Long Run Sunday: Poetry in Motion

I present to you a review of our Long Run Sunday... in Haiku form. ~Jen

Refuel

I woke up early

from dreaming about pancakes

but first, long run day

****

Feelings about running in the cold

My soul is quite well

my fingertips, toes, and face

however, are numb

****

Cure for Insomnia

You run stronger, then

you run faster and farther

sleep like a baby

****

Recovery

Stretch here and stretch more

eat, drink, hot shower, ice packs

BIIIIIIIIG smile on your face

****

You are driving a 2,000 pound car. You win.

Hey, scoot over! (please)

LITERALLY no one else

even on these roads

****

Rhythm

No music today

except the constant chatter

and laughter of friends

****

Doing the hard thing

Talked about hard things

commitment, trust, marriage, friends

(don't mention running)

****

Dusty country road

high hills, high winds, lots of sweat

Finish strong- pancakes

Hey, you're on the "Crazy" running chicks blog. We never promised to think so highly of ourselves that we can't be silly. If you can't have all kinds of crazy fun when you're out on a long run day, why the HECK are you doing it?

True story: you can't trust Jen to do mileage math. Becky goes, "So what do you think, three more minutes on this road and then turn back?" Jen says,  "Well, we're on 107th so if we just finish this out, and turn left to 110th, that's just three miles. Right?"

But Becky and Kathy and I fail to mention that turning OFF of 107th is still another 2 miles head.... and 2 miles BACK from that! So essentially, we ended up doing one looooong square that ended up being, oh, half a marathon. :)

Fortunately, my friends love me anyway and didn't beat me up too badly when our Garmins hit the 11 mile mark and we were still about 2 miles from my house.

Happy Running my friends!

Jen



It's not a "diet", It's a way of life.

How many of your New Year's Resolutions were to go on a diet?? Well, I hope no ones was. How about try to just start eating cleaner and healthier food and make it a way of life? That would work a lot better. Yes, you may have a friend of a friend who did the grapefruit diet and lost 10 lbs in a week, but I can guarantee you she probably gained it back within 2 weeks of going back to their regular way of eating. No fad diet will create long term results. (I hope this is not new information to anyone).

No one has to cut everything good out of their lives, but when you do eat something "unhealthy" just do it in moderation. I tried a 30 day cleanse last year where you only eat clean (unprocessed) foods, and it just didn't work for me. I couldn't cut ranch dressing out of my life. Sorry, I just can't do it. There were definitely a lot of good food alternatives that stuck with me though and when you reach for a snack - it's definitely better to grab a hand full of almonds than it is to grab the bag of cheetos. We all probably know my anti-pop rule (see earlier blog), and it's better to try not to eat a lot of fast food (or any), and another simple rule is to try not to eat anything out of a box ie. hamburger helper. Simple things like that can really make a big difference on your health for you and your family.

Happy Running!                     ~Becky

Little legacies

WARNING: I get preachy at the end.

Wednesday morning, at approximately 4:40 am, my bedroom door creaked open, with a little girl standing tenatively in the darkness.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"My braces broke and it hurts," she said.

So we walk together to the bright lights of the bathroom, and upon inspection, her quad helix had, in fact, pulled apart. I wrangle one sloppy spitty mouthpiece into submission and send mini-me back to bed.

After coffee, I call the orthodontist for an on-call appointment, which won't be available until Friday.

And you know what's fun about going to the orthodontist? Our orthodontist is 99 miles away, in Bismarck. Ah.... Life in a northern town. So to go have the orthodontist snap it back into place just like I did, but with tools, we pretty much have to make a day trip out of it.

Which is fine because Bismarck has way better shopping, right?

So mini me and I get checked out of school Friday and head to the city! We get her appliance fixed and do a little clothes shopping (TJMaxx! I got a wind jacket and a new Champion sports bra and Katie got some cute shirts) and then we went to our most favorite place in the entire 100 mile area.... Barnes and Noble.

Bookworms.

