Renee and Scout Run

In My Nature

2009-07-22T15:51:00.001-07:00

In My Nature

I found this article to be particularly intriguing. The author, Kristin Armstrong , is the ex-wife of Lance Armstrong...you know...Tour de France Lance. Trail running never fails to awaken my senses and heighten my awareness of this wonderful, beautiful, fascinating world around me. I think Kristin describes this experience very well. Enjoy :)

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Breathe

2009-05-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

Breathe in...breathe out...breathe in...breathe out... this has been my mantra over the past few weeks. I wish I had been able to blog much sooner, as often times putting thoughts which tend to jam up my head on paper (or screen) is enough to make room to hear myself think. But here, today, finally, I write.

This morning I ran the Colfax half marathon in the fastest time over that distance in quite awhile...perhaps since college. I tacked on to some great pace setting guys and basically hung on for the ride. For once in a long time I did not allow self-doubt to sabotage my race...although I just about wrote myself off by not training. I know...you've heard that "no training" one before. This time I had a good excuse, and his name is Charlie.

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie! What did I get myself into? Charlie is a 1 year old Border Collie possibly Heeler mix we rescued from All Breed Rescue in Colorado Springs. We know very little about his background except that he was picked up as a stray and spent about 5 weeks in foster care. He is fearful of many things, and I can only imagine that Animal Control worked him over pretty well trying to capture him. However, in the 2 weeks that we have had him he has come a long way. He listens very well and does what is asked of him, as long as he knows what I am asking. With time I know he will feel more confident and comfortable around new people, dogs, places, things with wheels, guys in bike clothes (i.e. Sargent returning from a ride).

Scout is happy to play the role of big sister. They play on her terms and she sets the rules. She has been teaching him to be calm, to walk nicely on a leash, to sit before going out the door and to sit for treats. Charlie has actually reinforced in Scout what it means to come when called. It's nice to allow this info exchange between dogs instead of having to do all of the work myself. In addition, Charlie is learning to run with us. We are up to 3 miles, but they are dreadfully slow miles...hence the lack of training for me. Again, much as with his insecurities, it will take time. Good thing summer is here and I have a lot more time to do more than just breathing in...and out.

A tribute to women

2009-03-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

March is Women’s History Month, so I thought it appropriate to pay tribute to all of the beautiful women in my life without whom I wouldn’t be me. Each of you has touched my life in a way that is profound yet subtle, constructive yet nurturing. Even though some of you have never met, together you have woven a web of love and support on which I rely every day.

My mom, Patty, from whom I have received the greatest gift, unconditional love.

My sister, Lori, who gives selflessly and tirelessly of herself to others in such a way I can only hope to do.

My grandmothers Emilie and Gladys, who have overcome so much adversity, and from whom I have learned to be strong and to never give up.

My friend, Heather, who knows me better than anyone…better than I know myself sometimes. In her presence I feel safe and secure.

My mother-in-law, Linda, who has been a rock for my husband, Sargent. Her sage advice is always welcome and has been instrumental in teaching us how to love and care for each other.

My grad school posse, Lauren, Natalie, Jenny Lynn, and Stacy. You come packaged as a group yet each of you brings something unique to our relationship. Whenever I need you, you come to me in a pack, magnifying your impact. You keep me real, keep me true to myself and true to my place on this earth.

My cousin, Anne, who keeps family close to home and close to my heart.

And the newest and timely addition to this web, Kellie. Her wit, humor, and wisdom have brought a new and welcome joy to my life.

There are many other women who have made a huge impact on my life. Please know that you have all helped shape the very essence of me. I hope that some day I can pay homage to you each and every one of you, even if it is a simple “thank you”.

If you are reading this, my wish is that you will take a moment to reflect on the women who have been influential in your life.

A bit rusty

2009-03-14T09:13:00.001-07:00

I'm a bit rusty with this blog thing, as you can tell by the infrequency of my posts of late. To be honest, I really haven't felt like myself for a while. Not like myself physically, not like myself mentally as they are both closely aligned for me. It's like I got myself into a big rut with work, home life routine, running, etc. and couldn't get out. Funny how a change in routine, a change in environment can shake things up just enough to get you back on track. That's what happened for me anyway. A work trip to Florida was the catalyst I needed, not for the actual change, but to recognize I was in a rut and needed a change. I got a little sunshine, met a great new friend, and came back with some good ideas for work. All are energizing. So now I post.

The arrival of spring always seems to breathe new life into me. And although it is not here just yet, I am looking forward to the warmer months. Even though I grew up in South Dakota and weathered the winters in North Dakota in college, it's clear to me that I am not a cold weather person. I long to be outside in the yard, puttering in the garden, reading a good book on the patio, and hiking in the mountains, without having to dress in layers. When I say I "can't wait" for spring or summer, I feel like I'm wishing my life away. I'm certainly no spring chicken, as the aches in my body remind me daily. But I can't help to look forward to doing more of the things I love to do.

Today is a gorgeous day...near 70 and sunny. The next few days are supposed to follow suit. Tomorrow I'll be doing the "Runnin of the Green" with my friend Nancy. This is the first race for me since the Denver Marathon last October. Don't worry...I have NO expectations other than to finish (it's only 4 miles for pete's sake) so I won't be dissappointed. I signed up for the Colfax Half-Marathon on May 17th and so far training has been just ok. I look at my training plan and follow it some, but haven't been that serious about it yet. Hopefully I'll get into it soon.

In a couple of weeks I'll head to Fruita with Sargent and his friends for a few days good warm weather hiking. My friend Heather and Scout will be coming too, which will make it even better. I'll be vacationing much of the month of June...trip to Alaska, family visits. Sargent and I will ride the MS 150 on our tandem at the end of June. We hope to do one more overnight type trip on our tandem this summer as well.

I rented a 10x20 garden plot in the community gardens just down the street. That will give me more space to grow cucumbers, squash, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes. I'll still plant my herbs and a few other things in the planter boxes around the patio, but the larger veggies will have room to grow in the community plot. I'll do some more work on the front yard flower garden. Perhaps I can talk Sargent into finally letting me remove the ugly water wheel that doesn't work. I look forward to spending time with friends and family this summer, on the patio, grilling garden veggies, sipping wine...

Scholarship Update

2009-02-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo! We've raised $1,500 for the Rob Luecke Memorial / Jamestown College scholarship! Of course, this wouldn't be possible without the financial contributions of all of you who donated to this scholarship. A huge THANK YOU to James, Destry, Craig, Harry & JoAnn, Stephanie, Scott & Kathleen, Brent & Heather, Patty, Julie & Rob, Lauren & Lucy, Tim, Julie, and Nancy. Your contributions will help one GHS student attend Jamestown College next year. If you are reading this and your name is not listed, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I have heard from some of you that you made a donation, but it may have gone into the general fund at JC. We want it in this fund, so let me know so I can make that happen. If you haven't yet had a chance to donate, it's not too late. Click on the link to the right. Be sure to identify "Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship" in the comments section of the online scholarship donation site. Once this scholarship has been awarded, you'll be the first to know (well maybe second - I suppose we should tell the actual recipient first).

THANK YOU!!!

One year of blogging

2009-01-18T12:09:00.000-08:00

Sunrise on 12-30-08 from our back porch

It's been a long time since my last blog post...3 months to the day, in fact. Quite frankly I've been thinking a lot about what you might want to see in print about me, my life. So with the new year upon us, I thought this might be a good time to reflect on the year of this blog, and provide some updates as well.

It seems much more than a year since this blog was created. If you recall, I began this blog as a way to journal, publicly, about my re-entrance on the running scene, log my training miles, and float the idea of beginning a scholarship in the memory of my coach, Rob Luecke. For those of you who have followed through the year, you know that it became more than that...at least for me it did.

For me, this blog has become a means for self-reflection, motivation and connection. Think about it...how often do you sit quietly and reflect on your life, the path you have chosen and where you might be going next? Then write it down for all the world to see? Maybe a bit deep, perhaps, but this blog has forced me to do just that. When setting the goal of qualifying for Boston (which I didn't attain, but more on that later), I also enforced my personal motto of "I will not sacrifice personal for professional". In other words, setting good boundaries and leaving work at work and home at home makes Renee a happy girl. Training for the marathon caused me to take time for myself I might not have done otherwise. I also got into better physical shape than I had been in a while, so that helps with the motivation as well. But perhaps most importantly, writing this blog has allowed me to connect and re-connect with people on a more intimate level than I otherwise would have done.

This past year, you followed me as I logged over 500 miles on trails through Wheat Ridge and Golden, Scout by my side nearly every step. You comforted me when the window fan fell on my head in the middle of the night, scarring the bejezers out of me, and took my side when Sargent tried to kill me with moldy water. You sat with me under the grape arbor on warm summer nights as I became all philosophical (I swear it was only wine in the glass). You kept believing in me even though it became quite clear that I was a huge head case. But most of all you gave me your full support as I attempted, and failed, to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

Although my goal of qualifying for Boston was lofty, my intentions were good. I had run 4 marathons in the past, but had never trained for one, and had set no other goals than to finish. To me, qualifying for Boston was the ideal goal to set. I stated my intention in this blog, found a "fail-proof" training plan, and went to work. What I realized, however, was that the work I needed to do was not just physical, not just putting in the miles and paying my dues. I also needed to do some mental and emotional work by way of self-reflection, which I gain through the time spent running.

Over this past year I realized that 1) things don't come as easy as they used to; 2) I must not take for granted the gifts/talents I do have; 3) the marathon is not a good distance for me; 4) I would be lost without my best running partner, Scout; 5) allowing for vulnerability (i.e. blog posts) reaps huge rewards (i.e. connection w/ others); 6) my friends and family mean the world to me.

So what do I do about this? I will continue to run and train for key races. I will enter into some 10K's and half-marathons this spring and summer with the goal of a) having fun, and b) maybe an age-group win or two. Any race I can run with Scout, I will. In fact, we are looking at the possibility of adopting another border collie so Scout has a four-legged running partner as well. That covers numbers 1-4 above. I will continue to blog, openly and honestly, about my life and the little that makes it interesting. Feel free to read if you wish, but I'm not promising a lot. That's #5. And lastly, #6 is true. I let "life" get in the way of staying connected with you. This endeavor has brought us closer. It made me realize that I don't have to be perfect, I can just be me and my friends and family will love me for who I am. Thank you for that.

It wasn't pretty, but it was a finish! (and a new PR)

2008-10-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

Ok folks. So I know I said I was retired from marathons, and I am, for sure, really, now that I got this last one out of my system and actually FINISHED. I'm not exactly sure what got into me. Yep, I pulled a Brett Favre. I signed up for the Denver Marathon yesterday and ran it today. It was a beautiful fall day in Denver, and what better way to spend a gorgeous Sunday than running through the Denver parks with about 3,000 other people. So that's what I did this morning. What did you do?

