remember

maybe your new mantra?

hydration

i am super curious ... what do you drink for the following runs?

• 1-4 miles?
• 5-6 miles?
• 7-10 miles?
• 10+ miles?

options might include nothing, water, fuel belt flask of propel.

my hydration needs have changed so much since moving to a warmer climate. i think i've almost doubled my fluid intake.

my answers to the questions?

• 1-4 miles: one fuel belt flask of FROZEN water
• 5-6 miles: one or two fuel belt flask of FROZEN propel
• 7-10 miles: three + fuel belt flasks of gatorade (rain is my fave)
• 10+ miles: four + fuel belt flasks of gatorade

i think each fuel belt flask is around 7 oz. is that about right? anyways, i'd love to know what you're drinkin'. :)

safety first

the town of cary was rocked this week by the news of a local woman who went missing on a long run last saturday morning. unfortunately, she did not come home alive (for details, click here). it was a reminder to me to always put safety first when running. i found an extensive safety list on the web and thought i would share it here. BE SAFE OUT THERE LADIES (and gents). YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO CAREFUL.

1 - DON'T WEAR HEADSETS. Use your ears to be aware of your surroundings. Using headphones, you lose the use of an important sense: your hearing.

2 - Always stay alert and aware of what's going on around you. The more aware you are, the less vulnerable you are.

3 - Carry a cell phone or change for a phone call. Know the locations of call boxes and telephones along your regular route.

4 - Trust your intuition about a person or an area. React on your intuition and avoid a person or situation if you're unsure. If something tells you a situation is not "right", it isn't.

5 - Alter or vary your running route pattern; run in familiar areas if possible. In unfamiliar areas, such as while traveling, contact a local RRCA club or running store. Know where open businesses or stores are located.

6 - Run with a partner. Run with a dog.

7 - Write down or leave word of the direction of your run. Tell friends and family of your favorite running routes.

8 - Avoid unpopulated areas, deserted streets, and overgrown trails. Especially avoid unlit areas, especially at night. Run clear of parked cars or bushes.

9 - Carry identification or write your name, phone number, and blood type on the inside sole of your running shoe. Include any medical information. Don't wear jewelry.

10 - Ignore verbal harassment. Use discretion in acknowledging strangers. Look directly at others and be observant, but keep your distance and keep moving.

11 - Run against traffic so you can observe approaching automobiles.

12 - Wear reflective material if you must run before dawn or after dark.

13 - Practice memorizing license tags or identifying characteristics of strangers.

14 - Carry a noisemaker and/or OC (pepper) spray. Get training in self-defense and the use of pepper spray.

15 - CALL POLICE IMMEDIATELY if something happens to you or someone else, or you notice anyone out of the ordinary. It is important to report incidents immediately.

iTunes comes through again

while training for the salt lake marathon, i went through a huge adjustment period that included getting used to running with many to running by myself. during that time, my little iPod and i became great friends. i discovered that listening to novels or my church magazine was a great way to pass the time on a long run.

perusing through iTunes today, i stumbled across a *FREE* copy of the alchemist by paulo coelho (download by july 14). now i've got 4 hours, 16 minutes and 33 seconds of running time to kill. shoot, that's a marathon, right? :)

how did you get started?

in maren's last post we had a question in one of the comments from sarah. she asked whether or not our group had ever thought about running for charity. i can proudly say that most of us have run for charity in the past and would absolutely consider it again. it prompted me to write about why and how i started running, because it was a charity that started it all for me.

jonathan and i moved to california in the summer of 2003 and the only person we knew was my uncle who lived in the city thirty miles away. after a few months of missing family and struggling to start a piano studio, i found myself in a much too early mid-life crisis at 21 years old. i was bored and depressed. driving in the car on a cold january afternoon, i heard a radio advertisement for team in training, an organization dedicated to raising funds for the leukemia lymphoma society. they also happened to train average people to run marathons. i attended an information meeting, cut a check for $100, and had officially signed myself up for the midnight sun marathon in anchorage, alaska. if i can truly confess, i had NO intentions of running a full marathon when i signed up for the program. i thought it was a good idea, i just didn't believe i could do it. slowly but surely, the fitness and determination came, and my life was changed.

having the motivation to run for cancer patients is a powerful one. fundraising for cancer research and patient care is also a powerful motivator. running with people who are working towards that same goal is exhilarating. i am forever indebted to this organization for changing my life in more ways than i can count.

we saw beautiful places (monterey bay: 20 miler)

i met lifelong friends and developed lifelong friendships
i now have memories that will last forever

(jeni and me at the finish of our first marathon in anchorage)
i ended up mentoring for the program the next fall; these five girls ended up raising over $33,000 for cancer research that season

we ran in honolulu together, december 2004

after that year long experience, i was hooked to the sport. i asked any girl that came within the four walls of my home or church if they wanted to run a marathon with me. i was addicted to the long runs, the chats, the "runners high", the PRs. all of it. i honestly can say now that i am a RUNNER and it is part of who i am and who i will be for the rest of my life.

so i want to know, WHY did you start?

back in the saddle...er, shoes...again

dear brooks adrenalines,

i'm sorry i ignored you for an entire month. i know, can you believe it really was a month! i'm sure you thought i didn't care about you, but i do. i really do. i just needed a break. thanks for hanging in there for me and being so ready to hit the pavement again with me this morning. it felt nice. i'm sure the girls i run with thought i was rude to ignore their emails and texts to join them in the mornings. i didn't mean to hurt any feelings, i was just a little worn out. i'll be ready soon...

sincerely, maren