a well needed change of scenery

day #26 of my stupid idea to run at least a mile every day for the month of june had me out in skowhegan maine with a convenient(ly difficult & hilly) 2.6 mile loop. ive had pretty awful runs for the past week and this one went surprisingly well, which makes me smile. ill just be happy when this month is over and i can take some rest days and focus on speed work and long runs for marathon training. *fun fact: the loop was only 2.6 miles, but i ran a little extra so that my nike+ read 2.62. its a marathon thing.... or something.

after a long downhill past a deer farm (which i NEVER see any deer. sad) i came upon this lovely hill. it doesnt look too bad in this pic but it.really.sucked. i also swatted horseflies the entire way up which was a real waste of energy. really really not awesome.

but alas, the view from the top was well worth the pain and struggle to get to the top (i dont think were in south portland any more toto)

and when i got home i had these furry little friends waiting for me... sage and beckett (who has a nice close shave for the summer)


gotta love just getting away for a few days. refreshing.

what have you done? what will you do?

its friday, and im feeling very uncreative. a few days ago i creeped some blogs and stole this idea to use later on for a post and now i cant remember where i stole it from. its been a long week. so i apologize to whoever i stole this from, cuz i think its cool and u probably thought long and hard about it and im taking the easy way out. booooooooo danielle.

in the last year i have...
*gotten engaged
*run two marathons, one half marathon, four 10k’s, six 5k’s, and a 200 mile relay
*experienced a few new things and learned a lot about myself

in the last month i have...
*lost two toenails. its a running thing. and its gross
*watched more oc/one tree hill than I ever should (thank you soap net afternoons)
*started reading more… hello twilight series

in the last week i have...
*gone to a wedding
*got very drunk at said wedding
*spent 9 hours the next day on the couch watching movies, curled up in the fetal position, praying i didnt throw up (i somehow managed to not get sick. one of lifes greatest mysteries)

in the last day i have...
*had the most delicious sweet potato waffle fries (dipped in ranch, of course)
*cried when i said goodbye to one of my patients ive had for the past month (shes recovering and im hoping she will go home before im back next week)
*had the worst heartburn ive ever felt. woke me at 3am and i pretty much thought i was having a heart attack it hurt so bad

in the next day i will...
*attend a benefit dinner for a young man trying to raise money to get a double lung transplant
*visit one of my favorite dogs in the whole world
*get my car washed. having a black car with all this stupid pollen sucks real bad

in the next week i will...
*hopefully make one of my really good friends smile
*start packing for a road trip with my mom
*run #7 of 12

in the next month i will...
*spend a week with family and far away friends
*get to meet baby emerson!
*start swimming again… and maybe bike a little (dont get your hopes up quite yet)

in the next year i will...
*eat, drink, and get married!
*pass my boards
*learn to relax a little more and not take one day for granted

what are you looking forward to in the next day, week, month and year?

fun fact friday

welcome to yet another super exciting edition of fun fact friday! (applause, applause). i know you are all so happy to be here, so lets see what awesomely interesting things i can come up with for you today! (read: i am lame and bored and my lifes not all too interesting or exciting but im gonna try to pull some random stuff out for you to spend the next few minutes reading about and then move on with your evening).

ff 33: in 2004 i flew out to wyoming and went on a road trip with one of my best friends from high school. he had been working on a ranch for the summer and was going to drive back to maine, so i decided to tag along. we made a few stops on the way. (not so fun fact/long story short, road trip ended in phoenix and i flew home).

ff 34: i moved to phoenix, arizona in november of 2004, stayed for about 6 months and moved back home.

ff 35: after moving back from phoenix, i got an apartment with above mentioned friend, and we lived together for the next few years. this is one of my favorite things we had in our apartment. its rather special (and you will only truly understand if you are a red sox fan). actually even if you are a red sox fan, im not sure anyone can explain why a star wars christmas ornament replaced don orsillo when his head fell off. or why we then put him on buddy lee's body. like i said before, special.


ff 36: i.hate.los.angeles.