My goal was to finish, and that's what I did. It certainly wasn't pretty and it wasn't fast, and it sure wasn't a Boston qualifying time, but I did beat my previous best time by about 10 minutes. To me this means that training is totally overrated. My previous best time was set when my longest run was 6 miles and I probably ran a grand total of 5 times in "training" for that one. This also means, as I had previously suspected, that the marathon is definitely not the best distance for me. After putting in the training I did, there is no reason on paper that I shouldn't have ran faster over the 26.2 miles. Oh well. Now I'm done - for sure this time. With marathons, that is ;)

Racing Redemption?

2008-09-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

So I may have earned some racing redemption today. Scout and I entered the Panerathon 10K to Fight Hunger this morning. We ended up winning our age group (my age group, there was no doggie age group), and we were the 1st place Dog/Person team!

Nothin' Much

2008-09-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

I don't have a lot to blog about now that I am officially "retired" from marathons. But, as you probably noticed, my blog posts have strayed a bit from their original form. I left the banter about pace, distance, and heart rate behind and gave you a bit more of a personal look at my life. Pretty boring for the most part, but sometimes things fall on your head in the middle of the night, and that's worth blogging about!

Over these past few weeks, I've had a lot of time to get used to me as a "non-marathoner". I feel much less restricted. My training plan is no longer running my life and taking over my weekends. I've been able to drink wine and eat cheese on any night of the week and not worry about the ill effects on my mandatory long run the next day. Because if I don't feel like running, I don't, and if I do, I do. And I now run as far and as fast (or slow) as I want to. Simple as that. I'm having fun with running again. But...I'm still not having fun with racing.

I said it in my last post, and I'll say it again - I'm a huge head case and do not race well. I have tried to look at it from many angles but cannot figure it out. Does anyone know a good Sports Psychologist? I would really like to get this figured out.

In the meantime, Scout and I will keep running. We have to keep our girlish figures, after all!

One piece of good news...Sargent returned from his cycling trip in Europe! He rode every single day and took some amazing pictures. Here is a link to his online photo album. ENJOY!

http://picasaweb.google.com/Sargent86

No Guts, No Glory

2008-09-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

Ok folks. There will be no Boston for me. There will be no more marathons, period, for this girl. They don't give any passes to people who can't finish the race. I'll make no excuses. The weather was perfect, I was well trained, and I had an awesome pace setter, Heather. But one bad mile around 15 was enough of a window to allow my big stupid fat head to get in the way. Yes, I am one of those...a head case. These are the folks you often hear about in the running circuit, the ones that have all of the potential, really show some promise, train really well, run some good races, but can't bring home the bacon when it really counts.

I definitely have a new found respect for those that run marathons and run them well. Perhaps I did not give the marathon the respect it deserved and in some way pissed off the marathon gods. This seems to be the case because the marathon has beat me down, and am humbly bowing out of this race.

I'm not turned off from running all together. Don't worry about that. I have a nifty little dog at home waiting for her next run. I will continue to run half-marathons and 10K's, but marathons are definitely not in the lineup. It looks like 26.2 miles is just not a good distance for me. I should have recognized this well before this point but hey, I gave it a shot. Sorry for letting all of you down. I know you were all wishing me the best for this race. At least I have some great pictures of the Seattle area!

Game on...

2008-09-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

After logging over 350 miles these past twelve weeks, my training is complete. On Sunday I will run the Skagit Flats Marathon in Burlington, WA. I AM READY. I have been appropriately massaged, cracked (complements of chiropractor Steve), and stretched. My shoes are laced and my running clothes have been properly selected. The Garmin is charged. I have ordered up some super fantastic weather. Slight cloud cover, temps in the 60's, light breeze at 5mph. It should be a superior day. I have also enlisted the help of my BFF Heather to be my pace setter. (For those of you outside of the "text speak" world, BFF stands for "best friend forever").

To be honest, at this point I just want to get it over with. I have now been in training for 9 months. That is the longest amount of time I have focused on running since 1994. So, whatever the outcome of this race, I can be proud of sticking with a training program for as long as I have. After this race is over, I will sleep in on Saturday mornings. I will go hiking with Scout. And I will run when, where, how far, and however fast I want to just because I feel like it, not because my training plan dictates it. Most of all, I am looking forward to having time on the weekends and after work to ride the tandem with Sargent.

Thanks to all of you who have supported me through this journey. Your words of encouragement mean more than you know. If you recall, I began this blog and this training program in part as a tribute to my late coach, Rob Luecke. His spirit has truly been an inspiration to me over the miles of roads and trails. And so, on Sunday, I will not only have my BFF running along side me, but Coach Luecke as well (standing at intersections w/ a stop watch and yelling out splits, no doubt).

If you have not had a chance to contribute to the Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship, there is a link on the main page of this blog. Yep, just over there to the right and up a little. Please be sure write "Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship" in the comments area for the online donation or on the memo line of you check if you like to contribute the old fashioned way. Either way you choose, THANK YOU!

I will post an update after the race. Again, thank you all so much for your support!

Missing U

2008-08-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

My boy is in Italy for the next 2 weeks and I am missing him. He's only been gone for 2 days, but quite frankly it's boring without him. I sometimes need alone time, but knowing I have another week and a half of aloneness does not help the missing part. I miss the anticipation of him coming in the door after work. I miss the sound of him puttering around in his bike room. I miss him asking if he can have another Kung Foo Panda (gummy bear type product). I miss the smell of his skin.

2 weeks to GO TIME

2008-08-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks for bearing with me as I attempted to post the slide show from Photobucket. I apologize to all of you who receive a notification email when I post a new blog. I'm guessing you received three or more updates clogging up your inbox. Sorry about that. Technical difficulties.

To finish my blog from two weeks ago... I had one of the best birthdays ever! Sargent, Scout and I camped in the national forest about two miles from the town of Alma, CO and about 2 miles from the base of Mt. Bross. It was the most picturesque location... a mountain lake, sounds of a stream and waterfall, old mine tailings and out-buildings, all nestled in a little valley. It rained hard in the night, and we were worried for a bit that we might get washed away being so close to the lake and clearly in the flood plain. I should say Sargent worried, as I had my one beer and a Tylenol PM so I wasn't worried about anything. The sunrise the next morning was something from a John Fielder picture book. You can see for yourself in the slide show. I cannot put into words how lovely it was. Sargent slept through most of the sunrise, as he was up fretting about the rain all night, while I slept soundly in my chemical induced coma.

After a breakfast of hot coffee, oatmeal for me and stale pizza for Sargent, we started our hike up Mt. Bross. Again, you can see from the pictures just how awesomely amazing it was. I will stop describing it as I use words like "awesomely" which we all can do without.

Training - this last week was one of recovery for me, and I needed it. I have been having a lot of tension and pain in my neck and shoulders. I saw an acupuncturist / cranial massage person on Thursday, and went to the chiropractor on Friday. Needless to say, I was a mess. My neck hurt so bad it was hard for me to hold my head up, and my shoulders so tight they were nearly touching my ears. My regular massage person, Nancy, is out of town, so I had to see someone else. Sorry for cheating on you, Nancy. I feel a lot better today, but I'm nowhere near 100%. I have another week of chiropractic care, acupuncture, and massage to get me on the right track.

I have just two weeks to go until the marathon in Washington. As I said in the last post, training has gone very well, but I've been racing like crap. I think I have a good plan to get me through the marathon in Boston qualifying time, but we'll see. Tomorrow morning I'm planning on running 18 with Scout. The weather is great and it will be cool enough for Scout to run with me. It's been a while since she has been able to do the long runs because of the heat. But now we have a break in the heat and have even had some rain, so all is well.

Mt. Bross, August 2008

2008-08-23T12:48:00.001-07:00

Rocky Mountain high...

2008-08-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hello from Mt. Bross, 14,127 feet above sea level! What a wonderful week. I've been so busy enjoying myself that I haven't had time to post. So, to all of you checking weekly (I had been updating nearly every week), I apologize.

The good week (long weekend, actually) began on Friday. I took the day off of work to paint the blue oyster cult bathroom in the basement. For those of you whom we have had the pleasure of hosting in our home, you can't forget the blue blue blue bathroom (not to be confused with the flamingo pink on the main floor). Well, I hated it. Sargent and I had talked till we were blue in the face (yep, like the bathroom) about remodeling it, adding in a nice soaker tub (for me :), some heated tiles, redoing the shower, nice lighting, etc... Of course Sargent, the logical one in this partnership, always brings up money in this conversation and ruins it for me. I'm a fly by the seat of my pants sort of girl. If I decide I want to do something, my first instinct is to react and just do it, and then stop and think about it (and how to pay for it) later. For example, the Denver Dumb Friends League (dog shelter) was at my work last week with dogs for adoption. I knew they were going to be there, and had marked it on my calendar at work as a "meeting" so I could go outside and pet the dogs. The first dog they brought out was a 6 month old Cattle dog/Border Collie mix. He was adorable. I immediately named him "Jem", as in Scout's brother in To Kill a Mockingbird, took pictures on my phone and sent them to Sargent. At first he thought I was just kidding around, but then he realized I was seriously considering bringing this dog home. His response was "we need to talk". And talk we did. He brought up lots of really good points about why we can't have another dog right now. Jem didn't have any training and would take up lots of time. Both of us would be gone a lot in August and September, work is really busy in those months, I'm trying to train for a marathon, and of course the money thing about how much we have spent on Scout's no goose chasing training, and this dog's training would be even more extensive, etc. , etc., etc., Yes, Yes, I know. These are all really good points. But I want him! (Can you hear the whiny intonation in my voice?) This is how many things work in our relationship. I say I want something and Sargent goes and does a spreadsheet on it, running comps and analysis this way and that. Then three days later he tells me its a crazy idea. And you know what, his spreadsheet is usually right.

So anyway, after numerous conversations and 3 estimates from contractors, I have put down the bathroom remodel torch. A coat of primer and another two coats of paint have turned my blue bathroom into one of "Gray Frost". Now I'm on to the next thing I need...a new refrigerator. I wonder how many different ways you can run analysis on refrigerators...hmmm.

After I spent all day Friday painting the bathroom (ceiling and all), on Saturday I ran the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon. I was all excited for this race. The training has been going well, I seem to be on track. Half-marathons are supposed to be good predictors of marathon finish times, especially if they are run 4-5 weeks prior to the marathon. The timing for this one was perfect. My strategy for this race was to make myself start out slowly, about 30 seconds per mile slower than my target finishing pace, and slowly get my average pace down to a reasonable race pace. If you remember, the last half marathon was a disaster because I ran much too fast in the first 5 miles. This time I wasn't about to make that mistake. So I ran the first mile in 8:28, mile 2 in 8:20. So far so good. A nice and steady pace increase is certainly something I can handle. I do it in training all the time. Yeah, well, that didn't happen. Looking back, I believe I can pinpoint the problem to how I had my Garmin set up. I had it set to show my average pace and not actual pace, so although the first two miles were right on pace, the next 5 were way to fast. I didn't know it at the time, but definitely felt it at mile 10 and 11. So in the end, my Garmin showed I ran a 1:48, but the posting time was 1:52. I'm not exactly sure why these times were so far apart, as I didn't start more than a minute from the front. So I'll split the difference and call it 1:50. Still, that's 5 minutes slower than I had anticipated.

