September Updated

Time to get my blog updated. Looks like there was nothing going on in September when in fact, lots went on in September. I'll start off with the quick weekend trip to Michigan for my cousin Katie's wedding day. The wedding was on September 5th. That morning I checked off my marathon training run. It was a nice long run from my parents house to my friend Audrey's house in Onondaga (15 miles). The weather was perfect and I started off at 7:00 a.m. There was a morning mist and the roads are very quiet out in the country. Matt drove ahead of me and took some photos as I progressed towards Leslie where Kayla (Audrey's daughter) met me for the final 8 miles. She's a FAST girl so I told her just to go on ahead. She came back for me for the last few miles. Matt met me at Audrey's and she made us a waffle breakfast (Yummy... Thank You Audrey!)

Here I am turning off of Fitchburg Rd.

This was about 5 miles from my parents house.

More photos on the RC3 Running Club blog.

Then there was the wedding that evening. I was very bad about taking photos this trip. However I did get this very nice photo of the Newlyweds.

Newlyweds Katie & Christopher Wolcott

Matt & I stayed at my Parent's house and the farmhouse I grew up in. I still love that old house with all the big trees, flowers and my Mom's awesome gardens. Matt just loves the sweet corn and he like the donuts that we picked up at Gee Farms to take to the after wedding, gift opening brunch at my Aunt Jill & Uncle Steve's house.

Brother, Alan, took this photo of the farm house that we grew up in.

One of the great things about growing up on a farm was that we were never bored as children. Especially with so many chores and things to explore. My brother and wife, Debbie, took their Grandson, Logan (I guess that makes me his Great Aunt—talk about feeling OLD!). Needless to say, the farm was a big, new world for Logan. He had a blast going on tractor rides, exploring the farm from corner to corner and getting his first up front and personal with the farm sheep.

Logan and my Dad feeding the baby lambs. More photos of Logan, family and farm can be found by clicking here.

The trip to Michigan was the highlight of September. I got home and immediately went on a HOT 16 mile long run the weekend after. It was incredible how difficult that run was after running a cool Michigan morning run. Luckily, those hot mornings are behind us now and I'm enjoying some of the same weather here. Next up, Matt and I are going on a weekend trip to Moab, October 16-19. Matt's going to do some mountain biking with some buddies and I'm going to run the Moab "Other Half Marathon" on October 18th. I'm looking forward to the run as it will be a nice training run with some beautiful scenery. Look for some photos for that soon.

Note: September was a big month for the running club I helped start. RC3 is now an official non-profit and we are a member of the RRCA (Road Runner's Club of America). We're now up to 50 women and still growing! I'm quite proud of all we've accomplished in such a short time. You will see most of my blogging about running by visiting the RC3 Running Club blog.

Age Is NO Excuse

It's been awhile since I've been blogging on my personal blog. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I've been so involved in establishing a running group and blog. I've been preoccupied but one thing always leads to another. I find that my personal blog is a place where I can be a bit more candid. Today my new found running experience is foder for personal reflection and thus here I am...

First if you don't know about RC3, the running club I helped start you can see that HERE. Currently we are very close to becoming a non profit organization and a member of the RRCA (Road Runners Club of America). The incorporation paperwork is at the Corporation Commission and we're just waiting on approval notification. And we are now introducing NEW women into our running group on a weekly basis. We are growing like crazy. Which brings me to today's post.

