Monday, January 31, 2011

Words of Wisdom

I read this quote in my Runner's World magazine last night and thought it was worth reading over and over again, especially as we are just getting started with our training....

"When it comes time to go after a goal, starting the belief system early will create the mental road map the body can follow leading up to the event."

                                                                         --  Terrance Mahon, coach of Olympians Deena Kastor & Anna Pierce


(posted by ashley)

Running...It's cheaper than therapy. (Why I Run-by Mirna)

My personal running journey did not begin until after I became a mom. Before having my daughter (who is now 2) I was at a healthy weight, ate what I wanted, hardly ever exercised, and the only official run I ever did was the annual Spokane 12K Bloomsday http://www.bloomsday.org/
However after having Isabella, I had an extra 35 pounds that just wouldn't go away! Nine months later and I could no longer call it "baby weight", considering I still hardly exercised and ate whatever I wanted.
This is me in Spring of 2009 with my beautiful daughter. However, I'm overweight and overtired from being a new mom and back to working full time.
That's when I joined Moms in Motion http://www.momsinmotion.com/  I became active first by joining the summer tri team, participating in Valley Girl Tri, and meeting many amazing women who inspired me to become more active.

I also joined Weight Watchers which taught me about nutrition, meal planning, and portion control. I met my WW goal just in time for my daughter's 2nd birthday, and since September have maintained my weight. I am a proud Lifetime WW member.
I never thought I would do sprint triathlons (I've done 4), never thought I would run a half marathon (I've done 3), and participate in numbers fun runs racing from 5k to 10 milers. I'm frickin' scared about running a marathon! But I love being active.
So I've created...

 Top 10 List On Why I Run
  1. Keep Weight Off-(see above) I am proud of recieving that key and am determined not to get back to where I was before.
  2. Stress Relief-being a full time working mom, and managing an active, joyful child can be quite exhausting. So Saturday mornings with my running ladies is THERAPY!
  3. Music-I have bought MP3 players, IPODS, etc. but my favorite thing to listen to is Pandora. My current station is...Britney Spears (don't judge me!) I just love the upbeat music, and the surprise of what will play next! It can range from Shakira, to Rhianna, to Eminem. I'm not picky about music, I just like something with a quick beat to keep my pace up.
  4. Skorts-Greatest invention EVER! I hate shorts,but love, love, love running skirts.They are comfortable, minimize chaffing, and make me feel  girly!                                                                                                 
  5. Shoes-I honestly think shoes make all the difference in the word! Others may disagree. I bought an inappropriately fitting pair of shoes last spring after being talked into changing brand and style at a local shoe store. Word of Advice, if you find a good pair, stay with that brand and style. I developed horrible shin splints! But, thanks to my awesome Moms in Motion Coach Kirsten DeHart (who was also my PT), I switched to a different pair of shoes back in May and have trained and ran two 1/2 marathons without any injuries or issues.
  6. Medals-Nothing is more satisfying than the feel of the medal around my neck after a race. My favorite one is the one from Leavenworth, which served as a bottle opener too! It's pretty and functional!
  7. Finisher Shirts-I am a race whore. I will sign up for any local race or fun run if they have cute shirts-but they have to be dry wick shirts. Granted I will still do the race even if they have regular t-shirts, but chances are I will never wear that shirt again.
  8. My Phone-I love my Droid phone and it's apps. I use Pandora to listen to music, Sports Tracker to track my runs/speed/distance, and love being able to take pictures of races with it's camera. Others love their I Phone, I love my Droid.
  9. 
    *Note the awesome running jacket
    (Me, Andrea and Ashley)
    Accessories-I love the accessories that come with running, from certain socks, running belts, running hats, and running clothes. But my favorite running accessory is my running jacket. It was a Christmas Present from my dad. Not only is it blinding bright yellow and waterproof, but it can covert from long sleeves to a vest! Now that is AWESOME!     
  10. Running family-I have met many amazing women runners since becoming a mom. I met my Spokane Marathon Mamas in the Summer of 2009, and since then we have run hundreds of miles together. I don't just consider them friends, but my running family. I'm very excited to share this running journey with them! 
So that is why I run...it's much cheaper than therapy!
Part of my running family (sorry Ashley and Bethany but I had to post this!)



