Ants In My Pants

First, let's talk about the Bear Beach Extreme Adventure Race. I have a few cycling friends in town, and a few months ago they asked me if I would be interested in this race. See details here! Bear Challenge Adventure Race I looked at the website, got peer pressured a little more, and finally said yes. So, about twice a month, Will, Scott, David, and I will get together for practice.

The first few weeks we would mountain bike ride and run, all on trails. I'm not a real get-dirty-in-the-woods type gal, but whatever. I can keep up on the bike going up hill, but down is a different story. I am SO chicken! I have a death grip on the handlebars the entire time. The guys make no bones about leaving me in the dust, either. Sure enough, I'll huff and puff my way back up the hill to catch them. When it comes time for the run, though, payback is heck. Sometimes, just to be mean, I'll run backwards. This all occurs AFTER they've made fun of my running skirt, teased me about being a chicken, and called me a sissy for not wanting to get completely muddy.

Alright, on to today's practice session. We rode for about 45 minutes, and parked our bikes in the woods off trail. We all decided to take our fuelbelts off and leave them with the bikes. So, we go on our run. My headband might have sparked some competition today b/c it said, "Some girls chase boys. I beat them." Ha! We ran 30 minutes out, then started on the return trip. Will was feeling pretty good, aparently, b/c when we got on the final stretch, he picked it up quite a bit. Oh, no you don't, buddy. I picked it up, too. He ran faster, I ran faster. I could tell his breathing was pretty labored, and I didn't think he could hold out, sooo.... I decided to give him a piece of his own bike-riding medicine. I let it loose. When I say let it loose, I was out. of. there. He was dust. I returned to my bike and yelled back, "You okay?" I know, I'm cruel. I picked up my fuel belt, put it on, and brought my bike out to the trail. Will recovered and came to join me. We waited for the last member and I started to feel something quite odd. Yep, ants in my pants.

Who lays their fuel belt in an antbed? Me, apparently. I threw down the bike, my water bottle, and sprinted into the wood. Pulled down my pants as fast as I could and ANTS were EVERYWHERE! They were biting my butt at a rapid pace, too. I used my hands to smear all the ants off me, smashing them into bits. Not funny. At all. So, that fiasco was over. When I came out of the woods, Scott said, "There were a few ants on my camelpack." Ughhh, shut up. I got zero sympathy from the guys, but I did from Cindy (Scott's wife) when she met us at the pond w/ the canoes. She offered me a first-aid kit and didn't even laugh at my 'injuries.' See? That's what nice women with manners do. Learn from that, men.

Edited to add: I'm going to start adding quotes at the bottom of my posts. These are words of wisdom that I take to heart, or at least made me laugh. Here's today's.

And they could not be stopped, for behind every limiting belief about women was a suffragette with the outrageous notion that they could do what the men were doing. ~Lorraine Moller

I Stink

Okay, my self-made plan is going in the garbage. Apparently, Pfitzinger is waaayyyyy smarter than I am about my running. Before I begin the song called "Woe is Me," I will tell you that I ran 2 minutes slower in the Clanton 10K than last year. Immediately after the race, I began to reflect on it. Alright, my stupid side/rib/back deal is still hurting. Yeah, so that's not good. My main issue today was just plain being out of shape. I'm not in the shape I was a year ago. I am not quite sure why b/c it feels like I've been training my butt off, but I am just slower. Plus, I am heavier. I am larger and I don't like it one bit. I have learned that unless I am very rigid about what I eat, I will gain quite rapidly. My plan had me excited, but I can't do a self-made plan if I don't have confidence in self.
I don't want to whine, even though I am. I even promised, aloud, to two other runners that I would not whine. I met a man today that overcame throat cancer. He went out and placed 2nd in a 5K this morning. This brings me to my next area of current failure- mental quiting. I slowed down today and didn't even WANT it bad enough to run fast. I could've run faster, not 2 minutes faster, but some faster. I chose not to. I didn't feel like being hot and tired. My brain just told me I was crap over and over again until it became true.
So, it was one race, and I'll move on. I am not sure what I'm doing training wise. In the matter of a month, I've gone from deciding on Pfitz, to Daniels, to the homemade plan, now back to Pfitz...maybe. On a positive note, I met PrestonAL from RWOL and he ran an awesome race, placing 2nd overall and scoring a giant PR. WAY TO GOOOO!!!!!!
In personal matters, I visited Birmingham this weekend and it still doesn't get any easier to leave that place. I'll just go on record as saying that I have the most awesome best friend EVER. I know that's a big reason that leaving is so hard. We talked this weekend about how we have known each other for 12 years, long enough to gather some really good dirt on each other. Therefore, we HAVE to remain friends, as not to let the dirt loose. Haha. She's one of those people that I never have to feel like being something I'm not. She can listen to whatever it is I have to say without judgement and will give me constructive criticism in a way that I can truly listen and learn from. I'm so lucky to have someone that supports me in every way possible, good, bad, ugly. Anyway, I made it back to Brewton in time for the Blueberry Festival. It was 101 degrees. This hot and only June!
Ps. Go, Girl, Go summer camp is in the works, too! Yeah! The pic is of all the 10K female winners. We won peaches and I won some money. I took a shower after the race, but during the race i wore the exact same outfit as the girl to my left (green). We were twins!