I can no longer use age as an excuse...
Today, a new runner joined us for our Thursday track workout. I make it a habit to run with the new people to get to know them and make them feel comfortable. Today it was the other way around. Our new runner, Susie Kramer (who just moved to Cave Creek a week ago from Pennsylvania) made me feel more comfortable. Susie and I ran around the track and I discovered—at a much slower pace than she is used to. I found out that Susie has been running all her life and runs 4 marathons a year. Typically in the sub 3 hour time range. She is my new inspiration. She ran without effort and talked to me and spoke encouraging words the entire time... even when I wasn't sure I could talk. I found that we had a lot in common in our personal lives. She is just a really good runner and I am still struggling to improve. Maybe it might have been easier to accept if she was younger than me. I've always found it convenient to use my age as an excuse when I wasn't running that great or was working through various aches and pains. Most of the girls I run with are 3+ years younger than I am. But not Susie. She is older and she runs like I hope to run someday. She has quite a few years of running behind her and I've only been running for a year. That gives me hope that you can get better EVEN as you get older. Now I have a whole new mindset. I'm never going to use my age as an excuse and I am going to keep running and get better. I look forward to the day where Susie isn't doing all the talking and I converse with her without being winded. I may never do a sub 3 hour marathon, but I'm not going to rule it out.

Thank you Susie!

Good Dam Run

This morning I participated in the Lake Pleasant, Good Dam Run/Walk/Hike with a couple of boot camp girls. Wow... what a beautiful morning it was. The weather was nearly perfect and the run was certainly a change of pace as a good chunk of the 7 mile course was through rocky washes, and over streams. It was a quasi trail/road run. We also got to run across the Waddell damn that is not open to the public. Really the run was called a run/walk/hike as it wasn't competitive. However, my BC instructor Jodi and husband Craig both came in first from the 4 mile course and they did give out medals to the first place finishers. I'm proud to say that Jodi kicks my butt at boot camp at least twice a week.

I did the 7 mile course with BC friend Heather. We certainly were not pushing it and enjoyed the hike/run. I have a long run tomorrow and so today was a perfect warm up for that. AND I made sure I took my camera this time (forgot it at the St. Paddy's Day run).

Kim, Heather, Me & Jodi

Mark (Kim's Husband), Kim, Heather & me again. Oh and what's with other people cutting off our legs in the photos....sheesh!

Ragnar Del Sol Relay Run

Last weekend I ran Ragnar Del Sol with 11 other teammates. Our team, Adventure Boot Camp Dos, ran a total of 202 miles from Friday morning until Saturday afternoon. We started in Prescott and ended up in Mesa. There was little to no sleep, but lots of time either in our vehicle or running. Now that I look back on it—it really was a fun experience—even though I managed to fall during the night and skin myself up pretty good. I think we were all sore and thrashed afterwards.

I flew Kayla out from Michigan to run on our team. She was definitely the superstar in our vehicle and I was quite proud of her. She had her best run at night running 7.5 miles through Wickenburg in 55 minutes.

I thought I'd share a few photos and as I get more (I have none of our teammates in the 2nd vehicle) I'll post them. Click on photos for a larger, up close view.


Here is ABC Dos vehicle 1 runners at the start line. From left to right: Me, Heidi, Kayla, Nikki, Dave and Brianna


Heidi waiting at the start line.


Heidi on the first leg of the race.


Nikki halfway through her run to Skull Valley (near Prescott).


Kayla on her last run between Rio Verde and Fountain Hills (Note the two dudes she passed behind her).

Exciting Day in The Valley of the Sun

Wow! Has this weekend been action-packed. First, the Cardinals are actually going to the Super Bowl. Matt went to the game, so I'm sure I'll hear all about the craziness when he gets home.

Then the East Valley (Phoenix, Tempe & Scottsdale) saw record numbers of runners for PF Chang's Rock-N-Roll Marathon & Half Marathon. Being amongst the crowd of runners, I can say that this event is just a little too big. Did it, got the shirt and I'm done. Before I even started, my heels got stepped on about 5 times. I think that was a sign of things to come. The water areas were slow and slippery. When I realized I wasn't going to meet my time goal (2 hours) I checked out mentally around mile 8 or 9. I decided not to beat myself up. I probably shouldn't have attempted a half marathon only 6 weeks after doing a full. I finished in 2:15 (unofficial--that's what my Garmin said). Considering my time was 2:08 at the halfway point of The Tucson Marathon (which I ran the full or 26.2 miles), it was not a good time for me.