I'm very frustrated with my races this year. Training has gone really well, but in races I suck. I'm going to have to pull my head out of my arse before I get to the starting line on Sept. 7th.

I'm going to end this blog now because I need to log in to work. I told you August is a busy time. Be sure to check back soon as I will post many more pictures from camping and hiking Mt. Bross.

The Curious Incident of the Window Fan in the Nighttime

2008-08-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

The human body is equipped with a wondrous network of neurons. Working in synchronicity, these neurons send messages all throughout the body, allowing us to perceive and respond to the surrounding environment. My sensory neurons were firing on all cylinders last night, when at 3 a.m., the fan in the window above our bed abruptly fell right on top of us. Both of us, awakened out of a dead sleep, sat up yelling, frightened, clutching each other, wondering out loud what the @#$% is going on. To top it off, Sargent had his room darkening eye patch on (like the one in this picture with Emily), so he couldn't see what just hit him in the head, which only intensified the fear. Finally I took off his eye patch so he could open his eyes. At the time, I don't think he realized that he had it on. Perhaps he thought that whatever hit him in the head made him blind? However, once he was able to see it was just the fan, he casually put the fan back in the window and went right back to sleep. Sleep! Are you crazy! I was so freaked out there was no way I could sleep. Every neuron in my body was firing at full throttle. I was seeing and perceiving things that weren't there, shaking so much the whole bed was shaking. I was certain that there was someone in the room that pulled that window fan down on top of us. Little did I know it was actually Sargent who, while sleeping, somehow got his long arm wrapped around the cord and pulled it down. So, there was no more sleeping for me. Just lying there, awake, rigid with fear...until my alarm went off at 4 a.m.

You see, today was my long run. Scheduled to do 18-22 miles, I knew that I needed a very early start in order to avoid running the last miles in the heat. Denver has set a new record for the longest number of consecutive days above 90, and today was to be no exception. I had planned to be up at 4:00 and running by 4:30. However, the fan incident had scared me so much, I had absolutely no desire to go running around outside alone and in the dark. Sargent knew this when I turned off my alarm instead of hitting snooze and did not get up. So, the gentleman he is, he got out of bed at 4 a.m., went through the house and turned on all of the lights so I would feel comfortable enough to come out of the bedroom. Then, get this...he got on his bike and rode with me in the dark while I ran. This made me a very happy girl.

So with Sargent by my side, I ran 21 miles. My goal was to keep it slow, like Scott and my online coach dude said to do. My average pace for the distance was 9:38 min/mile, which ends up being about a minute to a minute and a half slower than race pace. I felt good throughout most of the run, up until mile 18 that is, when Sargent tried to kill me with moldy water. Sargent had carried an extra water bottle on his bike so I could refill my handheld without having to stop at a gas station or water fountain. It seems that the bottle he chose to carry already had some water in it...from "two days ago", he says. More like two weeks in 90+ degree temps I say. So at 4 in the morning, he did the easy thing and just added a few ice cubes. At mile 18, I proceeded to refill my water bottle from his, and took a nice big drink. Yuck! I spit it out and almost puked in the process. In my 'I've already run 18 miles' brain, this was too much. I was convinced he was trying to kill me. Then I got all pissy and started running much faster than I was supposed to. I overreacted and thought I was going to die because now where was I supposed to get water? Of course there was a perfectly good water fountain just a mile down the trail, and I knew this, but no, I needed to have my little temper tantrum. This doesn't sound like me, does it? Anyone? Once Sargent admitted that yes, in fact he was trying to kill me (I'm sure he wanted to at that point), I was just fine, and finished out my run without further incident. By 8:00 a.m., I had completed my long run, and Sargent got in a 3 hour bike ride (with a grand total of 300 pedal strokes, mind you).

After a big breakfast of waffles, eggs, and sausage, followed by a long nap, we took the dogs to a nearby pond to swim. I say "dogs" plural because we are watching my cousin Anne's dog, Lady, for the next week. They had a blast and were thoroughly worn out by the time we got home. Lady is the dog on the left. Tomorrow I am looking forward to an hour and a half massage, and then finding somewhere cool to hang out for the rest of the day. Hmmm, the mall?

Dragon Boats and a Fast Finish

2008-07-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again...festivals, festivals, and more festivals! On Sunday, Sargent and I met our friends Scott and Kathleen (see wedding photos in the 'Blogolicious' post) at the 8th annual Dragon Boat Festival on Sloan's Lake. Teams in four different divisions - Competitive, Corporate, Novice, and Youth - competed for the top prizes (not sure what the they were, but I'm sure there were some prizes) in the Dragon Boat races. The boats were really cool, certainly not something you see every day. It makes me wonder...were do they store these things, and do they just bring them out once a year for this festival?

Actually, the most interesting thing I saw at the festival was in the "dance" tent, if that is what you would call it. A DJ was spinning the music and providing some sort of commentary? on the action on the floor. The dancers? were spinning, flipping, and flopping, all to the rhythm of the music. Break dancing? Wasn't that in and hip in the 80's? Or was that the 90's? Anyway, now it is new and improved and called something else, I'm sure, although I'm not sure what. I was greatly impressed by the kinesthetic sense needed to do something like this. This is definitely not something found in my genes, which is probably why I am in such awe. I would look like I had a serious medical (or mental) condition if I tried something like that, not to mention that doing something like that would cause me to have a serious medical condition. Good thing I'm old enough to know better. I found this video on You Tube, which is, for the most part, what we saw on Sunday. Take a look.

I was very happy with my training this week. Monday was a recovery day, with 4 miles at a nice easy pace. Tuesday was off, and Wednesday consisted of 6 miles at race pace with one mile warm up and one mile cool down. I did strides on Thursday, and Saturday was my first 'fast finish' long run. For this run, I ran 10 miles at about 9:22 min / mile, the next 6 at 8:10 min / mile, and mile 17 as a cool down. I felt really good the entire run, and was quite pleased. Then on Sunday, Ironman Scott told me that I was running my long runs too fast, and that when Coach McMillan (the guy I paid $99 to write me a training plan) says to run the first part of your fast finish long run at 1:30 - 2:00 min. per mile slower than race pace, he means it. So this week I'll push hard on my interval workouts during the week, and just take it nice and slow for my 18-22 miler on Saturday. The bad thing about running those long runs so slowly is that it takes up so much time. To get in 22 miles at 10:00 min. / mile (my race pace is technically 8:20-8:30/mile), I will have to start running at 4:30 a.m. to avoid the heat. Ouch!

Scout got to run with me again this week, on all runs except for the long run on Saturday. She does not enjoy the heat, and I worry that I cannot carry enough water for both of us on the long runs. This translates into me not drinking enough so I can conserve for her, and then I get dehydrated and that is no good either. So she can go along for 8 miles or less. Anything over 8 and she stays home for at least part of the run.

Volunteer pet therapy dog Scout spent some time yesterday and today raising the spirits of patients at the hospice and the hospital. She seems to enjoy the hospice better. Perhaps she recognizes the peacefulness of the hospice environment, the transition to another life stage of the patients she sees there, the finality of the moment. Yes, yes, I know. I'm projecting. Dog's don't have a sense of past, present, and future. But Scout the pet therapy dog becomes tranquil and calm upon entering the doors of the hospice. She knows her job is to stand there and be petted, loved on, cried on, and talked to. Her job is to allow these patients the space to be true to themselves, to reflect upon their lives without the fear of judgement. Good girl, Scout.

Sweet 16 w/ Dick Francis; The great escape

2008-07-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

I was all alone for my 16 miler on Saturday, as Scout was still on paw rest (much to her dismay)and Nancy was running with her club. I again returned to the wide open spaces of the Colton and Doudy Draw trails. I like this trail because you begin running west, towards the mountains illuminated by the rising sun. The first mile is a killer, straight up right from the car. After that, the uphill becomes more manageable until about mile 3 when it becomes more or less rolling hills.

I began my run at 6am, knowing the heat was going to kick into overdrive that day. It was a gorgeous morning, and as I ran, Dick Francis told me a story about a race horse, some shady business deals at Cheltenham and New Market race tracks in England, and how his main character saved the day and won the lady. Sound familiar, Dick Francis fans? About 10 miles into my run, I was beginning to feel the heat of the day, and my water bottle showed that it was a bit on the low side. Hmmm....what would Dick Francis do? Knowing that there was no where to fill up, I did not delay, but high tailed it up the trail. I ended up on empty with about 3 miles to go, and now it was 8:00 and really getting hot. Lucky for me, the last 3 miles were all down hill, and I coasted in on fumes. All in all, I averaged 9:34 pace, about 10 seconds faster than the previous Saturday.

The rest of the day I was shot. I ate breakfast, took a nap, woke up, took in some fluids, slept some more, drank more liquids, relocated to the basement (too hot upstairs), continued my nap, and more of the same. I was clearly dehydrated and probably had a touch of heat exhaustion.

Today, Sunday, I said "enough of the heat", and escaped to the good ol' Rocky Mountains. Previously I had purchased some "Mushers Secret", an all-natural waxy type substance that "heals and protects" the paws of working and athletic dogs. Scout convinced me that the "Secret" had done the trick, and she was ready for a hike.

We loaded in the truck and headed up past Keystone to Chihuahua Gulch. We had done this trail before, last year with Sargent. I first read about it in Canine Colorado, a guide to great Colorado hiking trails for you and your dog. This trail makes its way along the backside of Grays and Torreys 14,000 foot peaks to a glacial lake at 12,200 feet. For the most part, the trail is an old jeep road cris-crossed numerous times by streams. Along the way, beaver ponds and rock scree keep the hike interesting. Scout had a blast, running, jumping, splashing, and cavorting all along the route. She often ran ahead, looking for critters to chase and good smells to follow, but frequently "checked in" to make sure I was still following along. At one point, she had run quite a distance ahead of me when I came to a stream crossing. As I slowly picked my way across the nearly knee deep, fast moving, glacially cold stream, she came galloping back for her check in and... SPLASH..."what's taking you so long?" The pictures in this posting are all of our hike today in Chihauhau Gulch.

Although I had escaped the heat for a while today, when I returned home at about 6:00 p.m., the indoor/outdoor themometer read 98 outside, and a cool 91 inside. Brick house = brick oven. I think I'll ask Sargent for an air conditioner for my birthday.

Injured Reserve

2008-07-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

Poor Scout is on the injured reserve list. On our 14 mile trail run on Saturday, she literally ran her little foot pads off. The true companion that she is, she gave no indication that she was in pain while on the Saturday run. It was only later that evening that she showed tenderness in her feet. Today, Monday, she seems just fine. Playing in the yard with her toys, you would guess that nothing is amiss. She is running and jumping like usual. The pads on her feet, however, tell the story of many prairie dogs chased, mucho miles of rough, unforgiving land covered. She is off of running for this week. We will re-assess the situation next Saturday.

Scout is pissed about this. She woefully endures nightly applications of "Tuff Feet - A dog is only as good as it's feet" topical medication. To top it off, her fantasy Tour de France team "Team Scout" has moved to last in the league standings. It seems her tour riders are acting in sympathy and riding as if they are injured as well. What a rough week to be a dog.