I could spend hours and hours and a gajillion dollars. We even asked ourselves "What are we doing here? We have books at home that haven't even been read yet." So we limited ourselves to just one book each and headed to the cafe to enjoy a little afternoon treat.

It's all women in the cafe, and I smile, thinking that this is quite lovely.

We gather our parcels and goodies and sit next to some young-ish girls. They appear to be high schoolers or maybe young collegiates. They have their backpacks and I assume they have a study group going. Katie and I sit, barely have time to take our coats off before these young ladies start a high pitch, high shrieking giggling conversation about a boy.

"ohmygod, we should have a secret password!"
"tee hee hee, CONDOMS!"
"ha ha, yeah, CONDOMS."
"ohmygod, I so need to go get some CONDOMS."
"hee hee hee."

Me: Katie, grab your stuff, we are changing tables.

I tried to grab another table in what appeared to be a quiet corner. I hoped we would be far enough away from the condom girls that we wouldn't have to hear much more of their conversation.

So Katie and I once more resume nibbling on our scones and cookies and cocoa and latte. As a silence fell over our table, the conversation from the ladies next to us perks up.

They are trading tips on the best diet pills. Perfectly healthy, blond haired blue eyed women. One maybe a little too skinny. She, who I will now refer to as skeleton lady, proceeds to describe how she crushes up Pamprin every day into her orange juice to fight the bloat so she doesn't gain "not one single ounce."

I look over at my nine year old who is now just staring at her cookie.

*facepalm*

Really, ladies?

Is this really the kind of legacies you want to leave in the world? Are these really the stereotypes you want to perpetuate?

Is this really how we talk to one another?

Maybe you don't talk to your daughter about condoms and maybe you dont talk to your daughter about diet pills. But does that make it okay to talk to your friends that way? Don't we have more to offer one another?

So I grab a bite of Katie's cookie, smearing chocolate on my lips and making her giggle and hurry up and finish it before I eat more of it.

My daughter is a really neat kid. She knows more of the characters in the Justice League than I do. She loves Paramore. She loves her ballet and hip hop classes. She wants a German Shephard and a Papillion and a Yorkie and maybe a Chihuahua. And sometimes, she comes out and runs 5Ks with me. "They are so fun!" she exclaims. She runs a bit, walks a bit. She cheers for everyone and when she comes to the finish line, she has quite a few cheerleaders of her own.

I hope and pray and hope and pray that I give my daughter a better legacy than overly sexual flirtation or an unhealthy body image.

I hope that what I get out of running- grit, determination, a kind discipline, strength - are the kind of legacies that I can pass on. And not just to her.

I hope that we, as women, can share in each other's successes, in each other's journeys, in each other's races, cheering each other on along the way and at the finish. I hope we can look at the long roads ahead and know we have what it takes to put one foot in front of the other. I hope that we can appreciate our thunder thighs when we know the mileage they have carried. I hope we can admire our hips, when we know the loads they have weighed. Wherever your challenges in life may be, may you have good strong friends who are there to encourage and lift you up.

I want that to be my legacy for my daughter, and I hope she has friends that are the same way.

I think we are off to a good start. She browsed books like "The Boy on Cinnamon Street" and she thought about picking up "Alice in Wonderland." Her final selection. "Journey to the Center of the Earth " by Jules Verne.

Please God, let her be this awesome as she grows up and may she never ingest a diet pill or declare her need for condoms in the middle of a cafe.

Long Run day tomorrow, looking forward to seeing my amazing strong friends tomorrow!

~Jen

Music makes you lose control

Since Jen shared her song recommendations - I thought that I would do the same. I unlike her, do not have much depth in my taste for music. I like anything that has a good beat and is catchy. I want to hear it on Top 20 for the next month over and over again until I get sick of it. Here are a few of my favorites!



