BT50k, Johnnycake Jog, and on to the North Coast 24 hour!

DNS.

My first one. I am feeling great now that didn't run it though. Stupid me should have thought. I have this super intelligent guy helping me, all I had to do was ask. But I waited. Thought I was superwoman or something. Thought that I could come out of a 50 miler running the same speed I ran going into it and also feeling 100%. LOL. SERIOUSLY. It wasn't until Wednesday that I asked Ray if running the BT50k was a good idea, considering NC24 training. He said, strong as can be: "Abosolutely not. I do not think it's a good idea". WHOA! That's all I needed to hear to throw in the towel on this one. Heck BT50k wasn't going to be a serious race for me anyway, just a fun thing so nuff said. I did feel bad I was going to miss running with some great people though! Running task for the rest of the week - was to run randomly. Whatever I felt - "Run with the family" Ray said. My family had some tapering going on so I took a couple days off and ran solo on Saturday while they had an off day. The run was slow - purposely, and it felt great! It was the first time since Mo that I actually noticed things again. Birds, squirrels, the way the sun was rising over an open field. Sounds corny, but it's true! It did a lot for me, mentally speaking. Since Mo I had been struggling and had not had a single enjoyable run. I had even started using my headphones again, something I didn't do at all during Boston or Mo training. I was doing it so I wouldn't have to pay attention to how I was struggling through each run. That is a big no no. I had really come to enjoy not using headphones during runs, being so in tune with everything, the way I was feeling, my surroundings, etc. and now I was trying to forget it all by turning on my music, "Disturbed" full blast. I hated the reason why I was using my music. So, Saturday was a treat. A nice, easy treat. I smiled a lot during the run (FINALLY!) I only looked at my watch a couple of times. 6 miles, 8:15/mile. I then came home and cross trained for one hour. Sunday I logged 14 miles early a.m. on the treadmill and felt good again. I then decided to run alongside my son in the Johnnycake Jog 5 miler, I was worried about him running in the heat. This whole "taking it easy" really seemed to work for me! (And not racing in 2 big races has now given me the racing bug, which I will not satisfy until NC24! I feel like exploding!) I'm so glad this rest has worked out and am completely pumped that week one of NC24 training started today! I went into my run this afternoon completely refreshed, excited, and ready to go! I LOVE IT! Thanks Ray! And hey - speaking of Ray don't forget Impossible2Possible has many exciting things coming up, including their expedition to the Amazon!

Check it out at:

http://impossible2possible.com/i2p

School registration is now open!

And don't forget about the I2P pizza party at my house, August 7th for kids!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=727743691&v=app_2344061033#!/event.php?eid=134414096586793&index=1

If anyone's interested in speaking at the event please let me know :-)

