May 3, 2009

What Comes Next?


Wow! I feel so good about running and life again! (I just wanted everyone to know I wasn't feeling like Debby Downer anymore.) I am so excited about my upcoming training and racing. My short term, summer goal, is to incorporate cycling into my training. I kicked off this plan with a bang by doing the Escambia County 30 Mile bike ride for Habitat for Humanity. I love Habitat. For anyone that "knows" me, you know that I am on the Family Selection Committee and I've worked on many building sites. Since I've been on the committee, 2 families have gotten houses and we are working on two more! What a blessing! And... remember Alecia (new runner friend)? She is the director, so of course I was first to sign up for this fundraiser ride.

When I got to the park, I decided that I needed to ride my bike a little to make sure everything was working properly. It had been months since I had ridden. (I had done spinning class, though.) Uh oh! My gears wouldn't shift and I was stuck in hard gear!!!!! I got cycling friend, Will, and he rode my bike around awhile and managed to get it in the middle, but it stuck there. So, looks like I would be riding in one gear. There were some small hills, nothing major, so I should be okay.

We started off and I was behind this Navy man and guess what! His crack was showing!!! Don't people know that crack kills! LOL. 6 miles later, I had to pass, enough crack. So, I sped on ahead and rode with two h.s. principals from Mobile. They were really sweet. They slowed down a lot, so I passed. Then I approached the halfway point. I decided I didn't really need to stop, so I just slowed down and said hey, then continued. I caught up with a girl named Natalie that had adorable braids. We talked about her daughter and her cycling (She had a REALLY nice and fast bike, like serious racing bike.) and I found out that she is a runner, too! It got a bit hilly, so I fell back a bit. She sped on ahead and before I knew it, I was there! So. Much. Fun! Final time- 1:38, which means zero to me. I didn't use a pedometer, so I don't know if that's fast or slow. Lol. I will definitely get the gears fixed in the next week.

I have designed a 10K training to build speed, yet keep my marathoning endurance in tact. I plan on doing 2 duathlons in Gulf Shores (biking & running), plus the Clanton 10K again. (Remember the peaches? Yum.)

For the fall... I am thinking Pfitz again, but not too sure yet. I have a few marathons in mind. I've researched flight costs and narrowed it down to 4:
1. ING Hartford
2. Breakers (Newport, RI)
3. Detroit
4. Louisville
Those are all October marathons and I am going to try to run another 4/5 weeks after that in San Antonio. The closest I've done is 8 weeks apart. I think I can do it, as the more i get under my belt, the faster I recover.

It's so great to love running again! Run strong, friends!
Ps. A few of you sent me PMs on RWOL and I can't reply! Something is wrong and the message box won't open. Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm not ignoring you.

17 comments:

  1. Don't do Louisville. Major hilly course. Did you look at Houston? I have soft spot for the place because I would be able to take in the NASA Space Cntr, Lunar Receiving Lab and Lunar and Planetary Inst. Yeah probably not three things high on
    most tourists lists LOL. However the marathon course is flat. I always thought you drove to most of your races, is flying out of Mobile tough? Cool about the bike race, big fan of Habitat. On the PMs try clearing your cookies and browsing history (I am guessing you are on a PC. I have no idea what to do on a Mac). There is a feedback forum on the site, maybe someone has posted

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  2. Scratch what I said about Louisville. I was thinking Knoxville when I read that. I don't know anything about Louisville.

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  3. Yeah, I've done Louisville twice. My parents live there and I know the course like the back of my hand. There is only one hilly section, and it's not bad. Also, I fly from Pensacola; Mobile is VERY high. If I find a cheap enough ticket, I drive to B'ham and fly from there. I am doing San Antonia in November, so didn't want to do another in Texas. (You know, the 50 state thing.)

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  4. Uh Oh!! Watch out Duathalon / Triathalon world!! Here she comes!! We all knew it was just a matter of time!

    If you do Detroit, even though I have only run 2 marathons (that being my first), I feel that it is VERY underrated. Just dont plan on coming near a PR! What other race has you running from one country to the other and back underwater and not get wet!!?? On the island between Usa and canada its very windy... headwind in north east south AND west (very weird). I think i'll be doing Grand Rapids which is the same day and flat as pancakes... trying to get to Boston.

    Told u i was going 2b following (stalking) your blog, LOL. No prob on the PM's... take care!!

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  5. So...I noticed that Colorado was left off of the list - that must've been an inadvertent mistake. :) Seriously - when you do make it out here...lodging is covered!!! Glad you got your mojo back!!

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  6. Hey I was looking at that 10K and it is pretty close. Ya know one of us can collect on that lunch! Might be fun to do a 10K too!

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  7. Yay! I'm thrilled for you that you're re-energized for the next training round and including duathlons, very cool.

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  8. I'm not much of a blog commenter (is that a word?), but I wanted to give you my two cents.

    I've run the Detroit full and half and have been really underwhelmed both times. It's alright, but not great in my opinion. I did work in downtown Detroit for a while so it's nothing special to me, but aside from that it's not that well-organized to me.

    Like the Weekend Warrior, I would recommend the Grand Rapids Marathon. I've only run the half there - I'm thinking I'm going to run the full this fall - and really loved it. Great course, amazing race management and organization and really easy logistics. If you're flying, Grand Rapids has an airport that my parents always fly out of.

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  9. Anonymous5/04/2009

    LA,

    Good to see you're in a good mood, just keep that up!

    Had to laugh about the 'crack' jokes...lol

    I'm SO happy that you are doing San Antonio RnR! It will be lots of fun!

    See you soon... ;)

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  10. Have you considered the Baltimore marathon? some of us were talking about running either the half or full as a way to meet each other and run in memory of Elizabeth.

    As for biking, feel free to email me any questions you have! as i said the other day, you were moving, especially considering your bike wouldn't shift.

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  11. "Crack kills"! OMG...you are awesome. Glad you've refreshed your view on things.

    What's your selection process for the fall? Those 4 races seem to be all over the place.

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  12. The selection process is as follows:
    1. Find races that have cool ads, in states that I have not yet run.
    2. Look at comments and course maps.
    3. Check on plane ticket prices. (This step weeds out the most races.)
    4. I have L'ville in there b/c my parents are from there; I know this course like the back of my hand; it is cheap.

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  13. That's great that you are involved with HFH! My DH and I have been active with them in the past (especially during college-not as much now as we should be).

    Glad to hear you're "back" and looking ahead to a killer fall marathon, wherever you ultimately go. LOL about crack man....I keep hearing "All The Plumbers In Da House, Pull Your Pants Up!"

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  14. what's your email address? i'll just respond here for now. we're having a girl! i'm in FL right now, but i'm staying with my parents and i'm only here during the week (and you're teaching...no weekend days this time). BUT i'm coming back june 3-13ish. i'd love to see you!

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  15. Feel free to type up a new post one of these days...

    :p

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  16. Buehler...Buehler...

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  17. Hey! I think it's amazing how well you're doing. I have missed y'all quite a bit, and I've fallen behind on the running somewhat... :-) Thought of you when I heard about www.runacrossalabama.com because you're a fantastic runner who may be interested in participating. Have a great weekend!

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