We Found Love    (feat. Calvin Harris) Rihanna  
This City    (feat. Lupe Fiasco)  Patrick Stump
Faster     Matt Nathanson  
It Girl      Jason Derulo 
I Like It Like That     Hot Chelle Rae 
Good Feeling     Flo Rida  
In the Dark     Dev
Without You     (feat. Usher)  David Guetta  
You Make Me Feel...    Cobra Starship  
Bad      The Cab 
Criminal     Britney Spears  
Blackout     Breathe Carolina
OMG    (feat. will.i.am)  Usher DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love (feat. Pitbull)
Written In the Stars    (feat. Eric Turner)  Tinie Tempah
Higher    Taio Cruz & Travie McCoy
Domino  Jessie J

Happy Running!            ~Becky

Girly music?

Becky and I can usually agree on anything and everything running related. We don't love the same brand of shoes but we know how important it is to keep a wide variety of running shoes. We love our running tanks. We love tech t-shirts (although I usually cut mine up). We love Chomps and Sports Beans. We love the wedge salad at Johnny Carino's. (okay, maybe not running related, per se). We love our Garmins.

But when it comes to music, boy are we ever different!!

She would tell you (in a very nice way) that I have strange, dark, weird taste in music (I prefer to call it eclectic and awesome) while I will simply smile and nod when she professes her love for Bieber and McCartney. (no, not Paul. Jesse.).

There is, despite how much we love running, very little we would agree on when it comes to running music.

Often, when I see magazines or runners post running playlists, I scroll through them and I don't find ANYTHING relateable.

Hmmmm... maybe Becky's right about me?

Anyway, this weekend I came across a playlist titled "Grrl Power." And this is what this post is really about: When you put together a playlist called "Grrl Power" I expect some.... power. Yet most of the time, when I see these "Girl Power" "Girls Rock" "Girls Night Party" "Let's Hear it for the Girls" (the second two are actually available on iTunes, blech) it's like someone took a generic outline and said "if you're going to make a mix and market it to the girls, you have to have these: Brittney Spears. Selena Gomez. Beyonce. Rhianna. Kelly Clarkson. Let's add a little 'rock' with No Doubt and Avril Lavigne. Throw in any song that has the word: Independence, Survivor, and Respect. Oh, and add in some Lady Gaga and Katy Perry because they are empowering, right? Now slap a picture of a sexy lady dancing and boom, put it on the shelves!"

uhhh.... I'm going to need something a little more hardcore

No lie, in researching this post I looked at 4 different playlists and EACH ONE had "Womanizer" on it by Brittney Spears. How is that one motivating? I'm not trying to be all feminist on you, I'm just sayin....

Now, these mixes do have their place. I like to use them in group fitness classes because usually, you have a wide age range of participants and chances are, the songs are being played on the radio Top 40 so people know the songs and can sing along (at least in their heads). These mixes are generic and fluffy enough to have fun to and, okay, I really like "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera in my kickboxing class.

They have a good steady beat, which makes it easy to stay on tempo, especially when you're constantly counting off sets of 8.

But that's not how I run.

When I'm running, I don't want to have Lady Gaga's costumed, self-groping image in my head. I don't wanna think about kissing girls with Katy Perry. I don't want to feel like I need to shower off the stripper glitter after listening to Ke$ha.

So, I put together my own playlist of Girly Power Music. I wanted to load it into mixpod but most of the songs I wanted aren't available so there's no instant play. If you wanna check the songs out, you can look them up on iTunes or youtube. I will try to embed a few of my favorites via youtube below.

We're always always always uploading more music and looking for more music, so  send us your favorites!!

So here's Jen's mix. Some of it is heart-pumping, some of it is heart-swelling; some of it feels fierce and some of it feels fluffy. That's pretty much how I run though. I don't stay on a set tempo the whole time. I run through a mix of terrain, a mix of speeds, a mix of feelings. I like for my music to reflect that.

