Congratulations!

To everyone who ran, road, "whatever" this morning before gobbling down some good "eatings." We heard some of you ran some awesome times while visiting family and friends.

This was the first time our whole family ran together in a timed-race. We had a blast. Our whole family ran a 5K in under 42 minutes. Don't know our official times but, we did it. Even Abby had a blast and I bet will do it again. This is a good tradition starter for us even with the rumblings from Jim as we threatened to get him out of bed at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day ;)

It was good to see friends we've not seen in years.

Happy Training to everyone,

Christy

Great Story

I am in to running. New to racing but, me and my family are getting in to it. This story is hardly yoga but, maybe closer to the heart of it than some people realize.

A must read:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091124/ap_on_sp_bo_ne/box_last_man_standing

Have a blast hearing the drums. (as the trainer says)

Christy

Running, Weights, and Yoga

My running shoes are covered in mud. So, this weekend when most triathletes, runners, etc were outside doing a long distance workout, I unusually hit the gym and yoga room.

Like normal, Emma and I were the first ones up Saturday morning. "Do ya wanna swim?" I asked her. She loves to train. Off we went. She hit the well-guarded pool.

I won't keep my workout a secret. Most books tell ya to get your heart-rate up before lifting. I always go longer on the treadmill than I plan. (It's the runner in me, just like the yoga in me.) Matter of fact, the whole reason for visiting the weights was to keep my wrists strong for yoga. Sometimes ya gotta fight for what ya love. Makes you stronger "at-it" anyway. Every time I go to yoga I develop new modifications to keep them strong. I did weights for my legs for running, as well.

Emma finished before me, talked about doing her 200's in the pool and we stretched together in the weight room. Lots of fun.

Kudos to Abby for waking herself up at 4 a.m. this morning, getting on the machine and working out so early! She was bright-eyed and ready for school when I came down for my coffee. She meant it when she went to bed last night. Congrats to Jim for running his 3 this weekend! A big accomplishment for a guy w/ a sit-down job all day long. He's had long days lately.

We had a lot of fun at a DU hockey game this weekend. The kids had a blast and just about lost their voices screaming for the guys.

Have fun out there... Don't forget to sign up for a Turkey Trot.

Christy

Barefoot Running? Whoa Honey!

Yeah, for real. I read about it on a very upbeat blog-ultra athlete sportscaster from Ohio. He mentioned a new trend/fad discussed in the New York Times. The hot topic was running barefoot.

Today, I ran an extremely muddy trail in the cold windy weather. What to my wondering eyes did I see in the cold slithering mud? Fresh barefoot human tracks. Of course I didn't notice them til my cool down. I was focused on picking up the pace and negative splits. But my eyes did not deceive me.

I am not ready to try it out in the cold. And, I do believe the barefoot wonderer decided to turn around and go back for shoes. The tracks didn't continue all the way up the steep trail that had my shoes picking up heavy mud :)

From my research, you don't go totally barefoot unless you don't check it out. They look like toe-socks which have some sort of grip at the bottom.

But, it is an interesting new fad for fair weather non-trail running. Don't know if my 43 yr old feet are ready for it. I'll wait and see how it works for other guinea-pig feet.

Wanna know how to refrain from slipping on ice while ya run/race? Read this but be sure you get the kind that says run/walk not just work. (new ones out this year 2009) http://triguyjt.blogspot.com/2009/01/no-more-sliding.html

Have fun out there,

Christy

p.s. There was some sort of weird bug, and this blog cc'd several times over, a first. Apologize to those of you who follow thusly, popping up on your email several times over.

Realistic Family Training

It would be great if we could all physically train anytime we wanted (Train 6 hours a day.) If you're single, got the money, job that allows for the time... that is highly possible. But, what if that's not you? Your work can vary 8-12 plus hour days and you've got more than one mouth to house, feed and love. Going out of town is part of the job. And those trips consist of working from a.m. til bedtime.

Here is how we train as a family. I am studying and a mom's job changes at a moment's notice. When the kids are in school, I train. I am flexible pending the day and have to be okay w/ changing the day around, even training days which are everyday but once a week.

The girls have their stuff post school. I take care of that. And they have their stuff on the weekends. Since Jim is swamped during the week, I try to re-arrange my long weekend training around Jim needs. It really isn't hard. I still get it all done.

