My dirty little secret.

Not so "dirty" really, and definitely not "double-r" dirrty (ala Christina A) ~ although I have had my moments. Misleading I know. But hey, call me a sensationalist!

The QUEEN of DIRRTY

My 2007 race calendar has looked something like this:

1. Half #9 - PF CHang's RNR AZ Half Marathon - mission accomplished


2. Half # 10 - Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon - mission accomplished


3. Half #11 - Detroit Free Press/ New Balance International Half Marathon - 5 weeks away

Muy impressivo, no? No. And my training for these races has been as lack-luster as you can imagine - as some have witnessed first-hand *cough*DenisePatBarbMike*cough*.

PF Chang's Training consisted of: running ZERO miles. Sadly, that is not an exaggeration. Not even a casual bike ride or swim for cross-training was to have been had. I could not face a DNS. I just could not do that. I learned a lesson that I should have just watched the race to cheer on Denise and Pat, not actually attempting it myself. Oddly enough, it wasn't my worst half. Crazier things have happened in my life.

I trained much harder for the CDC in August. And we all know how training for that went. MUCH better than for PF Chang's... not as good as for the Freep last October. I beat my self-predicted finishing time by 0:07. I am talking 7 seconds people. I finished with a hard-earned smile on my face thanks to the Running Jayhawk Barb running me in to the final stretch, Denise cheering me on from the side-lines, Josh cheering me on via Denise, and my local Chicago friends coming out to run across the finish line with me. That was probably one of the most satisfying races I have ever completed. I really had pushed myself.

So here I am 5 weeks out from my favorite race EVAH and I have JUST gotten back into the training zone. It feels good. My type-A personality would not let me settle for my performances this year. I am pushing myself every day a little more and making... yes you guessed it... forward motion.

I am going to be a training machine for the next month. I got my groove back Wednesday at Master' Swim class. I kicked a lil ass Thursday with the miracle mile. 5 weeks out and I am back on track for training.

So then, what is my dirty little secret? I am running race tomorrow. This race will be my first non-13.1 miler all year. And I am GEEKED.

I have finally proven to myself that I am worth my salt (to borrow a phrase from the Romans, and my mom.) I am more than capable.

And in 5 weeks, when I cross the finish line OUTSIDE OF FORD FIELD (can you tell that I am upset about the lack of finishing on the 50-yard line INSIDE?) HM #11 will be in the books, and I will be stronger than ever.

})i({

The Chicago Distance Classic Recap. It's a long one!

I have been travelling to Chicago every single year (if not every 6 months or so) since the day I turned 20. In 9 years I have still not even scratched the surface as to the beauty of this city. I have always loved Chicago. Many of my friends now live in Chicago. It is a city of duality... fast and slow. Active and lazy. But always feeling just right. It just works. And after Sunday's race I have better resspect for the city.

The CDC was a great race in the perfect place. By far my fave... but I will have to return in 2008 because I left something out on the course that I need to recover.... but more on that later! First - I have a whole lot of recapping to do!

It was another growing experience. And I am still beaming.

Thurday 8/9 - The arrival AKA Superdawg' rule!
We arrived in Chicago and headed straight to the Superdawg. *drool* LOVED it. LOVED it!

After scarfing down superdawg fully loaded, fries, and a super freaking thick chocolate shake we headed back to Armitage and Wood to meet up with our hosts for the weekend, our friends Matt and Shar.

The night was filled with Peruvian food, Wii bowling, and Red Lager from Wisconsin.

Friday 8/10 - RBF meet up
Friday ws pretty nice. I went for a quick 1 mile run with Shar, a new runner! I felt amazing. The pace kept tending towards 11 minutes, so I had to pull ourselves back. My goal for Sunday was to run the race in 12:10 minute miles. It felt good knowing that my comfort level was now well past 12 minute miles.

After running, we hit the gym with Mike, and I busted out some chest and tricep workouts. The Bally's over by Bucktown was very nice, and had a lot of different machines thn our local one does. We spent more time in the free-weight room than normal. I am definitely getting comfortable with myself and working out in front of people.