Shake it Out-- Florence and the Machine (turn it up. Louder. LOUDER!!!!)
Crushcrushcrush- Paramore
When I'm Alone-- Lissie (the live version on youtube is better than the album version on iTunes)
Heavens a Lie-- Lacuna Coil
Breathe Me-- Sia-- remix version
Set Fire to the Rain- Adele
Looking Up- Paramore
Alice- Avril Lavigne
Where Does the Good Go- Teagan and Sara
Dog Days are Over- Florence and the Machine
Volcano Girls- Veruca Salt
Ready to Go-- Republica and Dave Arch (make sure you get the "and dave arch" version)
How he Loves (Live)-- Flyleaf
I Have Found-- Kim Walker
Again-- Flyleaf
Not Gonna Get Us- T.a.t.u.
Sister Rosetta (2011 version)-- Noisettes
Pursuit of Happiness (Kid Cudi Cover) -- Lissie (again, live version on youtube is best)
I'll Fly with You-- Gigi d'Agostino
Temptation Waits- Garbage
Faster Kill Pussycat-- Brittany Murphy
Sweet About Me- Gabrielle Cilmi

Long Run Sunday: Crushing the impossible into the asphalt.

We are about 18-19 weeks out from the first race of the season for us-- Fargo Marathon!!! But between you and me, building up those training runs can be such a pain in the butt. So this winter, we committed to keeping up our base miles-- 6 to 10 milers-- and working on speedwork, and then we'll pick up our build up in another few weeks. Becky had to stay home sick today (she's NOT HAPPY about that) but I got to run with Kathy and Glenda-- and Glenda is training for Fargo as her first marathon! She had to do 11 today so I tagged along. I have to come back and tell you more about Glenda....

Frankly, as long as we have been able to run outside, we were anxious to go! True, the wind is still bitter and there is a little slush on the road to watch out for, but this winter has been a beach vacation compared to what we've been used to! (NORTH DAKOTA people, yes it is the frozen tundra you imagine it to be) Today it was about 35*F (Above freezing! Hooray!!) but the winds were 22-24mph out of the WNW. So my big man drove us almost 7 miles out of town so we could run back in with only a cross wind and then with the wind to our backs along a big L-shaped route. Sun was out, roads were clear, people slowed down for us, no farm dogs chasing us, it was a good day!





Josh drops us off on some country road...



7 miles back to town....

synchronize garmins..... and go!!

Made it back to my house for a quick potty break and said bye to Kathy and then Glenda and I had to loop around in town for the last 4 miles, which meant we finally had to deal with those increasing winds. Our miles went from 9:15 to 9:55 min/miles. Stupid wind.

My friend Glenda... I've known Glenda since our kids were in diapers and daycare together. We were always pleasant to one another; our kids invited each other to their birthday parties, even though Brayden was the only boy here and Katie was the only girl there. We didn't really see each other outside of our kids' lives. But in the last year, Glenda started a weight-loss, get healthy journey that has been nothing short of amazing. So we started running together.

This time last year, she shared with us today, Glenda was a size 20W. Today, she's a size 7/8. She never ever imagined she'd be running like this -- training for a marathon!!! Yet she's living proof that our bodies are AMAZING and once you set your mind to it, you can do anything!!

Glenda has the amazing support of her husband, her brothers, and of course, some pretty crazy running chicks who are all "let's go one more mile, let's go faster!" but she has some pretty powerful intrinsic motivation to keep going. Even now, even though we run side by side, sometimes when I run into her at the store or at the gym, I do a double take-- she has truly transformed her life, her mind, and her body has followed.

I guess I want to share her story because so often, I hear people who don't believe that they, too, can do it. Yet people like me, like Glenda, gals that were overweight and couldn't even do a mile 2 years ago, 1 year ago.... we once thought that way too. We never imagined ourselves here. We never thought we could have been marathoners. That was for those thin, strong, athletic girls. But we started running. We ran with other women who encouraged us. We read running magazines instead of Cosmo. We read books by other running women. We read other people's blogs. We ran a 5K. We kept running. We're not olympic athletes. We don't spend all day at the gym, training. We have kids and work and husbands who need time and energy and attention. But we make time for running too.

