5 Miles 3 Barefoot

So I didn’t get up this morning and run…with this beautiful weather and fall springing up all around me I just can’t bring myself to run in the dark until I absolutely have to. I blew out of work early so I could meet the bus and lil T…I had told her this morning that she could either go with me on my run and ride her bike..or wait for Dom to get home and stay with him. She chose to ride with me…mistake number one.



I have been doing most of my runs barefoot including one last Thursday right after I had my final wisdom tooth pulled..HA! It’s been wonderful and a real learning experience. I’ve also split a couple of my runs doing the first half or so with shoes and the final couple miles barefoot. This caught me in one wicked rainstorm last week that I LOVED!! I’m learning…keeping my pace slow and concentrating on landing lightly and not on my heel. I’ve had no real pain although there have been a blister or two that went away within a day. I wish I’d started this earlier in the summer…with winter right around the corner and no treadmill….I wonder what I’ll do with this new found interest.


Anyways….


Lil T and I headed over to the trail and got down to business. I knew this was not going to go well when she was already bitchin before we’d hit a quarter mile. By the end of the two mile trail I was on the phone with Skip telling him to come get his daughter before I threw her in the pond. He did and I didn’t.


After they left I tossed my shoes in the car and headed back to the trail. There were a number of people out tonight…that’s one thing I don’t like about being barefoot..it attracts attention..and I’m WAY not into that. Oh well. The farthest I’d gone barefoot was 2.1 miles….tonight I went 3..mistake number two. No pain..just heat feet..if that makes any sense. But I don’t run again till Thursday and it’s my long run which will be done in shoes to the tune of 10 or 11 miles…depending. This damn hole in my mouth from the wisdom tooth is taking it’s time to heal…as these things do.


So here are the things I noticed on this evenings run.


I was much more relaxed once I lost the shoes…I don’t know how much this had to do with Lil T being gone but there it is.


I pay much closer attention to what I’m doing without shoes on. You’d think this is a no brainer but you never really notice how ‘out of it’ you are until you try it.


I do NOT pronate at all without shoe on…and I noticed I pronate LESS with shoes on since starting barefoot running.


My pace was much more consistent barefoot….my graph of my run from my Garmin wasn’t choppy at all compared to the two miles I ran before ditchin the shoes tonight.

In kid news..



Dom had his first cross country meet last Thursday and wasn’t last. He ran the 1.5 in about 16:30 which is a minute faster then his goal time. So proud of that boy..he puts his heart and soul into it…and I do LOVE to watch my children run.

Dom before his first meet.

Getting ready to finish.  He wanted to run it barefoot but coach said no.

V is doing better with football. He’s getting play time and really throwing himself into the training and games. He loves the game and against my will...I am trying to learn a little about a game I have NO interest in...HA!

That's V..turned around wondering who's hollering at him.

So skinny...almost loose him when he turns sideways...and always with the arms crossed.

So that’s it…my observations from the evening. Hope everyone is having a wonderful relaxing week!

Harvest Moon Run 2010

This was my first year doing this race…my first night race…and my first race that including any trail running. I liked the first two…the trail running kinda bites. That was the mile that did me in and it was the first one.



But let me backtrack. For the last year or so I’ve been thinking my best 5K time was 28:05…that was during my first summer running 3 summers ago. And I’ve been berating myself ever since that I couldn’t beat it into the ground…that I couldn’t even come close again…whatever. So yesterday..I pulled up the results from that race…which I did in Wisconsin Dells in HERE. See that…all this time I’ve thought it was 28:05 when in fact it was a minute slower…and I’ve PR’d at least once since then at my 5K this last spring at 28:54. Duh Duh Duh…small wonder I was having a hard time hitting that time again since I never have…HA! So last night…my Garmin time which is what I go by..was 28:28…clock time was 28:34. Either way I did PR…go me. I will get it down under 28 minutes..one of these days. It would have happened last night without the trail running……didn’t like that one bit…it was getting dark…the trail wasn’t lit…and with the rain from last night…blah..anyways.


Onto the good stuff. I left before Skip to get there around 5:30. My little brother Paul..ever the on time guy..had been there for about 20 minutes already and had picked up our packets. The race was to start at 6:30 with a children's run at 6 pm. I put on my bib and helped Paul with his. Bruce got there a bit later but still had plenty of time to hit the bathroom and whatnot.


Tinky did the children's race. I didn’t think she would because she can be funny about that sort of thing..but at the last minute changed her mind. Here she is running the quarter mile in her pajamas. Finishing sans one shoe because they kept falling off. She got a ribbon and rocked her race! So proud..says she’s going to win next time.


Tinky running it in.

