Sleet bounced off my face, cold puddles riddled my path, and the inconsiderate car splash reached my waist. Wednesday’s five mile run was not what most would call “comfortable”. Two hot showers and a Starbucks later, I’m still trying to figure out why it was so much fun.
It could have been the champagne toast we had at mile two (which I was regretting by mile three).
It could have been the company. Seven Team in Training runners showed up despite the storm.
But, really, I think it’s because I did it. I could have made an excuse (it’s too dark/cold/snowy/late), but I didn’t. I’ve learned there’s always an excuse. Some of these excuses are valid. Too bad. You have to refuse to excuse. It’s the only way you’ll ever get your marathon training done. (This is a conversation I have inside my head at least once a week.)
And that brings me to New Year’s Resolutions. This morning, 11Alive Meteorologist Ashley McDonald said, “I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions, so I don’t break them.” The last few years, as I’ve wandered the streets for MOS (Man on The Street) interviews, more and more people are telling me they don’t make resolutions. It makes sense: if you want to do something, why wait until January 1st to make it happen?
I am not one of those people. For some reason, I have a bit of an obsession with New Year’s resolutions. So, here’s my list this year:
1) Wear more hats in 2010. They’re so snuggly. This means I will likely have hat hair more often. I’m OK with that.
2) Run a 4 hour marathon. I think this is do-able, but just barely. Talk to me after my 20 mile run.
3) Drop a pant size. I have lots of pants hanging in my closet I’d like to wear again.
4) Do something nice for someone else EVERY SINGLE DAY.
5) Learn to speak Spanish.
Hats are easy. Everything else… well, I’ll let you know. Happy New Year’s Eve! Just because you celebrate Thursday doesn’t mean you can skip your long run Saturday. Don’t start 2010 with an excuse. If you do, you’ll soon find a year full of them.
It all started with a tweet.
“Hey Julie, what would you say ab taking your TNT experience to the radio airwaves?”
Radio is like TV except no one is going to e-mail me about how bad my hair looks (oh, the stories I could tell). So, I’m in.
So, just a few days before Christmas Mary Liebman (TNT staffer), Barb Stinson (ING Coach), and me are sharing a roomy booth with Q100’s Matt Jones. For 20 minutes we chat about Team in Training. Mary talks about fundraising, Barb talks about coaching, and I talk about how great Mary and Barb are.
The twenty minute community segment plus some 60 second spots will run on Cumulus radio stations (like Q100) in January. I think they jumped the gun though because I just got an e-mail: “I totally heard you on the radio yesterday morning! I don’t know if it was live or a replay of an earlier broadcast, but it was pretty cool.”
It’s the first time I’ve been called cool since perhaps 5th grade. So, obviously, this is a big success.
If you hear the spot and are inspired to join, visit: http://www.teamintraining.org/ga/. If you want to e-mail me to tell me how bad my hair looks: jwolfe@11alive.com. If you feel pity that I actually get those kinds of e-mails, you can make it up to me by donating to my TNT fundraising efforts by clicking here.
I celebrated an early Christmas with my two little nephews last week. I am still recovering, but I did pick up some running advice along the way.
Running is Glee. When my 2-year-old nephew runs, his little legs are just a blur and he lets out this high-pitched shrieking giggle. It is pure joy. Granted… he is usually running away from me… but his obvious glee is contagious. I enjoy a run AFTER it’s over. The sense of accomplishment is what makes me feel good about running, but after watching my nephew, I vow to enjoy the run itself more.
Gravity is the Enemy. Sometimes we make this running thing too complicated. Set me loose in a running store and I will convince myself I cannot run without the latest fancy GPS, iPod tracker, shoes, socks, tights, hat, shorts, bra, underwear, hand warmers. Running is really quite simple: put one foot in front of the other. The only enemy in runing (or even walking) is gravity: just watch my 8-month-old nephew learn to walk. But as long as you cross the finish line upright (almost everyone does), you beat gravity. And now that you know your chances are pretty good, it’s all a matter of degrees.
Purell is the Nectar of the Gods. I thought my sister (and all those moms) with bottles of Purell attached to everything were going a little overboard. I mean, I didn’t have that wimpy hand sanitizer when I was a kid and I turned out just fine, right? So, during my week with the nephews, I washed my hands religiously (like I always do), but I didn’t really partake in the 6-times-daily Purell rub…. And I got really, really sick. There are few things more frustrating to a runner than being sidelined. After six days without running, I’ve changed my mind. I’m willing to do anything I can to get better and stay well for the rest of my ING Training. So, pass the Purell, please.
Click here to find out how you can help Team in Training.
You can load up on holiday music for free this holiday season. Amazon has 50 songs available for free download to MP3 players, and iTunes is following suit with a free holiday sampler as well.