Dogs have an amazing capacity for loyalty, one which far surpasses that of human relationships. Scout's willingness to continue running on Saturday reminds me of another true companion - my best boy, Caesar. After months and months of tests, xrays, and vet visits, at the age of 10 1/2, Caesar was diagnosed with bone cancer. Although in obvious pain, he continued to follow me from room to room, trudging around on his splinted leg. Up until the very end, the little stump of his tail still wagged, his butt still wiggled, he had a smile on his face, and he would lick you to death if you let him. He was a true companion - with me through all of the toughest times of my life - my one constant... And he remains with me in spirit. Rest in peace, my baby Caesar.

Wow...did I just have a good cry while posting this blog.

Mozart Under the Moonlight

2008-07-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night, Sargent and I attended Mozart Under the Moonlight at the Arvada Center Amphitheatre. Although the day was hot, the evening was perfect for watching the Colorado Symphony Orchestra perform outdoors under a cloudless sky. Sargent has become increasingly interested in classical music, often listening to it at his desk at work. I must say, it is quite relaxing. He has it on his non-I-Pod, and we listen to it at night while falling asleep, each using one ear bud of the headphones.

This afternoon, I finally mowed the lawn after almost 3 weeks. It has been outrageously hot and dry in CO this summer, the driest on record in quite some time according to the people who keep track of those things. We increased our watering time so the grass has some semblance of green. The spots that got enough water grew quite a bit, but other areas are still brown. So, our lawn looked like it had mange, with long tufts of green mixed with short, brown, crusty areas. Now that I mowed the longish bits, it now just looks spotted. Oh well, it is just grass. Once I get my water bill, I'm sure I'll be in shock and will shut down watering all together and all of my efforts to date will be in vain.

Training - this was a good week for training. On Monday evening after my last blog post, I ran 13 miles. Scout didn't run with me because even though it was about 7:00, it was still too hot for a black dog. I feel guilty if I don't take her with me, and wonder what is going through her head when she sees me put on my running shoes but yet she is left at home. I don't really believe that dogs have the ability to reason, but yet we humanize them so much that it is hard to not blend the non-tangential properties.

Wednesday was the Yasso 800 day. This Yasso guy (or girl, I'm not really sure) says that the time you average for half-mile repeats (in minutes and seconds) predicts your finish time in a marathon (hours and minutes). For example, I ran 6 x 800 meters at an average of 3 min. 38 seconds. Yasso says that I should be able to complete a marathon in 3 hours, 38 minutes. This is good news. Technically, he also says that I need to be able do 10 repeats and take that average. I'll work up to that one.

Wednesday was super hot...98 in the shade hot. Of course I didn't get up at 5:30 a.m. to do this speed workout. And, we made plans for the evening for dinner with Anne, Daniel, and Jessie. So, that meant I had to get this workout in after work and before dinner. This was probably the hottest part of the day. Scout and I went to this place I used to take my old Rottweiler, Caesar, to swim. There is a gravel trail around a lake, with the South Platte River running nearby. Scout got to get in the lake and get all wet before we began. Then, as I was running these repeat 800's, she got to get her feet wet and get a drink in the river. She liked it...I did not. I got a bit over heated, and actually had chills during the last three repeats. No good. But I did them, and I ran them in fairly respectable and even times.

Friday was just a short morning run around the neighborhood. Scout loves to run with me in the morning because the squirrels are so active. She is so quick, I'm just waiting for her to catch one some day. Hopefully not, as last year squirrels in Denver were dying from the plague. Yep, the plague.

Today I ran 14.24 miles with Nancy, my wonderful massage therapist and friend. We started at the Colton trailhead and ran up and over the hill to the Greenbelt Plateau and back. The temperature was perfect (we started at 6:30 a.m.). Scout had a blast chasing prairie dogs all over. We even had an encounter with a crazy coyote. The coyote scared Nancy and I, but Scout didn't give it a second glance. After the run, Nancy gave me a massage. I hadn't had a massage for about a month, so I was definitely due. Thanks, Nancy.

Tonight, I sit under the grape arbor typing this blog. It is a gorgeous evening, as most are in Colorado. I can hear the tinkling of the water in the fish pond fountain, see the twinkling of the lights strung high up in the grape arbor, and smell the fresh cut grass (what there was of it). There is a comfort with this life that I haven't experienced in the past. I know that tomorrow I will make breakfast, drink my coffee, and read the Sunday paper. Then I will pull weeds in the front flower beds. After, and as a reward, Sargent and I will ride the tandem bike. Scout will lay around and rest her feet. At night we will drink some wine and prepare for the upcoming week. For a time, contentment can be a blessing, a security. Over time, it can be like a rut, holding you back from exploration and opportunity. If you know me, blog readers, you know that I am not good with ruts. Like getting your front wheel stuck in a washout, a slight wave of panic ensues, and you know that adjustments need to be made or you're going down. Now this may be a little dramatic, but you know what I mean. I'm already planning some epic hikes up the 14,000 foot peaks of Colorado this summer. I'll travel to Seattle to see my friend, Heather, and run a little race while I'm there. I'll try to explore new areas of the Colorado mountains that I haven't been before. These things keep me out of the rut, out of the mundane contentedness that can bring you down.

Look, Ryan, an update!

2008-07-07T15:36:00.000-07:00

I hear you. I hear you saying I suck at keeping this blog updated. You're sick of checking in and finding nothing new. I guess the "blogolicous" post was enough satiate your demand for Renee & Scout updates for a couple of weeks, but that just doesn't cut it. You're right. The month of June was paltry in terms of blog postings. Just two. Pathetic. All right. I vow to be better in July. Afterall, you need something to do at work, right?

Training - I have now completed three weeks of a 12 week training program. This program is supposed to be my golden ticket to Boston. After all, I paid $99 for it, so it better work...as long as I actually put in the work ;) So, after three weeks, I would describe my relationship with this $99 training program as "rocky".

Week one started while I was on the family vacation, so I only got in 22 miles. 12 of those 22 were done in one long run. My notes say I felt good that day and ran at 9:22 pace (well within the plan recommended pace of 8:44 - 9:44).

Week two totaled 33 miles, with one tempo day, one stride day, a (not so long) long run of 7 miles (was supposed to be 12) followed by 6 miles at 8:40 pace the next day. On Saturday, my scheduled long run day, I felt really tired. Perhaps it was the tempo run (4 miles @ 7:36 w/ 2 warm up and 2 cool down) that left me fatigued. I'm not sure, but I'll watch it in the coming weeks. So, I only ran 7 of the 12. However, the next day I ran 6 at just 10 seconds slower than race pace, and I felt really good.

Week three was a shorter week with only 23 miles. This week was really hot, so I found it difficult to find a good time to run. If you know me at all, you know I am NOT a morning person, so getting up at 5:30 to do a run while the air is cool is not high on my list. I'll blame it on Scout. She likes to sleep in like nobody's business.

So, week four and it looks like I'm already playing catch-up. Today - tonight now, as it is - I will have to do my long run. Yesterday we hiked about 8 miles, but that doesn't really count. It counts for Scout, however, as she probably hiked (ran, jumped, chased critters, swam) about 25 miles. I should have hooked her up to a GPS and mapped it. That would be funny. Anyway, Scout's off the hook for tonight's run. She gets to stay home with Sargent and rest her little feet.

Speaking of Scout (since it is her blog too)...she's finally become "official" on the list of Pet Therapy dogs volunteering at the hospital. What a process! More of a process for me, really. Scout had to have two days of training and two behavior checks to make sure she wasn't going to bite anyone. I, on the other hand, had to have something like 6 months of training before the organizers even wanted to see Scout. Maybe they thought I was going to bite someone. I told Scout that even if she didn't like it, she had to pretend since it took what seemed like FOREVER to get approved. Look at that...she even has her own little photo ID badge.

Blogolicious

2008-06-21T18:16:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...I've been neglecting you, my faithful blog readers. So tonight you are getting a mack daddy blog, the most blogolicious of all blogs to date. A lot has happened since my last blog on June 3. I'll put the details in titled segments so you can skip the parts of which you are not interested.

June 8 - Rocky Mountain Half Marathon - Ok, I've had enough of the cold and rain on race day. A gorgeous week turned to crap on this particular Sunday. Hmmm...sounds familiar. Planning on using my time in this half as a platform for then next 13 weeks of training, I was looking forward to seeing how I could do. However, a minor mental breakdown set off by weather induced flashbacks from Brookings set me into a tailspin. I ran a good 10 minutes slower than expected based on training runs. Is it possible to get mental hypothermia? If so, I had it. I felt fatigued almost from the start although I believe that I had plenty of rest. I do know that I started off faster than I should have (surprise surprise), and had no idea what my actual pace was through the first 5 miles or so through the downtown Denver streets. It seems my Garmin does not like tall buildings and takes on a crazy bounce. I was getting pace readings of 3 min/mile while going up hill, followed by 20 some min/mile (slow walk pace) while going downhill. Regardless of the Garmin and my own poor pace setting, I felt like the weather...CRAP. What did I learn from this? 1) Start off slower (this is an ongoing lesson for me); 2) don't wear the Garmin and just let my body dictate the pace; 3) don't worry about the stupid weather; 4) HAVE FUN.

June 14 - Scott & Kathleen's Wedding - Absolutely gorgeous! Scott & Kathleen have been friends of ours for a number of years. Scott and Sargent met while training for an Ironman triathlon, and Scott and Kathleen met while training for a race. The wedding was held at Red Rocks, a perfect setting for the union of two remarkable people. Scott and Kathleen are Scout's wonderful caretakers when we go out of town. We were glad to be able to share this lovely day with them. I've added the song "The Story" to the playlist in honor of this couple. The song was sung at the wedding. Enjoy the pics.

June 16-20 - Family Road Trip - Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon Dam, Arches National Park - My dad, step mom, sister Lori, niece Emily and I all loaded up my dad's minivan and drove through CO, UT, and AZ to take in the sights. The whirlwind tour (not to be confused with the Grizwald's Vacation) brought us to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for a nice look a the big ditch, the Glen Canyon Dam of Lake Powell creation for a dam tour and some dam pictures, and Arches National Park near Moab. The trip allowed us to spend some quality time together without the distractions of everyday life. This is something I can't readily do since I live 700 miles away from the rest of my immediate family. Thanks, Dad, for getting us all together and making this trip happen. (My dad is good like that).

Training Plan (aptly labeled "part deux") - I finally received my training plan. I ordered this 12 week plan over a month ago from Greg McMillan at http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/ After 4 weeks of anticipation, the plan arrived. He has laid out a good mix of speed work, distance, and recovery runs. I'll follow this plan to the best of my ability, I'll stay within his expertly guided pace zones and hopefully the results I am looking for will come to fruition.

