So excited...

Tomorrow, I will run for the first time since the half marathon on Sunday. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. I checked the weather. Mapped a route. I'm doing 4 miles. Finally, I selected everything I plan to wear from head to toe. I hope I sleep well tonight.

On girlfriends...

This quote from Lisa Scottoline's book Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog sums up what I'd do for my girlfriends:

"Every girl needs girlfriends... . If I killed somebody, they would show up with shovels and Hefty bags. A girlfriend is just another word for accessory after the fact."

Love ya' Ladies!

Never Say Never

I learned at a young age to literally never say never. I was doing well with never say never until I started running a few years ago. Over and over, I heard from veteran runners that I should take an ice bath within 30 minutes after long training runs to help reduce soreness. To this advice, I always responded that my first ice bath will happen about 30 minutes after hell freezes over. Basically, never. So, guess what I did for the second time in my life this week? I took an ice bath. Yep. That's two ice baths for me. Plus, plans for future ice baths after long training runs.

For all of my non-running friends, an "ice bath" can be a tub of just cold water with no ice that covers you nearly to your waist. To make myself more 'comfortable' sitting in 50 degree water for 10-15 minutes: I keep my running shorts on, wear a long sleeve shirt, and bring an interesting book to read in the tub with me. It is cold but I definitely notice feeling less soreness.

I Won Without Winning

Saturday, September 25

The Women's Distance Festival is an annual 5K event for women only to benefit Interact. Even though I do not like running 5ks. I love this race. I sign up for it every year.

The main reason I love The Women's Distance Festival is because the energy at this race is amazing. This race is the first event for a group of women who complete a 10 week training program to run their first race, a 5k. I enjoy mingling and listening to the amazing stories of these women and how they got to the starting line. Starting to run is life changing for many them.

I have run this race every year since 2007. My course record was set in 2008. In 2008, I completed the course in 25:58. For the last 2 years, I have wanted to set a new course record for myself. This year I completed the course in 28:36.

I do not know if I will ever set a new course record for myself. However, I will definitely sign up for this race again next year!

Swim, bike, run!

On Sunday September 12, I lined up for my first triathlon. The event featured a 250 meter open water swim, a seven mile bike ride, and a two mile run. Almost a week has passed and I have finally stopped grinning. Well, occasionally I still catch myself grinning. What an amazing experience!

First, a shout out to my amazing Swim Coach, Carol Ann. Without her I could not have made that swim. In two weeks, she totally prepared me for what would have been the most terrifying experience of my life.

When I met Carol Ann, there were so many obstacles for me and that swim. One, I could 'swim' but I could not breathe while swimming. Since learning to hold my breathe for 12 minutes or more was not an option, this was a huge obstacle. Two, I had never swam 250 meters at once. Three, I had never swam in open water before.

There were some big positive things going for me too. I was not afraid of the water. I knew how to float and I could 'swim' on my back. Call me crazy or dumb or dumb and crazy but I figured the worst case scenario would be me rolling over on my back and raising my hand to be rescued during the swim portion of the race. Fortunately, I did fine.

It took me a long time to complete the swim but I did it and gained a new nickname in the process. I am now Kechie aka Swims with One Eye. One of my contact lenses came out just as I reached the first buoy. At that point, I had maybe swam 50 of the 250 yards. My vision is horrible and trying to see with one contact lens in and one out while being tossed about by the water felt like I was swimming slightly impaired.

I felt like I had won the lottery when I reached the ladder to the pier. I ran to the transition area to start the bike ride telling every race volunteer I saw on the way there "I didn't drown!". The last guy gave me a puzzled look so I added "I just started swim lessons two weeks ago." He got it. Commended me on a "good" swim time and reminded me I had "two more" sports to complete.

When I reached my bike, I looked down in my goggles that were hanging around my neck and found my missing contact lens. I was so excited. I let out a little scream. It would be after the race before I realized that there was no way I could have biked and then run with one contact lens in and one out.

As expected, the bike and the run were easy. I giggled and grinned the whole way. I was so excited that I completed that swim.