Field Trips with Sue’s blog reports from now till December 18th you can tour the Governor’s Mansion for free. The mansion is decorated for Christmas and the tours run seven days a week. For more family friendly events go to fieldtripswithsue.com
Borders Bookstore has a free kid’s event on Saturday called A Beary Good Time. There will be stories and a raffle to celebrate Bekett the Panda. The event is at 11A.M. at participating Borders.
There are free snacks available from Stacy’s Pita Chips. All you have to do is become a fan on Facebook. The first 65 thousand fansget a free bag of chips.
You can also get a free Italian food calendar for 2010 that features recipes and coupons from Delallo Italian Foods… just register on the Delallo website.
And mark your calendar for December 17th, which has been declared Free Shipping Day by more than 500 online retailers. They promise free shipping with delivery by Christmas Eve.
Here are some of the top deals of the week in stores and online:
What’s on sale at Kroger:
Flat iron steak $3.99 lb
Spiral sliced ham $1.69 lb
Revlon: buy one, get one free
Huggies Diapers and Pullups: $8.99
What’s on Sale at Publix:
Juicy Juice 2 for $2.65 using the printable coupon from Atlanta.momslikeme.com
New England Coffee $1.89 using printable coupon from Red Plum
Restaurant.com : $25.00 certificates for $2.00
(use coupon code “share”)
Most restaurants require you spend at least $35.00 and the certificates cannot be used for adult beverages. See individual restaurants on restaurant.com for their policies.
Free Shipping Day: December 17th hundreds of online retailers will offer free shipping. For more information go to freeshippingday.com
Sometimes, you just have to let things simmer, and they turn out awesome. This was one of those weeks.
I’ve been struggling on sticking to the Team in Training schedule. I just came off running a great half marathon. I feel strong. I feel fast. Sticking to the low mileage at the beginning of the ING training has been hard. Our coach, Barb Stinson, sent out an e-mail warning against pushing too hard: “Just because you CAN, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.” I have a clear running goal: finish the ING Georgia marathon in under four hours (the bigger goal: raise money to help find a cure). I’ve tried (and failed) in the past to run a sub-four marathon. I tried it my way, it didn’t work. Now, I’m trying it this way. And this week, something just clicked.
I’m feeling so good on my runs, so strong. I know things will get a lot harder, but I have a good feeling I’ve hit my stride for training (and found some great TNT runners at my pace to keep me company!).
I’m using my new motto “Running is like soup” to keep me on track (thanks, Barb for these tips)!
1. Training for a marathon is like slow cooking. The best way to ruin the recipe is to turn up the heat. Easy does not have to mean slow, it means at the proper distance and effort.
2. REST and SLEEP are like a good rich stock. Without it, your base is too thin, with it, you can get much more flavor.
3. Another vital important ingredient to successful training is warming up properly and stretching after your run.
4. Are you adding a dash spice with that some CROSS TRAINING? Give those joints a break once a week.
5. Keep stirring the pot.
So, my fellow runners: bundle up and run this weekend…. then, warm up with a cup of soup!
Help me Reach my Team in Training Goal! Click here to go to my TNT page.
I rarely get to watch weather coverage from home. Usually, I’m the one out in the flood/snow/sleet/ice reporting on conditions. This week, my vacation happened to straddle a “snow day”. After growing up outside of Detroit and Chicago, then working in Cheyenne and Buffalo, I don’t really consider anything under 6 inches a real snow day, hence the “ “.
Still, there’s nothing to make it feel like Christmas like a little white stuff. Even if it’s just a teeny, tiny bit of it. So, I was watching the warnings when I heard a “bing”: new e-mail.
The subject line: “Here’s your chance to show what you’re made of”. It was from the Team in Training ING Coach, Barb Stinson.
It read: “Weather doesn’t look so hot for the morning. Do we care?….well honestly, yes we do because who wants to go out and run in cold and rain…but will we do it anyway??? Yes! Because it really is kinda fun and we need to train in ALL conditions. TEAM IN TRAINING ROCKS…NO WIMPS!!!!!”
I think it’s TNT’s version of the “I double-dare you”. And the truth is: it really is kind of fun. The why is simple: inside each of us there’s a little kid. The stress of work and life buries that inner-kid pretty deep for most of us. There’s nothing like a snow day to rip through all of that and make us act like kids again. Don’t believe me? Next time we get a little snow, go to Piedmont Park and take a look around. Who’s throwing snow balls? Building snowmen? Pushing someone down the hill on a make-shift sled? Yes, there are kids. But they are matched (sometimes outnumbered) by adults.
Maybe the fountain of Youth is really made of snowflakes.
Our Saturday morning run turned out to be pretty nice. It stopped raining before we started. No Snow. Bummer. I’m looking forward to meeting that dare sometime soon.
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