After the gym, we hung out for a bit and headed downtown to meet up with Josh and Denise (aka the dynamic duo) for dinner at Shaw's Crab House. I strongly recommend the crab cakes and a white peach martini. Because seriously - that rocked.

After a great dinner and closing Shaw's down (they were a bit slow in serving us), Matt, Shar, Mike, and I parted ways with the dynamic duo, and stopped off at RedFish's VooDoo Lounge for a nightcap. All I can say here is that I am glad my drink was free (the bartender bought it for me) because it was NASTY. But it was officially my 29th birthday so I needed to start it off right, right?

Saturday 8/11 - My birthday, a near miss with Heath Ledger, an Expo, and nerves
I woke up and decided to hit the Expo. Due to the late night prior, we ended up dragging butt getting ready and finally headed out to the expo well after 1:00PM (sorry Denise and Josh!).

On our way to the expo, and to meet up with the dynamic duo once again, somehow we manage to walk right onto the set of the new Batman movie. All of a sudden I see a SWAT van hurry past us and end at the bank we were almost 100 feet away from... and then I relized that the SWAT van read "Gotham City", and then I heard "Cut!" and new right away that Chicago's birthday gift to me was a near encounter with Heath Ledger.

Thank you Chicago. No. Really.

By the time we got to the expo - where a very loud and flashy Northern Indian wedding was taking place, Denise and Josh were already at the bar. That my friends, is impressive. ;)

I got my things for the race, as well as perused the very small expo. This is where I learn that I am a bitch when I have no food in me. It is now almost 3PM and I have not eaten anything all day. I am in rare form I tell you. Or more so my friends told me. ;)

We ate a very delayed lunch at a restaurant in the Water Tower place (the cafeteria style restaurant on the Mezanine level) and then headed over to the John Hancock tower. They told us it would be 30 minutes in line, then 1.5 hours until we were back down. Uuummm... no thank you... I hve a schedule to maintain people, and this just will not do. Next trip to Chi-town this is a must, this time however it will have to be a pass. :(

We continued to walk down Michigan Ave for a while looking for the Virgin store - yeah it is SHUT DOWN. WTF? Oh well. By now everything on the Mag Mile was shutting down, so we hopped in a cab and headed home just in time for a suprise Birthday dinner/pre-race carboloading!

After the festivities I really did try to go to bed. I put on my race clothes and pinned my number on. I gathered all of my supplements and food, and made my Accelerade bottle for the next day to refridgerate it. I was all set on the equipment side. I just could.not.get.to.bed.

I honestly think I got 30-45minutes of sleep before being awoken at 4:30AM by thunder and lightening. Which brings us to race-day....

Sunday 8/12 - Race Day, Recovery, and the next race
Little sleep does not affect me when I have a big race. Aapparently. Thank goodness the rain stopped by the time my cab dropped us off a mere 2 blocks away from the start line. I had arrived a lot earlier than normal, but being in big city you never know what to expect!

After warming up my muscles, and going for a quick jog, Mike kissed me and wished me good luck, and I lined up firmly with the 2:45 pace group. I knew that if I could staay with them I would be alright.

The gun went off, and as always it took a while to cross the start line. This was it. I am doing it!

Much to my dismay... 4 minutes into the run the pace group starts walking. WHAT?!?!?!?! Crap. I keep on going. I really should have stuck with them as the run/walk technique may have saved me. But no. Of course not. I ran! Fast!

I went based on feeling, not pace.

Mile 1 - 11:01.

Mile 2 - 10:50.

Mile 3: 11:00 flat.

Oh. Crap. I wanted to run 12:10's - and now I stared to think that I was headed for possible trouble.

My tingling Jenn senses are rarely wrong.

Mile 4 comes and goes and I have slowed down considerably. Plus somehow my Garmin is all janked up and telling me that I am somewhere in the middle of mile 5, and at a 20 minute pace, but completing my lap in 5 minutes each. WHAT????? My garmin would remain useless for the rest of the run.

The one thing that at first shocked me, but then motivated me - was the fact that your name is on your bib so everyone cheering can yell directly for you. It is unnerving to hear hundreds of people cheer out yoru name. But then it quickly becomes motivating and awesome. You truly feel the spirit of the race. And it is breathtaking, just like the place you are running in and around.