And we'll keep running, as long as we can. Our goals have gotten bigger, more exciting, more adventurous. Things that were once "never gonna happen" have been crushed into the asphalt, one mile at a time.

Whether you are just jogging a few miles or constantly working on a P.R.-- my encouragement to you is that your body is AMAZING and your willpower is STRONG and you can-- CAN- do this!!! You CAN do one more mile. You CAN go faster. You CAN!!

A Fart What???

Now that everyone is inspired by the New Year to start running, most people wonder where to start....
Do I just go out there and run as hard as I can until I pass out?? ummm no.

There are a few great ways to start the ever simple sport of running. You can build yourself up by doing a program like the C25K (couch to 5K). Where you simply alternate walking and jogging until you build your jogging distance up to 3.1 miles.
I didn't know about the C5K until I was already into running a few miles, so my trick was just whenever I started getting tired, I would try to finish out the song on my ipod until I rested or until the end of a certain block -pick a point to make it to before resting. After a while, you are going farther and farther each time until you need to rest.

After you can easily hammer out 3 miles is when you start wondering what else you can do to improve. If you hang out with runners long enough, you will hear them talk about fartleks and tempo runs. Here is a little break down on what those are:

Fartlek-
warm up -brisk walk 3 min
run-1 mile average pace
rest set- 3 min at slow jog
work set- 30 seconds at fast pace
rest set - 3 min at slow jog
keep repeating 3 min/30 sec intervals until you reach 20-25  min
run -1 mile average pace
cool down-slowly jog for 5 minutes
Tempo Run-
1 mile easy running
2-4 miles harder running (10 seconds slower than 10K pace)
1 mile easy running

Happy Running!                  ~Becky

why we cross train and why you should too and how to have fun with it

When I first started running, running was the goal. I thought the best way to get better at running was to keep running. Run harder. Run faster. Run longer. Light run day.

Hmmm. That works up to a point.

You develop a relationship with running. You like it, it's an attractive idea. You start to get to know it better. You spend more time with it. You invest in it. You start loving it. It loves you back. It shapes up your body, gives you confidence, makes you stronger.

But then you start falling out of love. It happens. But rather than fix the relationship, you start to let it go. It becomes an obligation. More like a lunchtime appointment with your dentist than a lunch rendezvous with your lover.

You don't fight with running. It doesn't call you to ask where you've been and what's wrong. You just start ignorning it.

One day you're sick of your iPod music, your shoes are no longer comfy, your route is boring and you just feel like you NEED to watch just one more episode of Jersey Shore and then, oh darn, it's dark out, too late to go running. All those things that were attractive- alone time! - become the things that drive you crazy- alone time :(

Running is sad. Running wants you back.

Becky and I have immensely different approaches when it comes to running. First of all, she does love running more than I do and Becky is better about getting in her small runs than I am. Me, I run about twice a week. One short day for speedwork. One long day. That's it.

I don't know of many other marathoners who would tell you they only run twice a week.

The reason I do it that way is because we also do a lot of cross training. Cross training offers so many benefits and I'm just going to highlight a few:

1)-- Boredom buster! when you're tired of hitting the asphalt, take a cruise on your bike. Or roller blades. Or work on upper body strength. Or take a class. You have so many options! You don't HAVE to do a Wednesday night 3 miler. You CAN take a boot camp class or yoga. You won't lose your conditioning if you decide to ride bike for 30 minutes instead of running for 30 minutes. When you don't want to go running because it seems like a boring idea, ask yourself what kind of training you'd like to do instead and by all means, go do it!

2) Tendons and Ligaments-connective tissue are the most prone to damage due to repetitive motion. Matthew Fitzgerald (sports nutrionist and writer for Competitor) explains it like this:

Tightness in certain muscles and tendons also contributes to some running injuries. For example, runners who develop iliotibial (IT) band friction syndrome typically have tight IT bands. Stretching can loosen tight connective tissues and thereby prevent such injuries.