ff 37: i think this picture of us is so funny because i absolutely look preggo. if any of you know my fiance, this pic also makes me look tall. i am neither of those things.

ff 38: this might be one of my favorite things to make for BBQs: Broccoli salad
¼ cup bacon bits
1 head of fresh broccoli florets (cut up)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup sunflower seeds
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup light mayo
¼ cup sugar
mix mayo and sugar together. add all other ingredients and mix.

yuuuummmmmm

ff 39: if i ever see a toilet paper roll looking like this:

i must switch it so its like this:

i dont like if the toilet paper is touching the wall. i truly have a complex with it.

close to the coast 10k

writing this post race report reminds me much of how the race itself actually went. im struggling. no its not humid here at my computer desk. im not having difficulty catching my breath and im not cautiously looking down at my feet to make sure i dont roll an ankle on a root or rock on wooded paths. i just cant figure out what i want to say. but hey, im a runner. i never said was a writer.

i recently came across a great quote from Gatorade: "You have a choice. You can throw in the towel, or you can use it to wipe the sweat off of your face."

that pretty much sums up saturdays race, #6 in my 12 in 2010 quest. although the weather was not all that hot or sunny, the air was very humid and heavy, which made for a sweat fest within the first mile. we had a very scenic and beautiful place to run though, right along the water and through backwoods along the coast of freeport (home of LLBean for those of you non mainers).

the race started off running into the park through dirt roads and back out onto the entrance road. heres a shot ty snapped of me going back past him out of the park (and please note how freaking cute baby tyler is down in the corner! thats our friend marisa and johns son. mmmm hands taste so good)


i havent raced a 10k since last august so of course i went out too fast. i kept my nike+ set to "pace" to try to keep a steady 8:00 pace, but i was well under for the first two miles never seeing over 7:54. throw in about a mile and a half of steep uphills and i was a hurtin unit by the time we took a turn into a relatively flat residential neighborhood. i thought this would help me to maintain my pace but over the next mile i felt like i slowed significantly, and was keeping my pace about 8:12-8:20. at one point along this stretch i looked ahead of me and saw about 7 or 8 women right ahead of me. when i looked behind me i saw no one. was i last?! ugh. not a feeling you want to have (especially in a small race as this one was).

right about mile three we came upon a dead end with a cone where we had to run around it and turn back to where we came from. this brought me some relief because i was able to see that i was not in fact going to come in last place (phew!). i dont really think i actually believed i was last, but it was weird to turn around and have absolutely no one behind you for as far as you can see. after this turn around we headed into the woods for some trail running. i have not once trained on trails. ive heard great things about it, and was pre-warned to just make sure i am watching my feet (which i dont really like), but let me tell you, that was some truly great advice (thanks, Brendan!!... although i would like to think i would be smart enough to figure this out, but ya never know. the humidity was really getting to me at that point). tree roots, rocks, and uneven ground throughout the whole thing. and it had recently rained so they had put down wood planks with traction tape along places where there were puddles and mud. it was a mess back there, but i kept a 7:49 pace through it cuz i just wanted out!!

once back out on the road again i looked at my distance, hoping i was almost done. i had little to no desire to continue running. i was a sweat show. i couldnt get my breathing under control. my hip was starting to scream. lucky for me we only slightly over the halfway point! fail. i thought to myself awesome, if i had just done the 5k i would be done now (and my time at that point showing 25:10 would prove later on to be another reason i should have done it...). here is marisa finishing her 5k. quite a nice little hometown race, huh? not quite sure whats up with the yellow fire truck.


anyway, i kept dragging along. luckily we headed back onto the road we had started on, so those uphills were now down! at one point my pace said 6:58. sloooooooooooooow down!! i just really wanted to be done and i knew we were close to the finish line, but when i looked at my distance and discovered we still had a over a mile left, i was confused. i was unaware that once we got back into the park we got to do another sweet trail run before the finish. yay! (booooo). as poorly as my body actually felt, i knew i was still keeping pretty good time (not a PR but still ok) and i wanted to finish strong. we ran past everyone waiting for us at the finish line (note to race directors: dont have a race that runs past the finish line with a mile left to go. seriously. not cool) and off into the woods again. this was much better prepared than the first woods section, laid with wood chips throughout. it had a soft, cushioning feel to it which was a nice change from the pavement. but i still wasnt used to running on it so i had to continuously look down and brace myself. as you can see....