Back in the saddle again

2008-06-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

Sargent's been bugging me for a couple of weeks to post a blog. It seems he is sick of seeing himself all stretched out with Scout as the first thing that pops up when opening this blog. I guess I've been holding off because I'm not sure what you want to know.
After Brookings I took a week off of running. I was planning on doing a 10 mile race in Durango on May 23rd but my calves were still shot from being cramped for 15 miles. I just re-read that sentence...it sounds like a scene from a cattle drive in which things go terribly wrong and the baby cows have to be put out of their misery. Anyway, a hilly race just wasn't in the cards for that weekend. So Scout and I hung out while Sargent and his friends did some riding and racing.

Here are some great pictures from the weekend. The first one is of the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde. The others are of the sun setting behind the Collegiate Peaks just north of Salida near Buena Vista.

I've been doing some easy runs - from 3 to 8 miles with a couple of tempo runs worked in there this week and last. I hope to do the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon on June 8th. My goal for that race is just to see where I am fitness wise and hope my legs hold out and don't seize up. After that, I'll focus on training for the Skagit Flats Marathon in Burlington, WA on Sept. 7th.

One more picture for the album...this is my cousin Anne's new baby, Jessie. Isn't she just the cutest little peanut? She was only a couple of hours old in this picture. I have some of her with the proud new parents too but they might not want me to post them for all to see. Jessie won't object...at least not until she becomes a teenager.

Sargent & Scout stretching it out

2008-05-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

This picture just cracks me up.

Next race...Skagit Flats Marathon September 7, 2008

2008-05-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

I decided on the next marathon...Skagit Flats in Burlington, WA on Sunday, September 7, 2008. http://www.skagitflatsmarathon.com/ This is a "flat and fast" out and back course with elevation ranges from 16 to 44 feet. Good thing I'm training at altitude! The race is about 1 hour from my friend Heather's in Seattle. Heather will run the race too.

With a September race, I can embark on a 12 week training program that includes some additional speed work and negative split long runs. For all of you non-runners, a negative split long run means that I will start out approximately 1 min per mile slower than race pace and get progressively faster, finishing the long run at up to 30 seconds faster per mile than race pace. This will be a change from my last training plan where I only ran slow and easy long runs. I'll also add in 1-2 quality speed workouts per week.

Scout and I did our first run since the cramp fest in Brookings. We felt really good for the most part (Scout better than I). My calves were really sore and tight, probably because they were the first to cramp up on me in Brookings, and thus the longest in that constricted state. Scout is chomping at the bit to get out there and do some more training. We'll have to make the switch to early morning runs as the temperature will start heating up here soon. Wish us luck!

THANK YOU to the BEST support crew!

2008-05-10T15:36:00.000-07:00

Wow, am I blessed! I have the most wonderfully loving and supportive friends and family. Although today just wasn’t my day, their love and support did not waiver. By far, I had the best cheering crew of any other runner out there. Mile after mile, while the rain came down in sheets and the temperature hovered near 40, they were there. Visible in their bright orange shirts emblazoned with words of support, I was able to spot my courageous cheerleaders ahead on the road. Thank you, Lori, for having the shirts made. A HUGE thank you to my husband, Sargent, who drove with Scout out from CO to be here, my mom, Patty, dad Topper, sister Lori, brother-in-law Mike, niece Emily, and nephews Mark and Rob who spent their 12th birthday out in the rain and cold cheering me on. Also, my cousin Lisa and her son Jade came down from Redfield, my uncle Tom from Aberdeen, and high school friends Jonna and Kris from Groton all braved the elements to be by my side. I am so honored to be a part of this group. I am also very sad that I kept them out in the cold for so long and was not able to celebrate with them at the finish line. For that I do say “I’m sorry”.

Although the race started off well, it quickly went down hill when I began cramping at around mile 7. I was right on pace, and continued to stay on pace (more or less) until mile 11 when both legs (quad, hamstring and calf) and left shoulder seized up. My numb feet felt like bricks, although bricks might have been better because as far as I know, bricks don’t have muscles that cramp. The numbness didn’t stop them from cramping either.

I believe there were a number of factors that contributed to my poor body condition. The stomach bug that I had been fighting since Sunday left me weak and 3 pounds lighter. I was not able to produce enough heat to avoid hypothermia. Somewhere around mile 18, I said to my brother-in-law, Mike, “I think I’m a little hypothermic”. He laughed and said something like “I think you’re way past that.” I continued on until just after mile 21. Knowing there would be no way I could continue on for 5 more miles (at the shuffling pace I was working on at that time, it would be at least one more hour in the cold and rain), and wanting to avoid any permanent damage, I got in the van with my dad and Mike and drove back to the hotel.

When I got out of the van at the hotel, everyone was waiting for me. My biggest fear was that they would be disappointed in me. After all, they sacrificed a lot to be there for me. I’m guessing that each supporter there had something better they could have done this weekend that didn’t require standing out in the rain and cold. However, I was showered with hugs, kisses, words of support, and even flowers (thanks Lisa and Jade for the roses). For this and everything else you have done for me over the years, I can’t thank you enough.

So what's next? I will recover for a couple of weeks, hire a coach, select another marathon sometime in September or October (hopefully not one that will be cold and rainy), and try again. I'll continue to post on my blog for anyone who wants to read it. Again, I can't thank everyone enough for all of the love and support I have felt over the last four months, especially today. In addition to the support crew on hand in Brookings, many sent words of encouragement through email, text messages, and voice mail. Thank you (English), Takk (Norwegian), Pidamayado (Dakota Sioux Indian), Bedankt (Dutch), Merci (French), Danke (German), Mahalo (Hawaiian), Toda (Hebrew), Arigato (Japanese), Komapsumnida (Korean), Grazie (Italian), Dhanyabaad (Nepali), and Gracias (Spanish).

Nearly there

2008-05-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

Two more days to race day. Right now they are calling for rain and winds at 15. I'm ok with rain. Not so ok with wind. Oh well, it is what it is. I believe I'm ready, but it's hard to tell. I've had a stomach bug since Sunday. No good. But hopefully I've kept enough nutrients in me to get me through. Running wise I've been taking it easy the past 2 weeks with about 18 miles last week and only about 8 this week. One thing I can say is that I stuck to my training plan for the most part, deviating infrequently and not by much. This in and of itself is a great accomplishment for me. As I stated in my second post titled Training Plan, I am not one follow a training plan to the end. Not on my own, at least.

Regardless of if I qualify for Boston on Saturday or not (reminder, qualifying time for me (read old lady) is 3 hours 45 min.), I still plan on running another marathon in October or November. Originally I had planned to do the Richmond Marathon on Nov. 15th. However, I have a work event the Friday before that I cannot miss. So, I'm looking for another one around that time but not that weekend. For this next marathon and for Boston, I have decided that I need a coach and someone to run with at least 2x per week. To reach the time goals I have set for myself, I need that extra push that I hope coaching will provide.

I will post my results from Brookings on this blog on Saturday evening, so check back then! For now, I bid you all adieu.

Where are they now?

2008-05-03T22:57:00.000-07:00

So the Aberdeen American News runs articles now and then about former area athletes. Titled "Where Are They Now", it highlights the lives and happenings of those they had featured in the paper 20 years ago. I happened to be featured in today's paper. I must say I am very flattered by this because I know there are many more accomplished people from the area that are much more deserving of having their names in print.

Scout and I had a typical Saturday...run, massage, clean house, take nap. Scout has been wondering why we aren't running very far lately. She gives me a look as we end the run like "is that it?" We are both missing Sargent as he is in New Mexico riding his bike, so I've added in this picture. And no, my hair is not orange anymore...or at least I hope it isn't as bad as it is in this picture. Sargent looks cute and there is no gray in his hair. :)

May Day

2008-05-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day! What is the historical significance of May Day? Infoplease.com says May 1st "just might have more holidays than any other day of the year. It's a celebration of Spring. It's a day of political protests. It's a neopagan festival, a saint's feast day, and a day for organized labor. In many countries, it is a national holiday". I remember in childhood making little baskets out of paper cups, filling them with candy, and dropping them on the doorsteps of your friends on May Day. Maybe I'll just buy myself some candy. Sargent is in New Mexico on a cycling trip with his team, but if he was here, I might make him a basket. Instead I'll just buy him some candy. On second thought, I might eat it all before he gets back. Maybe the whole candy thing is a bad idea.

I haven't posted for a while because there is nothing much new on the running front. I've been taking it easy this last week. Last Saturday Scout and I ran 11, then 5 on Wednesday and just 3 today. I may run a few tomorrow and then I plan to run 8 on Saturday. After that, it's just whatever I feel like. My Garmin has been banished until race day. My running routes are programmed into my head and I know exactly how far I've gone and pace doesn't matter at this point in the game, so I don't need it.

On the scholarship front, I think we are making some progress. Jamestown College recently ran an article in the Alumni & Friends newsletter featuring this blog and the Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship. Here is a link to that article. I want to again thank all of you who have donated to the scholarship. Your support means a lot. I will get you an update on what we have raised soon, I promise.

Additions and Changes

2008-04-24T16:46:00.001-07:00

I've made some changes to my blog that you may have noticed...specifically, I included a link to the online donation portal at Jamestown College. When making a donation, please be sure to specify "Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship" in the donor comments section. Thank you all so much for your contributions thus far!
I also changed the profile photo to one that isn't in the snow. I added music. Runner's World article feeds have been added as well for your enjoyment. Also, I made it easier to post a comment. You no longer have to be a Google member to post a comment. So, comment away! Thanks to all who have been reading. I appreciate your support!

Kicker

2008-04-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

Both yesterday and today were gorgeous days. After 2 days recovery from the long run this weekend, Scout and I ran just under 5 miles at Crown Hill Park on Tuesday, just under seven miles today on one of our favorite trails in Golden. Although I took it easy yesterday, today I kicked it up for miles 3-6, averaging just a bit over 8:00 pace. This was my last tempo run as I'll be tapering for the next 2 weeks. This weekend I will run 10-12 followed by 2 weeks of no more than 20 miles.
I've had more than a little anxiety over the past few weeks...have I done enough (quality) training? Will I be able to maintain the pace I need to in order to qualify for Boston? Will the weather be crappy (out of my control)? etc. etc. etc. Tonight I was searching online and found this article at Runner's World which details my fears http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244--10201-1-1X2X3X4-5,00.html
Basically, the experts say that everything that I'm feeling is quite normal. It also says that with the additional carbs and water I need to consume over the next two weeks, I'll be a bloated cow come race day. Nice.

Last long run done!

2008-04-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I completed my last long training run. What was supposed to be 22 miles turned into 23.5 miles, but that is ok. My friend and massage therapist, Nancy, joined me for the last 10. It was a gorgeous day - in the 70's - so I started my run at 6:30 to be done before it got too hot. It was great to have Nancy run with me as it made the last 10 miles much easier. With the 1 1/2 hour massage from Nancy afterward, I'm feeling just fine today. Sargent, Scout and I went for a 6 mile hike this afternoon. I didn't take Scout with me on the long run because I didn't want to push her too far. So today she got a nice hike instead. I think she's ok with that. Oh yeah, I added some of my favorite music to this boring blog.

