I Might Be Losing My Mind

In time, we all show our true colors.  My colors are about to show that I am a bit crazy.  Really, I blame my husband who bought me awesome trail runners and a copy of Trail Running Magazine for Christmas.  I’m completely obsessed with the idea of running The Rut which is a 50K ultra trail marathon held in September in Big Sky, MT.

Registration opens on January 5th and you can bet I’ll be sitting on that one.

I’ve also been trying to talk Mitch in to doing it with me.  Because why wouldn’t he want to run 31’ish miles on one of the toughest trails when he hasn’t run anything longer than a 5K road race?  He has eight months to train, right?  If he goes for it, it will either be awesome for our marriage or leave it in shambles. Haha!  The couple that plays together, stays together.  {Mitch, if you are reading this I want you to know that it is okay to say “No.”  I understand!}

Probably the thing I am looking forward to most is training for it.  Oddly, I am excited to practice running on steep hills and rocky terrain.  Training for The Rut has got to help make me faster for a flat road marathon I would think.  I also think it will help take some of the dull out of marathon training.

And Now…

For my first ever runners tip!!!

Chapstick as Body Glide:  I usually keep a tube of chapstick in my hydration belt when I’m on a long run.  But typically, hydro belts have limited space and you can’t fit a stick of Body Glide with the myriad of other items you must carry on a long run.  On a run earlier this year I started to chafe on the underside of my arm where it rubbed against my singlet.  After going through this torture during my marathon (link to marathon blog), I didn’t want to live through the torture again so I grabbed my tube of chapstick and used it in place of Body Glide and what do you know?  It worked awesome.  Of course, I will never use it on my lips again but I now have a permanent and easily portable tube of lubricant for emergencies.

What’s the longest you’ve ever run?

Any great running tips to share?

Belated Christmas Blog

A Belated Merry Christmas to You!!!

I had a very Merry Runner Christmas.  My husband is good at picking gifts for me.

We had a very quiet day at our house.  It snowed for Christmas and we didn't have any family plans this year.  The only reason we ventured out was for our run/ride.

We both looked just a little ridiculous, but it was only 17 degrees!

We went to Norm's Island - Its a great little trail by the Yellowstone River

Mitch has been a great blog helper and takes running pictures for me all the time now!

The best part of our trip was finding decorated trees along the trail.  How festive!!

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I may or may not have mentioned before that I've been participating in the Runner's World Run Streak over the holidays.  To keep the streak alive, I needed to run at least one mile every day from Thanksgiving until New Years Day.

But really.... I'm almost to the finish line.  Day 34 of 37.  Mitch even ran the last 2 nights with me.

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On a side note, I signed back up on Weight Watchers yesterday.  I'm a lifetime member that has slipped back about 15 pounds from my goal and it's time to get back in to racing shape.  I read recently that for every extra pound you carry, it can translate in to 1 extra minute to your marathon time.  I don't know if this is true or not, but I know that the extra weight slows me down and makes my runs that much harder.  I'm looking to drop 20 by marathon weekend.  

Weight Watchers just released a new program.  I'm glad because the fact that it is different will motivate me to get going rather than trying to pick up on the old, familiar program.  I'm at the end of my second day and doing good so far.

Did anyone else get running stuff for Christmas?

Catching Up, Run Streak and New Shoes

This time of year it's pretty hard to get excited about blogging.  My running schedule right now is pretty boring.  Thank goodness for the Runner's World streak challenge or I might not be inspired to run much at all.

The Runner's World Run Streak is a challenge to run a minimun of one mile every day from Thanksgiving to New Years.  So far I haven't missed a single day though most days I am getting in the bare minimum of a mile.  I wonder if I would get any more than just my weekend runs in without participating in the streak.  It's been HARD to stay motivated as it requires me to get out in the dark and snow whether I choose to run before or after work.

Last weekend was beautiful.  We had weather in the 50's with sunshine and Mitch and I went for hike on a trail I've never been to.

We hiked 6 miles on Sunday (we ran just a little while trying to beat a train to the tunnel so Mitch could get a picture).  I kept thinking the whole time how I couldn't wait to try a good trail run there.

The next day the snow started to fly.  Montana weather is weird.

I was supposed to fly out on Tuesday for a business trip but the weather in Denver created too many issues and the trip has been postponed. No hotel treadmill for me!

However, going from 50+ degrees and beautiful, sunshiny days to OMG-please-don't-make-me-drive-in-this-crap weather was a difficult adjustment.  Not just for everyday getting around but for running.  Especially running.

I own Yak Trax.  They are great for keeping traction on the ice and snow, but my body doesn't really enjoy them.  Different muscles are engaged when running in them so I get sore in spots I usually don't.

But the cool part about running in the dark... regardless of weather is getting to wear a headlamp. :-)

I got to dress like a total dork for my runs and I didn't care because anyone who could see me was probably blinded by my headlamp anyway.

Even though I look like a dork, I think I am bad-ass for running in this weather.  Nobody can tell me I'm not!

For Christmas, Mitch bought me a new pair of Altra Superior 2.0 trail runners.  I was privy to the purchase since I needed to pick them out and provide size info so I didn't let him wrap them and put them under the tree (he doesn't like to wrap anyway).  I wanted them NOW and as a matter of fact, I put them on and took them for a run the moment they hit the porch by UPS.

So far, I really like them.  I have only put a couple of miles on them so far, and none on trails considering the weather.  But I've worn them out for a couple of runs on the ice and didn't need my Yak Trax.  The are light on the cushion and are close to a minimalist shoe.  You can really feel the ground in them, but at the same time they are really comfy.  I like the Zero Drop and foot shape technology of this brand.  I can't wait to get them out on a trail.

Christmas is only a few days away which means I'll probably stick to my minimun mileage. After New Years I am getting back on a full training schedule for my Spring half marathon.  I'm excited to have a reason to train.  I'm looking forward to the motivation that comes with a training schedule.
Gotta get FAST for that 2 Hour half marathon.