fun fact: right after we got onto the trails in here there was one port-a-potty and a woman in front of me stopped running and went in. ive never had to stop during this short of a distance so i was hoping she was ok. then there was a bench right near that above shown bridge that looked soooo inviting. i could swear it was calling out my name as i went by. i really really wanted to sit down, but i turned my head around and saw the port-a-potty woman coming up behind me and i thought im not letting her beat me after stopping to pee! and besides, who stops to sit on a bench in a 10k!? i carried on, but i still thought about it though.

right as we got off the trails and onto the road again, i stopped. there was a volunteer with a flag (so jealous! i heart volunteers) making sure we turned left and not right, and i just stopped right in front of him. i let out a heavy sigh and thought ok, this is it, and took off again.

i could see the finish line up ahead amongst all the trailers and stepped it up a notch. marisa, holding her daughter addison up by the 5mph sign cheered me in to the finish line.


and ty got this pic right before i crossed. looks like the very same form i had at the beginning (or it might be my "im hot and sweaty and miserable" form... thats funny. thats the same way i felt at the beginning...)

i ended up with a finishing time of 49:44, for an 8:01 pace. not too bad (just about 2 minutes off from my PR). i took 5th in my age group so i was unable to win the 1st/2nd place prize of a lovely pie (really wish i had gotten a pic of the table full of pie. it was pretty sweet). a friend of mine from high school also ran today... it was her first race in 2 years and she just had a baby less than 8 months ago!! she finished just ahead of me. yay betsy!

so back to that 5k time i was talking about.... when i saw the results yesterday, the F20-29 winner ran it in 23:23. the second place F20-29 ran 31:05. i could have gotten a pie.

my next two races are 10k as well- LLBean fourth of july 10k (where i PR'd last year- 49:00). its a really hilly course (and sarah threw up after she finished! hehe xoxo). i registered early enough to be one of the first 400 and will be getting a free pair of new balance running shoes! best.race.schwag.ever!! (did you see your most recent runners world? page 104, bottom left).

and august 7th is the world reknowned/most difficult race to enter td banknorth beach to beacon 10k, started by 1984 olympic marathon gold medal winner joan benoit samuelson (i broke my PR from the llbean race by over a minute, 47:50). if sitting at the computer for over an hour pressing refresh refresh refresh is your idea of a saturday morning in march, good luck! this race sells out in less than a half hour. its pretty sweet (and i have extra love for it since its in the town i grew up in).

halfway done. almost cant believe it.

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."

fun fact friday

ff 29: tomorrow is race #6 of my new years resolution, 12 in 2010. its a small race in freeport that has the option of either 5k or 10k. my choice to do the 10k is due to my deep hatrid for the 5k distance, although im slowly beginning to enjoy that distance more and more. either way, it should be a good time. i just so happened to come across the race results from last year and i could have a good chance to win my age group (i only have 5 more races in my current age group!). and get this... the 1st and 2nd place finishers in each win a PIE!!! who wouldnt try to run their best for that prize?!

ff 30: my 30th bday is in 5 months and 22 days. ugh.

ff 31: i have two spider plants. i barely remember to water them, but they get a ton of sunlight which i assume they enjoy. i know i like to get a lot of sun but i also dont like being dehydrated, so i should probably try harder to remember to water them more.

meet spidey:

and meet MJ. she has recently grown flowers that close into buds at night with the curtains pulled, and open up during the day with the sunlight. it baffles me. i didnt know they grew flowers.