BT50K

As I mentioned above, I did what I needed to Saturday a.m. and then it was time to turn on the webcast to the BT50k! It was so neat seeing the webcast, finally watching one where there were people that I knew who were running. This kind of made it worse at the same time though! I wanted to BE there. Never mind that I wasn't running, I still wanted to be there to support everyone and cheer them on! I was quite literally pacing back and forth, just wishing I was there. My husband came home from working third shift and told me he was going golfing before he went to sleep for a few hours - and that's all I needed to hear - I WAS OUT! My son and I drove the one hour drive to the CVNP and made it with a little under an hour to spare before the first finishers crossed the line. My plan was to take pictures if no one needed my help, but Vince from Vertical Runner snagged me and gave me the best volunteer job ever! Giving out the medals! My son and Steve's son had fun talking together until it was time to leave, and then he helped a bit with the medals as well, when runners started coming in one after another. The first man to cross the finish line was Kam, in I believe 4 hours and 3 minutes. Shaun Pope came in close at second place, followed by Mark Godale. On the women's side, Beth Woodward amazed me when she came in at 4 hours, 30 some minutes - not looking tired at all! She looked as if she just ran a 5k - not 50! It was amazing, and not an ounce of fat on her. AT ALL. (Mental note, don't sign up for any races Beth will be running!! LOL!!) Second place female was Shanna Ailes, and third went to Star Blackford. After that it got a little hard watching runners come in. Most looked exhausted, it was hot, it was humid, and you could tell. I held off a couple seconds after runners crossed the finish line before I gave them there medal. I didn't want to shove a medal in their face when they felt like collapsing, puking, drinking, or just wanting to lay down. Many of the runners ran straight through the finish line to a shaded area underneath a tree nearby. I'm happy to report though, that many of my girlies did well! Terri Lemke received first for women's masters divison, Rachel Nypaver won first for her age group, on the men's side Ron Ross got first for his age group and Niall Corrigan got 2nd for his age group (and ran the Presque Isle 1/2 marathon the next day!) My buds Joe, Carole, Mark, Bob, and Brian toughed out the nasty heat and humidity and came across the finish line smiling! When Mark came through it was time for my son and I to leave, unfortunately. I wanted to stay the whole time, see everyone finish but my husband was waking up soon, so we made the drive back to Pvlle. HUGE KUDOS to Vertical Runner, Vince, Steve, Joe, Lloyd, and to Chaney Events for putting on a great run. I heard no complaints whatsoever. Way to go guys! (Plug - Vertical Runner is the best running shop EVER!!!!) And Congrats to all the runners who pushed through, battled their own demons and NEVER GAVE UP through some nasty running conditions. You are all so inspiring!

Johnnycake Jog

It was another hot one! My husband and son ran in the jog along with many of my Northeast Running Club friends.



I was worried about my son so I ran alongside him, carrying his water, dumping water on his head and eventually carrying his sweaty shirt. Gross! We got there, met my husband's Lincoln Electric running friends and headed over to the NERC tent. I dropped off some homemade energy bars for people to try (recipe courtesy of Wayne Kurtz - www.racetwitch.com) and we hung out for awhile. Guy, Geoff, Kevin, Nick, Kevin, Carl, Carole and others hung around for awhile - then some of us split up to do a quick jog before "The Jog". I was a little bummed I wasn't racing this one, as I have done this one for many years, but knew it was for the best. The race got going and yeah, thanks to construction was very crowded for the first mile. My husband took off at a blistering pace (a family problem) and my son and I ran as mid packers, both passing some and getting passed by others. Then comes the Mentor Ave. stretch. I warned my son this stretch would mess with his mind. We got to Dunkin Donuts/Kohl's and he said "OHMYGOD we are only HERE!" I let him know we were over half way done, and this straight stretch was just messing with his lil' nugget. The shirt came off. He was struggling a bit and cramping up, so he stopped twice to walk for a few seconds. He had hoped to finish in under 50 minutes, and he came in at 48 minutes, 22 seconds! My husband had a great run and finished in 35 minutes, 14 seconds. Running friends of mine to take top spots in their age group were Erin Gaugler (2nd, women 35-39), Cathy Johnson (2nd, women 50-54), Jeannie Rice (1st, women 60-64), and Jean Toth (1st, women 70-74). The overall male and female winners were Ryan Kienzle and Jessica Odorcic (with Jessica winning her 4th Jog title). BIG Congrats to all the runners who battled the heat and toughed it out!

Sunrise Run Race Report, I2P Pizza Party, New Recipes

Alright, before I get into it - just a quick BT50k training update. One word. TAPER. Not too much to talk about here! Saturday is the big day, and I'm pretty excited! I'm running BT50k basically to have a good time, not to race - as NC 24 training will be on as soon as BT is over! Tons of awesome people have signed up to run the 50k, so it should be good times! I can't wait to see everyone!

Impossible 2 Possible Pizza Party and Fun Run!

