welcome to the dark side of the moon (Lindsey)

Breathe.
Breathe, breathe in the air... look around and choose your own ground/ for long you live and high you fly.
This past weekend I took on my longest run to date - 15 miles.

On the Run.
Run, run rabbit run.
To be quite honest, the distance was a little overwhelming in the beginning. But just like the energizer bunny, this chic put one foot in front of the other to get it done.


Time.
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain/ You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today/ And then one day you find ten years have got behind you/ No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.
Running long distance means you've got time. Time to think, agonize over little aches and pains, and play mental games with yourself so you can make it to the end.

Breathe.
When I come home coldened and tired/ It's good to warm my bones beside the fire.
There is nothing like walking through the front door after a long run. The seconds before you plop down on the couch...heavenly.

Money.
Money, get away.
The minutes, hours after the run, when I'm decompressing, are the simplest and purest of moments. I forget about my worries and relax... or maybe that's a runners high?

Us and Them.
Us and them/ and after all we're only ordinary men/ Me and you.
I really missed my running buddies this week. It was torture running that distance without my friends to help me along the way. Never again guys!

Brain Damage.
And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear/ You shout and no one seems to hear/ And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes/ I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.
The higher the mileage gets, the more I think I've lost my mind.

Eclipse.
All that is now/ All that is gone/ All that's come/ and everything under the sun is in tune/ But the sun is eclipsed by the moon./ There is no dark side on the moon really. 
but the heck with it, thank you runners high. You've made it easy for me to forget the mental and physical torment and take on the road again, next week. 


Song to pull me through the last minutes of my run when all I wanted to do was lay out on the sidewalk and take a nap - I Like It by Enrique Iglesias. 


For those of you not catching the reference... see Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. 


54 days to go. 

Long time, No Blog (Heather)

It’s been a while…

Two whole months to be exact….

Oh blog, how I have missed thee.

These past several weeks have been incredibly busy at work. So busy, in fact, that it’s been a challenge to fit in my runs during the week. As Lindsey mentioned in a previous post, it gets dark so early now! It is funny- I’m sure that I noticed in past years of my life, but it’s only now that I immediately wonder how I will run in the dark when the sun starts to set at 4:30. A reflective belt is now a permanent part of my after work running attire. Becoming a runner has changed the way I look at a lot of things.

It has also changed my behavior. For example, I hate being cold. Moving from Georgia to Virginia took some getting used to for this southern girl.

{And no, I don’t think Virginia is the true South. I’ve had this conversation with a lot of people since moving here to this beautiful state, and it all depends on your perspective and home state. If you grew up in New York, I’m sure Virginia seems like a foreign country where no one- syllable words exist and girls secretly wish hoop skirts and petticoats were still in fashion. But for me, it’s not the South. I’m talking Deep South. Truth: If you can’t order sweet tea in every restaurant you visit, then it’s not the south. This is proven}

Anyway, back to the running. And my behavior change. And the cold. Yesterday was a chilly morning- around 8:00 a.m., I believe it was in the mid 30’s. Despite the warmth of my bed and a slumbering husband who sweetly said, “Hell, no, I’m not running out there,” I pulled on sweatpants, a long-sleeve shirt and a fleece. Even Austin looked at me and said, “I don’t think I’ll make it at 8:00.” (This statement was followed by the sound of her bedroom door shutting tight… smart girl, it keeps the warmth in)

Despite ALL of these intelligent people advising me otherwise, I laced up my new Brooks running shoes and headed outside in my neighborhood to run 10 miles. Let me just begin by saying that my neighborhood is entirely too full of hills. I’m not sure who put them there, but I really wish they’d come and take them back. I believe I’ve already stated my position on hills in a previous post, so I won’t go into that again. The reason I actually chose to run in my neighborhood is because Lindsey looked up the elevation in Austin and it seems like the first 8ish miles are pretty hilly. Sigh… So I guess it only makes sense that I put those pesky hills to use.

