hanna park

i checked out the mountain bike trail map before we left, and listened to the advice of experienced riders "stay on the easy trails your first time". and i'm not afraid to admit that i started off on an expert path! ha! i laugh in the face of danger! ok, so it wasn't that difficult, but that was only because i was traveling at such a slow speed, half of the bumps i couldn't get over because i wasn't going fast enough. that all changed with time. before long i was moving fast, jumping over roots and narrowly missing a chance to plunge into the river. we rode the trails for about an hour, ended up at the ocean for a few, then rode back to the truck. all in all it was the best entertainment i've ever had for $3 bucks! now the only problem is finding time to go back. next time i'm definitely bringing a camera to capture some of the tight trails. what a great park!

http://www.coj.net/Departments/Parks+and+Recreation/Recreation+Activities/Hanna+Park/Bike+Trails+Map.htm

cabin fever

day two of being home alone without a car- the day went pretty well. i was supposed to run 2 miles according to my river run training plan, but my legs were too sore. i ended up walking 2.8 miles at a moderate pace. it was such a nice day outside, and it felt good to stretch my legs. after returning home i realized how hungry i was, so i hopped on the mtb and rode up to the sandwich shop. a cool 30 min ride (roundtrip) and a yummy sandwich was just what i needed! six more weeks until the river run, i really need to get running.

biathalon training

one rule i have: if someone offers to run or bike with you, don't turn them down! you never know when you might get another chance. our first adventure involved kayaking down the river. we headed out against the current, and found a new canal to explore. while i'm always worried about snakes, i wasn't worried about the baby gator that was sunning on the riverbank. good thing i didn't see him at first, i'm not sure i would have enjoyed the afternoon as much. thankfully i wasn't informed about the gator until after we left the canal! sometimes its ok to keep a secret. after the kayak ride, we rode the bikes a few miles to the sandwich shop. i'm getting used to clipping out of the pedals, but its still difficult. the biggest issue now is that i love riding my bike, and i want to be able to ride offroad. so....what else did i do but headed back to the bike store and bought 2 new mtb's! we pick them up tomorrow, i can't wait! i'll be breaking my arm soon enough.

the great outdoors

i had some extra energy today so i headed out for a run. the river run training plan doesn't actually start for another 2 weeks, but i wanted to get into the routine early. so i ran 2.66 miles, which ended up being more like a walk with some intermittent running. ha! overall it was pretty painful, but i didn't mind. when i got back to the house, i didn't want to go inside so i dragged the kayak down to the water and started paddling. since its winter, there aren't any boats around and the river was very still. i tried to find some kind of animal to watch, but there was nothing. i got pretty bored so i just paddled back home. ahh well, at least i tried. i only lasted 23 minutes.

it's not a railroad track anymore

i managed to talk my boyfriend into getting a shiny new bike of his own, to match mine. what a great idea! we drove out to a nice stretch of bike path, formerly a railroad track, and rode for almost an hour. its a nice path, newly paved, and we had the place to ourselves due to the cooler weather. not even a little flat tire could slow us down! i decided to sign up for the katie ride for life. i'm going to ride the 30k. let's see how well my persuasion skills are working and see if i can't talk someone into riding with me!

bike vs. me

who do you think won? today was my first official ride on my new fuji roubaix, an extremely generous christmas gift from my boyfriend. after strapping on the fancy shoes (another gift from this generous man!) and the helmet (thank goodness for nice neighbors), i found myself happily clipping into my new eggbeater quatros (didn't ever think i would open all the gifts this year)! anyway, i turned on the garmin and headed for the road. i managed for 3.5 miles in about 20 minutes, including some slow intersection approaches and the occasional stop to pick myself up off the incredibly hard seat. everything was great- i got to fly down the street on my fast new red bike, the sun was out, the weather is warm, and i rode down some streets i wouldn't normally travel on, so i saw some new sights. after a while i got thirsty so i headed back to the homestead. upon crusing up the driveway, i activated the breaks and turned off the garmin. i was just about to hop off when it hit me...i'm still clipped in to the pedals. as expected, the answer to the question in this post- the bike won. my happy self fell over and onto the cement like some idiot trying to make a room full of people laugh at her ignorance. well, that idiot happens to be me. now i sit on the couch, rubbing my knee and wrist, and trying to figure out how long i should wait before i hop back on.

beating the wind

it looked like such a great day, sun was out, temp was mid-60's, the perfect morning for a long(ish) run. that is, until i got out on the road and met...mr. wind. mr. wind is not my friend. here i thought i was running a great mile, long strides and fast pace. then i looked at my faithful garmin (which appears to have repaired itself by the way), only to find out that i was running at the same pace that i can typically walk. yikes! nevertheless, i made it 5 miles in an hour, felt good and enjoyed the experience. one month left until the next half, i need to really focus these next few weeks if i'm going to make it!