This event is geared toward children, and everyone is welcome! Please come to our home on August 7th. We will have speakers here that will be talking about everything from ultra running to ultra mountain biking to ultra giving. We will have pizza and s'mores. Weather permitting there will be a bonfire, along with music and an AWESOME 1 mile fun run for the kids. The run will be through the woods - so bring extra clothes. The woods can get pretty muddy after a rain, so hopefully it will rain LOTS that week! Adults are welcome to stay with their kids and run the fun run as well. All I ask is that everyone bring a dish to share! We'll have tons of fun while learning about the non-profit organization Impossible2Possible! Please let me know by August 1st if you are coming, and how many people who are coming with you. Hope to see you then! View the invite at:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=727743691&v=app_2344061033#!/event.php?eid=134414096586793&index=1

Sunrise Run Race Report
Well my goal for the run was to beat my hubby, and I did not. He blew me away! He's getting faster every day! I ran with both my husband and super fast Geoff Weber for awhile, then it was kind of like: "See ya!" My time for this race was almost 1 minute slower than last year :-( I came in first for my age group, 4th woman overall. I'm a bit bummed but still had fun. I haven't got my road legs back 100% yet, but it's coming! Just one more trail race and then it's mainly road training for NC24. The race today was my last lower mileage race until after the Northcoast 24 hour race, as it is just too much trouble to fit in training days and rest days for these races. It was almost miserable this past week trying to pack all the miles in during the week so I could have a couple rest days. There was definitely some overtraining going on as I didn't take a rest day after my 25 miler on Sunday. Booooo! No more of that business! I have my goal and I am completely focused on that and that alone. I will be at Johnnycake on Sunday to cheer on my NERC peeps though! My husband and son are both running it, so I'll see everyone there and be cheering for all of you!

It was great seeing everyone today at the run, and was great meeting new people as well. The NERC seems to be growing, and that's great! There are tons of great people in the club, and it's so much fun standing around talking with everyone before and after the race. The Painesville race is a very low key race, but seeing everyone made it worth it. There were some aggravations today - as the city did not have any t.p. in the port a potty. (Officials were told early on - but that was pretty much ignored.) One port a potty, no t.p. SWELL. No mile markers, no people calling out times during the race. Ah well. Like I said before, at least a lot of NERC people were there and that made up for everything! After I finished I walked the course in reverse until I saw superwoman Jean Toth - an awesome lady! In her 70's and still running marathons - she did great today! 55 mins finishing time, and smiling! When I saw her I turned around and ran with her until she got to the finish line. She's an amazing lady and a great person to talk to. I enjoy hearing all her running stories so much! :D Jean's a superstar!!!!!!!!!!

Recipes

So thanks to the heat my garden is exploding! I had to do something with all my zucchini. These things were ENORMOUS! I found some great recipes online, switched a few things around to make the food healthier, baked everything and separated it all into single size servings and froze it all. Three recipes I tried were zucchini bread, zucchini cookies, and zucchini cake. The bread will make for a good healthy breakfast meal, and the cookies and cake will make for a nice small snack when we are crazing something sweet. Here are the recipes - ENJOY!

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup plus tbsp Splenda sugar blend
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
2 tbsp Splenda brown sugar blend
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
1 cup vanilla non-fat yogurt
2 eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 bag dried cranberries
Cooking spray

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine flour, sugar, and next 7 ingredients (through nutmeg) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Spread zucchini onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels; cover with additional paper towels. Press down firmly to remove excess liquid.

Combine yogurt, egg, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in zucchini.

Add zucchini mixture, pecans, and cranberries to flour mixture, stirring until well combined. Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Zucchini Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup SmartBalance light butter
3/4 cup Splenda sugar blend
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in zucchini. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add to zucchini mixture. Stir in nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes, and transfer to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.


Zucchini Cake

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Splenda sugar blend
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8” cake pan with cooking spray. In medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon. In large mixing bowl, beat eggs and stir in oil. Beat dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with yogurt. Stir in vanilla and zucchini. Pour batter in baking pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Xterra Race Report, Shoe Review, BT50K, Recipes That Work

Ok, be ready for a long one. I've been busy since Mohican trying to catch up on yard work and other things so haven't got a chance to write. Lots to talk about!

