How Not To Train For A Marathon

Anyone reading this blog has probably figured out that they should not follow my example...on pretty much anything. I'm like a little kid that runs around and runs around until I come to a screeching halt and pass out wherever my gas tank ends up empty. 

I'm currently on a 5 hour flight from Baltimore to Phoenix. Did you guys know that Southwest Airlines offers free Dish TV episodes for their passengers? I knew some of their flights had wifi, but free TV? Yes, please! However, after my one hour flight from Albany to Baltimore and an hour into my second flight, I was a little burnt out on old episodes of 30 Rock. I had to break out the Visa and splurge to pay for wifi because I still have 2 plus hours to go.

I'm blogging from the sky because not only have I been a lazy blogger, but I've been a lazy runner. And I must share my vast wisdom with you all because a certain friend of mine ( although she's from Delaware and when she says " mine", it sounds like "Mayan") thought it would be awesome to take lots of pictures of me while I was stupid drunk. 

Everyone needs pictures of themselves passed out in a chair...wearing rain boots, no less, without there being any actual rain.

I'm very proud of these boots, by the way. On the way to purchase obscene amounts of booze, we stopped by the shoe store. Leave it to the girl from the desert to insist on buying rain boots. I may not have done any training, but I did wear my Disneyland Half 2011 gear, so I figure that counts for something.

 

In my defense, we had some extreme flash flooding last weekend in Arizona, hence my need to purchase rain boots. 

Okay, so polka dots may have had something to do with it, as well. These boots are adorbs.  

Anyway, I met up with friends from all over the country for a 4 day vacation in Amsterdam, NY. I half assed brought some running clothes, but I knew there was no way I'd be running. I think I was supposed to do a pretty long run on Saturday in my training for NYC Marathon - like something over 10 miles - but that just wasn't happening. I really should have considered taking advantage of running in that area because, holy shit, do they have some hills I could have trained on. Instead, I trained my liver. And my stomach, because the food was beyond amazing.

I'm guessing I consumed approximately 10,000 calories a day while in NY. I'm really scared to get on the scale when I get home. It was totally worth it, though.

I better get serious, because Dumbo is only a month away. Oh, and that little thing called the New York City Marathon *chokecoughchoke* is getting dangerously closer. I think the weekend before I left for Disneyland last year, we did a 15 mile run. 

The gist of this long, rambling post filled with narcissistic drunken photos is, don't do what I do, kids. I'm a lousy example of an athlete. 

Yes. Yes, I am.

Mumbo Jumbo and Dumbo

Man, I feel like my life has been a nonstop whirlwind of activity. And that activity has included very little actual running.

First, I had a birthday. I'm getting way too close to 40 for my liking. I still have a few years, but I'm not comfortable with the idea of turning the big 4-0. 

I celebrated the week before with a friend who also has a birthday the week before mine, so we had a dual celebration. This is my dairy free, gluten free, soy free, calorie free, kosher cake. 

My actual birthday was a week and a half ago and I spent it packing up the horse trailer for a horse show. We showed up in the mountains in Flagstaff and had a great show. 

We show on an old racetrack, which is pretty cool...unless you have a horse that used to be a race horse like I did in high school. Then it's a bitch because horses never forget being on a track. 

On Sunday, I got my highest score ever. Louie was perfect. The whole barn did well. 

I won't bore you with the details of the truck breaking down on the way home pulling a trailer full of horses. It was nerve wracking, to say the least. We didn't make it home until well after midnight.

The other thing going on is that my horse trainer is fostering a litter of kittens and their mom. Originally, I planned on taking two of the kittens, but the mom is at my house right now so the kittens can be weaned and I'm sort if in love with her. This is Chloe.

I'm pretty sure she's going to end up mine.

Lou hurt his leg, so I have to trek up to the barn twice a day. Doesn't he look pitiful? I'm icing his leg and he wasn't too happy about the process.

See? Equine athletes need icing, too.

Anyway, I did finally remember that I was a runner and went running this morning at 5AM. Wow, was it humid and hot. I do not understand how anyone can survive in the humidity. I tried to keep myself going with thoughts of DUMBO DOUBLE DARE!!! Can not wait. So I pounded out a very sweaty and disgusting 8 miles.

 It can't get here fast enough. I'm already excited about the cute Dumbo shirts I can get at the expo. Seriously. Could he be cuter?

It's no wonder I can't get stuff done. I feel like I'm spinning in circles. I'm leaving Thursday for Albany, NY, and I'm pretty excited to be going on a trip that doesn't involve running around like a maniac.

How is everyone else surviving our national heat wave?

Dumbo Double Dare, NYCM, Horse Shows and Kittens. Oh My!

Things have been pretty busy 'round these parts. Training for the NYC Marathon has officially begun, and I have to give a shout out of thanks to my friend and barn mate, Lara.

Me, Tara and Lara last weekend at the Scottsdale green belt.

Lara is pretty hard core. I don't know if she'd agree with that statement, but trust me, it's true. She's been dragging my butt out on all sorts of crazy hill runs on very rocky, mountainous terrain, and while they suck at the time, I have to say that I appreciate the fact that she doesn't let me make excuses to bail. Not to mention, we live in Phoenix and since running the mountain path isn't possible in the dark, we do it at about 6:30pm, which is still incredibly hot.

