15 for the Constitution

Yesterday the weather was absolutely beautiful so I decided to get my long run. I had to go into work for a class and as soon as I was done I gathered up my gear, found a place (phone booth) to change into my costume, and I was off. I haven't ran in B-ton in a very long time, so prior to getting started I did some route recon. The Constitution Trail is a very nice benefit to the Normal citizens of B-ton (insert corny drum sound here) and it sounded like a good place for me to start.

I parked on one side of town and decided that I would run out about 7.5 and then turn around. It kind of worked.....except the trail ended just before I hit the 5 mile mark....soooo, I had to improvise a bit. Anywho.....it would have worked out swell, except I wasn't feeling too great for most of the run. I had stomach cramps for the first 7 miles....by the time I started feeling better my legs started cramping up. Then and mile 10 I actually had to stop for a second and suck down some Gu and Gatorade. That seemed to help with the stomach issues, but my dogs were still barkin pretty bad. I was VERY close to stopping at 10 miles, but like a good little soldier, I sucked it up and drove on. I was happy with my distance (15 miles), but I wasn't too pleased with my speed. I was waaaay too slow. I suspect the stomach issues were related to my diet.....I probably hadn't eaten enough. I downed a full bagel with jelly in the early morning and then had a banana about 3.5 hours before I started the run. Me thinks my tummy needed more fuel....plus, I was not properly hydrated. Oh well.....15 slow miles is a heckuva lot better than nuthin.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27441617

I'm still planning to do some intervals (5 miles?) and arms/shoulders tomorrow, but so far I'm at 36 miles for the week.

St. Pat's 5K - 20:56

Well, I was planning to do a 10 miler today.....but, the weather was crappy and I just wasn't feeling the treadmill. Soooo.....literally 30 minutes before registration ended, I decided to run the St. Patrick's Day 5K race in Bloomington. I changed out of my comfy Sunday rags and I sprinted out the door at a few minutes after 12:00...registration ended at 12:30....on a good day, it takes 35 minutes to get from my house to Bloomington. I arrived at the VFW and managed to find one illegal parking spot available.....after a mad dash into the VFW Hall I reached the registration booth with seconds to spare....whew. Unfortunately, I was too late to get a cool race shirt! :(

I've never ran this race, in fact, I didn't even know about it until a co-worker mentioned it to me on Thursday. It was a nice flat course and had a really good turnout. I finished in 20:56, which is a new 5K PR for me! I placed 45th out of around 596 (I was bib 638....not sure on the final count yet...I might have been the last runner to register...). I was 6th place in my age group....damn those speedy 30-34 year olds!!!

Overall, this was a fun race and I'm glad I decided to run it. I had been thinking about doing a speed race or two before the Illinois Half and this one was a great way to start the 2010 race season.

Hot Off the Press!

Extra, extra!! The April issue of Men's Health magazine is now hitting stores. Be sure to checkout page 50!! I'll try to post the article as soon as I get my own copy.

All autographed copies must be ordered at least 2 days in advance....HA!!!!!!!!!

Shorts Weather!

It's absolutely beautiful out there today.....so, I had to take advantage of the shorts weather and get my long run in. 13.29 miles total.....A training half marathon PR!! My 13.1 came in at about 1:48:44. The entire run felt GREAT....a very nice stroll through the Mackinaw River Valley. No dogs, corn dust, or crazy drivers....the only issue was a little muddy patch just after I crossed the river. Felt soooo good to be outside again in shorts!

http://connect.garmin.com/player/26250955

YEAH!!!

BTW, thanks to Mike for sharing this AWESOME quote:

"This my body. And I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it. Study
it. Tweak it. Listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I'm on.
What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass six hours a day. What are you on?"

-Lance Armstrong

Vegas Baby!

Not that any of my loyal readers have noticed, but my blogging has been reduced significantly over the past several weeks. I've got a few things going on right now (bottles, diapers, school, trying to sell our house, work, etc) and I just haven't had the time for running on ginnis! So sorry to disappoint you....



20 of my 30 miles this week were logged in the fitness center at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas! It was a pretty nice fitness center....I like the treadmills that have TVs on them! :) I managed to score a new 7 mile treadmill PR: 55:03. I'm also doing my treadmill runs at a 1% incline now, in order to be better prepared for the Illinois half on 1 MAY.



Vegas was full of bad eats and good treats (booze)....this week I'll be hitting the miles hard and I'll be disciplined with the eating.....oh, and no booze.



I also had a 10 mile treadmill PR at the gym the other day: 1:20:49 (1% incline, of course)!!! I know I've said this before, but it seems that when I eat a lot I rack up the PRs....but I also gain weight...Grrrrrr. Need to find the right balance.....



Yesterday I did something pretty crazy....for a good cause! I jumped into a freezing cold lake to raise money for Special Olympics!! It was a BLAST!

Here's a pre-plunge pic for you!