XTERRA RACE REPORT-CHAPIN FOREST

I'll try to provide as much info as I can about the Xterra race last week, I imagine I forgot a lot. I have been trying to forget that my husband passed me. It's not working though! I keep seeing him running by me, laughing, booty shaking, - chest pumped up ready to make Tarzan sounds! HMPF. He beat me by 10 seconds. And he won't let me forget it. Speed work on!

My son and I got to the race early to help with registration, and then it was time to line up! My legs were still a bit heavy from Mohican the week before, but I had decent times during my last day of speed work during the week so I decided to run. I kept up for awhile, but started to get slower as the miles increased. I wasn't really worried about placing in this race as it was just a recovery run for me. HOWEVER....I saw my husband coming up behind me after a few miles. I did not want him passing me! I pushed it but he caught up with me, big ol' grin on his face, shaking his booty as he ran by. BLAH! I'm happy he's going faster - but it's on now. SERIOUSLY!!! I have a new goal in my races now!! HA! In the end I got second in my age group and if I'm remembering correctly 5th overall female.

The Painesville 5 miler is this coming Sunday and I am ready to take my husband on again! I've doubled, even tripled my running workouts this week in order to get my BT50k miles in and also be able to get 2 rest days. I want those rest days! My last long run before BT50k will be tomorrow - 15 miles. Rest Friday, Rest Saturday - and by then I'll be more than fired up for Sunday's 5 miler! That behind said - I do have to say this will be my last short race until after North Coast 24. It's just too much of a pain to try and squeeze in all my required mileage and save some rest days before races as well. My main focus is the North coast 24 hour baby! I'll be glad to go back to a regular training schedule once the BT50k is over. And I'll be glad to have strictly one event to focus on.


SHOE REVIEW

I will never quit Adidas. Never again. I knew I shouldn't have done it. I should never have clicked on that little icon on the North Face site. But I did. Deep down I knew it was wrong, and I suffered the consequences. I am glad I am not out of money, since this was part of my prize from the Mohican race. I used some North Face bucks to purchase new trail shoes. I should have bought a coat or something. I can't even say that the problem was I ran 25 miles in them the first time I wore them. I can't say that because I felt the blisters a little over mile 1. I kept on running, but it wasn't a good run because I was pretty ticked at myself for what I did. I KNEW better. I have the perfect shoes in Adidas - both road and trail. I NEVER should have got these North Face shoes. Why fix something that's not broken?

I have to admit the shoes do look pretty.
Northface/W Betasso shoes:



Doesn't matter much when you get blisters like this though:

BT50K TRAINING
Just as soon as it "started" it is almost finished. I had a long run this past Sunday, 25 miles. I mixed it up and gave myself a small taste of NC24 as well. The first half of the run was spent running a mile loop over and over again for 13 miles. I then met up with my husband to do the remainder of the run on the hilly trails. Tomorrow will hold my last long run, only 15 miles. I'm kind of looking forward to tapering!

RECIPES THAT WORK
Ok so I'm a sucker. Especially this time of year. I love Frappucino's, Frappes, chocolate shakes, ice cream - you name it. I needed to do something and I needed to do it fast! I also needed a recovery drink for my early a.m. runs. "But I still need my coffee!" I thought. So I decided to try and make my own Frappe style drink - healthier version. It tastes great and almost just like the McD's version. (The only thing missing is the whipped cream!)

Here's the recipe:

8 oz black coffee
1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
2 tablespoons of fat free, calorie free chocolate syrup (I use Walden Farms)
1 banana
ice to your liking

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until desired consistency. You can put a little ice or a lot, depending on how thick you want your shake. The only calories come from the protein powder (100 - 20 from fat) and the banana. Drink it right after your a.m. workout before you head off to work. ENJOY!