'The finishers' from Kim

The small and generally quiet area of downtown New Baltimore was transformed into a loud and overly populated place in a short amount of time. The 26th annual Jingle Bell Run brought out 700 people who participated in the 5k race and one mile fun walk. That's not including the spectators cheering everyone on. Several DJ stations were set up blaring out upbeat Christmas music; in fact, it was so loud by the recreation center that we had to yell to each other in order to be heard.

Lisa and I both got to New Baltimore around 2:30, we hung around the office and then went and picked up our number and shoe chip that keeps track of our time. It was nice to be early; we had the chance to check things out, stretch and do a little warm-up. We wandered back over around 3:45 and met up with our fellow run-clubbers. We all ran together with Carlos, our coach, the Sunday before. It was very snowy last week, so on race day I was prepared for anything!

Race day was cold, but not freezing, and had been raining off and on for the whole day. When it was time for us to run the skies held up and didn't rain and wasn't even too windy. The starting gun went off and we just stood there until the masses of runners in front of us started to run. Those masses included high school boys with shorts and no shirts, men and women pushing their children in special running strollers and hundreds of others of various ages.

Shortly after we started people were already stopping to walk; I knew then that there would be no way we would be last!

I kept up with Lisa until we made our loop back to Main Street and then I went into Kim Pace mode. The road had a slight incline and I didn't want to run out of steam only a mile into the race. For about a mile and a half I wasn't running in a pack, I was the lone runner and I was passing people! I could see Lisa ahead of me and Becky, another run clubber. With a mile to go, I began running faster, 200 yards to go and I "kicked it up" and sprinted past the finish line! I finished in 35:22 minutes and in 16th place for my age group. Lisa was a second behind me, literally.

What a great run though! I was impressed with myself and happy that I did so well. This 5k isn't a one time thing for me, I want to keep on running and continue participating in these runs! Through this whole process of training and pushing myself harder every week I learned that if I don't give up even when my legs hurt or if I'm out of breath then the next time I run I can go faster and farther. I've read that in various fitness articles, but it's completely different when it was me finding that out for myself.

Until the next race…

This is the picture Carlos took of us about to cross the finish line! That's me on the left and Lisa on the right (we don't know who the person is between us)

'The run is upon us' from Lisa

The run is just days away! I think we're ready. Last Sunday we ran with the course with Carlos' running group (http://www.oldschoolboxingclub.blogspot.com/). It was pretty snowy. About two minutes into the run I said to Kim, "This isn't bad. It's softer than pavement at least." Then, about two minutes after that my body decided that it actually was bad and wanted to quit. But I still finished and I figure that if that's what it's like on Sunday I can handle it.

I also recently did a story on an 84-year-old runner from East China Township (http://www.voicenews.com/stories/121008/loc_20081210009.shtml ). He actually didn't even get into running until he was in his 50s and has completed several marathons, 10ks and 5ks. Now, he's on his way to running 25,000 lifetime miles. He stopped in the office the other day to get a registration form for the Jingle Bell Run, so I hope we see him there!

If you see us at the run, make sure you say hi! And cross your fingers for good weather!

--Lisa

'The buddy system' from Kim

The Jingle Bell Run banners are up! Festively stretched over Green Street, they are a signal of the fast approaching running cheer that will materialize in just 13 days in the form of bundled up runners.

Thirteen days is not very long time. Thirteen days means I have only 13 days left to make sure I've got it down; to run without stopping, to FINISH without walking, to pass the finish line and not be the last person. There's probably no pushing in races, so that means I can't push anyone down to avoid myself from being last.

Instead of panicking about the short distance there is from now until the race, I will instead consider what setting provides me with the most effective run.

For the most part, I run in three different settings: at the gym, with Lisa or by myself outside. Running alone outside produces my worst runs. I feel like I run out of energy too soon. It's my fault; I have trouble maintaining a set pace. I go fast! And then I tire out too soon and trudge along without even any energy to grumble to myself about being tired. When I get to that point, I'm sure I look awful; running at a pace that is slower than my normal walk, arms dangling listlessly at my side, I'm sure my eyes are glazed over too…but at least I'm still running!! When I get to that point, that's my mantra, at least I'm still running.

At the gym, my issue with keeping a consistent pace is a non-issue. I set my speed and away I go! I would say gym runs are very effective for me. Downside: they are boring.