ff 32: for the month of june i am running (at least) 1 mile every day as well as a sit up/push up/jumping jack routine (for the first week i did 25 of each, this week i have been doing 50, next week will be 75, then 100. for the last 4 days of the month ill do 125). today is the 11th day of the month. i dont know how crazy people like dean karnazes and the like are able to run marathons day after day, there have been a few days already that ive had to literally dragged myself out to just do one freaking mile! so far ive logged 25 miles and 400 sit ups/push ups/jumping jacks. im definitely feeling much stronger, and can do almost 20 push ups consecutively now (before i couldnt even do 5).

ff 33: i got this lovely surprise in the mail today:

at this point im sure most of you know what operation jack is, but click that link if you dont. sam is running 60 marathons this year to raise awareness for autism. you can support this great cause on his site and get yourself one of these comfy shirts! he has a contest every week for his races, so get on over there and check it out.

post race recap coming sunday. half way there!!!

fun fact friday- favorites

tv shows:
-friends (especially season 4, episode: the one with the embryos)
-greys anatomy (season three)
-big brother

books:
-i know this much is true- wally lamb
-i am charlotte simmons- tom wolfe

sports team:
-red sox

celebrity:
-jennifer aniston

songs:
-true companion- marc cohn
-pearl- paula cole
-fix you- coldplay
-come away with me- norah jones
-the adventure final- angels & airwaves

movies:
-st elmos fire


-shes having a baby


race medal:
-rock & roll arizona 1/2 marathon 2006


drink:
-water
-bud light

condiment:
-ranch

deli meat:
-salami

pizza topping:
-green pepper & mushroom

old article of clothing:
-white VS sweatpants

new article of clothing:
(seriously, how cute is this scrub top?! i will wear with either black, white, or yellow pants)

didnt i just do this?

so today (well, technically yesterday) starts yet another 18 week journey to the 26.2 finish line. october 3rd will mark my third marathon, running the maine marathon in portland, me. i was hoping to also run another marathon within 16 days of that race, but unfortunately this may not be achieved this year (which makes me sad). i have already registered for the mount desert island marathon which will be held 14 days later, but i will be attending a wedding in new hampshire the night before and havent quite set my priorities straight just yet. so we'll see :)

as i am slightly new to this whole marathon training thing, im certain of only a few things. one is that im not good at following the 18 week programs from start to finish (accurately at least). another is that even if i dont follow the program exactly as written, ive still finished both my marathons (running across the finish line with a smile). three weeks ago i got a marathon PR by over 27 minutes. so i must be doing something right, yes?

what i dont know is the following: do i really need to start back at the beginning? an 18 week training program is designed to slowly build mileage to get you to the long runs of 20-22 miles, preparing you for what is to come. lets be honest, i dont care if youve run 100 marathons or 1 marathon, you dont forget what its like. and with having just run 26.2 three weeks ago, do i really need to start back at running a 3 mile tempo run, with my long runs being under 10 miles for the next four weeks?

ive been looking at a few programs and have yet to decide on one (which is probably an issue, since training begins this week...). its tough for me to follow one exactly as written because of my work schedule, but i figure as long as im pounding pavement for x miles/week (and making sure i dont skimp on my long runs) i should be ok.

my main goal for this marathon is to PR (again). this can (and will) happen if i keep myself healthy. i personally think sugarloaf was a more difficult course than maine, and with less hills i might be able to add a little more speed. im also used to running the streets of portland, and can train on the hills this summer. my knees were shot after mile 20 and my quads were screaming from the 16 miles of downhill slope at sugarloaf.

one of the training plans that im looking at has me doing track workouts/sprints which i think will help me get faster. i did one today (8x400) and decided i hate track workouts lol (awesome, since its the first day). although my times stayed consistent throughout (the first was the fastest at 1:28, the rest were around the same times- 1:32, 1:33, 1:36, 1:37, 1:36, 1:37, 1:35), i felt like dying. i wanted to quit after four, but i pushed two more out. i wanted to quit again but again decided i was better and stronger than that. its too easy to give up when youre training by yourself. if im going to get faster i have to push myself. no ones going to do it but me. and no one ever said this was easy. (i will now remind myself of my previous blog entry, i think easy is boring).

so this is it. here we go again... sit back and enjoy the ride. i know from experience, its totally worth it.