youngstown ymca

one of the most difficult things about traveling all the time is finding a good place to exercise. while some hotels have decent treadmills and a few dumbells, it's so refreshing to find a large, new, welcoming gym that offers guest passes. today it was the ymca in youngstown, oh. if you've ever been to youngstown, you know there aren't too many exciting things to write about, but the y is a different story. a diamond in the rough. in one visit i was able to swim laps in a lap pool with a lifeguard (very important), go 30 minutes on the elliptical machines, then cool down with 10 minutes on the recumbent bike. follow that up with some serious ab workouts and a nice seat on the sidelines of a pick-up basketball game, and you have a very well spent $8 bucks. the only downfall was that i seemed to have exercised myself into a coma, because i practically fell asleep on the ride home and slept for 9 hours straight. too bad we found this gym on our last night in this town. Check them out:
http://youngstownymca.org/

i'm not annika sorenstam

what could be the best way to spend a sunny saturday with friends than a nice game of golf? this is what i thought before i grabbed my clubs out of the car. boy, was i in for a surprise. it all started with the first hole, which is always conveniently placed in front of the starter's box, with multiple people standing around, watching the players before them begin their journey. it's fun to watch these people tee off, but when it's your turn to get up there, you wish there was a curtain you could pull to block the spectators. oh well, i'm not here to impress anyone! so it turned out, the first hole set the stage for the remainder of the day, as i managed to hit each ball a whopping 20-40 feet. for those of you that aren't so familiar, this does not even place my ball on the fairway. as the day goes on, i manage to get worse instead of better, by hitting the center of a tree approximately 45 degrees to my left, which my boyfriend was standing behind (for good reason). a few holes later with my trusty pitching wedge i manage to hit the furthest ball i've hit all day...straight at my boyfriends' head. after finally throwing in the towel on #11, i resorted to drinking beer and holding the flag while the others worked the greens. that's when i realized- it's a great day. awesome weather, good friends, and fresh air. it ended up being a really fun time. perhaps i should volunteer to be the beer girl next time.

leave the ipod at home

i headed to michigan this weekend for some much needed time with old friends. after a stressful day of work, i was invited on a run with my dad- the cool temperature and sound of the freshly fallen leaves underfoot was all i needed to feel energized. the area where we ran was very quiet and peaceful. for the first time in quite a while i did not bring my ipod, which offered a new focus on myself. instead of drifting off into a music-induced daydream, i found myself counting my breaths, listening to the sound of my steps, and enjoying the peaceful environment. i highly recommend it! while the actual run itself was quite difficult- with many uphill climbs and offroad trails, the experience was extremely soothing. how can something that makes you sweat, hurt, and gasp for air make you feel so good? one of life's many mysteries.

the bike dilemma

well i woke up early this morning to get on the treadmill. definitely too dark outside to run now. i lasted only 30 minutes before i got bored. definitely didn't like the oldies music that was playing in the gym, i guess the marriott doesn't worry about inspiring any would-be exercisers. it's the beginning of winter and i've already got the winter blahs. can't wait to see some sunshine and get a sunburn. i've been trying to get my hands on a good bicycle, but can't seem to make it work. first was a road bike, test drove one that was just a little too big, went to order a smaller one-- they don't make it anymore. switched to mountain bikes- found a great one online, finally found a dealer almost 40 miles away, called them up-- they don't make it anymore. strike two! so i'm off to the expensive bicycle store down the street to purchase whatever they can get in my size. i don't care about price anymore.

on a positive note, i had a chance to catch up with an old friend today, telling her about the san francisco women's half marathon. good thing i had my necklace on! she got me all fired up to run more, telling me the story of how her and her husband were training for the disney marathon when he was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks before the race. now, three years later, they are training again. how inspirational! i'm going to run after work tonight too.

i also decided to do the jacksonville bank half marathon on december 18th. that gives me almost 6 weeks to prepare. definitely going to beat my time from sf. :o)

The First Run

It's been four days since the half, I'm feeling great but scared to run. Is it too soon? I'm willing to try. The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky, and I'm anxious to get back to it. Time to lace up the shoes and head out!

new blogger

i read in runners world this month that a great way to increase your motivation and stay on track with your training plan is to create and publish a personal blog. i've never tried this before, but was interested to see if it works. i figured today would be a good day to start, as it is two days after my second half marathon (nike women's half marathon in san francisco), and while i'm still sore, i find myself searching online for the next big race! i'm pretty sure this is normal behavior, but we'll see.

to give you a little background about me, i'm relatively new to the running game. i've always enjoyed being active, but didn't participate in many competitive sports, certainly never running. now that i'm post-college and travel for work, i've found that running is the best way to stay active when you are far away from your friends, gym, and sports equipment.

the problem is, i'm just not very good at running. it has taken me almost two years to be able to run a 5k without much pain. i still walk a little when running the half marathon, but i hope to improve in the coming years.