Hola!

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I am studying Spanish this semester. Si. Yes, Spanish. Stay tuned!

Mean Girls Grow Up...

Mean girls grow up to be mean women. That is my conclusion. As an at home mom, I have had more interactions with women. Probably the most interactions with women in my adult life.

During these interactions, I am constantly surprised by the number of us who still engage in middle school aged behaviors as adult women. In these situations, there is a queen bee, an assistant to the queen bee, and a scared to bee.

The queen bee bullies her way into power. Ruling the hive with an iron fist and excluding from the hive anyone who does not "respect" her leadership. Within the hive, she specializes in verbal abuse - mostly in the form of gossip. Sometimes the verbal abuse is direct. Other times the verbal abuse is less direct with insults disguised as compliments.

The assistant to the queen bee or middle bee supports the queen bee by spreading gossip in the hive. The middle bee is often a victim of the queen bee's verbal abuse herself. Still, the middle bee works hard spreading gossip in order to support the queen bee's "leadership" and maintain her position in the middle. To a casual observer, the middle bee seems to get along with everyone in the hive - even the wicked queen bee.

Finally, the scared to bee assumes the role of victim. For that reason, she is often the target of the queen bee's bullying and the middle bee's gossiping. The scared to bee seems surprisingly comfortable in this role. She seems to find this role easier than fighting back. 'No one will fight with me. Every one likes the queen bee better than me.' Really?!

Do you know any of these bees? Many of us have these bees in our lives labeled as "friends". If so, be brave and seek out the company of women who aren't bees. If it takes some time to find women who aren't bees to hang out with, be brave and be alone until you find some.

Finally, take a hard look at yourself. Are you one of these bees? If you are still bullying the hive for power, why? If you are still pretending to be friends with everyone to gather information and gossip for the queen bee, why? If you are still afraid to stand up for yourself because everyone likes the queen bee more, why?

Tri Training?

My first triathlon is in 8 weeks! It is a miniature tri. I'll swim 250 meters, bike 7 miles, and run 2 miles.

So far, my training plan consists of Lauren and I biking to the pool 4 days a week. We practice swimming for an hour. Then, we bike back home.

Lauren (my 8 year old) gave me swim lessons recently. She is an amazing swimmer. She has a very natural stroke and can hold her breath forever. A real life mermaid. I am trying not to panic. I have not forgotten how to swim. However, I am far from mermaid - or even just plain fish status.

Of course, I am still running three days a week. The heat and humidity are brutal even in the early morning hours - typical NC summer.

When is it ok to run without a shirt?

Recently, a guy asked a popular running magazine's advice columnist: "Is there ever a time when running shirtless is not appropriate?". I've read this magazine for over 3 years. For the first time, I find myself kind of disagreeing with this columnist's advice.

Here's what the columnist had to say: "Yes:(1)If you don't have the body to pull it off;(2)If you're unsure about #1; (3)If you're running within arm's length of pedestrians.

To points 1&2, I say NO. If you are comfortable running shirtless, I say run shirtless. No matter your physique.

To point 3, I kind of agree. I am always considerate of coming within arm's length of pedestrians when I am running. Even though, I never run shirtless. Running is a sweaty sport. Pedestrians are not sweaty so I think it is polite to avoid coming within arm's length of them if you can.

The Last Day of School Run

Thursday June 10 2010

This morning, I ran "The Last Day of School Run". The goal was to get out for an hour and have fun running. I ran fast. I ran slow. I sprinted. I walked. I had a very brief chat with a neighbor who I usually just wave and smile to as she cheers me on when she sees me out running.

The Last Day of School Run is a great way to celebrate the end of running any day I'm in the mood to do so. Now that school is out, I'll start to run on certain days of the week.

I covered a little over 7 miles and had a lot of fun. Mission accomplished!

Surprise Me

Recently, I was asked to tell some things about myself that would surprise people. Here is what I came up with:

1. I have an engineering degree. Apparently, this is not something that most people associate with having a fun personality. I graduated college and worked as an engineer for about 5 years.

