Goofy 2013

It's that time of year again! Time to put on my running shoes and try to help raise money for the EOD MasterBlasters! I'll start updating my long runs very soon...

Marathon and a Half!

The Races

Both of the runs went pretty well…all 39.3 miles of them! The first day was better than the second (of course, lol!) but it was because the weather was a bit cooler so it was just more pleasant to run. And once I really get into my running “zone” on the half marathon distance, it’s almost halfway over anyway.

But I do love doing the one full marathon a year—mainly because Disney makes it so entertaining. There are a lot of areas between the parks that could be very boring, but they put characters out and high school bands and whatever else they can think of to make it distracting. Running through the parks is always great—the parks are open so there are people standing around cheering and just generally making it seem like a good time.

The aftermath of running so far is always a bit difficult. My muscles are sore, but the issue is more from the pounding the pavement for so long—my bones literally ache for a day or two. I was so tired afterwards but it was at the point where I was so tired I couldn’t sleep. But the soreness went away after a couple of days and by now I’m feeling almost back to normal again.

Here are the stats for my runs:

Saturday (1-13)
Distance: 13.1 miles
Total time: 2:42:12
Average pace: 12:13
Best pace: 0925
Weather: High 72*
Song o’ the run: “Eye of the Tiger” (High School Band)

Sunday (14-39)
Distance: 26.2 miles
Total time: 5:50:39
Average pace: 13:12
Best pace: 0959
Weather: High 77*
Song o’ the run: “I Smile” (Kirk Franklin)

All together I raised $1233 for the EOD Master Blasters’ Dan Bull Memorial Fund! Thanks SO MUCH to all of you that donated—it really made the runs worth doing. I ran this for the men and women of EOD…especially: TSgt “P-Nut” Douville, TSgt Jeremy Gibson, TSgt Reese Hines, TSgt Phil Myers, SSgt Joseph Hamski, “The Navy Guys”, TSgt Matt Slaydon, TSgt Tony Capra, SSgt Dave Flowers…and so many more; too many more. Thank you.

Week 26

My run(s) is/are next weekend (7/8 Jan)!!!

I’m a little nervous but I’m hoping I trained enough with long runs to do okay. I never feel like I’ve run enough but really, it’s not like I’m doing this for a certain time just to complete the whole 39.3 miles. I developed a bit of an issue with my left calf after I got back from my Vegas TDY (I’m about 95% certain it had to do with the 40 mile bike ride I did the day after I got back) which, in turn, caused some running issues for me. Long story short, I didn’t get to finish the full 36-mile run like I had planned. I was having to decide between getting the miles in and possibly injuring myself or hoping that the 33 miles run I did get in was long enough to prop me up for the 39 and let my body heal. I went with the second choice.

I hope it was the right decision; at this point it has to be!

I did get some runs in, so here’s the info for that:

Wednesday: (1-10)
Distance: 10 miles
Total time: 2:07:03
Average pace: 12:42
Best pace: 0900
Weather: 64*, humidity 100% (feels like 64*)
Song o’ the run: none


Thursday: (11-15)
Distance: 5 miles
Total time: 1:02:49
Average pace: 12:34
Best pace: 0855
Weather: 64*, humidity 100% (feels like 64*)
Song o’ the run: “One” (Metallica)


Saturday: (16-25)
Distance: 9 miles
Total time: 1:43:21
Average pace: 11:29 (dang!! I was having a good day, lol!)
Best pace: 0925
Weather: 46*, humidity 91% (feels like 39*)
Song o’ the run: “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts)


I’ve managed to collect $700 so far! Woo-hoo; thanks so much to everyone that has donated!!! Just one week left to donate!!! Please help get to $1000 for the EOD MasterBlasters and their “Dan Bull Memorial Hero’s Fund”!! This money will be used to help bring injured AF EOD warriors down to the EOD Memorial Ceremony and Ball in May…it’s for a great cause!!

Week 24

I’m up to 33 miles now…which is not too shabby! I had hoped to get all the way to 39 miles before January but I think I’m going to be stuck at topping off at 36 since I need to get some tapering done. The mileage difference isn’t enough to make it a real issue for me, I think, but it’s simply easier to run all of the miles and then run then again…if that makes sense…? I guess I could say that it’s easier on my body to have done the full length before the actual day…but 36 miles are close enough so I’m happy with it.