Around mile 4.5 I realize that I am starting to feel slight pain. I just have not figured it out yet. At mile 5 - that is where the 2:45 pace groups catches up with me (or rather I slow down and have them own me for a half mile) until I realize that the pain is not leg pain or back pain... it is foot pain. Both feet. And my shoes are not giving me the cushin I need. My shoes... are dead. OMG, my shoes are dead! Crap on toast.

I made it to mile 8 before I had a chance to sit down and massage my feet. No blisters, no cardio issues (I ws running conservatively for the sake of my feet - and was walking at this point now as well.) and no fatigue issues. If I could have taken my feet off and ran on stumps I would have been great!

I knew that I would be lucky if I finished in under 3:15. My feet were really hurting me.

At this point I am upset only that I was being held back by my own ignorance for my one piece of neccesary equipment - the shoes.

I honestly lost track of how many miles I had logged on
them. And I broke my own rule of shoes... alway rotate in another pair. D'oh!

I threw back on my shoes and was then was able to make it up Lake Shore Drive, through the Shedd Aquarium, the museums, and back into Grant Park with the help with a running partner I had picked up at Mile 8. She was also struggling with some pain issues, so we kept each other entertained and positive.

By now I had less than 1 mile left, but had to walk most of it due to the pain. I came across the Reebok sign (to the left) at the 20K mark, and it really made me smile. I knew that I had done something awesome, despite the roadblocks and obstacles that I have delt with over the past 3 months of training.

And that is what this race was about for me. It was a
personal reward for making better decisions in life with respect to my health
and happiness

It was just past this very sign (about 200 feet or so) that I saw someone out of the corner of my eye - the one and only Running Jayhawk, Barb! I called out to her, hoping to get a rest for my severly bruised feet - but she rallied the runnergirl within me, and ran with me up to her hubby Out of Shape Guy, who had just finished with a PR. Awesome job!

I think that I really needed to see people that I was "familiar" with at this point - people who know all about the struggles during a bad race, people who appreciate pushing it to the end. People like fellow RBFers!!! There is no group out there like them!

As I passed OOSG, I saw Denise waiting for me at the next turn. I yelled to her, she took my picture, and then I saw my Mike up ahead at the end of the straight away. I stopped and walked, which really ticked me off - that is how I know that I was really hurt, because I can ALWAYS run it in the last mile!

He got me running yet again, and as I rounded the corner... there was Matt and Shar! Shar ran it in with me across the finish line and...

bib# 5296, RunnerGirl, Farmington Hills MI, age 29 3:14:53

... I did it! I narrowly finished in under 3:15, but I did it. I had fun. And you know what?

I FINISHED WITH A HUGE SMILE ON MY FACE

What a perfect finish to a perfect day. I turned 29. I ran a tough mental race. And I finished with a great experience.

A very special thank you goes out to every one of you who have cheered me on -
either in person or via my blog. Josh it was great to meet you
finally! Denise, thank you for comming out to cheer me on and have lunch! Barb
it was awesome to have you help me out in my extreme time of need (thank you
SOOOO much)- and Mike (OOSG) thank you for your fondess of Superdawgs.

My next half? Detroit. October 21st. Watch out Detroit - RunnerGirl is back in full force.

I am taking a few days off from training, then this Sunday I am back out there for 7 - and bck into my Asicss Gel's that I abandoned for the shiney new Mizuno Waverider 9's that I killed. I am 11 weeks out from Detroit and rigth where I need to be!

With much love and gratitude to each and every one of you out there,

RunnerGirl ~ })i({~

Reflections in the wading pool of life - Running

I slept for over 9 hours last night. This means that I missed my 5:00AM alarm for my 3 miler. Instead I slept through it... for almost 2 hours. Why am I so tired?

I came into work and everyone was yawning. A'ight. I don't feel so bad then. Which makes me happy actually because today is an accomplished day already and I have not even set out on my 3-miler. (Yeah, I now have to do it this afternoon before the gym.) I walked a total of 4 miles at lunch.