Tired

2008-04-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling quite sluggish on my runs this past week. I'm guessing this has to do with a combination of a hectic work schedule with late nights and some weekend work and a poor diet. When I am really busy at work, I tend to make poor food choices. I am well aware of this, but taking the time to go to the grocery store and then prepare a healthy meal or snack just seems like one more thing on my plate (no pun intended).
Scout and I ran on Saturday (10 miles) and Sunday (5 miles). Part of each of these runs we did a bit of tempo work, but the sluggishness put a damper on that for the most part. Yesterday (Tuesday) I ran 8 miles - 1 mile w/u and 1 mile c/d with 6 miles at tempo. The first 3 tempo miles were directly into a stiff wind and a bit up hill as I was running in a westerly direction. I struggled to maintain an 8:30 pace. The next 3 miles I had turned around, so an 8:00 pace was much easier to maintain over 3 miles. All in all this was difficult for me. I'm hoping a change in diet and work hours over the coming weeks will allow for an improvement in how I feel. I have 22 scheduled for Saturday, so I need to make some changes quickly.

Snow!

2008-04-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

Snow again...about 3 inches on the ground. No worries, it should be melted by Saturday. This picture is taken in the same location as the one in the last post, just four days ago. This week Scout and I rested on Sunday after our long run on Saturday. I got a massage on Saturday afternoon, then rest on Sunday. I really feel that the massages have saved me this training cycle. Being able to break down that lactic acid build-up and get it out of my muscles has allowed me to recover more quickly. We ran a short recovery run on Monday, and yesterday I went to the gym for my half-mile repeats. This week I did 7x800 at 3:30 (7:00/mile pace) with approximately 3 min recovery between the repeats. I wore my heart rate monitor, so I allowed my heart rate to return to 70-75% max before starting again. If I jogged slowly between repeats, it would take about 3 min to return to 75%. If I stopped or walked, it would take about 30 seconds. I wanted more rest than 30 seconds, so I jogged slowly (11:00 pace). The rest of this week will be one more tempo run - 6 miles at 8:00 pace with 1 mile warm-up and 1 mile cool-down. I'll only do 12 on Saturday and save the 22 mile run for the following weekend. Only 4 weeks to race day. Yikes!

Not too shabby

2008-04-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

Scout and I made it through the 20 miler on Saturday with no major issues. The Garmin says our average pace was 9:00 min./mile exactly. This is after I took off the "slacker guard" and made it record all of the time. I did stop the clock when I was giving Scout water, since she can't drink on the run like I can. I probably only ran one or two miles at the 9:00 pace, with the others being either slower or faster depending on the hills, wind, etc. I'm having issues with Garmin uploading to the computer, so once I get it figured out, I'll post the actual stats and map. We ran from our house west along the Clear Creek path into Golden, through Golden a bit and then back. It's mostly downhill on the way back which I really like. I'm a little sore today, but noting major. Here is a photo of us after the run.

Running at altitude again (head games)

2008-04-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

So this week I was back running at altitude again. In all honesty, before I left I was stoked about running in Hawaii at sea level. I figured that my runs would be at a much faster pace, or at least at less of a perceived fatigue level. How wrong I was! I found it quite difficult to run in the heat and humidity. My pace reflected this by struggling to maintain a 9:00 pace on a good day. Boy would it be a bugger to do Ironman Hawaii in that environment. I have a new found respect for anyone who has done this, especially those that came from the dry air of Colorado, like my friend Scott (Scout's awesome caretaker when we are out of town). So this week back in Colorado was refreshingly nice (cold, but nice :)). Scout and I ran back to back 10's (10 miles on Saturday and 10 on Sunday). Average pace was 8:50 for both runs. I was happy with this since I only managed to run 6x in the 2 weeks we were in Hawaii.

On Tuesday and Thursday, Scout and I ran an easy 4 or 5 in Crown Hill Park w/ no Garmin keeping track of pace or distance. Sometimes I feel like a slave to the Garmin. It's a lifesaver for sure because I would have no concept of pace or much concept of distance without it, but when I wear it it becomes a reminder of how much faster I need to run or how much further I need to go. Alternatively, it can be a great tool. I have run routes that I previously ran before I got the Garmin and realized that they were much further than I thought. It also keeps me on pace since pace has been a big issue for me.

Speaking of pace, I'm still really struggling with "train slow, race fast". This is becoming a theme in this blog as I have posted about it on a few other occasions. Knowing that I have a 20 miler coming up tomorrow, I am again concerned about how fast to take this long run. I've realized that one issue in the past is the way I set up my Garmin. I set it to stop recording when I would stop (or go over 12:00/mile pace). This would allow for stopping for cars, water stops (for me and Scout), dodging other trail users, etc. However, which is the true pace? The one with stops calculated in, or the pace without the stops? On race day, no one will be stopping the clock because I like to walk through the water stops, or because I need to tie my shoes or use the port-a-jon (hopefully not!). So I've changed the settings on my Garmin to record at all times from start to finish. We'll see how that goes tomorrow on the 20 mile run. Stay tuned for the full report!

So anyway, I looked up a bunch of websites quoting "train slow, race fast" or something similar. It seems like as long as I am doing the tempo work once per week along with the long, slow runs on the weekends I'll be fine. Tempo workouts vary from running 0.5 miles at finishing time pace (3:30 for a half mile or 7:00/mile pace ) to running 6-10 miles at race pace (8:00 - 8:30 / mile). Fine...I'm doing that well enough. Wednesday was a treadmill day with 6x 0.5 miles at 7:00 pace with 3 min rest. I'll repeat that for the next two Wednesdays and add one repeat each week to get up to 8. If I could do that all of the time I'd be great. I'm totally comfortable with the middle distance (faster pace & shorter distance) stuff. Clearly you can see a pattern in my self-doubt which is all related to long runs.

Again, this is something that is hard for me to wrap my head around. What makes the fact that I can run 20 miles in 3 hrs 18 min (9:00/mile pace) say that I can run 26.2 in 3:45 or faster (approx. 8:30/mile pace)? I'm playing head games with myself, I know. I'm feeling the pressure as more people (family and friends) show interest, say they are going to be there to watch, etc. Some of you have made your scholarship donations contingent upon my qualifying for Boston. This is great and exactly what I asked for. I'm feeling the pressure, and let the head games begin! Oh yeah, my sister is making up tee shirts for the marathon, so if you are going to to be in Brookings, SD on May 10th and want a crayon orange tee shirt, contact her at lori.wiley@k12.sd.us . The shirts say "run, Renee, run" or something like that on the front, and also say "Inspired to run by Rob Luecke" which is true enough. Maybe I should just shut up and follow coach Luecke's advice and "go have fun out there!" After all, that's what it's all about, right?

Thank you

2008-03-29T15:30:00.001-07:00

I've heard from a few of you after the scholarship letters were sent out. Thank you to all of you who have made donations to the Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship. Even if you are unable to make a donation at this time, I would love to hear from you and get an update on your life. Please post a comment on this blog or email me at reneetastad@hotmail.com.

Maui Wowie

2008-03-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

I've just returned from 2 weeks in Hawaii...what a wonderful vacation! We spent 3 days on the Big Island roaming around the active volcano, and then 10 sun filled days on Maui. We found a great condo in Kihei which served as a home base for snorkeling, boogie boarding, hiking, swimming, beach combing, whale watching, running, biking, and shopping. With all of that fun stuff going on, I didn't get to run as much as I had planned, but I did get in a few runs here and there, including my scheduled 18 miler. I learned the hard way that you must get up early and start your runs by 5:30 in order to be done before it gets too hot. Scout stayed with our friends Scott and Kathleen while we were gone. She ran with Scott in the morning and Kathleen in the afternoon, so she was getting in 2-a-days while I was sitting on the beach. Here are a couple of picutres from our trip.

12 miles easy...off posting for a while

2008-03-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

Scout and I did 12 easy today at about 8:50 pace. I was a little tired from my race with the Jr High boys, but nothing major. I'm leaving in the morning for Maui and will be gone for two weeks, so no posts from me. Scout is staying with our friends Scott and Kathleen. Both Scott and Kathleen are runners, so Scout will continue to get in her miles. Bye for now!

Thai food bad when racing junior high boys...

2008-03-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

Today I had lunch at Swing Thai with my friend, Lauren, and her new baby Lucy. It was wonderful to see her as it had been quite a while. It was especially nice to meet the beautiful Lucy.
So the workout for today was to run 10 miles with the first two at 9 min pace, the next two 8:40, the next two at 8:20, the next three at 8:00, and the last mile a cool down. I started off right on target with miles 1 & 2 at just under 9:00 pace, and miles 3 & 4 right at 8:40 pace. I stopped after mile 4 to stretch for a bit. Just as I was about to begin mile 5, I saw the Wheat Ridge junior high track boys coming up the trail. Well, I wasn't about to be passed like an old lady standing still, so my whole 8:20 pace went out the window and I ran the next three miles at 7:40 pace. They didn't pass me. I settled down to 8:25 pace for miles 8 & 9 because by then the Thai food was wanting to reappear.

Scholarship Info

2008-03-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in earlier posts, the main reason why I began this training program and set my sights on qualifying for the Boston Marathon was to raise pledges for a scholarship to Jamestown College. Now, an account has been set up with the Jamestown College Foundation for the Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship. My goal is to raise $1,000 or more for a student from Groton, SD high school to attend Jamestown College.

Pledges can be made in a number of different ways. Secure online donations can be made at https://jc.yourmembership.com/donations/donate.asp?id=665 - be sure to put "Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship" in the Donor Comments section. Or, checks can be mailed to the Jamestown College Foundation, Attn: Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship, 6082 College Lane, Jamestown, ND 58405.

Another option is to add a little more pressure on me and make your pledge contingent on me making the qualifying time. If you want to do this (and I sincerely hope that some of you will), please post a comment to this blog. I tend to thrive under pressure, so scholarship $$ on the line could certainly work as a motivator.

Some of my former teammates from GHS who were also coached by Rob Luecke will be receiving letters (written by me but mailed by my mom since she is so wonderfully retired) asking for donations. The letter is as follows:

Dear «Insert Name»,

Greetings! During my time at Groton H.S., I had the wonderful opportunity to have you as a teammate. Coached by Rob Luecke, we learned the values of hard work, dedication, and commitment. These values have played an important role in my life, and I trust they have in yours as well. Coach Luecke was instrumental in not only preparing us for the competition ahead, but preparing us for life as well. We learned how to win with confidence and lose with grace. Sadly, Coach Luecke lost his life on December 23, 2007 at the young age of 47. He will always hold a place in my memory, and in my heart.

Coach Luecke and his wife, Becky, both attended Jamestown College (JC) in Jamestown, ND before moving to Groton. I, too, had the opportunity to attend JC after graduation. Jamestown College is often called the “Ivy League of the Region”, not only because of the beautiful campus and community, but because it is one of the finest Liberal Arts colleges in the area. Unfortunately, very few students from GHS attend Jamestown College after graduation. With tuition, room, and board estimated at $19,885 per year, many students and parents from Groton do not even consider Jamestown College as an option. With your help, I would like to be able to make the quality private education of Jamestown College a reality to at least one GHS graduate each year.