It has been rather chilly in Florida lately—not that I’m complaining!! I honestly prefer the cooler weather to what I was dealing with back in August. I usually will warm up during a run but cooling off in the sauna of Florida is really difficult…and I’m always a bit worried about heat stress during the summer.

I’m TDY right now so I had to break up my run into more days this time (I refuse to get up before 0400 so 6ish miles is about what I can get in before I go to work). I did a 6/6/6/15 split, so here are my times for those:

Wednesday: (1-6)
Distance: 6 miles
Total time: 1:15:56
Average pace: 12:39
Best pace: 0923
Weather: 40*, humidity 83% (feels like 36*)
Song o’ the run: “Uprising” (Muse)

Thursday: (7-12)
Distance: 6 miles
Total time: 1:15:56
Average pace: 12:39
Best pace: 0902
Weather: 30*, humidity 90% (feels like 24*)
Song o’ the run: “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” (The Proclaimers)

Friday: (13-18)
Distance: 6 miles
Total time: 1:11:49
Average pace: 11:58
Best pace: 0839
Weather: 37*, humidity 87% (feels like 33*)
Song o’ the run: “Barbie Girl” (Aqua)


Saturday: (19-33)
Distance: 15 miles
Total time: 3:08
Average pace: 12:36
Best pace: 0848
Weather: 47*, humidity 62% (feels like 47*
Song o’ the run: “Intergalactic” (Beastie Boys)


I’ve managed to collect $700 so far! Woo-hoo; thanks so much to everyone that has donated!!!

I’m hoping to be able to get the total up to an even $1K, but I only have about four more weeks of training left. So please donate, if you can!!

Week 21

Okay, so…my 30-mile run got bumped another weekend because of an illness in my husband’s family. But everything seems to be going much better now, in that regard, so I was able to complete my run this weekend.

I had intended to go for a 10/10/10 split, but my first five mile run on Saturday was so good that I didn’t want to mess it up by running the second one, lol. But I did get everything done over four days instead of three (a 10/5/10/5 split) and here are my stats for those runs:

Friday: (1-10)
Distance: 10 miles
Total time: 2:15:57
Average pace: 13:36
Best pace: 9:37
Weather: 39*, 57% humidity (feels like 34*)
Song o’ the run: “G6” (Far East Movement)

Saturday: (11-15)
Distance: 5 miles
Total time: 1:06:53
Average pace: 13:15
Best pace: 8:55
Weather: 40*, 64% humidity (feels like 40*)
Song o’ the run: “Tik Tok” (Ke$ha)

Sunday:
(16-20)
Distance: 5 miles
Total time: 1:04:45
Average pace: 12:57
Best pace: 8:52
Weather: 55*, 87% humidity (feels like 55*)
Song o’ the run: “Beautiful Dirty Rich” (Lady Gaga)

(21-25)
Distance: 5 miles
Total time: 1:05:07
Average pace: 13:01
Best pace: 8:42
Song o’ the run: “Walk Like An Egyptian” (The Bangles)

Monday:
(26-30)
Distance: 5 miles
Total time: 1:10:30
Average pace: 14:06
Best pace: 9:21
Weather: 64*, 94% humidity (feels like 64*)
Song o’ the run: “Put A Ring On It” (Beyonce)


My last run (on Monday) was kinda poopy—I have a PT test next Tuesday and when my calf really began to hurt during the run I decided to walk it and save my muscles for that instead of pushing out the last mile or so. But I feel like I accomplished something…mainly running 30 miles.

I’ve managed to collect $550 so far! I’m hoping to be able to get the total up to an even $1K, but I only have about seven more weeks of training left!! So please donate, if you can!!

Week 19

Week 19


I have to tell you about my bike ride before I talk about last weekend’s run…I did it. All 100 miles of the P-Nut Douville Memorial Bike Ride. It. Was. Awesome.

And exhausting. Though not in the running a marathon kind of way…hard to explain, but in some ways the marathon and a half over two is way more difficult. I think mainly because of all the impact of running, but biking that far definitely had its challenges. Like pressure. On my butt. For a really, really long time.

