Podrunner Praise

I had a so-so run today on the dreadmill. I really dislike treadmill running, but it's a necessary evil when you have young kids (who are incidently out of school on Christmas break!), a busy weekday schedule and a short amount of time to run. The best part of the 4-miles was that I had not just one, but TWO new Podrunner podcasts to listen to. I discovered Podrunner about five months ago and I totally love it. It's basically fixed-bpm music mixes that are perfect for running. I find the steady tempo really helps me keep my pace nice and even. There are tons and tons of them, so you can always find a new one to throw into your playlist, and there's nothing better to me than fresh tunes to keep me motivated (especially on that treadmill!). The best part? Podrunner mixes are FREE!! That's right, I said free. If you want to check them out, you can go directly to the website at www.djsteveboy.com/mixes.html , or if you have iTunes, you can subscribe to the podcasts.

I'll probably try to squeeze in two more runs this week and get another 8 miler in on Saturday. After that it's time to ramp back up to race mileage again!! I'll check in again after the long run.

Orange Grove 8 miler

Today I met up with a bunch of Team in Training friends for an 8 mile run in a beautiful old part of Riverside. It was fantastic to run with this great group...Coach Steve, Taylor, Dustin, Paul, Rose...good friends make the runs go by so fast. We did a really nice course from Washington Park along Victoria and through the orange groves. I like running over in that part of town. It feels very pastoral, not at all like an urban run. I had my new capris and Surf City shirt on that I got for Christmas and liked both very much. (Thanks, Mikey!!) The shirt is by Greenlayer (http://www.green-layer.com) and I really loved it. Long sleeves, and great moisture-wicking, but somehow still able to cut the breeze and keep me warm without overheating. It's destined to become a favorite for sure. After the run, we did some speedwork drills with Coach Steve...high knees and butt-kickers and sprints. A fun morning with fun people. Just the way I like my long runs, and a nice way to work off all that Christmas turkey I ate yesterday!!

Cutback to 6.5 miles

Yesterday I had a wonderful run with my friend from last season's TNT team, Richele. We met up with the Spring Team to sort of follow their route along a really beautiful stretch of an old road in Riverside. Flat with lots of HUGE trees and some citrus groves, stretches of the run felt almost as if we were running out in the country instead of smack in the middle of a bustling city. It was cool and clear out, a gorgeous day to run, and Richele and I laughed and chatted the whole way. Although I made a big step-down in mileage from the previous weekend's 13, I felt I needed to back off a bit and have some recovery time. I don't want to burn out on the high mileage too soon, with the next half marathon still well over a month away. This run reminded me how much fun running is and how relaxing and refreshing it can be. Can't wait to do it again!

Hardcore.

Yesterday I ran 13 miles with the IE Running Club. It was POURING rain and chilly and I wasn't planning to go the whole way since my next half marathon isn't until February, but my pace group was great and I was having a good run so I went for it. I was doing fine through the run, but when we were done and suddenly stopped moving, I was shivering in the cold rain. I ran for the car, wrapped up in a towel and turned up the heat!!! After getting home to a hot shower and some hot coffee, I spent a good amount of time stretching. Surprisingly, I was no where NEAR as sore this morning as I was after the Long Beach half marathon. In fact, I feel pretty darn good. Not only that, but Mike tells me I am now officially 'hardcore' after slogging through a soggy 13 mile run during a downpour!!

My watch started doing some weird things during the run (it's SUPPOSED to be an Ironman, but it's pretty averse to being wet) but I think I came in somewhere around 2:50. For a run in extremely poor weather conditions, I'm really happy with that. Especially considering how good I feel today!

Welcome!

Hi! Welcome to my Blog. I wanted to document more of my running as I train for the Surf City Half Marathon in February and the San Diego Rock 'n Roll Marathon in June. For the moment, I'll just be talking about my Saturday long runs. My weekday runs aren't usually as interesting, but as the mileage gets higher, I may talk about those, too! I may throw in some commentary about my gear, running partners and support team, too! (I have the best support team EVER. My family rocks!) I will also be talking about what's going on with "The Team." I ran my first ever half marathon with Team in Training and I'll be running with them again, as a mentor, this summer. Check out my TNT website at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ocie/rnr10/jresch

I've just come in from a run, and it's time for my post-run coffee ritual. I can't run without having that coffee to look forward to, hence the blog's name. Catch you later!