As teammates, we learned to work together towards a common goal. We supported each other during practice and at meets, on the field and off. Today, I am asking you to once again join your team, this time in support of the Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship. Our goal is to raise $1,000 for a scholarship to Jamestown College. A fund has been set up through the Jamestown College Foundation to assist us in meeting our goal. Donations can be made through a secure online donation portal. Go to www.jc.edu, click on “Support Jamestown College”, then choose “Scholarship” from the drop down menu. In the “Donor Comments” section, be sure to write “Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship”. Alternatively, you can send a check to Jamestown College Foundation Office, Attn: Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship, 6082 College Lane, Jamestown, ND, 58405.

Because Coach Luecke prepared me to be a runner for life, I am now training to qualify for the 2009 Boston Marathon. The qualifying race I have chosen is the Brookings, SD Marathon on May 10, 2008 in which I must finish in 3 hrs. 45 min. or faster. You can follow my training progress at http://reneeandscoutrun.blogspot.com. Instead of a one time scholarship donation, you may choose to make a pledge based on the number of miles I run in training, my finishing time, or pledge to match a portion of the funds raised only if I qualify for Boston. You can decide.

Please, join together with your teammates once again to remember Coach Rob Luecke through this memorial scholarship. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Renee Tastad McDonald GHS class of 1990
reneetastad@hotmail.com

A good 16 miles

2008-03-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

Finally! A long run that felt good! Scout and I had an excellent run this morning. 16 miles along the Clear Creek path east into Arvada and Westminster.

My average pace was 8:55, so I'm very happy with my ability to keep it nice and slow. This was Scout's longest run to date. She had a nice roll in the yard while I was stretching.

I have more info on the scholarship...more on that in my next post.

33 mile week

2008-03-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

This past week was eventful...Scout and I ran 8 miles at 8:47 pace on Tuesday. On Wednesday I got on the treadmill and did 6x 1/2 mile repeats at 7:35, 7:25, 7:13, 7:13, 7:08, and 7:08 mile pace. Thursday was a recovery day running 4 miles slow (Scout got to run off leash to her heart's content). Saturday was our 15 mile day. The weather on Saturday was HOT for the beginning of March (mid to high 70's). Scout and I started off at about 9:30 a.m. I'm not sure if Scout was tired, not feeling well, if her feet were sore, or if she was too hot, but she was dragging after only 4 miles. I brought her back to the truck so she could rest and continued my run. After the first four miles with Scout at 8:45 pace, I ran the next 8 miles at 9 min pace. Once I got back to the truck, I planned on running the last 3 miles with Scout, but it was too hot (she still has all of her winter fur). So we just walked a mile or so on the trail and drank water. When I got back home, I finished the last 3 miles on roads around my house. So, the 15 miles was drug out over time, but done.

It is official...I actually registered and paid my entrance fee for the Brookings Marathon http://www.brookingsmarathon.com/! Reading the course description, I must say that I am a little concerned about the wind factor. When the course director feels it is necessary to point out where on the course you may be exposed to the wind, and where you might have some protection, it makes me nervous. Plus, I bet I can count on one hand the number of track meets we had in SD and ND in April and May where the wind was not a factor, and that is over a 10 year timeframe! So, with 10 weeks to go, I will train to run a 3:30 marathon (8:00 min/mile pace) so if the wind is a factor, I hope to still be able to pull off a 3:45. My friend Heather, a seasoned marathoner (2 hr. 55 min. Grandma's Marathon 2002) told me that if I could run 8x 1/2 mile repeats at 7:00 pace at 1 month out (by April 10th), I will have no problem running a 3:30. So, I'll shoot for that!

Mentally, I need to focus on the long runs right now. In the following weeks, my long runs will consist of 16, 18, back-to-back 10, 20, and 22 milers. If I can get through these, I know I'll be fine. This is where I have struggled in the past, and I know that both mentally and physically, the long runs will be a challenge for me. I love the tempo work, and I love getting on the treadmill and running fast. I get really bored with the long runs, and just keep thinking "I can run faster than this!". This is where I get into trouble. I need to reframe my mindset during these long runs and challenge myself to run a consistent 9:00 pace, slow enough to be able to sustain for 20+ miles.

14 miles

2008-02-24T08:21:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Scout and I went on our longest run yet...14 miles. My plan was to run a nice, relaxed run along the Clear Creek down to the Ralston Creek heading East. However, as I walked outside and stood in the driveway waiting for my Garmin to find a sattelite, I felt a stiff breeze coming from the NW. So, we changed out plans and ran down to the Clear Creek and followed that trail out to Golden and back. We averaged 8:51 on the run, and I was tired at the end. That was probably a bit too fast, but my excuse is that we had a slight downhill on the way back and a bit of a wind at our backs. That's my story and I'm sticking to it :)

You would think Scout would look like she does in this picture after running 14 miles...tired and relaxed. But no. She was running around the yard like a crazy dog, playing fetch and harassing Lady (my cousin Anne's dog).

I need to get moving on soliciting pledges for the scholarship. I'm not sure that the scholarship will happen this year or next. Graduation at Groton is May 18th, and I should have a dollar amount solidified for this year by May 10th, so it may work. My job for today is to get the contact info from JC for the Foundation staff that can set this up. I don't really want people sending checks to me but would rather have the $$ going directly to the college. I know they have professionals on staff that take care of this stuff. I'll do my research. Also, I need to write letters to Coach Luecke's former athletes telling them of this opportunity. My mom sent me all of their names from yearbooks past so that I didn't have to tax my memory in figuring out who may be interested in contributing. She also agreed to make copies and do the mailing...a regular secretary. Nice. Now if I can convince her to come and live with me and do all of the other stuff I don't like to do...clean, cook, do laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, etc., I'll be set. Mom, doesn't that sound like a good idea? I know you read this so feel free to post a comment with your reply.

Ugh...SICK! and now on the mend

2008-02-21T19:43:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning 3 a.m. I woke up very sick...bad stomach bug. Perhaps the sushi from Saturday night? Not sure... Barfed every 30 min. until early afternoon. Not a pretty sight. I was left very weak and 5 lbs. lighter.

Tuesday I was able to eat a regular meal so I decided to go for a slow and brief run. Scout was happy since she had been laying around since Sunday while I was prone or puking. No Garmin, no time or distance goals, just a run to see how I felt. Surprising well in fact.

Today (Thursday) Scout and I set off for Crown Hill. This is one of my favorite places to run. Today a coyote was running along the trail just in front of us for about a half a mile. I've seen it before on or very near the trail. It seems to be very comfortable around people, which is quite unsettling.

I didn't really know what this run would be like. I wasn't sure if I had fully recovered from the bug or if I would still be weak. As we set out, I didn't look at our pace until after mile one. I was surprised to see it at 8:47 as it is an uphill mile to get to the park. As it turns out, that first mile was our slowest. Over the 9 miles we averaged 8:33 min/mile. I'm very happy with that. It seems that my training in conjunction with a little time off is really working.

All in all, I'm happy with my training so far. I've made a massage appointment to work out those kinks and keep me feeling good. Only 11 weeks to go!

Snowshoe!

2008-02-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I was very happy to have my friend Heather come to Denver for a visit. It was great to see her again. On Saturday we went up near Henderson mine to snowshoe. It was a beautiful day! The trail head was crowded with like-minded individuals, but soon we were off roading it through the trees and all was well. The snow was great! Scout had a wonderful time and was dog-tired at the end of the day. Heather has some pics she took of the day and once she shoots them over, I'll post.

Long, slow runs...

2008-02-13T17:10:00.000-08:00

I'm not a big fan of long, slow runs. The entire time I am supposed to be running at a slow pace, I think "I can run faster than this. What's the matter with me?" And then I speed up and the long run is no longer so slow. But this, evidently, is what gets me into training trouble. I get burned out and then I'm not able to complete the long runs I need to in order to train properly for this marathon. I joined a running club this winter, Runner's Edge of the Rockies. I learned that I should be running all of my long runs at one minute per mile slower than I will be running the marathon. That means I should stay at around 9:30 pace. I've been trying really hard to stick to this plan and not make my runs faster than they should be. Perhaps running the long runs faster than 9:30 pace is a sign that I'm getting better and the training is working?

On Friday, Feb. 8th I ran 5.5 miles around Crown Hill Park. This is a beautiful open space park with an outer loop of 2 miles, and an inner loop around a lake of 1.2 miles. And the entrance to the park is exactly 1 mile from my house. Scout is always an excellent dog in the park, and gets tons of praise from other people as we pass by just because she is heeling nicely. I think they are all just jealous because their dogs pull them all over. Frankly, I can't take any credit for how good Scout is. She came to us last year already trained. We adopted her from the Colorado Prison Trained Canine Companion program http://www.coloradoci.com/ . While in "prison", she learned all of her basic commands (sit, down, come, heel, wait). So my only job was to stay consistent with her training. Makes it easy for me! That day we stayed consistent over all of the miles and ran an even 9:30 pace. Right on target!

Sunday was our longest run yet...12 miles. We started this run at the Golden Spike at I-76 and 54th Ave. in Arvada. We followed the Ralston Creek through Arvada to 72nd and Ward, then turned around and ran back. It was a beautiful day, in the mid 50's and sunny. Lots of people were out with their kids and dogs on the trail. Seeing so many people made the time go by quickly. Scout again was on her best behavior, running right beside me the entire time. Pace? Now this is when I get myself into trouble. Average pace was 9:07 for the 12 miles. Mile over mile was fairly consistent ranging from 8:56 to 9:19. The variance comes from slowing down to get around people hogging up the trail or going around huge puddles of water from the melted snow. You can see by the elevation (indicated in green) that the first 6 miles were slightly uphill. My slowest mile was actually mile 6 at 9:19 and the fastest mile was mile 8 at 8:56. I was tired at the end, but not so much that I couldn't keep running if I had to. Hopefully this is a good sign. And another good thing...no knee pain!

Scholarship

2008-02-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

Here is more information on the scholarship mentioned in my introduction. On December 23, 2007, my high school cross country and track coach, Rob Luecke, passed away at the young age of 47. He left behind a lovely wife, Becky, and three beautiful kids Chelsea, Austin, and Hannah.

Both Rob and Becky attended Jamestown College and moved to Groton shortly after graduation. Rob was a 1st grade teacher and a coach. My first encounter with Coach Luecke was in 7th grade basketball. I don't ever remember having a conversation with my parents (or with myself for that matter) about going out for basketball. I just found out about it from some friends and showed up on the court. Why not? I didn't have anything better to do that day, I guess. Coach Luecke introduced himself and I remember thinking...wow, that white guy has an afro! He had a huge head of curly hair, and a welcome back Kotter mustache. Under that mustache was a perma-grin. He was always smiling.

I remember well that I didn't have a clue as to what I was doing on the basketball court. I couldn't dribble, couldn't pass, couldn't shoot, and definitely couldn't do any of that while moving. All I was good for was running back and forth down the court. So after that very long first season of basketball in 7th grade, Coach Luecke pulled me aside and said "I think you should go out for cross country." You see, he was also the XC coach. Evidently he felt I might have more success doing something that didn't require coordination of any kind. My response was, "but can I still play basketball?" Coach said "No". But of course, as he did this he had a smile on his face.

