Running Rules of Thumb

I get emails from Runner's World Magazine. I came across this article and laughed because it really is true. I really like number 10 the best. I am a runner.

Running Rules of Thumb

1. If you see a porta potty with no line, use it. Even if you don't need to.

2. If you have to ask yourself, Does this driver see me? The answer is no.

3. If you have to ask yourself, Are these shorts too short? The answer is yes.

4. 1 glazed doughnut = 2 miles

5. You rarely regret the runs you do; you almost always regret the runs you skip.

6. Not everyone who looks fast really is, and not everyone who looks slow really is.

7. Nobody has ever watched Chariots of Fire from beginning to end. Not even the people who made it.

8. You can never have too many safety pins on your gym bag.

9. Running any given route in the rain makes you feel 50 percent more hard-core than covering the same route on a sunny day.

10. If you care even a little about being called a jogger versus a runner, you're a runner.

Slow, Easy, Great Run

Yesterday on my lunch hour I was able to get in a trail run! Yea!! I was so excited and it was so warm (30 degrees and climbing). I only ran into a few spots of mud. Another thing I did was turn off of the Ipod and let myself get carried away in daydreams as I ran. I use to do this a lot more but lately my runs have been all about, miles, pace, speed intervals, hill, etc.... I haven't just run in a long time and it was so perfect and wonderful. My pace was very slow but still it was great.

Baking Cooking Baking

This weekend I spent many hours in my kitchen and loving it. I made heathly foods for my family.

I made:

Turkey Chilli
Applesauce
Yogurt
Banana Pudding (ok this one is not heathly)
Whole Wheat Corn Bread with ground flax seed
Chicken and Veggie Soup
Whole Wheat Banana Bread with ground flax seed
Whole Wheat Bread
Whole Wheat Sour Dough Bread Bowls

If you want the recipes, leave me a comment and I will post them on my food blog.

Run When You Can

In order to make ends meat I have three jobs. I work a full time job as a paralegal, I am a bookkeeper for a property management company and I also clean for the same property management company. The nice thing about doing the books and the cleaning is that I can do it on my own time. Sometimes I use my lunch hour to do the books or a part of a cleaning job.

That is what happened on Tuesday this week. I really wanted to get some running in so I did it in three different segements. Durning my lunch hour I managed to run a 1/2 mile on my way from work to a cleaning job, did most of the cleaning job, then managed to run another 1 mile or so and finally made it back to work on time. Then after work I did another 2.5 miles and was able to finish the day with a total of 4.1 miles. I don't breaking my runs up but sometimes as a busy working momyou just have to adjust your schedule to get some running time in. I did remember how much I use to love running after work, but with kid that is next to impossible for me. Luckily on most days I can run a full hour on my lunch break.

Today I do plan on running to a house, spraying the oven down, finishing my run and then after the kids are in bed heading back to that house to finish cleaning it. Now if only all of this cleaning would help me lose a pound or two I would be set!

Trails - Not Quite Yet

I run because I love hiking.

Ever since I was a little kid I have loved going for a hike. I was always up for a nature walk, a walk around a lake or park or whatever. If it is was in the woods, on a trail, I was there. As I started working out more and more I started running because running is a good way to burn a lot of calories quickly. I eventually started trail running and that was when I fell in love with the sport. I only run to trail run. I HATE running on the roads. Give me a trail and I am as happy as as can be.

Where I work it is a short run to a recreational area with trails everywhere. They are slowly melting and slowly drying out - but not quite enough for a great run. I headed there for my lunch run yesterday and it started off great. I had a huge smile on because it was so fun. Initially the mud was fun too. But the mud and then the snow got old so I headed out to a dirt road and eventually back to work. It was slow going and I only ran a little over 4 miles at lunch today but it was FUN!

Why Why Why

Please take a minute to read this article on msnbc.com

Now that you have read it - why, why, why on earth would someone strive to be the fattest women on earth????? What is wrong with her? What is going on inside that sick little mind? Also, great example she is for her daughter.

I also loved the part where, even through she cannot walk around like you and I because of how fat she is, she claims to be healthy. If you cannot walk due to your weight, you are NOT healthy.

I just don't get it.

HGTV 2010 Dream Home

Does anyone recognize this picture? If so, it is probably because you entered the HGTV 2010 Dream Home Giveaway. I was entering every single day and I was determined that I was going to win. I was going to change my blog to New Mexico Mama and unlike every other dream home winner we were going to live there. I love the idea of New Mexico, especially after dealing with the cold, cold winters of Gunnison.

Well, since my blog's name is still Colorado Mama it was not meant to be and someone else one. I was hoping until the last minute that they would show up in our driveway or at work to tell us we won.