I feel like I do the best when I run with Lisa. I have the camaraderie of a fellow runner. I understand why fitness magazines recommend a buddy to work out with; it's like getting a coffee together or going shopping, but instead, we're running together. Since Lisa is also on pace patrol, my runs with her are always something I'm proud of. "Watch your pace" is like a lifeline for me. Even though we pretty much run in silence (talking takes away the air we need for running) we hold each other accountable for our run.

Running with Carlos and the group was a challenge for me, I wanted to stop and die on someone's front lawn on more than one occasion. Even so, I'm looking forward to it again this Sunday. Until then, when Lisa and I "train" together this week and up until the race, we will be running the Jingle Bell route. I know that we will be a success on race day!

'(Some sort of) stronger' from Lisa

Kim and I had a pretty good run on Friday. After almost trying to convince each other that we didn’t really want to run, we ran a 2.5 mile course around New Baltimore and felt pretty good afterward. I always secretly think if one of us were to say they didn’t want to run anymore, the other would be okay with it, but we’re both too afraid to say we don’t want to run.
There are days when I just don’t want to do it and my mind says something along the lines of, “Listen, you don’t want to be out in the cold, jogging. You want to go to Starbucks and have a mocha.” Which would be really nice, but then I have to remember that I do actually feel really good after I run and that I do have a goal that I want to accomplish. I’m not saying I still don’t have a chip on my shoulder while running, but I think I want to accomplish the goal more than I don’t want to.
I really am pleased and amazed by the progress Kim and I have made. There really is something to be said for actually following through with a plan. I mean, it’s logical to think that by sticking with it and gradually increasing the distance we’d make some progress, but it’s still to me a little bit amazing, that I can say I’ll run a little more each week, and I do, and my body accepts it. My big problem when we started was that my shins would get really tight about a half mile in, despite stretching, and by the end of the run I felt like I didn’t even have full range of motion. Now I’m doing 2.5 miles with very little or no tightness in my shins.
It makes me wonder if we’re getting (some sort of) stronger or possibly even a little bit ‘in shape.’
Of course, we’re slow and everybody knows that. We never promised to be fast – just to finish. A few weeks ago, we were running and I made Kim cross the street because we were coming up on a walker and I wanted to be saved the embarrassment of taking about 5 minutes to pass her. (And I’ll go ahead and say this because there was no one else there to verify whether this was true or not, but that woman was a really fast walker.)
For us, a nine-minute mile is fast, and if we were to run three consecutive nine-minute miles in a row it would pretty much wreck us.
I think the natural progression of things will be that we do eventually get faster, but if I do or if I don’t, I’m not really concerned.
I don’t really have anything to prove to anyone but myself, and myself doesn’t really care if I’m fast or not. I just want to finish.

'The first snowy run' from Kim

When I woke up this morning my intentions were to run my 2.5 miles at the gym. That was before I looked out the window. When I did, I was greeted with snow covered roof tops, snowy yards and roads that looked only to be wet. The thermometer informed me it was 32 degrees, so the looking wet/actually icy possibility was high. But a Christmas song began playing in my head and the fear of ice left me and I instead thought NO GYM FOR ME TODAY! It seemed like such a better idea to run in snowy conditions; a condition that will likely mirror our race day.

What to wear was a dilemma. You see, I haven't been out for a run (or jog) when there's snow, or even when it's really cold out, so I wasn't sure to what degree of bundled up I should set out in. I finally settled on a long-sleeved t-shirt under a sweatshirt with my running pants. It proved to be the perfect amount of layering. I was slightly cold at first but then quickly warmed up. The sweatshirt was carefully selected as well. It's a favorite of mine, with Breckenridge spelled over the front – a souvenir purchase from a ski trip. I bought it in snowy weather to ski in, so why not wear it snowy weather to run! I passed the first mile and a half with fond memories of skiing, mountains, and hot chocolate at the lodge. It was good to have something to occupy my mind besides my music because thanks to a stuffy nose this weekend, breathing was not an easy task for me.

There were no icy spots and aside from only a handful of dogs threatening me from the other side of their Invisible Fences, it was a decent run. Not super, not great, but decent. It's something that I will be happy to improve on. A good thing I have managed to achieve during this process is a faster run on my short run days! I can do a nine minute mile now – which is still pretty slow – but considering it was a 12 minute mile when I started four weeks ago. I think I'm doing pretty good!




My snow covered deck this morning. The plant was not very happy to be left outside in the snow.

'We Like Inspiration!' from Lisa

"That's me on the left, I'm not even breaking a sweat!"