So I became a runner. Little did I know that this seemingly insignificant moment would have such an impact on my life. Running became part of my identity. It gave me direction and a purpose. I gained confidence in myself where I had little before. Coach Luecke taught me the value of hard work, dedication, committement, and teamwork. I believe these values still hold true for me today. He taught me to push through the pain, when you feel like you cannot run another step, push through just a bit further, and then a little more. Before you know it, you've gone further than you ever have before, or faster, or both. This became somewhat of a metaphor for my life. Work hard, push through the hard part because the pleasure on the other side will be worth it that much more. I learned that even if I didn't win the race, I could still be happy with my self and my performance if I could honestly say I did my best.

I chose Jamestown College after graduation for a couple of reasons. First, it was where Coach Luecke had gone, and I had a great amount of respect for him. Second, I was impressed by Coach Jim Clark and the quality of his women's teams. And third, my mom finally go sick of me messing around so much during my senior year that she handed me the papers for Jamestown and said "sign". This was probably another momentous occasion as I was certainly headed down a shady path during the later part of high school. Having made that committement to college had been enough to make me straighten up. It's amazing the amount of insight a mother can have.

So Jamestown College became my home for the next four years. Coach Clark is an amazing coach. From the very beginning he believes in potential. His recruits aren't always the state champions, the record holders, the best of the best. They are generally an ecclectic mix of accomplished athletes and those that have a lot of room for improvement. Coach Clark can get you to perform at your highest potential through his rigourous training schedule, but also simply by believing in you. He believes that you will do nothing less than your best. And more often than not, that's what he gets.

All of that and you are still wondering why I titled this blog entry "Scholarship". Well, what I would like to do is set up the Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship which will help pay for one Groton student to attend Jamestown College each year. For this year, I would like to collect pledges on the number of miles I am running to train to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Pledges can be made as a certain amount per mile, per leg (because Scout runs with me we have six legs), or a one time $ amount. I expect to run almost 500 miles by May 10th, the qualifying marathon. My total as of today (2/10/08) is 73 miles.

Alternatively, if you are a runner, walker, or cyclist, you can pledge on your own miles instead of mine. I am looking at ways to accept pledges from this site, but I'm not there yet. If you would like to make a pledge, you can respond with a comment to this post, or you can email me at reneemcdonald86@hotmail.com . The cost of Jamestown College for the 2008-2009 academic year is $19,885 for tuition, fees, room and board. That's a hefty amount for most Groton families. My goal is to raise $1000. Let's see if we can do it!

Weekend Runs

2008-02-05T17:38:00.000-08:00

I'm a little behind on my posting, so don't be confused by the post date. I've been trying to get over a head cold for the past week, and it's not getting much better. As I set out for my planned 11 mile run on Saturday 02/02, I realized that it probably was not wise to run this entire distance outside in the cold, feeling as sick as I did. So I ended up running only 6 miles. I began at my house, ran down the Clear Creek trail, around the middle school, along some of my favorite residential streets and then circled back home. The route is quite hilly, and it felt like I was running with a bag over my head, so I was surprised by my pace once I was able to download the information from my Garmin. My average pace was 9:16 min/mile. I hope the Garmin does not lie! Since Scout was not aware that we were supposed to run 11 miles, she was happy with six. Too bad she can't come to the gym to run the rest on the treadmill.

On Sunday, 2/03 I went to the gym to complete the mileage for the week. I decided to do some "speed" work to gauge my fitness at this early stage. After a 2 mile warm-up at 10:00 pace, I did three half-mile repeats at 8:00 pace with half-mile rest periods between at 11:00 pace, followed by 1.5 miles at 10:00 pace. This did not feel bad at all. Perhaps I should be running these repeats faster, or do more of them? I'll have to ask my friend, Scott, who is a marathon coach. The best thing about the gym on Sunday was that everyone was watching the Super Bowl so I had the place to myself. Because it was so empty, I took some time to lift and do some plyometric drills after the treadmill.

Monday was a day off from running. I haven't slept well for the past week or so with this cold, so I was very tired. I fell asleep at about 7:00 and woke up at midnight...just in time to go to bed! Now it is 7:00 on Tuesday night and I'm off to the gym again. It is cold and icy outside, so no running in the dark. Scout has to be ok with just a long walk for today. This is how she entertains herself when she doesn't get to run with me. She's a good dog!

Holy Snow!

2008-02-02T12:48:00.000-08:00

Scout and I started this run at about 5:30 p.m. The sky was overcast with a few small flakes coming down. By the time we got to the Clear Creek trail (1 mile), it was snowing pretty hard. I love to run in the snow. It is very peaceful. My plan was to run 6 miles as we were meeting friends for trivia and beer at 7:00. However, the snow was so gorgeous I decided to keep going and run a few more. However, by the time I turned around at mile 4, the sky was dumping! 2 inches had fallen on the trail in about 40 min, and it was still coming down hard. I had 4 miles to get back home, and the wind was now in my face. So much for the peaceful run! Now it was head down and hammer home. I had to stop under each overpass just to get the crusted snow off of my eyelashes and clean off Scout's face so she could see. Here are some pics taken when we got back.

Average pace for this run was 9:13 min/mile. Miles 1 & 2 were right at 9:00 pace, and miles 3 & 4 were tempo at 8:31 and 8:35. Then I turned around into the wind and ran 9:30's for the next 3. Mile 8 was the slowest at 10:14. As you can see from the elevation, we live on a big hill, so that last mile up is certainly a challenge for me. Hills are not my friends.

Long run #1

2008-02-01T14:59:00.000-08:00

January 26th was my first long run of the training plan. With the Brookings Marathon just 16 weeks away, I'd better get moving. This run was on one of my favorite trails. I call it the Easley trail run because it begins just off Easley Road and 44th Ave. in Golden. Much of the part that I run is a dirt/gravel maintenence road along a drainage ditch. At about mile 3, the trail passes under 64th Ave. and turns to cement. Here it becomes the Ralston Creek path as it travels up and around the Ralston resevoir and then east into Arvada. I like this trail because it is often deserted except for the deer, coyote, and fox in the area. This day was unusually warm for January (53 degrees), so there were more people that usual out on the trail including those hiking, riding horses, and bikepathletes (i.e. bike path racers, weekend spandex wearing warriors). Scout and I made sure to stay out of the way of the bikepathletes.

Average pace over the 10 mile route was 9:28 which is about 1 min. per mile slower than my race pace. Range was 9:00 - 10:13 / mile, with the 10 min mile at mile 5 where you can see from the elevation chart I gained 176 ft. I did not wear my heart rate monitor as it rubs too much on the long runs and hurts. Once I get into speed and hill workouts, I'll wear it more often.

Training Plan

2008-01-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in my introduction that qualifying for the 2009 Boston Marathon was my training goal. To that end, I developed a training plan. If I can figure out how to post this document, I will. The qualifying marathon will be the Brookings Marathon on May 10, 2008. South Dakota is my home state, so I couldn't think of a better place to have my family cheering me on.

I've been running pretty consistently for the past year. Usually I run for a while, then get distracted by mountain biking, hiking, or just plain laziness. So one year going strong is good for me. I joined a running club this past winter, but only made it to a couple of the group runs. I realized that I would rather run with Scout than with a bunch of other people, so that was the end of that.

Sargent (my husband) got me a Garmin Forerunner 305 for Christmas. This thing is great! It is a GPS unit on a wristband that tracks distance, pace, elevation, heart rate, training zones, and provides a map of my route. It also does much more that I have yet to discover. I'll be posting all of my running stats from this (hopefully, if I can figure it out).

I have run a few marathons before, with varied results. The first marathon I ran was Grandma's in 2001. My time was 4:17. The longest run I did to train for this marathon was 6 miles. Needless to say, completing the marathon was painful. I'm lucky I made it to the finish on my feet. Yes, running this without any training was stupid, and I said I would never do a marathon again. But this just proved to me that I could do it, and made me think "what could I do if I actually trained?"

The second marathon was the Dallas White Rock Marathon the following December. See how crazy I can be? The words "I will never do another marathon again" were barely out of my mouth when I signed up for Dallas. I vowed this one would be different. I got on Runner's World and downloaded a training plan. I followed this plan and was feeling pretty good until Thanksgiving. My knee started bothering me. IT band the doctors said. I took a a couple of weeks off and flew into Dallas. I told my friend Heather that it was likely I would drop out if my knee hurt. After all, why risk serious injury just to finish the marathon. The the gun went off and I was running. By mile 6 my knee was beginning to hurt. I told myself I would drop out at 13 where I knew there was a first aid station. Even though I was in quite a bit of pain by mile 13, I ran right through the aid station with full intentions of pulling out at mile 18, where the map showed another Red Cross sign. By mile 18 I was walking quite a bit...limping, rather. But with only 8 miles to go, how could I quit? I decided to "tough it out" until the end. I finished in 4:34 and could not run again for almost 1 year. Yep, pretty stupid.

The third attempt was at the Colorado Marathon in 2003. With a course through the Poudre Canyon, this marathon is one of the most scenic in the country. It is all downhill. What more could I want? Big mistake. For someone with knee or IT band injuries, a downhill race can be a killer. Add that to the twisty, turny, slanted road in the canyon...OUCH! However, I did learn from past mistakes (it certainly took me long enough!). I saw my husband at mile 16, promptly got in the car and went home. From that point on, the longest race I have done has been 13.1 miles.

I would like to think I have been much smarter in my recent training. I generally run no more than 4x per week, do lots of stretching (very important as you get old like me), and purchased a roller. This roller helps to massage out the tender and difficult to stretch IT band area. So far so good!

Introduction

2008-01-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

Here we go! I started this blog for a couple of reasons. First, I do a lot of thinking when I run. It seems my thoughts flow with the most clarity during these runs. Why not have a space to write them down? Think of this as my personal (albeit public) diary. Knowing this, you may exit this site right now... or, if you wish, proceed with caution! :) Secondly, I hope this blog spot will be able to serve a greater cause. Sadly, on December 23, 2007, my high school Cross Country and Track coach, Rob Luecke, lost his life at the young age of 47. He gave me a reason to run, and without him, I would be such a different person. My goal is to set up a pledge site to support a scholarship in his name. More on that later.

As you will see, all of my runs are done with my furry four-legged companion, Scout. We adopted Scout last year, and she has been the best running partner a girl could ask for! A 30 lb. Border Collie mix, she is well suited to running. And unlike human running partners, she doesn't talk during our runs, which clears the air for those "deep thoughts" I mentioned earlier.

My training goal this year is to qualify for the 2009 Boston Marathon. To do this, I must run a time of 3hr. 45 min in a certified "Boston Qualifier" marathon. Throughout my training, I will post my run stats (distance, pace, heart rate, route maps). In addition to these quantifiable units of measure, I will also post the thoughts, insights, and feelings I had during that run. Most of this will be quite mundane, I'm sure. However, writing in this blog may give me a chance to organize my thoughts into something cohesive.

Now you know the reasons why I started this blog. Thank you for joining me.