Still, how cool would it have been to live in this house. Wide, open beautiful views of the mountain, mild winters, the parents and in-laws have their own space, 6 miles of trails around the neighborhood, and a big city less than an hour away. Perfect! Maybe we will have to move to the area anyway!

Half Marathon - Check

Today I went over to Salida and ran the Run Through Time Half Marathon. At the starting area I was upset because my Ipod was not working. I am thinking someone (Mikayla) hit too many buttons on the computer last night and deleted the songs of it.

I started the race with a friend of mine. She was just going to do the 2 mile fun run, but it was nice to have her the first first mile. Then the real work began. The entire 6.5 miles were uphill. We climb about 2000 feet in elevation. This was no easy run and many of us were walking it. I thought to myself quite a few times, this is suppose to be a running race not a walking race. Around mile 4 I found a new wind and the hills were not as big and I was able to run quite a bit more. My average pace to the turnaround was a whopping 13 minutes per mile!

Once I hit the turnaround the fun started because it was all downhill. What I tell myself many times is that what goes up, must come down. For the first 3 or 4 miles I was averaging 9 to 9:30 minutes per mile. Around mile 10 I was starting to feel the miles and the pounding. My legs were hurting, I was feeling some blisters (I am still breaking in my new shoes) and at this point I really wanted my Ipod. I needed some good heart pounding songs to get me through the pain. But instead I had the beautiful scenery to look at. I was in pine trees, looking over Salida and these huge 14ers' were towering above them with snow on top. (Sorry no picture since everyone forgot the camera).

I finished in 2 hours and 34 minutes. My average pace on the uphill was 13 minutes per mile and on the downhill was 10:30 minutes per mile. Overall was 11:38 pace. I am hoping for my next half marathon in Olathe, KS to have a pace of 11 minutes per mile or faster. It is in Kansas so no hills or very minor hills for this one.

Half Marathon

Tomorrow bright and early I am headed over to Salida, Colorado (about 1.5 hours away) for their Run Through Time. This was a last minute decision and my friend, Sherri, is coming with me to do the 2 mile race. It will be fun, WARM, and on fire roads that I have never run before. I can't wait - wish me luck!

I'm Ready for Some Trail Running

I am getting sick and tired of running the good ol' streets of Gunnison. Gunnison is not a very big town so I have probably run every street in town at least once, if not 10 times this past winter. The trails are calling me but yet they are not ready to be run on. I tried today. I got to the closet trail to work and I had three different ways to go, I choose to go straight up this HUGE hill because the was the only way that was snow free. Big mistake because the hill was so big I ended up walking most of it and then I had more snow on top, so much that I could not run I walked it. I finally wound my way down and then I found a short 0.20 trail with NO snow! It was so much fun and I LOVED it. Well then I was done and had to do some more boring miles on the road and in the wind.

Winter I am OVER you and snow - I want you MELTED NOW!!

Unfortunately I have at least one month, maybe 2 more to go because all of the trails are ready to really be run on.

Asics Gel Trail Sensor 2 - Update

Well, I figured out how to wear the shoes without pain. I re-did the laces and skipped an inner lacing and that seems to have solved the problem. I can wear them with no pain. I have not taken them on a run yet because I just figured this out on Monday. I will give the "new" shoes a trial run tomorrow to see how the new lacing works.

13.1 Miles

Yep I did it. I finally ran a half marathon and it was tough. The run started out hard and I really wanted to quit but I kept at it. I had a good mile, a bad mile, a good mile, a forced mile and I am sure you get the point. Once I finally hit 10 miles I knew I could do another 3.1 miles. My total time gone from home was 2 hours and 45 minutes and my total running time as 2 hours and 32 minutes. My average overall pace was 13.38 per mile. Super slow, but in a race I know I will do much better. I also learned that I am not ready for the marathon in April. I will be one day but not right now.

One thing to note is that I never have pain after a long run. I might be a little sore but really nothing to talk about. When I woke up on Monday whenever I would be walking and making a right turn at the same time my knee really hurt. Then at lunch I set out to do an easy slow run on my lunch hour and I could barely make it 10 feet running without feeling this hurting - cannot run through the pain feeling. So I walked back to the office I went do work on some cleaning jobs.

Today I have not felt any pain at all and I am planning on running tomorrow to see how the ol' knee feels. It is also my right knee that I have no issue with so it makes me wonder. It also makes me realize that I am not in my 20's any more. Getting old sucks and I hate it with a passion. If you have found the fountain of youth please let me know because I could sure use some!

I swallowed a rock

Yesterday Mikayla, my 4 1/2 year old, walked up to me with her eyes full of tears and said, "I swallowed a rock and it was purple." I first asked her if she could feel it in her throat and she said no and she could swallow and drink just fine. I said, oh well you will just pooped it out.