Finally, by replacing one or two weekly recovery runs with easy workouts in non-impact modalities such as bicycling and pool running you can reduce the amount of repetitive impact your lower extremities are subjected to and in this way reduce injuries (without sacrificing fitness). Impact forces are the true origin of nearly every running injury.

Everytime one of us starts feeling a bothersome knee or shin or hip, we tell each other "ride bike for a week! Strength train! Squats and Lunges!"

3) Love of Power-- stronger muscles= stronger running. Leaner body = lighter running. Plyometrics = burst in muscles = greater stride = faster running.

4) Balance-- runners are notorious for over developing, under balancing their muscle groups. Quads get stronger while hamstrings pull tighter and are set up for injury. (Hint: Squats and Lunges!) Upper body training gets neglected and weakens, resulting in poor running form. Strength and yoga can help relieve some of the tension of overdeveloped, underbalanced muscles. This will help prevent injury and smooth out your running profile. Becky loves Power Pilates for strength training. There are so many classes, DVDs, youtube videos to check out!

5)Anaerobic threshold-- anaerobic means "out of oxygen." Technically, it's the point before you reach homeostasis, that is, your muscles getting the required amount of oxygen to perform the elevated work. You know that feeling where you're huffing and puffing trying to catch your breath and your heart is racing and it feels like your lungs are going to implode but maybe you're going to vomit first? That's your anaerobic threshold. The point where you're pushing your body to that feeling- the hard working out of breath feeling- can be pushed further and further out as you build up a tolerance and your muscles-- including your heart and lungs-- learn to work more efficiently. Runners will tell you it takes a little while for them to "get their rhythm"-- they are referring to that pace where the stride and the breathing completely mellow out and fall in sync. The further away your anaerobic threshold is, the sooner you'll hit your stride. Cross training efforts in swimming or aerobics classes like kickboxing will challenge your heart and lungs, making them stronger and more efficient, thus, pushing your anaerobic threshold further and further away.

6) Engaged-- you know how taking the afternoon coffee break helps you come back to the last few hours of work with a little more patience and focus? You know how taking a break from your family makes you miss them and come back with more love? You know how taking a break from Facebook makes you more productive in your daily activities?.... my point is, when you take a break from running, you will become more engaged with other things in your life and then you will come back to running more focused and ready to engage in running. Sometimes, you just need a mental break. If you would consider taking a "mental health break" from work, consider that you may need to take a "mental health break" from running every now and then. A few summers ago we trained for a triathalon. (Well, Becky and our friend Jodi V. trained for the Triathalon. I hate swimming.) So we took our bikes out for looooonng summery bike rides! What a refreshing change of pace. Coasting downhill with the wind in your hair makes you feel like a kid again, with a huge smile on your face!

Cross-training will give you a whole new set of skills. Consider that it will break you from your routine and shake things up a bit. You'll train your body and your mind to work more efficiently and more balanced, you'll reengage your love for running. Chances are, you'll even meet some new friends who can share their advice in swimming or boxing or cycling.

Get out there and have fun with it. Find a new adventure. Don't be afraid of the weights. Make some new friends at the swimming pool!

Happy Cross Training!
~Jen

**********
Jen is a certified NETA fitness instructor, and also used resources and publications from the internet, like http://www.running.competitor.com/ and also http://www.ultrarunning.com/

greater than myself

If you ask a runner why they run, there will be a different answer for every day, for every type of run, for every mood.

Crazy Running Chicks--- me, you, your friends, your teammates--- we juggle so many, many things in our lives and somehow, in the middle of our chaotic worlds, running still makes sense of it all.

Very often, the races we participate in help to fundraise for one organization or another: Susan G. Komen. Alzheimer's Association. American Red Cross.

But in 2012, my closest favorite Crazy Running Chicks each chose a purpose, a mission, if you will, for which they will be running.

Their calling, their stories, I want to share with you. 

*******************************************************************************

I've always ran for myself. It’s my time to escape the world. I do it for my physical health and my mental sanity, among a million other things. But, in 2012 I want to start running for a cause greater than myself. I have chosen to raise funds for pediatric cancer.