I broke through the 3.4 mile barrier finally! *celebrate with me y'all!* It was much cooler than usual. A nice breeze was present, there was more shade than usual, and more people were out and about today. We also went earlier due to my 1:00PM meeting back at the office, which ended up being cancelled anyhow. All in all it was a great break in the day.

While out on this walk, my co-worker Stacy and I always talk about school (we are both GMI Alums), home life and work (we both live in Farmington Hills with our boyfriends, and we are in the same division at work) as well as health in general.

So there we are walking and talking and I tell Stacy about my entrance into the world of triathlon. We then talk about swimming (she is a swimmer) and biking, and I think how wonderful it would be to go lay out at the pool tonight, and maybe do my first mini-workout of 5 X 25 or 5 X 50 just for fun. Then I had to stop myself. Oh yeah – I have to get in 3miles, cook dinner, eat and hit the gym - all in the span of 3 hours. No time left for the pool or swimming, at least not at home. Maybe I can swing it at Bally's, but I am already going to be spending over an hour there for the run and strength training... and Mike had to work a freaking double today so he has been up since 3AM. OK – no swim for me tonight! ;)

This thinking really made me decide to rank my races into "A", "B", and "C" brackets. I think that this will help clarify my goals for training and running, as right now I am treating the CDC the same as the Freep. So not the case.


"A" Races
"A" races are the main reasons I am training. My 'MUST-DO" runs. The 'big" events.
CRIM 10 miler (PR goal)
Detroit Free Press/NB Half Marathon (PR goal)

Chicago Distance Classic (CDC) (just get out and have fun!)

"B" Races
"B" races are those that will help me get to the "A" races, are ones that I really want to do, but am not married to them.
Chicago Half

"C" Races
"C" races are strictly to go and do – no heart break if I do not do them. The Flying Pig was a "C" race for me.
Phedippidations Worldwide Half Marathon
BAA Boston Half (Visit my friend EJ and have fun)
Run with Donna Marathon (may do half due to Tri and Du season – conflicts in training)

No matter what - The day that the run stops being fun is the day that I know that I am loosing sight of the goal. I am only racing against me in this – no one else. And that is so wonderful and freeing!

Off for a nice 3 miler!

})i({ RunnerChica

Picture from the great RBF meet-up in AZ

Here is the pic from Seamus's. Myself, Denise, and Pat.

We had a blast!

Tomorrow - my first run on my new training.

Wooooo! My calf is a li'l sore still, but I am good enough to get out and do SOMETHING. This race did exactly what I had hoped - reenergized baby!

I will be starting my Hal Higdon Intermediate training program, with hills, speedwork, and distance. I am very excited. Time to face my speedwork deamons in the face and tell them where to go!

In fact I will be training my friend Par in running now - the plan is for her to do the Flying Pig 5k or even 10k in May.

I will be in the half marathon, hopefully a friend of ours, Amanda will either be doing the half or full, and with Par that makes for a very enjoyable trip!

Who all here is doing the Pig? I see Running Rabbit is... any others??? I was debating about either dong the Pig again, or the Minnie marathon (how cute is that???) in Disney the same weekend. But if I run the Pig again, I can count it for KY this year. So that is what I will do!

My goal for the Pig is a steady 2:40. The first thing I want to buy for myself is a Garmin 305. I need a HRM badly, and this way I will give my Garmin 201 to either Par or Amanda.

Oh well, enough of my babble - have a good evening!

3:31:38

After review of the tape lol... I finihed in better than I thought!

3:31:38. Now that is pretty cool.

Recap of the past three days...

FRIDAY - 1/12/07
I had to wake up at 3:00AM EST (which was 1:00AM MT) in order to make it to the airport for my flight out to AZ. Arrived without incident, which was a welcome change!

The flight was looooooong, but I slept a li'l, and then finished up the movie Calendar Girls on my iPod, and then watched HP PoA on the Portable DVD player. Lurve that movie.

Landed, got the car, and headed to my hotel in Tempe. Uuuummm... the hotel is sweet. I am right outside the pool and jacuzzi, but I also have a jacuzzi in my room! I also have a full kitchen (ceramic stove-top, oven, full fridge, etc.)! Yeah I love this place - and for $79 a night, who can complain!

