Weekly Pace Setter: Kelli

Name
Kelli

Blogs
Running Silence
Cafe Kel


I run in
Nike and Mizuno…pretty much anything that feels great.


I run...
To get away from the kids..hehe..seriously though it totally de-stresses me.



How long you’ve been running
I started running track in Jr. High and have never really stopped, I did take a break while I was pregnant though so more like 18 years but I have only gotten back into running competitively in the last year.

Currently training for
St. Jude Marathon 2008




Favorite Running Song
OMG..I have so many
Lose Yourself by Eminem
Remember the Name by Fort Minor
Last Resort by Papa Roach
Silhouettes by Smile Empty Soul
But my new favorite is Warrior by Nelly (featured on the Olympic Soundtrack).

Favorite race
Well this will be my first Marathon race, but on a smaller scale I really enjoy running the Daffodil Dash in the spring thru the Botanical Gardens – the weather is perfect and it’s a great way to welcome in the warmer running season.

Favorite place to run
Shelby Farms

Short Term Running Goal
Complete St. Jude in under 5 hours.

Long Term Running Goal
Run more than one marathon.

Favorite Cross-training activity
I love step-aerobic classes…they are so full of energy.

Favorite inspiring quote
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small compared to what lies within us."- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Post Run Guilty Pleasure Food
Ice cream-give me a Wendy’s frosty and I’m in heaven.

Proudest Running Moment
The first race I ran Post-baby – I had run the race a year prior Pre-baby and my post-baby time was only 36 seconds slower, it wasn’t great but I knew at that moment that I could do it.

What’s the best piece of running advice you’ve ever received?
Self Talk and visualization. Repeat out loud what you want, visualize it and then go for it.

Favorite Race Fuel
GU and Gatorade

I really wanna visit...
Boston

I'm listening to...
iPOD with everything imaginable on it (80Gb)

On my nightstand you'll find...
Cellphone
Garmin Forerunner 305
Gatorade (yes, I’m addicted)

Thanks Kelli... (dude, I have no idea how you juggle training for a marathon and raising kids (adorable kids, by the way!)... definitely an inspiration to us all.)

Have a good weekend y'all!

Travelin' Lady

I haven't posted in a really long time. Sorry about that, folks. I've been running and (thank God), they have been uneventful runs. I don't need any more eventful runs before the marathon, especially since the events have been injuries, as of late. Per Amy's advice, I decided to take it easy and do two mini-long runs rather than one long run this past weekend. So I ran between 7-8 miles on Saturday and again on Monday. On Sunday, I did a 4 miler with Greg. It was a good idea...everything felt A-OK.

After this week, I've only got 7 weeks until the Marine Corps Marathon!!! I bought my plane ticket last week and I'm super pumped. I'm going to be able to see several friends who live in or near DC and then...after the race...I'm going to NYC for a week!! I'm looking forward to a great trip because I have a few friends who live there as well, plus I've never been to NYC.

In a couple of weeks, I will be in Cincinnati for a work trip and that's a scheduled 20 miler weekend. Turns out I don't have any friends in Cincinnati so I'm looking for a running
partner(s) or at least some recommended and safe routes. Anyone got suggestions??

Marathoning Malaise

It's about that time. It's about the time in my training schedule where I get lazy and bored and just don't feel like running 12 miles, or 14 miles, or 16 miles... It's about the time where any extra days off (from say... the weather or from sickness) translate to extreme guilt, but the guilt is coupled with an unwillingness to make up for the lost miles.

This time I'm referring to.... is something I like to call the Marathoning Malaise (okay, so I admit, I just thought of this name right now). It sucks. It really sucks. Because, deep down inside... I know I love training. I mean, I love the training part more than the actual marathon part... but it's during this time of my training that I find myself sometimes thinking... "uggghhh... why do I have to train for marathons?" And then, I feel guilty about those thoughts and quickly push them aside. But, in all 3 marathons I've trained for and now this upcoming 4th, I've gotten this same feeling (at about the same time), so I think it's just something that goes along with the territory.

For me, it always happens at this particular mileage: when my long runs are supposed to be 12-16 milers. It's always these runs that I skip out on the most. And, I think I've figured out why... it's because they are the least glamorous of all the training runs. I mean think about it... anything under 12 is easy... (and by easy I mean... easy to plan for... they aren't as time consuming, you don't necessarily have to change your diet any, etc). Anything over 16 is like... DAMN I just ran 17+ miles. That's impressive and you prep more for it, by getting good nutrition and good sleep the days before. It's this middle of the pack 12-16 miles that sucks. It's also the middle of your training. You've been training for 8+ weeks and have 8-10 weeks to go. It's a tough spot to be in.

