September 20, 2008

15 Miles of Total Entertainment!


by Stacy Hogle

Today has been a great day. I never thought I would say those words after a 15 mile run, but I definitely mean them today. I have been dreading this run all week...this is the longest distance I have ever attempted to run. Earlier in the week Lindsey said that she and Trent would be in Fort Gibson to see her family for the weekend. They were going to come up Friday night so we decided to run together this morning. I would get to Hatbox early and she would meet me around 8:30am when I was hitting the 9 mile mark. She is training for the Route 66 Half Marathon and her training schedule called for a 6 mile run. This was going to be perfect!! I was so excited to have someone to run with and push me through the last of the run and help encourage her through the 6 miles she was running. Unfortunately it did not work out, her dog had been at the vet and Trent had dental work done Friday and didn't think he could make the drive from OKC Friday night. I don't blame him a bit!! I was bummed most of the night since I had really looked forward to running together. Justin could see that and was trying to find ways to help. He had to be at the duck blind drawings by 9:30am so it seemed like he wouldn't be able to do much.

Right before we went to bed last night I noticed that he was missing for a while... To my surprise he had aired up the bike tires and put it in the back of his truck! He said we were going to get up at 5am (uggg!) and be at the running trail by 6am so we could finish the run around 8:30am giving him time to get to the blind drawing. I was so excited, not to mention love struck, that he would do that for me!! We made it to the trail by 6am, right after a quick 'pit-stop' for Justin at the Kum & Go (gross name, I know!) convenience store. It was still really dark out and the trail is not lit so we ran the parking lots for 2 miles before heading out on the trail. Justin used to ride his bike alot growing up and in college so his skills started coming back to him really quickly. Out of the corner of my eye I would see him jumping a curb or zooming by me like Lance Armstrong. I felt good, the weather was great and I was excited to have someone to share the run with. It was light enough to hit the trail so we did. I kept running through little spider web strings that would stick to my face...eww! That was easy until I hit the mother of all spider webs. I swear it was the size of my whole body with the middle of it hitting me right in the face. Justin didn't know what to think when I screamed and started waving my hands like a mad man trying to get the webs off of me. Then I started wondering if there was a spider and its babies riding on my back...gross and creepy for sure. We regained our composure and kept running. At the end of the trail I needed to make a quick pit stop at a different Kum & Go then we got back to it. I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am that Justin was there. He had a great attitude and was so cute on the bike. He was my mobile water boy, I felt like a pro! We continued on and decided to go back through the parking lots to break it up a bit before doing the trail again. Justin rode ahead of me for a while and I wondered why he was sitting funny on the bike. He only had one butt cheek on the seat and was alternating cheeks! He said the seat wasn't wide enough and I think it was a fun game for him to pass the time, I don't know but it was hilarious. He went down a different street and realized we had access to the old runway. Hatbox used to be an airport back in the day. We started running the runways, which was really neat and helped add a few miles to the run. At 9.5 miles I stopped to take a gel and wash it down with water. The vanilla flavor tastes like cake icing and makes a huge difference keeping my energy up. After a minute break I went out to finish the runway while Justin was riding with no hands on the bike next to me. We hit the entrance to the trail again with 3.5 miles left. If we went out 1.75 miles and came back we would end up at the truck, so that's what we did. There was a girl running ahead of us on the track our last few miles and I made it my goal to catch her. It helped having a challenge to make the last little bit go by faster. I ended up passing her with a half mile to go and it felt so good! Not to mention that was my fastest mile of the whole trip. It's amazing what the body will do when you put your mind to it.

Justin was a trooper, I don't know about you but 2 hours and 35 minutes on the bike doesn't sound like fun to me He was a huge support and I don't know if I would have enjoyed the run or finished with a faster time without him. I love that man!

15.12 miles in 2 hrs 35 min 44 secs!

September 16, 2008

Blame it on the Rain!!!

by Stacy Hogle


Luckily for me this week was a step down week and we are scheduled for a 10 mile run. I would have never thought 9 weeks ago when we started that running 10 miles would be almost considered easy! I was trying to plan ahead and run early Saturday since we had a busy weekend plus the weather was supposed to get ugly later in the morning. The Weather Channel said we were supposed to start getting rain around 9am Saturday morning. That would have worked great for me since I had a baby shower at 11am in Tahlequah Saturday and a wedding on the West side of Tulsa that night. Notice I said “would have”. I parked at the Muskogee Country Club at 7am ready to go. I desperately needed a change in scenery, and planned on running the bypass and around a neighborhood or two to pass the 10 miles instead of Hatbox this week. After about a half a mile into the run I noticed a small sprinkle. I am a very optimistic person, my glass is usually half full, and I believed in the accuracy of the http://www.weather.com/. I figured it would sprinkle a bit then clear up until the later morning rain that was predicted. I figured wrong. With every step the small sprinkles increased exponentially into a thick mist which then turned into a monsoon. Ok…so it wasn’t a monsoon but I was feeling very sorry for myself since I was 2 miles from the car and if I turned back now I would still have to fight the next 2 miles of rain which would equal 4 miles of rainy hell. I knew no matter what my decision was, it wasn’t going to be pretty. I continued my road to the 2.5 mile mark, at least I would get in half of the run by the time I made it back to my car. I told myself that I would go home and finish the last 5 miles on the tready (deep down I just wanted to crawl back into bed so I knew the treadmill wasn’t ever going to happen.). I tried wearing my Oakley’s as a windshield but realized I looked like an idiot, not to mention I couldn’t see a thing. But I kept trucking! All I could think was “Damn it Ike!”