Then Dad got involved. Instead of just brushing it off and ignoring the situation (the let's see what happens and what she thinks of on her own approach) he told her that her stomache might hurt and she may feel uncomfortable and then he brought it up through out the day.

Last night we had dinner and Mikayla was very tired and moody. She ate very little at dinner and then she laid down on the couch for a little bit. Shortly there after she started crying and gaging like she was going to throw up so I decided that we should take her to the hospital to get her checked out. I was worried that she would throw up and the rock would come up and choke her.

At the hospital they took an X-ray and there was the rock, sitting in her tummy. They said it was in her small intestines and at this point will just pass right through. So now we are on poop watch and if we don't see it we are going to take her to the hospital late this afternoon for another X-ray to see if it is still there or not.

You know when you need to pay more attention to the kiddos....

Tonight as Joe was getting ready to give the girls a bath he took off Lily's shirt and found this:

Joe said earlier in the day he removed marker from her hands, face, head and hair and I remember washing her hands but we never caught the marker on her tummy!

Asics Gel Trail Sensor 2

With my 2009 tax refund I decided to spend a little bit of that money on new running shoes. These shoes are at least 2 months overdue but due to no money I have not bought a new pair yet. I went to our local store, Treds N Threads. This is an outdoor clothing store. I really wish we had a specialty running shop in town but we don’t and I would have to travel to Denver or Colorado Springs to find one.

I spent about 30 minutes one day and another 20 minutes another day trying to find the perfect shoe. I narrowed it down to two pairs and I decided to buy the Asics Gel Trail Sensor 2. The woman told me there were the Cadillac of Asics and they were on sale for $88.00. I really liked how cushioned they were and I could see a nice easy, soft long run in my future so I bought them.

Now, three runs into it I am not so sure. My first run was about 3 miles and I noticed pain on the top of my foot and I just figured they were tied to tight so I stopped to loosen the laces and then I loosened them too much. Once I took those shoes off I immediately noticed pain on top of my foot. Now after 3 runs I am dealing with pain the day after a run. I have been running every other day to avoid pain during my run.

I did an online search and everyone else loves them, while I am starting to hate them. I can pin point the part of the shoe where the pain is coming from and it is a spot where the laces are different than normal shoes. I wish I had noticed this before I bought them.

I am hoping I just need to break these in some more because I really cannot afford to go and get a new pair. I am starting to hate running shoes!

Kid Air Controller

I am sure many of you read the article or saw this on the Today show this morning:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/35704222#35704222

It is the story about the air controller who bought his son and daughter to work and allowed them to talk to the planes. I am shocked at the outrage over this. All the dad did was allow his kids to tell the planes exacatly what he would tell them. The dad was in controll the entire time. On the link above one of the speakers stated that it was the equivelent of the dad writing an email and letting his kid hit send.

I think as Americas we need to spend our days worrying about things that matter instead of small things like this.

Warm and Sunny Days

Today is beautiful and the sun is out in full force. I miss the sun. Normally in Colorado it is always sunny that I crave a cloudy day once in a while but lately the sun has been missing.

Today I ran my fastest 5K yet! I did it 20 seconds faster than my last fastest 5k. My time was 27 minutes and 43 seconds and my overall pace was 8:57!! Yea me! I am getting faster and stronger the more I run. I use to run just to run but training for something has given me the encouragement to run faster and longer and get stronger overall.

Two Grain and Bean Salad

Here is another yummy and super healthy recipe I posted on by food blog.

Two Grain and White Bean Salad.

Healthy Version of PB&J

Check out this link to my food blog to read about how to make a healthier version of the typcial peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for your kids lunches.

Hills and What Not

Even though I live in the Colorado mountains I live in a valley and finding good hills to run are hard. I use to live in Crested Butte where every run you had to do some hill work wether you wanted to or not.

Here in the Gunnison valley I have a few short steep hills and two long hills to choose from when I want to do hill training. Also, most of my running is done during my lunch hour so if I want to do some hill work in the winter I have two choices. One is a steep hill but it only takes at the very most 3 minutes to get to the top and the other is a longer hill with a gradual climb. It is about 1 mile to the top.

Today I decided to do the long, easy hill during my 6 mile lunch run . The hill is also about 1.5 miles from the office and total I was able to do of 1.5 miles of uphill. I also told myself to keep my time no slower than 11 minutes per mile on the uphill. Well I had a GREAT run and I was able to keep my uphill time at 10:30 or faster. Also my overall average pace was 9:57! I just did my fasted 6 miles ever. I may not be a fast runner but I am getting faster.

I do need to get running more because I really slacked off during the month of February. My miles to date as of 2/28/10 were 108.50 so if I want to hit 1000 miles before the end of the year I really have to get my butt in gear.