The strange thing is... miles 12-16 are usually the part of a marathon that you really have to dig deep mentally (at least in my experience). It's the part where you split off from the Half-Marathoners, it's almost always the ugliest part of the race course (why is this, by the way? Is this just something that coincidentally has happened in all 3 marathons I've run, or is this something that is common in most marathons?), it's the part where you aren't close enough to be thinking about the finish yet... It just sucks. Mentally... it's the hardest part of the race.

So, next time around, I'm going to try to make sure that I don't let myself get bored with these important training runs. I mean, following a schedule of gradually increasing long runs is very important to marathon training. Maybe my lack of ability to follow those schedules can account for my struggling during the last two marathons.

The only real solution I can think of... is to have a training partner for those runs. A training partner that I don't want to look like a pansy-ass in front of, so I do my 12-16 mileage runs, no matter how bad they suck.

This weekend was a missed opportunity for me. I had 3 days off, that I could have really gotten some good training miles in. But, never fear.... I'm equipped with excuses... 1. It was so damn hot this weekend. The humidity was just out of control. I'm ready for fall. 2. I'm a little sick, again. Friday morning I woke up with a sore throat (again) and all weekend I've been fighting a stuffy nose, sore throat and general fatigue. It's the fatigue that stops my runs.

So, hopefully by addressing this Marathon Malaise, I can get over it. If anyone else has any suggestions, let me know. This is a common thing, right?

Weekly Pace Setter: AMY

It's Friday and that means it's time for our second Weekly Pace Setter! Since I went last week, its time for us to get to know Amy a little better!

Is she really this mysterious? Let's find out...

The Basics:
Name: Amy

Blog: 26point2ers

I run in: ASICS Gel Nimbus (once you go ASICS Gel, you never go back)

The Good Stuff:

Why do you run: So I can eat more, to stay healthy-ish, and to give my inner control freak a little room to do its thing freely.

How long you’ve been running: Since Dec 2005

Are you training for anything right now?
Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon 2008

Running Pet Peeve:
I could write a book here because I get irked pretty easily… but nothing bothers me more than the couple of people that I see everyday running that won’t give me a smile, hand wave, or nod back. I mean… everyone else does… it’s just these 2 dudes who don’t… ugh.

Favorite Running Song:
A Shot in the Arm: Wilco
The Pretender: Foo Fighters
We Belong Together: Mariah Carey

Favorite race:
Germantown Oktoberfest 5k. (Free (good) beer at the finish!).

Favorite place to run:
I like to run in new places when I travel. One of my favorite parts of traveling, now, in fact!

Short Term Running Goal:
To set a marathon PR and to run an “official” sub 2:10 Half this fall!

Long Term Running Goal:
To qualify for the Boston marathon
To run an ultra
To run a marathon in another country

Favorite Cross-training activity:
What’s this “cross-training” you speak of?

Favorite inspiring quote:
From an asics ad: “There will be days when I don’t know if I can do a marathon… there will be a lifetime knowing that I have.”

Post Run Guilty Pleasure Food:
Cheeseburger, onion rings and milkshake.

Running Gear Wish List:
Treadmill.

Proudest Running Moment:
Finishing my first marathon.

What’s the best piece of running advice you’ve ever received?
Ehhh.. I’m not so good at taking people’s advice. It’s a problem. I’m working on it.

Favorite Race Fuel:
Gatorade and Water

Wildcard Questions:
Magazines you currently have subscriptions to:
Runner’s World, Lucky, Shape, Southern Living, Traditional Home

What is at the top of list for places you’d love to visit?
Mt. Kilimanjaro

What is in your CD player right now?
The National’s “Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers”

What is on your nightstand?
Alarm Clock
Merriam Webster’s Vocabulary Builder
John Updike’s Rabbit at Rest
William Butler Yeats: Selected Poetry
(I need a good book to read, any recs?)
Glass of water
Hair clip
Various pairs of earrings

Alright, Amy! You rock! Be sure to check out next week's Weekly Pace Setter (where we will actually feature a blogger outside of the contributor's list of this blog!)

Enjoy your long weekends!

Ahhhh....

Sometimes you just forget. Sometimes you think… “you just always have these little tweaks and twinges of pain.”