2. My husband "proposed" to me at an Arby's Restaurant in Glen Allen VA. Ladies calm down. He is a keeper. At the time, Matt and I were dating long distance. I worked in NC and he worked in VA. During a lunch at Arby's, we were belly aching over our long distance phone bills. This was long before IM, texting, & email became mainstream. I didn't own a cell phone or have a pc at my house at that time. Our solution - get married.

3. I am a HUGE mixed martial arts fan. Mixed martial arts is a violent, male dominated sport. I have no desire to actually fight. My dream job would be providing fight commentary at ringside with Joe Rogan.

What can you share about you that would surprise people?

I'm doing The 100!

Last week, I started doing The One Hundred. The 100 is a crazy 6 week challenge that I found online (hundredpushups.com). This 6 week program claims I'll be able to do 100 consecutive push ups at the end. We'll see! I am excited about this challenge for several reasons.

1. Humiliation. A few seasons ago, one of the girls (8-12 years old) I coach for Girls on the Run could do way more standard push ups (or we call them "big girl push ups") than I could do modified push ups (knees down). Now that's a shame...

2. As a young girl, I did tons of "big girl push ups". I was a gymnast. I had amazing upper body strength. I still remember my school gym teacher being blown away at how long I could hold my chin above the bar for the US Presidential Fitness Test. I'll bet kids today have never heard of the US Presidential Fitness Test. Sad...

3. My first triathlon is in September. It is a short event. I'll swim 250 meters, bike 7 miles, and run 2 miles. I am not concerned about the biking or the running. I recently biked 7 miles without breaking a sweat and I run every other day. I do need to learn how to swim competitively. I am sure The One Hundred challenge will help me prepare to swim competitively.

So far, the program is going well. I can already tell that I am getting stronger. However, I cannot imagine I'll be able to do 100 consecutive push ups 4 weeks from now. Still I train. If nothing else, I'll be a lot stronger than I was when I started the challenge.

5k in 4 weeks

My first race of 2010 will be the Komen Race for the Cure in 4 weeks! This race is a 5K (3.1 miles). 5K is my least favorite distance to race. However, I am a big fan of breast cancer research. Even though, I do not know anyone personally who has been affected by breast cancer.

I am still mourning missing my half marathon in March. The half marathon was supposed to kick off my 2010 race schedule. That was the first time I've missed a race AND the first time I've ever had strep. Plus, I am sure I gave my doctor another story to tell about us crazy runners.

While sleeping all day the Wednesday before the race, I knew I was sick. I told myself I should "rest" so I'd be ready to run the half marathon on Sunday. On Thursday, I crawled into my doctor's office on my hands and knees with a 103 fever. I asked her if she could "give me a shot of something, anything because I had a half marathon on Sunday". Her reply was not what I wanted to hear so I cried like a baby. Yes, I cried in the doctor's office when she told me I would not be well enough to "run anywhere on Sunday".

My course record, set in 2008, is 29:58. My goal is to set a new record. My stretch goal is 26:55. In real life, anything less than 29:58 will be wonderful!

Why is the cordless phone in the car?

Like most of you, I am a pretty busy person. My day is one long to do list. Sometimes, I cross off a ton of items in a single day. Sometimes, I only manage to cross off a few items and end up moving a ton of items to the next day. Occasionally, I find myself with too much to do and the wheels come off - literally.

One way I judge if the wheels are coming off in any given week is how many times I accidentally take the cordless phone out to the car. Yes, the cordless phone that only works in the house. Sometimes, I am wearing the phone and just forget that it is clipped to my cargo pants. Those occasions count toward the wheels coming off score but not as much as when I actually grab the phone and take it with me.

Last week's score was pretty high. Not only did I accidentally take the cordless phone to the bus stop but I left it in the car overnight when I got back home. I got a lot of points for that incident.

This week has been pretty good so far.(knocking on wood) I just double-checked and the cordless phone is currently on my desk.(lol)