My plan was to run 5 miles straight away from our house so that at the end of them, I’d be forced to run (or crawl) 5 miles back. Even after three half-marathons, I still have to play mind games with myself. Especially on cold mornings and when I’m all by myself.

Bad thing about the run: The cold!! I ran with a pair of Old Navy fleece gloves, but my fingers were so  cold that they hurt. My solution was to pull my fleece sleeves over my gloves and continue running down the road looking like an idiot. I may try to get some hand warmers (which I saw in the hunting section at Dick’s… I was forced to stand in the hunting section with my husband on Saturday. Why we actually went into a store during the Christmas season is beyond me. Amazon, how I love thee… I’m feeling very Shakespearian today)

Good thing about the run: The new energy chews that Linds found! They are called Honey Stinger energy chews and taste almost just like Gummy Bears. I bought a box of the Cherry Blossom flavor and anticipate trying not to eat them for a snack when I’m just sitting around on the couch watching Bravo t.v.

I need to get some of those cold compression pants. Still not sure they’ll be comfortable to run in, but I’ve got to try something warmer than 5 year old sweat pants.

Currently (and shamelessly) listening to: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas”

I’m planning to do a repeat of last week and then add 2 onto the long run:  4, 5, and 8 mile runs during the week and then 12 this weekend.

Now, off to make myself do those 4 miles….

-Heather

the last piece of pie... (Lindsey)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. As I write this I am enjoying familial laughter, the Simpson's, doggie fur, and one too many pieces of pie. I love the holidays. It's so nice to spend time with people who you are just comfortable with, who love you despite your quirks, and may share your healthy appetite for competition. I'm sure game night part 2 is about to start...

Well, we've reached the dark side of training, the untapped mileage is about to be tapped. I ate my pieces of pie without guilt this year because I'm about to embark on the impossible. Thankfully I have two great running buddies to share the blood, sweat, and tears. I also have one of the most supportive hubbies ever. Zach and I ran the Richmond half marathon a couple weeks ago and it turned out to be a motivating experience. The week before the race I was actually very fearful that I would have a difficult time, that I wouldn't feel good after the race and that would bring me down about my marathon training. However, it turned out to be quite the opposite. Zach ran the whole race with me (because he is super sweet) and I ended taking 13 minutes off my time! That was super motivating. But to top it off, I felt great after the race. Bonus! So in the very least I'm embarking on my impossible journey on the right foot.
Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

85 days to go!

man's best friend (Lindsey)

In case you didn't already know I'm kind of a crazy animal lover. Between my maniacal grooming and care taking of Mafazi, my ridiculous coddling of my fur babies, Harry and Tilly, and my unexplainable attachment to my crazy cat, it should probably be evident. But just in case you didn't know... This week's post goes out to my dogs. But to explain why, we should go back to last weekend...

I really don't remember much of last weeks training except for my long weekend run. I saved my long run for Sunday since Zach and I were attending the Montpelier Races on Saturday. Oh the races. If you haven't been and live in Charlottesville, you should check it out next year. It's probably one of mine and Zach's favorite days of the year. So I may have celebrated a little bit too much. oops. :-) I woke up Sunday morning refreshed, didn't feel any remnants from our festivities from the day before. However, my body said otherwise about halfway through my run. I ran the 10 miler course and added an extra loop to complete the full 12. I started my run pretty strong (9:30/10 min mile pace!) but once I hit the 9 mile marker I hit my wall. Nothing I did could make my steps go any faster. I felt like I had two heavy tree limbs for legs and was trying to run through a swamp. Ick! So that's when I realized... oops, I'm dehydrated. Way to go Linds. sigh. This is how we learn life lessons, right?

Which brings me to my dogs. This week's runs are a taper to prepare for my half marathon on Saturday. I was wicked sore from my Sunday run on Monday, so when Tuesday rolled around I was somewhat hesitant to put on my running shoes. I looked to my two dogs and thought "hmm... they could probably pull me around the neighborhood. Why not?" Tilly and Harry were up for the challenge and completed their 3 mile run on Tuesday with no problem.