In June 2009 our nephew Clayton was diagnosed with Medullablastoma (a type of cancer caused by a tumor in his head). After removal of the tumor, he went through 6 weeks of radiation and 6 months of chemotherapy. After a courageous battle, he went to be with our Lord on July 29, 2010. He was six.

I want to run in memory of Clayton, but also for all of the children sitting in hospital beds around the world. Children, who are unable to run, play and just be free. When I run, I feel free. I pray that all those kids can feel that way again or even for the first time in their lives. I am so blessed that the Lord has given me the ability to run. He has blessed me with this strong, healthy body. If I can use it to bless someone else in any way, then you better believe I am going to try.

46 children are diagnosed with cancer every day. Brain cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in children. Over 3,000 children die from cancer each year. Cancer kills more children than all other diseases combined!

“They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

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Kathy Lentz has participated in the Fargo Half Marathon, the Bismarck Marathon, and the Mickelson Trail Marathon Relay among many other races. She has already signed up for the Fargo Marathon 2012. To support her cause and to fight the war against childhood cancer, please visit http://www.peopleagainstchildhoodcancer.org/ and http://www.stjude.org/

"Little Black Shorts"

"I think Little Black Shorts are sexier than Little Black Dresses."

I wrote this in a journal to myself last summer. I came across it again today and it put a big smile on my face.

I remember the day I wrote it and the way I felt.

I don't normally wear shorts. I mean, there's only like a month of opportunity that it's hot enough to wear shorts in the first place (North Dakota, people. I live in NORTH DAKOTA.).

But that day was already warming up by the time we headed out. I was wearing black running shorts, my turqoise race tank (the one in ALL the pictures) and we only did 12 miles that day (only). It was the longest I had run again since Grandma's Marathon and that crazy runner high had kicked in. 12 miles is actually my ideal training run. About two hours, cover some great distance on gorgeous back country roads, good visit with friends,waking up the deer in the fields and the pheasant in the brush, and still home before the littles are even rising and shining. In fact, on a summer Sunday morning, we're pretty much out and back before ANYONE is up rising and shining.

I had just come home, to a quiet house. The morning sun was shining through the kitchen windows and I had thrown on a loose, comfy t-shirt. And I kept catching a glimpse of myself in one mirror or another as I was moving about the house.

I had a HUGE smile on my face, my hair was still in a neat braid, my cheeks were rosy. And I was happy. Accomplished. Proud. Hard working. Satisfied. Peaceful. Content. Full.

And apparently, decided that I even felt sexier in those sweaty Sunday morning running shorts than all dolled up in a little black dress.

Think about that the next time you're throwing on shorts and lacing up shoes and headed out. Because I think anyone out there putting one foot in front of the other, working towards their goals, letting go of the stress, building yourself up... is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!

Little black running shorts are way sexier than little black dresses!

~Jen

Motivator-- Track your miles

I know when you're pounding away on the treadmill or just trying to squeeze in a run during the 20 minutes you have between chauferring little people to after school activities, you sometimes wonder if it's really worth it. You're asking yourself if you REALLY feel like putting in a two-miler or watching a rerun of Big Bang Theory.

But the correct answer is that even those small runs are SOOOOO WORTH IT!!!!

First, those short runs are your building blocks. You tend to run those short runs quicker, pushing out your anaerobic threshold and also building up those tendons and ligaments.

Second, they just keep adding up, making you a tougher runner.

Two years ago, I was struggling just to get to finish two miles without stopping. Yes, two years ago I could barely get my two miles done in under 20 minutes.

But they built the foundation. You run two miles, you move up to three. You run three miles you're doing 5Ks. You run a 5K, you build up to the 10K. One day you realize you just ran 8 miles and it didn't kill you and you keep going from there. Or you stick to the 5Ks but you do one after another and you're still running faster than you ever thought possible.

There are tons of apps that will use your phone's GPS to track your miles. You can invest in a pedometer (make sure you get a RUNNING pedometer, not a walking pedometer). You can use a site like RunKeeper or Daily Mile to plot your running course or add up those treadmill miles.