The best part of the event was participating with some of my boot camp buddies. We had some good laughs. I'm happy the run is over and looking forward to getting the Cardinals game review from Matt over a nice dinner and a glass of wine.

Next up is the Ragnar Del Sol. I'm really looking forward to that event as it will be relatively short (but challenging) runs. My legs are a total of 18.2 miles.

Thanksgiving Turkey Trot

This morning I ran the Anthem Turkey Trot with a few of my boot camp buddies (5K and 10K—half of us did the 10K and the other half the 5K). It was fun albeit a little trying for me today. I really need to stretch more... especially when the beginning of the race starts uphill. Nonetheless, we had a good time and only got rained on in the final 1.5 miles. It's also my Birthday today and I can't think of anything better than going out for a run to forget that I'm OLDER. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I will definitely be eating dessert this year!


Here we are all nice and wet and happy to be done with our run. From left, Jamee Hubler, Kim Rodgers, Me, Nikki Kuretich, Bridget McCormick and Claire Baud.

What's Next...

Just thought I would mention that I'm STILL running. I'm only 3 weeks away from the BIG ONE (marathon). Yikes! I get more and more nervous the closer it gets. This weekend is my last super long run before I start giving my body a little rest by cutting my mileage back. However, I don't want to totally slack off and so I'm doing a Thanksgiving/Birthday morning run. I'm signed up for the Anthem Turkey Trot 10K. My marathon training schedule says I should be doing 4-6 miles that day anyway. So I'll do 6.2 miles and practice running around people before my marathon. I have a few gals from boot camp that will be joining me and perhaps making me run a little quicker. It will be a nice way to spend my B-day morning AND not feel guilty about a big helping of mashed potatoes later.

One week after the Turkey Trot I'll be doing the Tucson Marathon. We start in Oracle (4000 ft altitude) and end up in Tucson (2000 ft). There's a lot of downhill and I've been told that it's a "fast" marathon. There will be lots of people trying for their Boston marathon qualifying time. Certainly, I will NOT be one of them. I've got a running buddy and we will be pushing each other to the finish. I suspect if we run like we have in training that we will have a respectable finish and one we will both either be proud of or want to improve on. I'll fill you all in when my epic day is over.

I could quit there but I figure I should just keep going and sign up for the PF Chang's Rock-N-Roll marathon 6 weeks later. I'll bypass the full marathon (that would be insane) and do a "short" run. (a.k.a the half marathon).

No stopping there... February 27-28, I'm signed up to run and co-captain on Adventure Boot Camp Dos' Ragnar Del Sol Relay . It's a team run from Wickenburg to Mesa, Arizona for a total of 187 miles. Luckily I only have to run 3 legs for a total of 15-18 miles. However, I will have to force my body to run 3 times within 24 hours and sometimes at an awkward time (middle of the night) without much sleep and there will be some evil hills to run up. We've got a good team and I think we are all competitive and will want to finish towards the top. Last year, there were 152 teams signed up so that will give you an idea of the competition.

In between all that, I will find a day or two during the week to re-bond with my scull. My boat has been neglected and I miss my quiet time on Tempe Town Lake. I think rowing will help my body actively recover after the marathon. It's going to be interesting to see how my boat handles sans the 20 lbs I no longer carry and I'll be bringing a renewed sense of confidence with me. There's always Desert Sprints (regatta) in March. Perhaps I'll "test the waters" again.

Quick "e" Update

Every now and then, I'm reminded how lax I've been on my blog. Apparently, people are keeping tabs on me—which is kinda scary. But who am I to disappoint? So here's a few quickie comments on what's happening on the home front.

Arizona Weather
Still HOT! Although, we are enjoying cool mornings and now some cool evenings.