Finally, My Own Plan

I am a planner by nature. For a very long time, I have been planning to plan. For 18 marathons, someone else (training plan/coach) has been in charge of my training. Not anymore! Like I said in my last post, I thought about and read about training during my entire flight home. Before I get into the details of it, I think it's pretty stupid that I haven't made my own plan up until now. On a regular basis, I plan everything ELSE within my life- lesson plans for my students, plan our trips, plan what I'm going to wear for the week, plan our meals for the week, plans, plans EVERYWHERE! The main reason I have yet to make my own training plan is lack of confidence. After so many years of running, I still feel like a newbie. I still feel inadequate.


The first thing I did was to identify my goals for this training cycle.

1. Incorporate more speed work.

2. Focus more on perceived effort vs. time/pace

3. Move the majority of tempo, intervals, and pace work outside.

4. Make easy & recovery runs truly easy.


After I decided upon those goals, I made some notes about the things I like about each author of my 3 fav. running books.


Pfitzinger: LR progression, mileage progression, progression of GMP runs

Hudson: variety of speed work, most speed work based on effort

Daniels: Phasing, in general kick tail speed work

After that, I read and reread Hudson's chapters about becoming self-coached. Finally, I decided to plug and chug w/ numbers, workouts, and paces. I did it all in pencil and I only planned the first month. I have learned a lot from some great runners on RWOL and one of the best pieces of advice I read recently was to only plan short amounts at a time, that training should be ready to change at the drop of a hat. I won't bore you with listing the entire month, but I will share what I did this week.


Mon: 8 easy miles w/ 5 stadiums (8:02)

Tues: 9 miles w/ 6 x 4:00 @ 6:22-6:36

Wed: 10 w/ 4 GA (7:48-8:08/ 6:55-7:17)

Thurs: 8 easy (8:20)

Fri: 5 easy, 4 @ GA (7:17-7:21), 1 @ HMP (6:38)

Sat: 7 easy

Sun: 15 LR @ 7:48 pace. This run was terrible. The week before last, I pulled something in my back doing Kempo X. (Stupid, I know.) Well, it is now hurting worse and worse. It basically felt like a side cramp the entire run. OUCH! I am also not acclimated to the humidity yet. Boooh. I wanted this run to feel easy, but no luck.

Total: 67 miles

In summary, I am actually very, very afraid by all this self-coaching. I know it's a lack of confidence. I try to look to other respected runners for advice, but the problem is- they all tell me something different! I guess that's part of it, figuring things out for yourself. So... this is what I'm trying. I might be overtraining, undertraining, peak too early, peak too late, and crash and burn on October 10, but live and learn.

Ps. Check on the pic of my very first race in the upper right hand corner. I was actually cleaning out some stuff the other day and found a few boxes of things my grandmother gave me. This was in there w/ the words, "Bec running, as usual" on the back. LOL. I miss my Nana. Run strong, friends!

Edited to add: I self diagnosed my injury via Internet and apparently I have a pulled/strained, ouchie external oblique muscle. It says recovery time is usually 3 weeks. This is quite depressing to me b/c I have finally gotten to the point of P90X where I can sorta, kinda, see my ab muscles. Very frustrating, but oh well.

Southern Girl Goes West

This past weekend was an absolute BLAST! I flew out to the Wild West to see friend, fellow runner and blogger, Pace Runner. I arrived late Thursday night and we honestly talked for hours, staying up until the point that I had been awake for 22 hours. The next morning we woke up early and went for a run/hike in the mountainous desert. It was beautiful! I was amazed by the wildlife. We hiked all the way to the top of one mountain, the ran pretty much full force down. A few times we lost our footing, but luckily caught our balance before tumbling.

