for the big hunger attack I get around 2pm). I also love the extra free time I have in the evenings. But when it is 6am and the temp is 9° it gets so easy to stay in bed another hour and plan the run for later in the day.

New Orange Shoes!!

The Run: 14 Miles
The Tunes: None – Just friendly conversation
The Mood: Sleepy, but the cold shock of the morning air woke me up in a snap

This mornings run started with meeting some of the NQRFPT’ers at Fleet Feet around 8am, however as the long runs start getting longer an 8am start will be come a luxury of the past.

After chit chatting for bit, we didn’t actually hit the road until 8:15. The route of choice was from Fleet Feet up to Iroquois Park. Heading out down Eastern Parkway there were quite a few complaints about the cold. For some it was the coldest temps they’ve ever ran in. Eastern Parkway is always a challenge no matter what the conditions. The rolling hills never seem that bad on the way out, but on the run back they always kick my butt.

Once we hit UofL we started to lose members of our group. Some had less mileage to do today and started turning back around the 3 mile point, other decided that they had enough of the cold crap and headed back to finish their run indoors.

Heading up Southern Parkway wasn’t too bad because we were actually running in sunlight most of the way, but by the time we got to the entrance of Iroquois I was sucking some major wind. Time for a GU break!! Todays menu consisted of Apple Cinnamon CarBoom and Glacial Blue Gatorade. One thing I enjoy about running in the cold is that your Gel’s thicken almost to the point where it gets chewy, it could almost past for solid food.

After a mid-run break we were ready to head back to the store with the main drive being the cup of hot coffee waiting for us. For some the drive was bigger than others. Terry entered into his zone and when he has coffee on the brain, nothing can stop him. Karin#1 and Leslie tried to keep up with Terry, but from what I hear he was unstoppable.

Amy and I took the trip back with a little more ease. I don’t think we necessarily tried to slow it down, but the hill by the Medical Arts building made sure that we wouldn’t set any land speed records. The rest of the returning hills on Eastern reminded me why I try not to do this route all that often, but once we could see the Bardstown Rd. intersection it was smooth sailing.

We got back to Fleet Feet and defrosted with the other runners (my hair actually froze), I noticed that new Adidas SuperNova’s were out (my one and only running shoe!!) This season's color is…ORANGE!! This is always an exciting thing for me..to see what new color the shoe will come in next. I now have owned every color of the rainbow in these shoes.

After the run we headed across the street to Heine Brother’s where we enjoyed our usual weekly post run coffee and conversation. This weeks topic included: (1) The death of Anna Nicole Smith, (2) The Britney Spears photos and who actually went online to see them, (3) The Grand Canyon, (4) Skanky clothes for little kids. As always intriguing and stimulating.