Mary Kay, I would love to do the Flying Pig, but it would be so expensive with airfare, hotel, fees etc. Maybe someday I will bite the bullet and run it! LOL

If any of you are looking for a challenging, fun Marathon or HM to run in the Winter, I highly recommend the Mississippi Blue Marathon/HM in Jackson Ms. It was an awesome event! This was my first time to run it because I have been shying away from it because of the very, very hilly course and because of all the stories I have heard about how hard it is, especially with an uphill finish! Seriously?? Seriously, an uphill finish and and not a small hill either. But, it was the most fun I have ever had at a race! I loved it and will do it again next year! It is a smaller race with a cap of about 2200 runners. It sold out in November. The swag is great...a tech shirt, a AWESOME and HUGE medal, a beautiful harmonica with the name and date of the event inscribed on it, a great Blues CD, free massages for the runners and all the delicious food you could want to eat for the fee of 65.00! A deal in anyone's book!

As many of you know, I have had alot of problems with calf cramps during the last 3-4 miles of the 13.1 when racing. I also have severe pain in the last two toes on my Rt. foot due to a Morton's Neuroma. I had all but quit running events due to these issues. I had the same issues when I ran as a pacer in my hometown race in November which was also a very hilly run. I went to the Blues with a couple of friends. One of my friends and I decided that we would start out together and then I would go on since I run a little faster than she does. So, we started out together at about a 12:15 mpm pace and had a great time talking and just enjoying the beautiful day for a run. At the start it was 42 degrees, cloudy with no wind and then around an hour into the run, the sun came out and the temps climbed to about 54 degrees and I was running with short sleeves and capri running tights! Wonderful...anyway we were having such a good time running together that we were already at the 9 mile mark before we realized how far into the run we were! I thought about breaking off and trying for a faster time, but I was having fun and to my amazement I had not a single pain....anywhere! My foot felt good and I had not a even had a twinge of a calf cramp. I told my friend that I was just going to stay on with her and we would finish together and we did. We were on the home stretch and about to turn a corner when a volunteer told us..you can do it...the finish line is just around this corner! My friend and I looked at each other and nodded that we were going to do this! When we turned the corner...there was the finish line! About .25 miles straight up a hugh hill! YIKES! We looked at each other and at the same time said, let's go! We ran the entire hill and crossed the finish line at 2:44:12 (my Garmin showed 13.25 mi). This is about 10 min or so slower than I had planned to run this event at the beginning, BUT..I finished without having cramps and without any pain in my toes!!!!! I think maybe my pains are caused from going out to fast (for me). Frankly, it would be worth having a time 5-10 min slower if I can run the events and enjoy them with no pain!

Also, this is my first event in my new AG of 60-64. I came in at 7th place OA out of 22 runners. This is my highest ranking as yet in longer races. Actually, the 1st 3 in my AG won the Female Senior Masters and were moved out of the AG..The next 3 got awards for top 3 in AG which left me right behind them in 4th place. I missed # 3 place award for AG by :34 secs. I am thrilled with this!

I have another HM this weekend on the coast. It is supposed to be 62 degrees at start and a high of 75 degrees during the day. Hopefully, we will be finished before it gets to 70! I am going to run with the same friend (who by the way is 32 years old) and hope that I can run this again with no pain. My quads are still a little sore from all the down hill running, but hopefully all the soreness will be gone by Sunday.

Marie~Good luck at the Goofy!!! I thought it was this past weekend! Can we track you and your daughter?

Mary Kay...please be careful out running in the dark! You could easily trip and fall over something, step in a hole and turn your ankle, or like you did...get lost! I really do not think it is ever a good idea especially for a woman to go running in the dark without a partner or at least in an area where other people are running and you at least recognize most of these people even though you do not know them personally.

I think everyone suffers with training in the winter months especially if you also work full time and have to get your runs in early in the morning or after work when it is dark. Last year at this time I was training for my FM and I really did not have any problems with getting my training in. This was because many runners from my area was training for the same event and we all train in the same park at about the same time each morning. So, I could go out early in the mornings before dawn and know that other runners that I knew would be there running also. This year it has been very difficult to get my early morning runs in. My running buddy quit running in the fall because of a bum knee. Once it got cold and the time changed there was fewer people at the park walking or running and they came later in the morning around 6:30. I needed to be home by 6:30 in order to get a shower and to work on time. Also, no one was training for anything, so less and less people. Also, our city has had a rash of armed robberies of individuals at Wal Mart and different places through the city, leaving me a little to scared to run by myself before daylight so I have been going to the gym and running on the TM on the mornings that I cannot get to the park later. When the time changes...it will be so much better!

As for motivation...after my FM in March, I really did not want to run. I surely did not want to train and my heart was just not in it. I never stopped completely..I still ran, but not as long and not as often as I should have been. I think alot of this had to do with burn out from training for and running the Marathon, having pain from ITB and my Morton's Neuroma and a feeling of why am I doing this whe I seemed to not be getting any faster at all. I think I had Burn out! I gave myself permission to only run 3 x a week and my runs could be any length that I wanted to do. Some of my long runs, I went out for 10 and maybe did 6 and was finished. That was ok at least I got out. Around the end of October, I felt myself getting my motivation and want to back and started running more and signing up for more events. I am now enjoying running again and hating to miss a run. I do not like running on the TM, but as of now, that is my best option for weekday mornings. It is a matter of safety. Once the time changes, I will be back out on the roads and I still do my long run on Saturday outside.