Hilary, our co-worker at the Voice, left us some inspiration/encouragement on our progress sheets in the office! Thanks, Hilary, that is exactly what I look like when I run! Minus the look of confidence and determination, of course. I'm pretty sure I look more bewildered. Like, "How did I get here, why am I running, why can't I stop and will there be cake at the end?"

This week's schedule:
Monday - 2.5 Mile run --> I had to change my schedule up a bit and ran this Sunday night rather than today, so I'll do my 40 to 60 minute walk today.
Tuesday - Rest or run/walk
Wednesday - 2 Mile run --> DONE!
Thurday - Rest or run/walk
Friday - 2.5 Mile run
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - 50 to 60 minute walk

--Lisa

'End of week training update' from Lisa

Monday - 2 mile run --> DONE! We both got gold stars for this one!
Tuesday - Rest or run/walk
Wednesday - 1.5 mile run --> DONE!
Thursday - Rest or run/walk
Friday - 2 mile run --> Done!
Saturday - Rest --> I'm sure we'll get this done....
Sunday 40 to 60 minute walk

'My Playlist' from Lisa

Today Kim and I are running on our own, again, which happens from time to time. It actually is a nice break from routine, and knowing that I will have to run with her on another day helps keep me from slacking on the solo days. On alone days, it’s also nice to break out my old ipod mini and listen to music while I run.
It really is old (and pink!) and probably considered an antique by quite a few people now. It’s also taken a lot of abuse over the years. I’ve dropped it, broken my fall with it (very recently), taken it out in the rain, forgotten it, left it to freeze in cars overnight and generally neglected it after it lost its “new shiny toy” feel. But it still serves its purpose well and I enjoy creating playlists for my runs.
I do have a playlist that is pretty much my deepest, darkest secret (it involves some Britney Spears, and if that’s the artist I’m willing to reveal, you can only imagine the acts I have on there that I don’t want to tell you about) and I use it a lot. But I created a list recently that’s been working out really well, so I thought I’d share it.

Lisa's newest running playlist (though, most aren't new songs):
Grandaddy – Now It’s On
Bob Marley – Could You be Loved
Feist - 1234
The Dandy Warhols – Boys Better
The Ting Tings – That’s Not My Name
Sam Roberts – The Gate
Foo Fighters – I’ll Stick Around
Rise Against – The Good Left Undone
The Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #3
Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy
Modest Mouse - Float On
The Who - Baba O'Riley
The Bravery – Believe
Ok Go – Get Over It
The Stills - Being Here
The Black Keys – 10 a.m. Automatic


The songs probably could be ordered better, but I tend to jump from song to song
anyway.

Are there any songs that you really like to listen to when running?

--Lisa

'No stopping to die' from Kim

It's week three and we haven’t given up, injured ourselves or even slacked off. I would say our progress is impressive. It's nice to surprise myself with what I'm capable of when I push myself.

So this week's training mimics last week and then next week we tack on another half mile so our runs will be 2.5 miles long – almost our goal! We'll stick with that for two weeks and then the 3 mile runs will be the two weeks leading up to the race. I think it's a good plan. I am optimistic that we can survive!

I've discovered that if I can make it past the one mile mark, I can run forever. And by forever I mean two miles, anything beyond that is untested, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to keep on going. For me, the feeling of dying ends after the first mile. So if I can just make it past that, then I'm good.

Luckily, if I'm running with Lisa and feel like stopping to die I know that I can't, because then I'm holding her up. The thought of holding her up makes me feel bad; similar to a failure. And if I'm at the gym and want to stop and die, I just can't. Here's why I can't: because the two people on either side of me who are running like the wind will judge me as a lazy slacker who can't even make it past a mile. Because I know their workout is centered around looking at my treadmill's control panel to see how fast I'm going and how long I've been going for…I don't look at their control panel because that would highly increase my risk of flying off the back and into the stairstepper machines (which oddly always have men on them).

Yesterday's run was a picture of perfection for us though. We had a great run! It was our first time running the New Baltimore two mile route. Lisa suggested picking a point in the distance and focusing on it as a goal, and let me tell you, that helps a lot. After our run, we weren't even that winded. I do apologize to passing motorists who might now be blind from looking at our glowing neon shirts. At least we didn't get hit by a car!

'Weekly Schedule' from Lisa

Here's our schedule for this week:

Monday - 2 mile run --> DONE! We both got gold stars for this one!
Tuesday - Rest or run/walk
Wednesday - 1.5 mile run
Thursday - Rest or run/walk
Friday - 2 mile run
Saturday - Rest
Sunday 40 to 60 minute walk

Clearly I'm excited.

We'll blog soon.