Low and behold I made it back to my car and the rain stopped! I weighed my options: finish the last 5 or go home in case it starts to rain again? Knowing I would not forgive myself for quitting I hit the pavement and headed back out to finish the run. Oklahoma weather is a funny thing…it does the exact opposite of what you would think. I just knew that if I quit at 5 miles it would not rain another drop, hence going back out, but no…about a half a mile into it, it started sprinkling again which turned again into a heavy mist then just a turned into another rain storm. I used my shirt to wipe my eyes and realized not only was I the crazy girl running in the rain, I was the crazy girl running in the rain with yesterdays mascara and eyeliner streaming down her face! At 7.25 miles my shorts and shirt started to feel really heavy and I could feel the water squishing around in my shoes. I was so close but so far!!! I finished the run and once again the rain had stopped and pretty much didn’t see another drop of rain until later in the day. I made it home, wrung out my shirt and shorts, got in the shower and headed to the baby shower. One thing I realized was that persistence really does pay off. I would have been so disappointed in myself if I had quit, but I pushed through the rain and felt great all day. It was worth every puddle and car I had to dodge so they wouldn’t spray me with water when they passed me.

This Saturday won’t be very easy, 15 miles eep! I am very nervous, my stomach is getting queasy as I type, but determined to finish. I bought some gels today to help power me through. I am going to test one out on the 7 mile run tomorrow night. The guy at GNC said they were nasty so that is not very encouraging… One thing that is keeping me going is know that in 9 days Justin and I will be in Colorado to see Maria and David!! I am so excited!!! Woo HOO! We are scheduled for a 16 mile run on Saturday…I hope the altitude does not kill me!

September 9, 2008

The Half Marathon: Pretty Damn Long!

by Maria Torres

Few of us know what we are capable of doing...we have never pushed ourselves hard enough to find out. -A. Montapert

I have run 52 miles since my last post, 25 of which I ran on my long weekend runs. My 12 mile run two weekends ago was excruciating and seemed to drag on forever, but luckily Stacy called right when I finished and we were able to commiserate. Much like Stacy's experience, I felt great until the last 2 miles, at which point my legs turned into 500 lb. weights. I finished, but it wasn't pretty. I can only imagine what I must have looked like. I was so hunched over that my back was probably bent at a 90 degree angle - I'm not entirely sure that this form would even be classified as "running." To make matters worse, the loop I ran wasn't long enough so I ended up circling the town streets over and over to get to 12 miles. I knew before I even began the run that day that it would be a difficult one, but I didn't expect to feel so drained at the end. Had that been the day of the marathon, I don't know if I would have made it.

That run would've been more daunting had it not been for a run-changing occurrence shortly thereafter: Justin and Stacy sent me the most amazing pair of sunglasses as an early birthday present!! Just a week earlier, I mentioned to Stacy that I had tried on a new pair of Oakley's that I loved. They just came out with a new line (the "Endure") made specifically for female athletes, and the "Edge" design fit my face perfectly. Sunglasses hardly ever fit my face so I was in love! I had been running in some designer sunglasses that did not reflect my athletic prowess ;) Now when I pass people on the trail, it's impossible for them to ignore that I'm dead serious about some running! I mean, if you saw this running by you, would you not take it seriously?:

HAHA


Seriously though, having these sunglasses when it's really sunny outside helps so much! I bet they'll be perfect when it starts snowing here, and lately it's looking like that could be any day now.

For the 13 mile run on Sunday, I wanted to go somewhere different for a change of scenery. David and I picked out a couple of paths in Ridgway - a small town about an hour away from here. There's a big reservoir located within the state park there, and you can get to the trails through different access points. Since it was getting late and the run would take approximately two hours, we just picked out a few paths to circle around. It was the first time in the entire training program that I've run on pavement, and it was much different than trail running. For one, the absence of rocks and other obstacles on the course made it easier to focus on other things, like the sun beating down mercilessly around 5 p.m. that day. I know running on pavement is also harder on the joints and knees, and I definitely felt that around mile 7.

Speaking of mile 7, that's when I was circling back to my car to quickly drink some watered-down Gatorade (I can't drink it full strength :) and swallow some energy gel. Not fully thinking it through, I placed Sooie's leash down on the car seat. When I reached down to grab Sooie's leash not more than 30 seconds later, it had disappeared along with my little running companion. The running path, which was right in front of my car, ran parallel to the highway. I went into panic mode. I immediately spotted her on the path in the distance, leash still attached, and started screaming "TREAT" while sprinting after her. She stopped, lifted her head up as if to weigh her options, and decided to continue full speed in the other direction.