Jim has to be very realistic about his schedule. His days change and meetings pop up. He is not a morning exerciser. It sets him up for failure if he plans training at that time. He has kept his Nike schedule by running or doing his strength training immediately when he gets home from work. We've already eaten and that is a-okay. He has a goal, a race. It helps that we will be doing it together. (We will be doing our own pace.) When he goes out of town, truth be told, he doesn't get to train as much. That is the reality of his job. He works from wake-up til late late late hours of the night when out of town.

Being realistic, goal setting, and flexibility have not sabotaged any of our training. I have had big-time sinus issues... I am in the process of running and yoga-tizing more. Biking harder hills. No pool. Financially, we've used the internet for resources to save money. Jim follows his program for running and does "tabata" and a push-up program. He is looking awesome.

It can be done! One more thing... it helps to talk it up w/ friends. As a commercial said, "A little friendly competition doesn't hurt."

Have fun out there,

Christy

"Trailing It" Pays Off!

I love running trails around here. On my long runs, that's where I'll be. Today was amazing. I wanted to see how it was paying off.

First off, I've been running and doing yoga more than anything else. Why? Sinus issues have kept me out of the pool. On the long runs, I hit a trail with a false flat. I do it yoga style which would drive any "techy" crazy-namely, Jim. I go by how I feel. I take my watch and go further than the previous time. (Usually gone a couple hours.) Yep, would drive a coach nuts, too... oh well. I've got a couple of sources. I am not flying completely by the seat of my pants :)

Last long run, I did it again, forgot food. Stomach cramps 3/4 of the way back. But, YEA, a port-a-potty in the woods. Colorado for ya! I was able to negative split afterwards. Laugh if you must.

Today was a faster run up a steep and hilly trail which I've not visited in a long time. It was a short run but, important to my training. I knocked it out of the park time-wise. Fastest I've ever run it. Felt great. And I did it medium paced. Yeah baby! A good test for me.

Benefits of trail: easy on the body, peaceful, sights are awesome, love wild-life, the best!

Watch out for: no legged creatures (your feet), don't get caught deep in while the sun goes down, take food, take necessary meds, make sure someone knows where you are, have water, necessary warm clothing, etc...

I do live in the States. Today is a day that I thank those who protect my freedom and do as they are told-men and women who have to be athletes to protect me and my family. Thank you.

Christy

Training Is A BLAST!

I added yoga and it has given me some power within a short amount of time. My body is getting positive effects digestively, decreasing knee and low back pain, while increasing ability in long aerobic workouts. I did a hilly, lengthy, baseline brick at a little higher altitude. I felt great during and after. I really wanted and could have pushed it faster but, fought the desire.

I biked up to Red Rocks Amphitheater, a great ride if you haven't done it yet. (Google it for Roadies.) Then ran back and forth down and up the theater. Had no distress except my body didn't want to eat an apple post run. I got it down w/out puking it up.

I was smiling the whole run. It was so much fun. Pushed and recovered on several of the aisles. Stopped and took a pic for a couple a guys for their stage dreams. Ever since I read this book, I will never run in place nor be impatient at a stop light again. I look forward to my workouts. I am not kidding you. If I don't, there is something that must be changed. I look at what it must be. A guy sprints stairs w/ his dog as I run back and forth and I joke with him, "Go, Go, Beat me," as we almost cross paths. He starts smiling and hauls butt.

Occasionally, you'll see someone training w/ a "mentor." I did. Some are really nice. I believe all I mentally picture and say to myself effects my training. A mentor and his "student" were doing stairs in front of me. As they passed, the mentor w/ the backpack told his "student", "You're going to do 7 push-ups sorta as a penance for beating me." These were grown men. As I ran back down the aisle, the guy was doing the push-ups.

Ryan Hall ran w/ African kids who could easily maintain a 7-minute-mile pace while laughing and chatting w/ him. Ryan believed a big reason for this was that sports in Africa was for fun. Whereas, in the States we use running etc as punishment. There it was, right in front of me... A grown man allowing another man to use "punishing" words to do FUN! In my opinion, it said more about the student and his lack of esteem than it did the "mentor." Otherwise, he would have fired him on the spot.

The physical body is precious and training it is fun and beautiful gift, never punishment! If you are learning to run your 1st mile... a precious gift and beautiful process. Don't expect it to be burn-free. Giving it all ya got is part of it.

Have fun out there!

Christy