'Running Denial' from Lisa

Kim is on a “staycation” today and isn’t in the office so we’re each on our own. I ran at home before I came into work this morning, and that’s pretty much how I did things before we started the whole 5K thing – I’d run at home before I went to work in the mornings. Except it was Lisa-style training, and let me let you know how Lisa-style training works.
It involves a lot of being really easy on yourself, stopping even when you get a little tired and never running the same distance twice – one day I’d run 2 miles the next maybe a half mile and I’d tell myself that it was okay. Literally, some days I’d just say, “I’m tired, I’m done,” and stop wherever I was. Now that we’re into week two of “training” it’s becoming really evident that the whole running for five minutes and stopping thing really doesn’t build endurance. Looking back on it now, of course it makes sense that if I never increased my miles, I never built up endurance, but I was living in a world of running denial where lots of excuses (like, walking is just the same as running) sound a whole lot better than actually putting in the work and running.

Kim blogged about her competitive streak coming out in her last blog, and while I haven’t exactly seen that come out in me yet, I do have a list of my goals for the 5K (other than just finishing the 5K, which up until now was my only ‘goal’).

1. Not to finish last (second to last is okay).
2. Although, someone has to come in last, and maybe if I finished last it would help someone else achieve their goal of not finishing last. Actually, it would help a whole lot of someone’s achieve their goal of not finishing last. It would pretty much be really altruistic of me, so I can’t see why I wouldn’t do it.
3. Fine. Do not finish last (second to last is maybe okay?)
4. Do not trip and fall.
5. Do not get distracted by shiny things.


Here’s this week’s “training” update:

Monday - 2 miles --> both Kim and I successfully completed!

Tuesday - Rest or Run/Walk

Wednesday - 1.5 miles --> DONE!

Thursday - Rest or Run/Walk

Friday - 2 miles --> DONE!

Saturday - Rest daySunday - 30 to 60 minute walk

--Lisa

'Fastest of the Fast' from Kim

In general, I'm not a very competitive person. The Jingle Bell Run, however, has brought out my seldom used competitive streak. I WANT TO WIN! I want to be the fastest, best runner! I want to be Flash! I want to pass all the boys and men alike and leave them in my dust! And that dust will likely be slush and icicles since we'll be running in December.

So I did what any other person who wants to improve does, I went online for my answers of course. I poured over articles, mostly from Runner's World, about how to be fast. I read something about improving my vo2 max. It involves bursts of really fast running. I can handle a burst. In fact, I'm quite fast when we're talking bursts. But I think the vo2 max theory has to do with how the body uses oxygen? In then end, I would rather have a person just explain these things to me. What I really should be reading about is how to be able to run longer distances. But so far, I've been able to keep up with Hal's novice 5k running plan.

Last night, as I plodded along on the treadmill at a blistering 5mph, I though all this over. And then I just went into my default thinking of how wonderful it will be to be the fastest, to win, to then sign up for a half marathon and then win that and then a real marathon and win that and then win a triathlon and then an Iron Man….

Aside from getting completely ahead of myself, I mean, we are only two weeks into this, I think there is a very good chance I can condition myself into a faster runner. Although my main goal at this point is to just keep running. To avoid those moments that find me hanging on to a stop sign gasping to catch my breath as my muscles seize up. I will push through!!

Until next time...

'Why are we running?' from Lisa

Now that we've been talking about it, Kim and I aren't really sure why we decided to enter the Jingle Bell Run. The entry forms were really eye catching? That might be it. After that we kind of pysched ourselves into it by using the distance tool on google maps to plot out courses to run and researched training plans. I personally spent a chunk of my time looking for awesome training logs (I failed, though, and Kim had to make us a spreadsheet instead).
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now we're 40 days away from the run and we're on the 2nd week of Hal Higdon's training program for novice runners (we made a few modifications).

We're both aware that most people don't have to train for a 5K - but we're not most people and we don't want to have any sort of medical emergencies on race day (or end up walking). Kim's never run a 5K before and I haven't run a 5K since high school cross country, so we'll follow Hal's plan and see what happens.

We're also subjecting our co-workers to our training (and at the same time trying to strong-arm them into participating).

We're got the countdown on the storyboard:

And we're logging our progress for everyone in the office to see:

This week's training plan:
Monday - 2 miles --> both Kim and I successfully completed!
Tuesday - Rest or Run/Walk
Wednesday - 1.5 miles
Thursday - Rest or Run/Walk
Friday - 2 miles
Saturday - Rest day
Sunday - 30 to 60 minute walk

--Lisa