Yesterday, she also met me for a long run at another, much more flat, desert park to get in 9 miles.

I got up at 4:00am to meet her and a coworker (who is also running the Disneyland Half and possibly Dopey in 2015) at 5:00am.

My Long Beach Marathon visor is my absolute favorite.
Feel free to ignore the bags under my eyes.

I stayed out a little later than I probably should have (I believe going out for sushi is an acceptable reason) and I may have had a glass of wine...but only one. Those 9 miles felt a little tough. It was in the 90's even at 5:00, so that's my excuse. The good news is that I'm definitely keeping a faster pace when I'm running, but the bad news is that I seem to be taking more walk breaks than I would like. I'm going to blame that on the heat.

Anyway, thank you, Lara, for helping me train for NYCM- especially considering the longest race she has planned in the near future is a half marathon (although she has already done a couple of fulls).

This summer will be the fourth year I run the Disneyland Half Marathon. This is my favorite of the Disney races. I know a lot of people like the WDW races better, but for me, DL Half is the best. It was my very first half and is currently my PR. The course is so much more entertaining than WDW races.

 I'm super excited to be doing the Dumbo Double Dare. I know it's going to be a blast.

Me with my sister, who did the 5K, in 2012.

I don't have a specific plan for training for Dumbo, but it overlaps with NYCM training, so I'm just trying to fit in some back to back longish runs as training. Since I've already survived Goofy, I don't feel too worried about doing Dumbo.

Plus, I'm super excited to hang out with these awesome ladies again...

Abby, Fruitfly and Me after the WDW Marathon in January.

And, of course, by trusty running partner in crime, Tara...

Tara and I don't have similar schedules, so it's really hard for us to meet up for training runs. Not to mention, we live a bit of a ways from each other. Hopefully, we'll be able to plan some long runs during NYCM training.

In other news, I also leave for a horse show on Thursday up in the mountains and I can not wait to get out of this heat. We're also going back in August. Louie has been awesome, so I'm hoping that streak continues through the horse show. He's such a great little horse and I'm having a blast riding him.

I'm also most likely going to be adding to my animal family very soon. Both my dog and cat passed away in the last two years and I think it's time to adopt some new furry friends.

My horse trainer is fostering a mama kitty and her kittens for the Humane Society and I could play with these babies all day long.

Seriously. How cute are these kittens? I don't know how I'm
going to pick out just two. I love them all.

Oh Em Gee

Whew! What's new with everyone else?

Be Kind...And Be A Kind Runner!

Need something to do with all of your old running shoes?

When I first started running, I certainly didn't have a bunch of running shoes. Once I wore out a pair of shoes to the point that they were no longer good for running, I designated them as barn shoes. I would happily break in my shiny new pair of running shoes and keep my old shoes for barn chores or washing my horse. Seemed like a good way to get the most use out of my shoes.

At least my feet are comfy while I clean stalls, right?

After awhile, though, I had way too many old running shoes (some not so old) to use at the barn and so they ended up tossed into the back of my closet.

Well now I've got something to do with them! Kindrunner is an online shoe store. But not just any store. Kindrunner offers a new and unique shopping experience for their customers. I've recently been given the opportunity to work with Kindrunner, and I'm really excited about this opportunity.

First of all, they offer free three way shipping.

1. Free Shipping of all the products in your shopping cart to you.
2. Free Return Shipping of any products you want to return.
3. Free Shipping of your old shoes to us in exchange for Kindness Cash Rewards.

Once, Kindrunner receives your used shoes, they give them to their donations partners, who in turn, donate them to the countries (United States included) that are most in need. In return, you receive Kindness Cash Rewards.

From their website:

For every pair of running shoes you purchase, Kindrunner will accept a pair of reasonably-worn old shoes and issue a credit equal to $10 (ten dollars). This credit may be used for any future purchases at Kindrunner. We include a Free Kindness Cash Rewards™ return-shipping label with your new shoes so you can send us your old shoes.



Kindrunner also offers an in-depth gait analysis from the comfort of your home. In addition, each of their products has an expert product review video and approved alternatives. I figured I would check it out, so I researched the shoe I currently wear-  the Asics Kayano 19. I ran the Goofy Challenge in these shoes and I love them, so it was great to hear an expert opinion.



 

Pretty cool, huh? I really love this feature.

If your closet is overflowing with a bunch of worn shoes, but you are not in the market to purchase anything at the moment, then Kindrunner will accept them for donation. This is a great option for someone that simply wants to donate shoes and make a difference in struggling areas.

I really like the drive behind this company. It was founded by runners and I like the idea of others benefiting from my old shoes rather than having them collect dust in my closet. I'm excited for Kindrunner and can't wait to watch them grow. Maybe I'll see them at an expo one day!

So go check them out! What runner girl doesn't want new shoes? Or runner guy, for that matter? (C'mon, guys, you know you love your running shoes, too.) I gotta go. I have shopping to do. I think I'll stick with my Kayanos but I need a better color...

I can't resist the black with hot pink. You will be mine.