And then you buy a new pair of shoes (because you have a coupon that is expiring and you didn’t realize you’d already put over 400 miles on your latest pair, 400 miles goes by so fast!) and you run a glorious 7 mile run in which you feel like you could run for days… and you realize… Running doesn’t always have to hurt… no, sometimes running can feel like gliding through the air… your feet gingerly striking on marshmallow clouds instead of concrete pavement.

Seriously… I don’t know if it was the three off days in a row (ugh, thank you Fay) or the awesome new pair of shoes I bought this weekend, but my legs haven’t felt this good in forever.

And as a side note… I got the latest model of Nimbus… the X and they are really nice. I was never really excited about the IXs I thought that the VIIIs were actually more cushioned, but the X’s… they are great. Really, really great. Like if you need a cushioned shoe and have normal to high arches go out right this second and plop down 120 bucks on these shoes. I promise you won't be sorry.

These shoes are perfect... except they’re pink and purple. Arg. Don’t get me wrong.. I love me some pink… but I don’t want to pink on my running shoes. But, whatever, I don’t care… these shoes are so comfortable I wouldn’t care what color they were.

Btw, this is not an advertisement for ASICS, but ASICS if you’re listening… I’m a size 8.

Fay, Fay...

Go away!

Uggh. Damn Tropical Storm.

I understand... we need rain. We haven't had rain in like 20 days or some shit. But, why, why must it pour from 4am-7am and then stop?? Why must you test my dedication to training? You know I'm not going to run in the pouring rain.

Uggh. This makes Morning #2 that I've missed a run because of the remnants of tropical storm Fay. I am going to make an attempt to get in a run this afternoon though. And I'm sure you all know how pissed that makes me. Uggh.

Weekly Pace Setter: April

Today we are pleased to introduce a new weekly feature....

The Weekly Pace Setter.

What is the Weekly Pace Setter, you ask? Well, I'm glad you asked...

We have really enjoyed getting to know our fellow running bloggers and keeping up with you on your blogs. You make us laugh, you inspire us, you encourage us, you educate us and most importantly, you keep us from getting too bored at work. Because we think you're so great, we'd like to spotlight one of you in a special interview post every Friday! The lucky runner/blogger will be deemed the Weekly Pace Setter. Basically, it's all about YOU!

To kick off this fun new weekly feature, we've decided to start with... ourselves (Did you really expect anything different?) So, this week, enjoy getting to know April a little better...


Name
Flash…ok, no one calls me flash, but they should. My real name is April- Abril if you speak Spanish, Avril if you’re French and Ape if you’re in the “in crowd.”


Running in
Memphis



Blog
26point2ers! (duh!)



I run in
New Balance and Mizunos.




I run...
To stay healthy and to keep my stress low and my sanity high!

I've been running for
Nine Years


I'm currently training for
Marine Corps Marathon 2008


Running Pet Peeve
People who run 5ks wearing those running bikini briefs.

Favorite Place to Run
Shelby Farms Park




Favorite Running Song/s
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" Daft Punk
"Running Down a Dream" Tom Petty
"Thunderstruck" AC/DC



Favorite race
Country Music Marathon 2006





Short Term Running Goal
Be ready for the Marine Corps Marathon.


Long Term Running Goal
Run a race longer than 26.2 miles
Run a trail marathon
Run a marathon in all 50 states
Run a marathon in a different country


Favorite cross-training activity
Pilates

Favorite Inspirational Quotation
“Run if you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must, but just keep moving forward”
Dean Karnazes’s Dad
“What does not kill me makes me stronger” Friedrich Nietzche
“Anyone can run 20 miles. It's the next six that count.” - Barry Magee, marathon bronze in Rome, 1960


Proudest Running Moment
Finishing my first 26.2!!!


Best running advice you've ever received
The more you run, the more you can eat.






Favorite race fuel
Espresso Love Gu and good ol' H20


Running Wish List
A treadmill


Want to Run in (or visit most)
Spain or Italy








Magazines you subscribe to
Runner’s World
Lucky
Southern Living
Domino
Cottage Living
This Old House
(My little sis sells magazines every year for their high school fund raiser and I always buy tons…I’m such a good sister!)

Your CD player is currently playing
Death Cab for Cutie's latest.


Post Run guilty pleasure food
Pizza


What is on your nightstand?
My Bible
The latest copy of Runner’s World
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
A picture of my mom and dad
A picture of my brother, Logan
An alarm clock that I don’t use (my husband works better)
A lamp

Thanks April! And stay tuned for more information about how you can become the next pacesetter!

Have a great weekend!