After checking in to my hotel, I drove to Chandler for lunch and a visit to one of my suppliers. Left there to return to the hotel, then drove into dowtown Phoenix to meet up with some fellow RBFers - Denise, Pat and his wife. Unfortunately a few did not make it there (Angie, etc.) but regardless, it was a great time meeting fellow runners and hearing their stories of why they do it, how they started, and their future plans.

This was a great way to get remotivated!

After dinner, I went back to my hotel and crashed. It was 9:30PM, and I had been up since 1AM - you do the math.

SATURDAY - 1/13/07
Woke up in the AM, grabbed some fuel at the resturant outside my room (I know - I am lucky!), then drove back in to Phoenix to pick up Denise and do the expo. Sweet! I found out that we get free flip-flops at the finish line! That really excites me! I picked up my shirts, my number, and bought a few packs to attach to my marathon-belt. After a man massaged our calves with this amazing product (wintercrest) Denise and I both bought a small size to bring with us to the race. My muscles feel amazing! We even put a little on our gums, and it woke me right up! We will see how this does tomorrow during the race. (hint - it saves my calves at mile 2!)

We then toured Grand Canyon University (GCU), where Denise will be graduating from in 2008. Since she is a corresondant student, she wanted to actually see the campus before graduation! It is really nice, actually. Plenty of orange trees and well manicured palm trees!
After GCU, I went to Papago Park. Oh my. Wow. Amazing scenery. It reminded me a little of red rock canyon... except for it was Papago... and not a canyon. I then headed over to the Botanical Gardens for a walk and to check out the flora of Arizona. Pretty impressive! You can tell I had a good day - look how many pics I posted up on my page! I also managed to walk about 5 miles yesterday. So much for a rest day!

I went to dinner for a li'l carbo loading (only had a 1/2 C pasta, the rest was chicken), and then headed off to bed after assuring everything was laid out and accounted for. Oh yeah - sleepytime! Oh but wait - what is that noise that sounds a lot like my room's smoke alarm? Oh it is! After an hour of waiting on the desk guy to come and change batteries, he decided to just give me an additional room. Sweet - the executive suite! Bad side - I went to bed well after midnight. Damn you!

SUNDAY 1/14/07

A moment of silence for my feet please.





*silence*



OK, thank you. ;)



Woke up, got ready, hit the shuttle, and arrived at the Marathon start to watch the Marathon festivities prior to getting ready for my own.

To sum up the half start- it started late, and it took about 24 minutes to get to the start due to wave starting. I took a salt packet at the start and that really helped me. I had no real issues - except for muscle cramping du eto lack of use prior to the race! I did OK run/walking to mile 7 when I made the decision to walk the rest of the way. My feet had thawed out by then, and I saw massive blisters. Yeah - that was my downfall! My stubbornness!

My feet got so cold at the start (my shoes are wonderful for summer - horrible for winter!) that they started to blister and I did not realize this until mile 7. Great times lay ahead!

Now I need to throw in a disclaimer here - I really have only ran twice since the Freep - and those were two 5ks. *blushes* DO NOT YELL AT ME! I was injured and wrapping up school - however I made Mike a promise that if I felt uneasy I would drop out of the race, I at least needed to start it. I was in no way prepared for the race physically. I fully expected to walk about half the race - and I made it a little further than that until I finally decided to just walk the rest of the way.

Once I made up my mind to completely walk the last 6.1 miles, I started to really enjoy the company of the people around me! My informal "happiness" goal was to finish in less than 3:40 - a full hour over my running goal. And I think that I did it! I finished in a gun time of 3:58 and change - remove the 24 or so minutes it took for me to reach the start (my chip time) and you have roughly 2:34 and change!

This was by far my worst half in terms of time, but one of the best in terms of enjoyment! I only regret not being better physically ready - but at the end of the day I still finished! And that is all that matters to me.

Remember - this is about the journey, not the finish time! Hey - I run for wine, not time! lol

Well, I am very happy with this trip. Will I do this one again? Ummmmmm... probably not. Well at least not until I have met my 25 in 25 goal!

Up next - the Flying Pig (possibly), Chicago Half, and Freep.

Keep on running!

Jenn