Running Perspective

Running Perspective

Erin and I ran the ‘Hottest Half’ this weekend. I made some observations along the route—my first half marathon. Hopefully this will help us as we get into gear for RAGNAR!

1- Not enough people wear enough deodorant. It was painfully obvious when people were smelly (and I am talking POTENT!) before the mile 1 sign!

2- Sweaty and drippy—these are the people to avoid! No, these aren’t the folks who are dousing themselves with water. These are the folks who just look like they have. I don’t know which is worse—the port-o-potty or having the run close to those dripping onto you. Yuk.

3- Water is the key. It will be warm on our run, so we have to make sure we stay hydrated. We could all invest in those cool ‘fuel belts’ because they really make you look like you know what you are doing; or the new fandangled water bottles that mold to your hand and don’t slip out. Another reason to go shopping?

4- Gadgets make you look cool. I usually chose my ‘pace person’ by their gadgets and/or outfit. Erin is especially knowledgeable in this area, as she has most of the gadgets. (Ask her about the ‘gutter’—it is sure to get some laughs!) And, she has all coordinating outfits.

5- Friends make it bearable. I had a rough, real rough, first half. There was such a comfort on the back stretch when Erin pulled up beside me to guide me the last part of the race. I truly couldn’t have done it without her support. THANK YOU! It gets me excited to have a van full of cheerleaders to get us through the rough patches.

6- Don’t worry about the competition. I kept looking around at others thinking: why are they passing me? I learned to get over myself real quickly and just focus on the task at hand: finishing the commitment I had made. It’s OK if granny zooms past you; she’s probably been doing this since they invented marathons. Just do what you can do!

7- The Olympics are over; we have 4 more years before we have to see people who can run circles around us on TV. Let’s be proud of our accomplishments in finishing together—and then we can go buy ourselves something ‘metal’ to reward ourselves!

Well, those are my observations so far. I look forward to running with y’all! And, I promise to wear copious amounts of deodorant-ha!

Let's pick our legs....

Hey ladies....

Here are estimated start times for each runner/leg based on if we get our first choice start time. If we don't get our first choice the worst it would change is 1 hour later. So email me at info@theribbonspot.com and let me know which runner number(s) you want so we can start getting this sorted out and get training for each of our own legs :)

Let me hear from each of you soon!!!! info@theribbonspot.com

1  Leg 1: 5.8 moderate/7:30 AM  Leg 2: 5.9 Moderate/6:40 PM Leg 3: 3.4 Easy/5:45 AM

2 Leg 1: 6.8 Moderate/8:30 AM  Leg 2: 5.1 Moderate/7:40 PM Leg 3: 3.3 Easy/6:20 AM
                

3  Leg 1: 6.8 Very Hard/9:40 AM  Leg 2: 5.5 Moderate/8:30 PM  Leg 3: 3.3 Easy/6:55 AM

                  

4  Leg 1: 6 Moderate/10:50 AM  Leg 2: 4.7 Easy/9:25 PM  Leg 3: 5 Hard/7:30 AM
                

5  Leg 1: 8.1 Very Hard/11:50 AM  Leg 2: 5.3 Moderate/10:15 PM  Leg 3: 3.5 Easy/8:20 AM
                   

6  Leg 1: 4.6 Easy/1:05 PM  Leg 2: 6.1 Moderate/11:10 PM  Leg 3: 4 Easy/8:55 AM
                

7  Leg 1: 8 Hard/1:55 PM  Leg 2: 4 Easy/12:10 AM  Leg 3: 6.7 Hard/9:35 AM
                

8  Leg 1: 3.1 Easy/3:15 PM  Leg 2: 4 Easy/12:50 AM  Leg 3: 5.1 Moderate/10:45 AM

            

9  Leg 1: 4.4 Easy/3:45 PM  Leg 2: 6.7 Hard/1:30 AM  Leg 3: 3.9 Easy/11:35 AM
               

10  Leg 1: 5.1 Moderate/4:30 PM  Leg 2: 6.7 Hard/2:40 AM  Leg 3: 3 Easy/12:15 PM
                

11  Leg 1: 4.7 Easy/5:20 PM  Leg 2: 4.3 Easy/3:50 AM  Leg 3: 2.9 Easy/12:45 PM
     

12  Leg 1: 2.9 Easy/6:10 PM  Leg 2: 7 Hard/4:35 AM  Leg 3: 3.9 Easy/1:15 PM      

1~ 7:30 2~ 8:00 3~ 8:30 all AM

So our start times have been requested.... I figured we may as well get out there and get going.... and then we could all get one leg in long before it gets dark  :)  

We still have four spots and only 9 days before the new people will have to pay $90 instead of the $80 by the 31st.  On that note if you haven't gotten me the money please do so soon... Thanks.  