Finishing..minus one shoe but done!

My little racer girl!

I had to pee again..and the line for the bathroom as usual was crazy long. I wanted to get a little running in so that I was starting warm so I ran to the far parking lot and peed there…suck it bathroom lines…give me a tree any day. I got back to the start line with about a minute to spare and muscled my way through till I found Bruce and Paul. Vincent was supposed to pace me my last mile but I told him to go ahead and run with his uncles….he wasn’t racing..just hanging with them and keeping them motivated. He told me he’d find me later…which he did..when I had about ¾ mile left.

Bruce, Paul and I before.

So the gun goes off..we head out. At first Bruce was staying with me but I told him to go back..he’s just not ready for that yet. He finally listened and after that I was on my own. We hit the trail after maybe a half mile. This SUCKED! I have NEVER run on trails before..this wasn’t even gravel…it was a rooted, wet..ugly mess. First mile split 9:34. The rest of the race was kinda blurry. There was one water station which was good because I was crazy thirsty and forgot to bring cough drops. Second mile split was 9:18. Like I said..V caught up with me not long after that. We’ve been in a number of the same races..but have never finished together…he’s so much faster. But he took my Garmin and said “Lets go Mama”. I was in no mood to go…but it was so cool to have him with me. Last mile split was 9 flat…thanks V! We finished strong…flying past a number of people at the end. It was good…I almost puked.

Done 28:28

After finding Skip I told V we needed to go back and find Bruce and Paul. He took off and I started heading back. I could see them coming in the distance…my boy..and my brothers. I didn’t run them in..V did. I settled for screaming at them and watching the clock. Bruce finished 31:29 for a 10:08 pace. Paul finished 31:33 for a 10:10 pace. Awesome…I was so proud of them both. My parents came to watch and were thrilled to watch their 3 children cross the finish line of the same race. My mom told me how proud she was of me for getting them to do that…I told her to shut up or she was next. Now keep in mind…that neither of them had EVER done distance running before this. We started at the end of June meeting Sunday mornings…how incredible is that?

Sweaty and Done!

Amy from my first group of newbies also ran this race…which was so cool! After we got my brothers in..V went back AGAIN to find Amy and her friend. I caught them not too terrible far from the finish and did run them in.


This was such an amazing night! To see my brothers finish…PR for myself..finish a race with V….and run Amy in. I was on cloud 9. That’s what it’s about for me…at least a huge part of it…finding the person…or people…that need to do something different..something that they think they can’t do…something for themselves….show them how...be there for every step..and see the end result…so cool…so very very cool.

And in the words of the good book..


“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”


Philippians 4:13


Have a great day folks!

Puttin it in the Books

So I did it…..I signed up for the Wisconsin Marathon this coming May..and I didn’t hurl. I saw Skip got paid..knew the race opened on the 15th….tap tap click and it was finished. Now if only my training goes that easy. I need to hammer out some details for the training plan…….I think I’m going to do my own again….but I’m certain it will include at least one run of full race distance. I know most plans don’t include this…….but I HAVE to know what it’s going to feel like..that’s just how I roll.



In race news…my brothers first race is this Wednesday so our final training run is in the morning. The good thing about running races with your newbies is that it takes the pressure off of you to some extent. Yes I want to PR..I want to finally bury the 28 minute 5K because I know I can…but I’m just as if not more so interested in getting done so I can watch them finish. The good news? They’ll have an instant PR because it’s their first one. The bad news? I have one bitchin chest cold that is still kicking my ass 1.5 weeks in. I’ve got 3 days to loose that or I’m guessing any chance of a PR for me is history.


In football news…V’s team got spanked on Thursday night but he did get plenty of play time. I got a little squirrely when I saw him take a bad hit from a dude that probably had him by 100 pounds no joke….but he got right back up and went again. Proud of that boy……plays with his heart…just like he runs.


In cross country news….Dom has his first meet this Thursday. He’s running the 1.5 mile and is pretty excited. The coach from last year must have done some research over the summer because she’s working these kids like she should…good for her. Dom does his share of bitchin but I keep telling him that it will pay off come meet day.


In barefoot news…I’ve run 3 times sans shoes..the last time being last night with Dom who also ran barefoot. We did 1.6 miles and it felt pretty good. They aren’t kidding about using muscles that have been sleeping because I could really feel it later that night and again today during my run. It’s good though..something different…I wonder if doing this as one of my weekly runs..or as an extra run…will do anything about my funky pronation…because you really can’t pronate when you don’t have shoes on…at least I don’t think you can. I need to do more reading.


In school news….all three kids seem to be doing well. Lil T is thoroughly enjoying kindergarten and seems to have taken the school by storm. She wants to be a Daisy…lord help me.


Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I’m off to enjoy my husband that I just retrieved from D.C. this afternoon.

Sucky September Running

And other things. I extended my long run on Thursday to 11 miles and it sucked. I chalk this up to being sick which also sucks. Thanks lil T for bringing me home my first kindergarten cold.


Anywhoo…so I woke up today feeling even worse and it was crazy raining. But let me rewind. I had this dream last night..and the only thing I really remember was running barefoot…weird huh? I’ve never really ‘gotten’ it and never really wanted to. I’ve been lucky and injury free for over a year. I don’t have shoe trouble and usually feel fine before, during and after my runs…I have no real urge to ‘become one with the earth’ or any other hippy stuff usually associated with barefoot running. At least that’s how I’ve seen them….just kind of interesting….neither good nor bad…just kinda there. Katie has been talking about it alittle bit and maybe that’s how it seeped into my sleeping self…who knows. Anyways..since it was raining and cold and I felt like shit..I decided to blow off my hill run and just do Tae-bo instead. Just as I was finishing that hours worth of Tae-bo…..which I usually do barefoot oddly enough…I decided to see what all the fuss was about. I grabbed Brian and took off. I got to the end of my driveway and realized that it wasn’t hurting. So Bri and I ended up doing a mile barefoot. Was it earth shattering?...not really. Was it interesting?...yes. Will I try it again…..sure. But to be honest..I like the non-thinking that comes with running in shoes. I had to pay such attention to what I was doing today that I could not even take in my surroundings…I wonder how much of that goes away with time. My feet have been a bit sore today but only in the balls of my feet..not the heel. It was good though.


So I’m meeting my brothers in the am to run. It’s also Doms 13th birthday….and I’m shipping Skip off to D.C. for the week….busy day.


Nyquil, Unisom, Bed. Night folks

Running, School and a Dago Wedding

I had a wedding to go to this weekend. My favorite cousin…and that’s saying something because I have a total of 50 first cousins….got married for the second time this weekend. I have been fortunate enough to escape weddings for the last few years so I had NOTHING to wear..including shoes. I am so far from girly it’s not even funny. The only dress I owned was from a bridal shower over two years ago and it wasn’t fancy enough to wear to a big ole dago wedding on the lake. And not only am I not girly…I refuse to spend big bucks on something that I will never wear again. That being said..lil T and I hit Target this weekend and bought this



After a mad dash to find shoes….open toed black thingys with a 3 inch heel……I ran to my sister-in-laws on Saturday night and had her take the dress up 3 inches so it hit above my knees….the world just isn’t made for us short gals.


I have to say that after the craziness…….I freakin ROCKED this dress. I felt so sexy I almost couldn’t keep my hands off myself..HA! But dressing like this…all girl like…brought me again to the conclusion that it BLOWS to be a chick. And I have to know…are there ANY high heeled shoes that don’t kill your feet? I mean seriously….do they have to hurt? Isn’t it enough that they’re hard to walk in? Guys get to rock these sexy suits, ties and shoes that require no coordination to wear…and they almost automatically look hot in them..errr. Drives me nuts.


It was a beautiful wedding…all simple and perfect. I love my dago family…but this family that Melinda married into brings a whole new meaning to the word Italian. Fantastic food…lots of wine…beautiful, loud, happy people…awesome! I wish her so much happiness and love..


On the running front. I met my brothers Sunday morning and they were also awesome. A guy rode by us on a bike and hollers..’now there’s the group I need to be running with.’ Funny stuff…..although I must agree. And since I skipped my run on Saturday do to a funky heel pain that I woke up with…after Bruce and Paul were done I left Paul my keys and told him I’d meet him at his house in a bit. It’s strange because I lived in Kenosha almost my whole life….and running there is like being a tourist…just weird. I ended up with 7 miles on Sunday which didn’t even come close to making up for the missed run..but whatever…I had a wedding to get to.


On the home front. The kids started school last week…and our lives are officially crazy again. I took lil T on her first day and she wouldn’t let me walk her in. “Just drop me off Mama…I’ve got it.” Can you beat that? She’s five. I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. I guess I’m delighted that I’ve raised such an independent young lady *cough cough*…but in turn…it’s hard that she SO doesn’t need me. V is getting ready to warm the bench in his very first football game of the season this Thursday and Dom starts cross country tomorrow. I’m so excited for both of these things but wouldn’t you just figure that V’s games and Dom’s meets fall on the same nights. Guess I’m going to have to start the cloning process again.


I’ve got a 5 mile tempo on my plate for the morning so I’m outta here. Hope everyone has a fantastic week!!