Friday was filled with sightseeing and shopping. Friday night we had lots more girl talk. Her hubby was kind enough to get us some wine and Tai food- sooooo delicious. The air was warm, but so dry. I hardly sweated the entire weekend, a welcomed change from this sauna.

Saturday morning we went and ran along the canal. I was so inspired to see so many people out exercising- running, biking, and walking. It warmed up quickly, but because the air was so dry, I wasn't dripping wet at the end of our 12 miler. (Mine was actually closer to 13 b/c we split up at the turn around and I got lost coming back. LOL.) I also got to meet a few of Pace's running acquaintances after our run. Next we went to a gorgeous spa and enjoy a real day of relaxation. It was the first time I had ever done anything like this and it was fabulous. We ate some more great food and then worked on our tan by the pool for a little while.

Saturday was another night of girl talk. We went to a trendy little sushi place where we made complete pigs of ourselves on sushi and wine. Followed by the enjoyment of some music. Sunday morning we had to get up early for me to catch my flight back home.

Wouldn't you know my luck? I got back to Birmingham (a 3 hour drive to my house) and my car wouldn't start. After a few words that I don't think are appropriate for this blog, I called K and here's the short conversation we had:

Me: The car won't work.

Him: What do you mean?

Me: I mean it won't start.

Him: What is it doing?

Me: Nothing

Him: When you turn the key it won't do anything?

Me: That's correct.

Him: Hmmmm, definitely the battery. I bet you left the light on again.

Me: (silence)

He was right. Once the car got started, I apparently had left on the interior light AND the headlights. Ha. I mean, who but me actually leaves on their HEADLIGHTS? Duh.

Luckily, the security men at the airport we able to jump the car off in record time and I was on my way. In summary, I had a super, duper girls' weekend. Nothing is better than spending time with a special friend, especially one as sweet and kind as Pace Runner.

In regards to running, I spent the entire flight home planning my own training for the Hartford Marathon. Check back in a few days to read my comments on that. I know you'll be on the edge of your seats. Ha, ha!

Run strong, friends!

Yasso 800s

I'll just throw it out there that I think the prediction theory behind the Yasso 800s is bull. Seriously, too many variables interact with long distance running for 800s to predict a marathon time. Anyhow, I did hit the track Wednesday for the first time in awhile. I warmed up w/ 800 meters, then started in on 10 X 800 w/ 400 jog between (cheated on this a little, though, by stopping after each 3 repeats to record my times). It was pretty hot (duh, I live in LA) and humid.

Let me insert a little mini-rant here. This week I didn't have summer school, so I was able to sleep in until 6:00 or later, pushing my running time WAY back into the morning, like 7 a.m. So, the track was actually being used when I arrived. Why in the heck do people think it is acceptable to walk 4 abreast in the inside 3 lanes. Worse than that, I clearly, obviously was moving at a much more rapid pace than they were, but REFUSED to move. I even know these particular men from church, and thought after the first time around they would get a clue and move to the outside lanes. Nope, they stayed right there. Each time around, I had to run from the inside lane to the 4th (!!!!) lane to get around them. In the future I might have to pull rank and lock myself inside the track. LOL. Things like that explain why I like running before dawn- ALONE.

On to the workout. I had read a thread about the Yasso 800s prediction factor recently and had it in my little head that I wanted to run 3:00-3:05 for each split. I knew this was slow, but given that I am not accustomed to repeats this short, I thought that was a modest, but appropriate goal. Here are the first 3- 3:05, 3:04, 3:05 and I stopped to record my times into my training journal. Next 3- 3:02, 3:05, 3:05 and I stopped to record those 3. I was feeling pretty gassed, but wanted to push it on the last 4- 3:01, 3:02, 3:02, 3:03.

In all, I am pleased and disappointed with this workout. I am pleased b/c boy, do I have some endurance. Those are some very consistent splits with nice improvement on the final 4. I am disappointed b/c I know that's pretty slow. Anyhow, my training has been slow, but solid lately. I'm getting in about 60 miles a week with 2 quality workouts a week.

I have been considering training w/ Daniels for my upcoming marathon, but have been informed recently that Daniels is for "fast" people (i.e. not me). So... it's looking like Pfitz again, AND I have decided on Hartford, CT for the next marathon. The bonus plan is to meet a good friend in San Antonio 5 weeks later for that marathon, but there will always be the option to bail into the half.