If you want some extra motivation, here's a few fun ways to make those miles add up AND reward yourself:

1- Run to your favorite vacation spot! go to googlemaps or mapquest and plot the distance from your front door to your getaway. For instance, Dickinson, ND to New Orleans, LA is 1743 miles.Then, day by day, week by week, run those miles off around your neighborhood or on that treadmill until you've run the complete distance. Once that's accomplished, reward yourself with a trip to the vacation you've definitely earned!
where's your favorite spot?


2- Pay yourself to workout. For every mile you run, give yourself a dollar. Set a goal for a splurge item-- 7forallmankind jeans to show off that new, smaller booty or some fabulous heels to show off those sculpted calves. Ran 2 miles a day almost every day for two months? That's $200 to reward yourself!

am I really the only one who wishes they gave away Louboutins instead of medals at the finish line?



3- Pay it forward with friends. Keep a jar at work and ask your friends and coworkers to pay up every mile that they run/walk. Whether their budget is 25 cents or a buck a mile, pile it up! At the end of the month, donate the cash to a favorite charity-- like St. Jude's Hospital, in honor of the kids who are living in hospital beds and can't get up and run around. (If you're really into friendly competition, you can even reward the person who collected the most miles with half the cash).



However you chose to add it up, just remember that it does add up! Maybe your goal is a 5K, maybe you're looking to do your first half marathon, or maybe you're a marathon maniac. Ultimately, a mile is a mile!

Make it count!

Happy Running
~Jen and Becky

the end of the holidays-- the start of your running goals!

It's that day-- the second of January-- where you feel the blues from putting away all of the sparkly Christmas magic and you felt super motivated yesterday because it was the start of a brand new year and everyone's Facebook status was all mushy and inspiring-- but today, you're just back to your normal existence, trying to decide between doing something about those New Year's Resolutions or just having  Eloise/Twilight movie marathons.

(Just GUESS which one I'm doing at my house RIGHT NOW!)

Or maybe you're back at work wishing you had just a little leftover spiked eggnog.

Whatever it is, lemme say that since you're getting back to normal, it's time for a new normal-- start making those resolutions/goals part of your everyday focus!

So just a quick little plug or two:

Fargo Marathon!! May 19th!!! No lie, we have highs in the 50s this week. In January. In North Dakota. What global warming?? The winds are a little discouraging but the training weather has been just lovely! Becky, Glenda, Kathy, and I are all looking forward to the Fargo Marathon, and a little worried that our winter, on delay it seems, might make for an interesting marathon. We'll see! But it's on the books. The Fargo Marathon is ranked as one of the top 10 Marathons in the US for crowd support, clean city, value for the money. I participated in it last year as part of a relay team and it was a pretty good marathon. I didn't like the running round and round through neighborhoods but I did think it was pretty neat that we saw familiar faces all along the route.

Missoula Marathon-- thinking about this one. 3300 feet elevation, though. We'll see.

Estes Park Marathon-- this is on Becky's list. She said she's "racing" the Fargo Marathon and just "enjoying" the EP marathon. Small marathon and the elevation on this one will be tricky but I can't wait to see her pictures, should be BEAUTIFUL!

Couch to 5K program-- if you are thinking about starting to run, in any capacity, this is a free program I recommend to EVERYONE because everyone who has used it loved it!

Rock my Run-- if you love music to run to, they have something for everyone. I've been into the DubStep mixes, check them out. I've found myself going through an entire 50 minute playlist and not even realizing it was 50 minutes already!

And if you are starting to run, let me tell you what every runner knows: the first step out the door is the hardest. Even for those of us who absolutely love it. And after that, the first mile is the next hardest. It takes a while for your body to reach homeostasis-- that balance between the oxygen required and the oxygen you're getting-- so that awful huffing and puffing and chugging you're doing? totally normal. Stick with it. You can do this.

Happy New Year everyone, make it a great one!
~Jen