On a training note... have you thought about your feet lately?  I know my feet love new shoes.... fancy ones... spiked heel ones.... flip flops.... and also my running shoes.  I would strongly suggest going to your local running store in the next few weeks and getting fitted for some fabulous new shoes, good shoes, right for your feet and how you run.  If you are like me you all ready know what those new shoes are.  Did you know running shoes last 300-400 miles before they start to break down?  That is about 3-4 months.  The beginning of September would be a great time to get new ones to get them broken in, your feet accustomed to them and have them not be on their last legs for your three legs  :)

New look... new commitment!

So I don't know about all of you but this Texas heat is killing my want/desire to run!  Let me re-phrase.... I want to run.... I just can't!  So in honor of recommitting to training I thought a new look was in order.  I hope some of the rest of you are feeling the same way...

So a few things...

1.  Look the the right.  See that lovely team list that still has 4 spots with question marks!  We need to get this part wrapped up for many reasons.. a few of which will be subsequent numbers  :)  Put those feelers out, think of maybe the not so obvious people in your life that you would want to have an amazing unforgettable 24+ hours with, without daily life creeping in.  If you find some one... get their email address to me and I will send them a link to fill in their information and check the waiver.

2.  Did everyone else get the pace/start time email?  If you didn't and want to read it let me know I will forward it to you.  Katie G. ~ we need your knowledge.... when do we want to start?  Does it matter?  Does it make a huge difference?  This is me asking for HELP... and that rarely happens... just ask Bart  :)

3.  Have you read the Race Bible yet?  Did you even know there was such a thing?  Here is a link to it... Texas Race Bible...  Well I was just reading it and read that you have to provide 3 volunteers, or you can pay $120.00 and not provide any.  I am kind of on the pay $10 each and not have to find 3 more people... but let me know what your thoughts are.  (The book isn't very clear... at the beginning it is every team and farther into it it is only teams with some one within 100 miles?)

4.  We need to start thinking about what legs we all want/can run.  Check them out here  Email me what your thoughts are for yourself... which ones you want/don't want and I will compile the emails and see where we stand....

5.  Here is the training for next week.... happy weekend everyone....

Monday:  Easy~30 minutes hills   Intermediate~5 Miles

Tuesday:  Easy~rest or easy cross train   Intermediate~6 Miles Hills

Wednesday:  Easy~40 minutes   Intermediate~5 Miles

Thursday:  Easy~rest or easy cross train   Intermediate~8 Miles

Friday:  Easy~30 minutes   Intermediate~5 Miles

Saturday:  Easy~60 minutes  Intermediate~12 Miles (Hey look Lindsay.. our moment of insanity falls right in line with our training....  hahaha)

A New York Run!

Well, it’s august! Only 3 more months and we’ll officially be “running from the kids”! I can’t wait. I just returned from vacation a few weeks ago and have to admit that I didn’t run as much as I had planned. I also enjoyed eating much more than I told myself that I would. But, one cannot go to New York and not enjoy the culinary experience that great city has to offer. Pastrami sandwiches and cheesecake from Carnegie Deli topped my favorite list! If any of you have been there, you will know just what I mean.

I did enjoy some of the most beautiful runs I’ve ever had while I was there. Picture magnificent wooded hills early in the morning (dew still on the ground), cool breeze coming off a picturesque lake, a baby fawn with it’s mother feeding on the berry bushes off the side of the road, and a cute little New England town in upstate New York with architecture dating back to the early 1700's. Now that's a run!

Wish you were all there running with me, I imagined you were. Looking forward to our Saturday morning runs when everyone returns! In the meantime, keep running ladies!