I knew she was attempting to catch up to David and Bodhi (our other dog), and that I wouldn't be able to catch her on foot. So I sprinted back to my car and drove 70 mph down a 25 mph road until I caught up with her. I spotted her, and she looked lost and confused - she suddenly realized she wasn't going to catch up to David and had no idea where her mom was. haha. Once she saw me, she perked up and ran as fast as she could to the car. I drove right back to my parking spot, encountered some bewildered stares from nearby picnickers, puppy-proofed the car, rolled down the windows for Sooie (it was cool outside by this point), and set out for the remaining 6 miles solo with my adrenaline re-stocked. Never a dull moment, I tell ya.

Here's the little trouble-maker:



This was actually a great run! I felt really good the entire run (with the exception of the few minutes where I envisioned my puppy as roadkill) and still had energy when I finished. There were even a couple of moments along the run where I felt like I could go on forever - in particular, when the sun was setting and reflecting off of the water onto me. I felt like such a runner! It's these kinds of experiences - which I also consider adventures - that remind me why I love running so much. A great run can be eye-opening, invigorating, and utterly exhausting all at the same time.

One final note: I just want to say that I'm really proud of you Dad for getting back out and training again!! My Dad developed stress fractures on the top of his foot from training, and after taking a couple of weeks off to let them heal, he's trying to get back on schedule instead of bowing out. Keep it up Stevie! :)

September 1, 2008

10 miles of joy, 2 miles of misery!

by Stacy Hogle

This is my first post in a few weeks, sorry for being a loser and not posting! Since my last post I have repeated week 6 and now Maria, David, Steve (fingers crossed he's still in the running...get it?!) and I are on the same training schedule. I was not able to get my long run in a two weekends ago so I repeated Week 6 and just finished Week 7. It was good to repeat a 'step-down' week, it helped give my shin splints and blisters a much needed rest. I think it was a good mental break too. I felt energized and clear minded going into the 12 mile run yesterday. My shin splints are still acting up a bit, but hopefully they are starting to heal enough where I don't have to wear my compression sleeves much longer. I know, I know...the compression sleeves look so cool, how could I not want to wear them? Besides the fact it looks like I am about to join a soccer game, they are just so hot. When I complete a run, whether it's a long or a short one, they are dripping with sweat. I know you guys are dying to see them so here they are:


So, I set my alarm Saturday morning for 6am so I could get up and run my 12 miles. Before the alarm went off I was awakened by thunder and lots of lighting, but no rain. I didn't want to chance getting ready and driving to the West side of town that early and get rained out, so I turned off my alarm and went back to sleep. That meant I had to do the run Sunday no matter what. I got up at 6am, got dressed and headed out to Hatbox. It was a beautiful morning with a slight breeze. The first 5 miles went extremely well. I felt good mentally and physically, and I was able to wear my new Oakley running glasses (courtesy of Hogle Eyecare Center, thanks J!). They feel alot better than my Versace's. I know...Versace sunglasses to run in? They were cute...the rhinestones added a very athletic touch I think :) But the Oakley's stay put and don't slide off my face which is a plus when you are sweating like a beast. That early in the morning there are not many people out on the trail until I get about halfway through. I did see the guy that had the pit bulls on my last long run. He was sans pitbulls, and I am happy to say running for fitness. That eases my soul a bit...it made me slightly nervous before, being dogfood doesn't sound like much fun. We waved and said hello and I continued with the run. At the end of the 5 I grabbed a quick drink of Gatorade and headed out for the final 7. I was feeling good when I hit the 10 mile mark and got a quick drink of water from the water fountain. I thought it was a quick drink but I think I had a little too much, my stomach was sloshing around for the last two miserable miles. If you just ran 10 miles, how could two more be so bad you ask? I don't have the answer, but my legs didn't want to move very fast and that made the pain last longer. My whole body started to ache...my abs, my back, my calves...you name it, it hurt. With a mile left all I could think about was how good a Diet Dr Pepper sounded. Weird, yes, but knowing I could stop at the McDonalds around the corner for a pop was my main motivation to finish. I shuffled around the parking lot a few times to make sure I hit the 12 mile mark. I was so thankful to be finished... time for Diet DP!!!

After I dried off and caught my breath, I got into the car and went to McDonalds. The line was wrapped around the building! I was getting hungry so I was going to get some apple dippers too. I am trying to eat well so I thought the apple dippers would be better than an Egg McMuffin. I am pretty sure I would have barfed if I tried to eat that though. As I am waiting in line to put my order in, some movement catches my eye on the side of the building. Was it a cat? NO! I was a rat! That brazen little beast kept running up and down the side of the building trying to get into one of the back doors. Note to those in Muskogee: don't eat at the McD's on 69 Highway and Okmulgee...blech! Thank goodness apple dippers are pre-packaged! Luckily I had my camera handy...check out the rat!