Give yourself a little room and the motivation will come back. We are older and our bodies let us know very quickly when it is tired and wants to rest. I have learned to listen to my body when it speaks to me and we are getting along better!

Marie- have an absolute blast with your daughter and grandchildren this weekend.  Will be praying for you both for the races-safety and a great fun time! 

Mimi- sounds like a great HM!  So good you could both finish without pain and enjoy the run so much.  You have a very busy schedule the next few months, so that sounds like a plan that will help you through that.

Marie~ I cannot tell you how proud I am of you and your daughter doing the Goofy Challenge! I can assure you that you will not be last! Enjoy the exeperience and Disney World!

            I will be running the Disney Princess HM with a couple of friends next month and we do not care what our time is! If we are last...then so be it. We plan on stopping to take pictures with characters along the way and just enjoy the entire experience.

            I have come to the conclusion that I had rather run a little slower and enjoy the ride, not be injured and be able to run again the next week than to have a great time, in pain, injured for months afterward and not even be able to walk! Age and wisdom I think!

            I have signed up for Alerts! Thanks for the info. It will be neat to get updates on your Marathon while I am running my HM on Sunday! Good Luck and please enjoy!~!!!

Dan ~ Thanks

Hello Deb and everyone else! You all rock!

Marie - Good luck at Disney.  I'm sure you'll do well and have a great time!  My daughter and her husband are there for the races too.  She's running the full and he is running the HM.  I'll be joining them for the Disneyland HM in September.

For those running in the early morning (or evening) when it's dark- please be careful!  Having a law enforcement background, I'm always concerned when women run alone in the dark.  When I do it, I take my dog (a black lab who loves running). He wears a light-up LED collar and I wear a similar armband.  If you can, please carry a phone, and something you can use for self-defense. As best you can while running, be aware of your surroundings (situational awareness).  As far as I'm concerned, longer days can't get here soon enough.

Cheers,

Rich

Mimi~Congratulations on the Mississippi Blues HM!  I LOVED reading your race report, and WTG1 on running the big hill at the finish!  It's great that you were able to run pain free, and I'm so sorry the MN is still doggin' you.  Like you, I really enjoy running with my "young" friends.  Have a wonderful run at the Gulf Coast HM this weekend.

You have become a HM running machine! 

Rich~Thanks for the reminder about staying safe and vigilant as we run in less than ideal conditions and areas.  Three months ago there were a few women runners that were assaulted in the early morning hours on a very popular bike path. Thankfully the creep was apprehended, charged and sentenced, but the threat is always out there.

MaryKay~If memory serves, there was a discussion about heart rate training late summer on this thread.  I don't recall who was using it for training (Dan?).  It may be the wise choice going forward.  You have been through a lot this past year and continue to fight off viruses.  I know it is scary to stop and not run when you are injured, sick, ect.  The voice in my head tells me, "If you stop now, you're done...it'll be too difficult to come back...you've built up to XX weekly miles." You need to get well, and that means rest!

My family and I traveled to our favorite state park to get in some snowshowing and X-country skiing.  Well.....not enough snow to do either!  So we hiked the trails instead getting in about 25 miles over 3 days.  I'm taking this week as a rest week from running before I begin HM training next week.  Still getting in strength training, walking and stretching. 

Run strong friends!

Deb, "Still getting in strength training, walking and stretching." I'd say!! 25 mi. in a weekend is Beasting it!

I thought there were two men on here trying to build base with low HR training but couldn't remember who. I am still taking in info but am probably going to embrace maximum aerobic HR training because so many folks mentioned that my latest symptoms sounded like overtraining. I'm still not convinced doing this won't make me lose all the speed I've worked so hard to gain but theory is you get faster once your body adjusts so I'm taking the next three to four months to find out. Also, this should make more frequent runs less likely to injure me and I'd like to be running 5x a week. Having trouble bc of age, etc. figuring my max aerobic HR. Anyone have any idea what it feels like when you reach that and/or how it feels different to work at an anaerobic rate? Am still such a newbie!!

So, will be very proudly posting some runs with very slow pace. Three runs this week, total 11.5. so far. Planning two more. Yesterday and today were attempts to stay under 126 and 121 HR. Paces of 12:43 and 15 mm first on TM and then at HS track. Fudging. My max aero. HR is somewhere between 111 and 121 but 111 means walking and that's 17 mm, just not my idea of work. 121 required walk/run. That was hard enough. Funny how when I'm trying to slow down, I have no trouble breathing and wanting to go harder but when I'm trying to push, I want to back off. I wonder how much is still just mental dust balls. My best race pace for HMs is above 12:43 but running under 126 HR felt torturously slow, like running backwards, while I was doing it and ended up being a faster pace than I normally run. Of course, no hills. Maybe a glitch. Anyway, breathing was no problem despite still hacking and blowing. I felt like I could do so much more after these runs. Joints are shouting, though, and I'm hoping its just adjustment. Ice bath in winter is pure hell !!!!!!! But, I could barely walk the stair to the apt. after Thurs at the gym then ice bath, then I was numb all night and 90% of all the pain was gone the next morning. It is amazing how that works.

Az has probably been too busy to post but her DH had a heart attack. He's home in MN and she's there with him but my prayers for them.

Run strong, all!!