The scenery was beautiful and the company was good. I kept a pretty steady pace the whole time, though around mile seventy I really conked out…but by then, what was thirty more miles, lol?? On the way out, the bridge into Port St Joe was simply a really nice challenge. The way back, I swear that thing turned into Mount Everest. It was a painfully long climb, especially since that was right about mile seventy.

Okay, I had to get that out there. Unfortunately, I think the 27-mile run followed the next weekend’s 100-mile bike ride really wore me out, so my 30-mile weekend turned into a 20-mile weekend. So, it’s another re-do run. I’m going to Vegas this weekend (UFC fight!!!!!!); the next run will be in a couple of weeks.

But here are the stats for last weekend:


Friday:
Distance: 5 miles
Total time: 1:00:38
Average pace: 12:08
Best pace: 9:00
Weather: 41*, 75% humidity (feels like 41*)
Song o’ the run: “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (Metallica)


Saturday:
Distance: 15 miles
Total time: 3:20:22
Average pace: 13:21
Best pace: 9:24
Weather: 44*, 70% humidity (feels like 44*)
Song o’ the run: “Suds in the Bucket” (Sara Evens)

Week 17

Twenty-seven miles is far. Really, really, really far…maybe not so bad in a car or on a bike but running it is…well, far.

I survived without too much drama. No flying dogs or anything too crazy…just running for a few hours; but it did give me time to think. One of the things I thought about was the question that people normally ask me when they find out I want to run the Goofy Challenge again: why?

Simple question, though the answer is a bit more difficult. When I returned from Iraq on my 2007 WIT deployment, I wanted to run a marathon…mainly because I was alive. So not too long after my return, I signed up for a half marathon and thought I’d give it a try. The training was not good—I was guessing how to do it and hoped for the best. I tried to learn how to eat while running (which made me yak…thankfully my body got used to it fairly quickly) and basically hoped for the best. So when I ran the half, I got to mile 13 and thought, “This. Is. Insane. These people are insane and the ones running the full marathon need to get their heads examined,” and I thought I was done with it.

Fast forward six months. I’m in Florida and I signed up for a running club—mostly to watch my weight and to make certain I would do okay with PT test. And after talking to the people who got the club together, I decided to run another one. But this time, not a half marathon…nope, I signed up for the full one. In four months. For some people that may have worked…the couple in charge of the run club had philosophy: “if you can run 18 miles, you can run 26.” But I’m here to tell you—for my body to run 26 miles, 18 miles was not NEARLY far enough for training. I crashed out around mile 20, limped along to mile around 22 and I had to walk about the last four miles of that run—it took forever.

But I did notice that I was feeling better. I’m a very high-strung/tense person and I had some serious issues after my year in Iraq (which lends to the EOD theme I have for running…I was deployed with them; but the kind of job I normally do did not prepare for what I saw and did). But it was therapy for me. Just to keep moving, to feel so challenged and alive…as much as I still (!) don’t like the actual physical act of running, I love the challenge, I love proving that yes, I can go that far. I love saying things like, “yeah, I did 27 miles this weekend” and seeing the expression on people’s faces as they do the math.

And now I can’t seem to stop! I get chaffing in the worst places (sports bras are not kind to sensitive skin when you sweat in them for hours), dehydration headaches, leg cramps, exhaustion, sunburns, it’s extremely time consuming…and yet I know I’ll probably sign up for the challenge yet again in 2013, provided my job allows my schedule to let that happen.

So here are the stats for the runs:

Saturday:
Distance: 13.5 miles
Total time: 3:10:07
Average pace: 14:05
Best pace: 8:58
Weather: 67*, 80% humidity (feels like 67*)
Song o’ the run: “Alejandro” (Lady Gaga)


Monday:
Distance: 10 miles
Total time: 2:15:18
Average pace: 13:32
Best pace: 9:17
Weather: 67*, 85% humidity (feels like 67*)
Song o’ the run: “Bathwater” (No Doubt)

Quick break (about 10 minutes) and then finished the last 3.5
Distance: 3.5 miles
Total time: 46:40 (3:01:58 complete time)
Average pace: 13:20
Best pace: 10:04
Weather: 66*, 82% humidity (feels like 66*)
Song o’ the run: “Keep Your Hands To Yourself” (Georgia Satellites)

I’m up to $550!!! Please donate, if you can! =^)

P.S. For you, Gibby--I miss you.