Hello all,

I was reading through some back posts and found the thread that had all your bios in it.  Really cool to see where everyone is from and what they do and stuff.  Seems like some of the LHer's must be hibernating

Thought I'd give you a bio since I don't know if I ever really did.

I am 47, married with a 6 year old daughter.  We live in north central Florida (Gainesville, home of the Gators).  I have run some in the past - my Dad started running when I was about 7 - so that would have been in the late 1960's.  He would run around and around and around the block.  When I was in high school I rode bike (I didn't have a car until well after I left home) and tried running.  I don't know how consistent I was with it, but I do remember doing it and feeling good when I did.  I don't think it lasted all that long though.  I don't think I ever ran for more than 3 or 4 months consistently, but dabbled in it in my early 20's and mid 30's.  I got into swimming in my mid 20's and would do laps.  I have always been somewhat active though, hiking, walking, cross-country skiing...

Last year at the beginning of April I found myself without any active projects and started swimming.  By July when I started running I was doing 3/4 of a mile to a mile about 4 or 5 days a week.  In July one of my friends told me about Gator Gallop (it's a 2 mile run before the Homecoming Parade) and I thought I'd see how far I could run.  I made it half a mile.  But the change up was a nice break from the swimming and it seemed I got "more bang for my buck" with running.  So I started running more.  By Gator Gallop in November I was doing 2 miles, but it wasn't easy, but I did it and was TOTALLY hooked.  I had never run an event/race before and it was SO much fun I signed up for a 5k the next weekend and the rest is history

I'm a nurse and work in the recovery room (right after people get out of surgery) but have worked many other places in my career - orthopedics, burn, long term care, medical, ICU, hyperbarics, ER... I used to work in a really small hospital in northern California and we floated everywhere so I've even done some mother/baby.

Hobbies... hmmmm.  They change over time.  Most recently I have done some remodeling to the house (yes, all by myself!).  I converted the carport into a garage and then built a gazebo for a hot tub and a screen porch off the back of the house then privacy fenced the backyard.  The last thing I did was to instal a dishwasher and new floor in the kitchen.  I also like to read sometimes and garden

Nico

Iainr - Good to see you. We were in the same graduating class from C25K. Sometimes I wonder if the other runners that started on the program and then afterwards disappear keep up running and achieve their running goals. Welcome back home and we look forward to your posts.

Mike

Hi Iain! Good to see you posting again. Please stick around and let us know what you're up to (otherwise juststarted will send the Mounties after you like she does with kimber from time to time). You'll be great for your 10k. You don't have to have run a distance completely to be able to handle it. Just don't start too fast. Good luck also with the half-marathon in October. Are you following a training plan? Kimber's also got me a little bit interested in a triathlon, but I view swimming as a survival skill for when the boat isn't there anymore. I suspect that might be a little bit of a liability.

Nico - do you do concrete work? How about wrought iron? We have a front porch that needs replacing something fierce.... Seriously, though, you have an awesome skillset. How cool!

Well, the 15-mile run is finished (HHNS W22D4, 2:52:11). I got out the door a little after 5:30am and back in about 8:40am. The temperature was (for me) perfect -- right about 34F. For the most part, it was an uneventful run (except for my 32 bunny sightings). The first two miles were rough, as is often the case for me after a rest day, and I was just trying to get my stride. Things settled down after that, and everything went great until I finished my tenth mile. At that point, I hit some sort of wall; not the wall, as I understand it. I just felt that my legs were kind of heavy and I wasn't having all that much fun. I struggled for the next couple of miles, but when I finished the twelfth mile, things were going well again.

Again, things were fine until the end of the fourteenth mile, and then things got a little tough again. Naturally, I wasn't going to let one measly mile stand between me and getting through this run, so I just pushed through it. I can tell I was a little more focused on my running than usual, because I missed my turn and got a little lost in my own neighborhood. Fortunately I was able to correct my course without too much trouble and I ended up finishing my run just before I got to the end of my street. Couldn't have been more perfect.

My pace was just a hair under 11:30 min/mile, and I experienced absolutely no pain in my knee (yipee!). I brought along my 21 ounce water bottle with a fill of lemon-lime Nuun and a pack of black cherry Shot Bloks. (Note to self: coordinate flavors better next time.) I took a squirt or two from the water bottle every mile, and I popped a Shot Blok at every mile from 6-8, and then the last three within mile twelve. I probably should have started with the Shot Bloks a little sooner, because I think I might have been having a little bit of a fuel shortage around the tenth mile. Alternatively, perhaps I was a little too stingy with my hydration early in the run because I was too concerned about having enough for the latter part of the run.

As an aside, the thing that keeps freaking me out about these long runs in the cold is that I keep looking down at my gloves and noticing a frost developing. It only dawned on me a week or two ago that I'm looking at my sweat wicking away from my skin and freezing. Zoikes! (Today I found it on my arms, too. Thank heavens for UnderArmour!)

Anyhow, it's off to Denver this week. Lots of hydrating and probably a fair bit of time on the exercise bikes. If I can't find an accommodating running route near the hotel, I might also look at a stint on the dreadmill (shudder).

Enjoy your weekend!

(Wow -- looking back, that's a really long post. Sorry!)

Don

Hi Val - if "amazing" is the same as "kinda sore," then yup! I stretched after I got done and then stretched some more in the shower, so I'm feeling pretty good now. Thirsty, too.

Don

Holy Toledo Don, 15 miles!!  That's incredible.  Give yourself a high five from me!  You ran for 3 hours!!  Are you training for a half marathon or a full?

I did the cement work for the gazebo - dug out the footers and mixed all the concrete in my wheelbarrow with a hoe, bag by 80 pound bag.  After 32 of those, in the heat of July, I came in and cut all my hair off.  I hired someone to do the footers for the screen porch!  I'm kind of over doing concrete work

Val, I don't think you'd want me to build you a porch, it took me a year!  Part of that is that originally I attached the roof of the porch to the house in a way that wasn't code so had to do it over.

Iain, I haven't seen you before because I joined the board sometime in January, but good to see you.  I don't know about the triathlon.  I thought about doing one too, I like to swim.  Sounds kind of intimidating to me though, for some reason.  I haven't even seen one, so I might try and be a spectator at one and then decide if it's something I want to try for.

Doug, I don't know how you've kept at it this long on the treadmill.  Kudos to you for sticking with it!  Spring has to come some time, right?

Nico

Iain, I'm not really following a training plan right now.  I did a 1/2 marathon on Feb. 24th, and have a 15K I signed up for on the 4th of May.  I do 5k's when they happen locally, too.  My "plan" is pretty vague, want to do a weekly long run of 8-10 miles and then run 4 or 5 other days between 3 and 6 miles for a total of somewhere around 20-25 miles a week.  I'm testing the idea of doing a marathon next year - the same run I did this year, but do the full thing.  Just feeling it out at the moment, seeing if it seems like a possibility - kind of trying it on in my mind.  It sounds like such a long way!  I was so happy to be able to turn for the half marathon finish this year while watching all those dogged souls going off on the route for the full!

I've read a bit about tri's too.  Talked to one fellow runner who did one and said never again - she blew all her energy on the swimming, didn't pace herself at all.  It didn't sound like she had much fun at it.  I'm more into the pacing and having a good time, so I still might do it some time.  It's not happening in the near future though!

Nico

I'm around... my name is iain... it's the same as ian but scottish :P (i'm not scottish but some family are) R is my surname initial

iain-r :P