Sunday, January 30, 2011

One Run at a Time (Ashley reporting here)

When I look at the training schedule, I am overwhelmed.  It is daunting to see how many weeks of training there are, how many miles will be logged, how many hours will be consumed, how many muscles will ache, etc  I seriously get a pit in my stomach when I try to process what the next 16 weeks of my life will look like. I start to doubt my decision to even attempt this thing.  I play mind games and beat myself up about it.  I go into negative self-talk mode......  and it's all because I'm staring at a little piece of paper that has a few weeks worth of runs written on it.  Crazy, I know.

I can't allow that to happen, and I won't allow that to happen. I want this thing!  I want 16 weeks of training like I've never trained before. I want those hours and hours of transforming my mind, body, and spirit. I even want the muscle aches and pains. And furthermore, I want the badges of honor - the race medal hanging around my neck and that cute little oval shaped bumper sticker with a 26.2 on it!

So, my plan of attack ~  I'm taking one run at a time.  Literally.  I folded up my training schedule so I can only see one week at a time, and after each run, I highlight the run once it's complete.  So on Monday, I had one square highlighted, on Wednesday, I had two squares highlighted, on Thursday, I had three squares highlighted, and as of today, I actually have FOUR  squares highlighted and guess what?

I don't feel quite as overwhelmed.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Week One Complete! Total Miles Ran=16

Beautiful 6 miler Run completed today. We began from Manito Duck Pond ran along High Drive up to Rocket Market, before returning back to the park via Manito Blvd. The weather was a little crisp (43 degrees) but not too chilly, nor was it too icy. But running outdoors in chilly weather beats the DreadMill (see previous post).
We had another gal "Wendy" join us this morning. Not only does she kick butt as a neurologist, but she kicks butt on the pavement! What a blast to have her join us.
Good job ladies! We can do this!

(Bethany, Wendy, Ashley, Andrea, and Mirna)
-posted by Mirna

Bad Ass Mother Runner


A lil excerpt from one of our marathon mamas "Bad Ass Mother Runner"

"Day 1 of training 1/24/11: Decided I needed new, upbeat music for Ipod for solo runs, deleted all music on Ipod. Went to gym very late after staying late at work (couldn't skip 1st workout!),turned on Ipod, no music,forgot to load new,fun,upbeat music. Left Ipod on and pretended I was listening to music. No treadmills available, stupid New Year's resolutions. Cursed the people WALKING on the treadmills, can't they just go to the mall or something?!
Day 2 of training: Put Ipod on, still no music. Concentrated on not falling off treadmill, was almost positive that I was running an 8 minute mile,turned out to be a little over 10, what?!!!Longing for an outside run."
~B

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Week One: Getting into the groove...


OKAY LADIES- HOW IS WEEK ONE GOING FOR YOU? Total Miles=16

Our 16 Week Training Program

MTuWThFSaSuTotal
Week 13Off43Off6XC16
Week 23Off43Off7XC17
Week 33Off43Off8XC18
Week 43Off53Off9XC20
Week 53Off53Off8XC19
Week 64Off54Off12XC25
Week 74Off64Off12XC26
Week 84Off64Off14XC28
Week 94Off74Off15XC30
Week 105Off85Off18XC36
Week 115Off85Off22XC40
Week 125Off85Off16XC34
Week 135Off85Off20XC38
Week 145Off85Off9XC27
Week 153Off53Off8XC19
Week 163Off3RestWalk 226.2XC32.

We will rock it ladies!!!


So as we embark on this journey, I hope we can use this blog to post encouragement, stories, laughs, and help support one another. Feel free to post as you wish! Go Marathon Mamas!