Running
It's official. I've actually paid money to run in the Tucson Marathon on December 7th. Now I'm going to be totally paranoid about getting injured. My longest training run so far has been 13 miles. At least I know I can complete a half marathon! October is the month where the training really gets ramped up. I'll be adding quite a bit more mileage. Who would have thought I could even run as far and as much as I have.

Travel
I just got back on Friday from a week in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. I was cat sitting for my Aunt and Uncle. Good weather and a nice little hang out. The leaves were just starting to change when I left. Bummer.

Next trip is at the end of October to Burgundy, France. I'm looking forward to that. My marathon training will get me down some long country roads and fall should be in full swing. I'll make sure I get some photos to post.

Home Improvements
I'm finally tackling the "closet" or what is really the spare bathroom that's become a closet. It will be a bathroom again. Hopefully, I'll be able to eek out enough days between training and traveling to get some tile on walls and floors. We had a new tub installed last week. A new sink, toilet, lights and accessories will be installed after I get the tiling out of the way. My goal is to have it done before the holidays if not sooner.

We also got a new roof 3 weeks ago. We're quite happy with the roofing company and the roofers. They did A+ work!

A Job Change
Matt is now on day 2 of his new job at DDCI. He got recruited to help DDCI take a product they bought from Honeywell (that he formerly worked on) to the market. He'll have a couple more of his former Honeywell pals join him next week. Matt's always wanted to work on useful things. This will be his opportunity to finish something started and work for a company not afraid to get it to the market.

The Economy
Oh geesh... I made the mistake of taking a look at my portfolio yesterday. Yikes! The economy is in a freaky state. However, I'm not worried about it—the market will come back and I'm only losing if I'm selling. I'm slightly torqued that the government is attempting to bail out the banks and sub prime lenders. I can go on about that forever.

So my friends that's my quick "e" update. Lots of exciting stuff coming up for the last few months of 2008. I should have some nice photos of France, the holidays and maybe Matt can get a shot of me as I throw up at mile 20 in the marathon.

Because I Can...

Like most people, I have a list of things I'd like to do in my lifetime. Some of those things are personal challenges that I feel I need to mentally and sometimes physically conquer. Back in April I was feeling tired and bored with my routine. Rowing wasn't really helping me keep off the unwanted pounds that kept creeping on. It was getting harder to invest the 4 hours per day I needed for sculling (driving, rowing and boat maintenance).

One morning, while walking the dog I was lamenting how I had let myself go. I got home and was just about to pitch the flyer on my front door in the trash—and then I saw it— "Cave Creek Adventure Boot Camp for Women". I thought to myself "Man do I NEED boot camp". So I looked up the website and the next thing I know I'm heading to 4 weeks of 5:30 a.m. workouts. That very first day I realized that although I thought I was in shape... I really wasn't. What I learned over the course of the first 4 weeks was that I am capable of doing more than I ever thought I could and the physical improvement in just four weeks was amazing.

Four months later I'm still going to boot camp 3 mornings a week and have found a fellow boot camper, Heidi, to run with 2 days out of the week. We're now training to for the Tucson Marathon on December 7.

It will be my first marathon and for Heidi it will be her 5th marathon. We'll also be accompanied by a two boot camp relay teams. The relay teams split the course amongst 4 people. Some of these gals, including Jodi—our boot camp trainer—are using the Tucson marathon as prep for the PF Chang's marathon in January. Heidi and I have a jump on the training so we should be ready in December to go the full distance. We'll have the benefit of having some other boot campers there to help cheer us through the last grueling miles.

From time to time, I'll blog about how training is going. I'll have a "shoe" follow up as I test my 3rd pair of running shoes on a couple runs this week. We did a 10 mile run last weekend and I'm learning a thing or two about the right gear.

And for those of you that haven't seen me for a few months...I can tell you that boot camp really changed me. Both physically and mentally. I'm quite a bit lighter and my muscles are taking shapes that are pleasing. Mentally, I feel tougher and I try never to say "I can't do that". Instead I plagiarize the Nike saying "Just Do It".