Rookie on the Run

I ordered it!! Thanks for all the Garmin advice! Santa is coming early this year and he'll be arriving in a brown truck, most likely on Wednesday or Thursday. I think I'm going to call* my new running partner Rudolph: He's red, will guide me on my runs (fog, or no fog), and the name is appropriate for the season. I'll call him Rudy for short. *I got the idea to name my Garmin from Irene over at Magazine Smiles . Her Garmin is a girl but I guess mine will be a boy. Maybe if they get together, they can make little Garmin babies. What do you get when you cross a 305 with a 405?

Hey, Running Blogger Friends! I decided for Santa that he is going to bring me a Garmin for Christmas. I'm looking at the Garmin Forerunner 305 on Amazon.com . The price is better than I expected and it has great reviews. I put it in my shopping cart but don't want to click "checkout" until I find out what you think. So, those of you who have this watch or know someone who does, please let me know what you think. Thanks! I appreciate your input!

What a Difference in Weather Three days ago, it was hot & sunny here. I ran in shorts and short sleeves... and I was still too hot! Today, the weather was completely different. It's been raining, hailing, and is a bit chilly. And I love it! The rain almost kept me from my scheduled 5-mile run today. By the afternoon, however, I had cabin fever and decided that the rain wasn't going to keep me from the trail run I had been looking forward to. What motivated me even more was Ann's post at Run DMZ about the very area where I was planning to run. Thanks, Ann! What a Difference in my Run Today's run was so different in every way from the last two runs I did. My calf felt fine. I wasn't too hot. I wasn't scared. It was so much fun! In short, I loved today's run. I felt great and must have had a big grin on my face the entire time. Even when it started to sprinkle on me, I just kept running and smiling. What a Difference a Trail Makes I absolute...

Mule Hill, Round II On Wednesday I did it. I went back to Mule Hill and ran it. OK, OK... it turns out I mostly ran it . As I was (mostly) running, I was thinking up a way to blog my run. My Mule Hill Come-Back . I was trying to come up with a great one... one that would bring sponsors, test products, cool gear for give-aways... I tried, but all I've got for you are the same questions I asked myself along the way. Rhetorical Questions Don't worry about answering these... unless you really want to. My Running Thoughts... Why are there so few people on the trail the day before Thanksgiving? Why is it nearly 80 degrees out on the day before Thanksgiving? Why can't I have one of those bodies that allows me to pull off running in just a cute little sports bra? With shorts, of course! Why didn't I get up earlier to do this run? How am I going to know how far I've run since there aren't any mile markers on this trail? Why didn't I buy a Garmin when I had th...

This has been a busy day! And based on what I've been reading, you are all busy too. In spite of all this craziness- and following the example of so many other bloggers- I want to take a few minutes to share what I'm thankful for: Life in General: My husband: He really is a great guy! My boys: They are the best! My home: It's small but I love it. My church: It's casual, welcoming, and filled with fun people. My neighborhood: I love the hills behind my house! My new job: I love that my schedule won't take me away from my kids. I think it'll be fun and the extra paycheck will be very welcome. Health: What a blessing that my boys and family are healthy! Running: I got to run today!! Less pain in my heel Less pain in my calf The weather here... which allows me to run outside year-round My Blogger friends... sounds cheesy but it's true. You help keep me motivated! My cute little socks Sunscreen Lip Balm My iPod Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I've ...

Calorie Counting Yep, that's what I'm doing these days. I like it better when I don't know how many calories are in my favorite treats. For example, my beloved Eggnog Latte from Starbuck's is 470 calories. And that's just the Grande size! Before I knew that little fact, I would tell myself that it couldn't be too bad. POP! That's the sound of my blissful bubble of ignorance bursting. Chocolate Covered Candy Cane Jo-Jos from Trader Joe's: POP! One cookie has 150 calories! I ate four of them on Sunday. Before I bothered to check. I could go on and on but the sound of popping bubbles is giving me a headache. Alas*, it's good to know these things. I watched School House Rock when I was a kid, and they told me that knowledge is power. It has to be true. "Conjunction-Junction, what's your function?" Ahhhh... those were the days! In Other News... Tomorrow I am taking on Mule Hill again. My calf feels a little better and I...

First of all, congratulations to all of you who had races today! I've read so many awesome race reports... even a few Boston Qualifiers! Thanks for all the advice regarding my calf. It still hurts so I'm going to keep giving it rest and try rolling it with The Stick . Hopefully, I'll be able to get back out there soon! I still don't know what is going on with it but I'm not too worried since I've gone through worse in my short running history. Meanwhile, I will continue with my strength training. The Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge starts tomorrow and I want to kick butt in this challenge... even if it is just my own. I'm going to need the motivation to keep myself from gaining weight over the holidays. My body just doesn't metabolize like it used to. So Hard to Say NO My biggest temptations during this time of year are fudge and Egg Nog Lattes from Starbucks. I don't mean to brag, but I make the best fudge I've ever tasted (I think it...

Friday morning I woke up with a mild headache. I popped some ibuprofen and by the afternoon it was mostly gone. Good news, right? I wish! I think it just went away for a little while to gather more troops for its assault on my brain. My mild headache came back as what I can only describe as an I-want-to-rip-my-head-off migraine by 9:00 pm. After a very restless night of uncomfortable sleep, I woke up Saturday morning with a pain-free head. The headache left its groggy residue on me, though, and I was worried about doing something to trigger it again. By mid-morning, I felt more confident that my headache was gone for good. I went outside to test the temperature and discovered a glorious, gorgeous, perfect day! I immediately got ready to run. I had been planning to do my four-miler on a local trail called "Mule Hill Trail". I had always wanted to try it and this was the day! Beautiful weather, awesome trail, no headache... I was sooo looking forward to this. I took...