It's funny, all day today at work I was excited to get home so me and the dogs could complete our 3 miler. I think I have some new running buddies. I mean honestly, doesn't Tilly look so cute in her red harness? 

In all seriousness though, it's go time. After this half marathon on Saturday I'm going to be running in uncharted territory. It's getting a little real and it's about time to put the shenanigans aside and get focused. gulp. 

Inspriational long run song of the week: Brittany Spears - Till the World Ends (because I'll be running until the world ends...)

100 days to go!!

"Whoaaa, we're halfway there..." (Austin)

So, I'm not sure if we are technically "halfway there", but distance wise, we've got 13.1 down!  The rock-n-roll half marathon in Savannah turned into 4 laps + some around a 3 mile park in Heather's and my hometown [Tara, one of our other bea-utiful sistas ran too].  I'm not going to lie...it was painful.  But we did get to celebrate with recovery fro-yo :) ....and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.  Good thing the new Sweet Frogs close to my parking lot hasn't opened yet!  

I got a glorious e-mail from Lindsey this weekend reminding Heather and I that we need to step up our elevation! Am I the only person that thought Texas was flat?  As much as that thought makes me cringe, I sucked it up and ran 7 miles of hills tonight.  

This time change is killer though!  I need to invest in reflective gear and a head lamp (gonna be hard to look any cooler than I already do with my water bottle fanny-pack!).  

So now I'm eating roasted brussel sprouts, carrots, and rice (nice cell phone shot, huh) and waiting for my MIA running partner, Heather, to come home. 

It's Malbec & Modern Family time!

 

Thanks for reading!  

Until next time I remember to blog... :)

PS:  I love her (and the rest of my precious family -- this is the only picture I took this weekend)

Dancing in the Dark (Lindsey)

Wow! It's been awhile since my last post. It's been busy around here! Our good friend Jess got married last weekend and it's been a whirlwind of festivities, work, and trying to fit in training. I was the photographer for Jess' wedding and was completely exhausted last Sunday so I moved my long run to Monday after work. Living on the east coast, it gets dark here fairly early these days so my 10 mile run ended in the dark. Creepy! Our neighborhood also does not provide good street lamp lighting. Let me tell you, it's quite strange running in the dark.  You can't really see where your feet are touching down on the pavement so your stride adjusts to over compensate. It's interesting... and a little glimpse into our future for our runs this winter. I'm going to invest in a reflective vest and head lamp this week so hopefully I don't get taken out by a motorist and so I can see better.

In honor of my "dance in the dark" this week, my inspirational long run song is: Dance in the Dark by my favorite - Lady Gaga!

111 Days to go!

L

A Monsoon Week (Lindsey)

Wow! What a week. Charlottesville had booku's of rain this week. I was so proud of myself because I actually got out and ran in it. There is nothing like running 5 miles in pouring rain, nothing. The only downfall was my shoes got soaked, which leads me to my picture below....

Yes those are new shoes! Heather and I went to Ragged Mountain Running Shop on the Corner this past Friday to get officially fitted into some new running shoes. In order to help them out I brought in my wet sneakers which at this point smelled like a dead cat. They didn't even flinch when they picked up my shoes to evaluate them. When I apologized for the stench, the guy helping me out didn't bat an eye and said, "you should see mine." And that is when I knew I was in good hands. Thanks Ragged Mountain for helping me find my new kicks. Can you tell I underpronate?! The really funny part of the story is that when Heather and I walked out of the store we realized we both bought the same pair of shoes. Nice! 

This week's long run was supposed to be 9miles, however I wasn't able to fit in my last short run of the week so I opted to run 10 with Heather. We ran the Charlottesville 10miler course this morning and finished at 1:50. Not too shabby. 

Song that got me through the last mile after hitting my "wall" at 9 miles - Katy Perry's Firework (yes super cheese but effective). 

125 Days to go!