Run strong, friends!

Some Random Pictures

Recent Beach Pic

The boys' 50 Yard Dash during Field Day.

The Girls' 50 Yard Dash

The Boys' Tug-Of-War (We won for the whole grade!)

Future Hurdler

My babies during a reading lesson

I would've loved to posted ALL the pictures of the kids in this post, but I really don't feel comfortable showing pics with the kids' faces up close. Sorry.

Part 1: 2008-2009 Part 2: A Mini RR (Finally!)

If you are a school teacher, you pay no attention to the new year, or chronological change of date in terms of Jan.-Dec. We all know that the true "year" is June-May. So, guess what. The title of my post comes from the fact that I wrote "2008-2009" about one bazillion times in the past week when filling out various student records. I could probably write a book about the adversities I faced this school year, mostly resulting from my personal life. But... it's time to let the past be the past. No one is here to keep me from moving on. Our school is going through a renovation this summer, causing us to have to move pretty much EVERYTHING in the whole building. So, all week we've been packing, lifting, moving, etc. (My arms are SOOO sore, btw.) Packing, for me, felt final in a lot of ways. It had been a pretty bad school year, and that's putting it nicely. Like all crappy situations, there is a silver lining, and it is awesome. My coworkers and principal genuinely care about me. It's more than thinking I'm a good teacher and nice person, but they actually care about me. As a coach's wife that had to bust her way into a town the size of my pinkie, the realization of the faculty's feelings for me is better than birthday cake. Thinking about their support over this past school year makes me warm and fuzzy. Okay, enough about my feelings, let's talk about running again!

I did my first race post St. Louis this morning. It wasn't a goal race and I did zero taper. A few weeks ago, I started 10K training (50-60 miles per week), something to help increase my speed a bit. So, my first speed workout was 5X mile w/ 400 recovery. Yeah, it was pretty brutal. The weather was bad that day, so I did it on the TM (incline 1.0). I ran 6:15 for each set, nothing too hard, but not exactly a jog, either. This week (Wednesday), my workout was 12 X 400 w/ 1 min recovery. I didn't time myself, though. It was too dark to deal w/ the Garmin. It felt good and strong, so that's what matters. Today, my goal was to run my time from last year. I know that sounds like a cop out, but I have come to the realization that I have had one big year of plateau. Plus, the past two weeks, I've been plagued by stomach problems. I've also gotten zero sleep recently. I'm not naive enough to think that all these life issues haven't had their toll on me. So... last year's goal it was. On to race morning.

Alecia and I planned to do this race together a few weeks ago, as she had run it with her father years ago. (He passed away earlier this year.) She was at her lake house, so I planned to pick her up a few exits up the interstate from our home exit. At 5:00 she calls and says she forgot her running shoes. Nice. I've been there, so I offered to swing by her house and get her shoes before I left. After the detour, we would barely make it to the race on time. I was finally on my way, and it was POURING. Alright, so another race in the rain.

I pick Alecia up and we get to the race at 7:00, with a 7:30 race start. We still had to register, too. After all that, there was no time for a warm-up. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Starting the race, right off the bat we headed up the huge hill to the capitol. My calves were about to explode. I literally thought they were going to bust out of my skin. The pain persisted for the first two miles, as these were the hilliest. The rain was steady, but not driving down or anything too bad. Enough to get on your nerves, soak your clothes, and make your shoes slosh around. Right from the start, I took third and held it the entire race. I chose not to wear Garmin. I heard they misbehave in bad weather. So, I had NO CLUE as to how fast or slow I was running. I think the last mile marker was off, either that or I ran blazing fast the last mile. I finished 32:50, 3 seconds slower than last year. This sounds like the worst time ever, but I will prove the difficulty of the course. The overall female winner was an Olympic Trials marathon gal. She ran in the high 31s today. So... I'll take my slow time with a grain of salt. I'm just so grateful that I haven't LOST fitness over the past year. I haven't made any improvement, but at least nothing is lost. After I finished, I immediately turned around and ran back for Alecia. She finished in 50 flat. I also met some really great people after the race- 2 fun gals from Prattville and Crazy J from RWOL.

I have a few pictures to post, but we got a new computer and the camera link is apparently not working. I'll figure something out soon, though. Run strong, friends!