Breaks I appreciate all your bloggy input regarding my new training schedule! A lot of you affirmed my decision to modify my schedule to one less running day per week. It seems weird to run only three days a week while training for a longish race... but I know my body will appreciate the break ! Brakes The stupid brakes in our Nissan Quest (minivan) decided to start grinding this weekend. At least that's how it feels. The last time this happened, we ended up having to replace all the brakes and brake-parts. The part that makes me mad is that we did all this work less than two years and 20,000 miles ago. There goes another chunk of money out the door. Grrrr... The good news is, my husband is going to take the van into the dealership and ride his bike to work from there. I was not looking forward to sitting at the dealership all morning, while the service department checked and replaced brakes that should not need to be replaced already. It also means I don't have to g...

Today's Training: 30 Minutes Cross-Training Bike Riding 5.4 Miles My Modified Hal Higdon Half-Marathon Training Plan OK... here it is, in all its color-coded glory I call it modified because I opted to have one less running day each week on my schedule. After the way my body rebelled during my marathon training, I do NOT want to overdo it again. I also added an extra day of strengthening and stretching. My target areas to strengthen are my legs, arms, and core. I have three reasons for this: To look good in my Running Skirt (vanity, pure & simple) To be able to run faster and better To prevent injuries, especially to my knees I'm sure many of you more experienced runners notice that I don't have any fancy running tricks on my schedule such as Fartleks , hill repeats , numbers X more numbers , and so on. To be honest, those things scare me... they seem so unrookie-like. I plan on incorporating speed work and Fartleks and maybe even some hill repeats as I become...

I don't have much time to write tonight. This has been a super busy day! I just wanted to let everyone know that I started a training program for my half marathon in February. I'll show it off tomorrow.... it's even color-coded! Technically, I should have started the training last Sunday but I was too busy causing bodily damage to myself in Vegas. And then it took a couple days to recover. So, today was the day. Here's what I did: 45 minutes of strength training 15 minutes of stretching Tomorrow (Friday) is a cross-training day. I'm going to ride my bike, even though the darn chain keeps falling off. We plan get the bike into the shop for a tune-up so, hopefully, that will soon be a thing of the past. There you go... short and sweet, as promised! Happy Friday, Bloggers!

How do you like my random, inconsistent blog themes? I doubt by next Wednesday I will remember that I created "What-Does-That-Have-To-Do-With-Running? Wednesday". I'll probably be on some other weekday related kick. It's how I keep life interesting. Plus, I'm forgetful... so it works for me. Now for the nonrunning-related blog stuff: It Looks Like Good News It looks like I have a job! I've been sort of looking since August but have found very few opportunities that fit into my Mommy Schedule. Honestly, I don't know how working moms juggle it all! I got a call yesterday from the director of my son's preschool and I sensed right away what the purpose of the call was. I had mentioned a few months ago that I would be interested in applying to work at the preschool should the opportunity arise. Well, apparently the need has risen and the director wants me to fill it! The problem is, I'm both overqualified and underqualified. I'm licens...

It's a LIE! What happens in Vegas doesn't really stay in Vegas. Especially when it comes to the hefty meals, high-calorie cocktails, and yummy desserts consumed. Those things came home with me... on my butt, waist, and hips. I had a great time but now I've got some serious damage control to do. I've been heavier than I like to be lately and my poor eating choices in Las Vegas left me feeling like I should try out for next season's Biggest Loser. I need Jillian to yell at me, I think. The Eight-Second Workout Plan The Professional Bull Riders World Finals was awesome! This was my third year attending the event and it gets better every year. It is surprisingly exciting to watch someone try to stay on a pissed-off, bucking, 1500 pound bull with a name like "Nasty Town". The riders only have to stay on for eight seconds in order to receive a score... but eight seconds is a looong time and few men make it. I have to say, those professional bull riders...

I Confess Confession can be so good for the soul, so here goes... I didn't run this morning (boo! hiss! *tomatoes being thrown*). If you read last night's blog, you know I had every intention to run at the crack of dawn. I didn't. Truth is, I went to bed too late. After I signed off of blogger, I started playing Solitaire on my cell phone and couldn't stop until I won one ... two ... three games. I am a sock whore! I just finished packing for Vegas. I swear, I have packed more socks than anyone could EVER possibly need! I don't even think I'll need socks. But I need to pack them, if that makes sense. I L-O-V-E Socks! I don't really like the girl (Tracey) who got kicked off of The Biggest Loser tonight. However, I almost cried when I got to see her beautiful family. I hardly ever almost cry. I plan on buying a huge bag of Peanut M&Ms tomorrow for our road trip to Vegas. I'm really looking forward to playing Solitaire and eating Pe...

Monkeys I don't normally like monkeys (although, I wouldn't mind my very own marmoset ). One monkey, however, has really grown on me since I became a mom. That would be George... you know, the monkey who lives with the Man in the Yellow Hat? My youngest and I used to watch Curious George faithfully on PBS... until he discovered the nautical nonsense of Sponge Bob, that is. During a brief moment of Spongelessness, we found ourselves watching an episode of Curious George I had never seen before. In this episode, Professor Wiseman (The Man in the Yellow Hat's ambiguous girlfriend?) signed up to participate in a race. Here's the episode description as found on the PBS website : Curious George, Personal Trainer Professor Wiseman is too busy to keep an exercise routine. So when she signs up to run in a fund-raising footrace, she enlists George as her personal trainer to help whip her into shape. George quickly learns there is more to exercising than meets the eye, an...