"Run like hell,
and get the agony over with."
7 time Boston Marathon winner
Up for a little agony?
Have a great week!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
TGIF ~ Back-to-school, Brunch, Building Community
Happy Friday!
Whew!
Where did the week go?
First week
back to school
brought:
fewer posts and tweets
training schedule adjustments
early bed times (exhausted!)
lots of new projects
and even a few new outfits (LOL)
Last Friday, many of you shared your stories
of your "little ones" going off to school ~
Some to kindergarten
and....
Some to college
Wow!
It REALLY is amazing how
FAST
they grow up, isn't it???
If you've been following the Turtles blog
for a while,
you know that
Community
is what we're about around here!
So,
a handful of us
(central FL bloggers/runners)
and a few extra buddies
are getting together for lunch/brunch tomorrow
to
kick off
fall racing season
meet new friends
catch up with old friends
share laughs and stories,
struggles and triumphs
and....
eat!
This is especially nice for me
after getting to 'do lunch' with running friends
last weekend.
(Thank you Kathy and Vicki... so great to see you!!)
What are YOU doing this weekend?
How did the first week of school go
for those who returned?
Happy running, friends....
And Happy Weekend!
BIG *hugs*
from the Turtle Runner!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Monday Motivation ~ Week 33: Make it Happen!
"Don't just stand there;
make something happen!"
~ Lee Iacocca
I found this quote a few weeks ago
while thumbing through Reader's Digest,
and put it on our bathroom mirror.
It's amazing how many things
have happened since then!
What will YOU make happen this week?
Whatever it is, make it a great week!
Friday, August 20, 2010
TGIF ~ End of Summer
Happy Friday!
It's official....
for
those of us in education
those of us with kiddos
OR...
those of us who are in school,
but took the summer OFF
Summer is quickly coming to a close
Back in classes
Homework
Lesson plans
Grades
Science projects
Box lunches
School lunches
School supplies
What to wear
What (not) to wear!
Comfy shoes
The list goes on....
And the
Turtle Runner
has decided to get back to her
professional roots this year.....
which will
affect
her training schedule
her disposition
her feet(!)
her blogging
and....
her spirit!
in a very positive way!!!
Details coming soon .....
Happy running, friends....
Have a great weekend!
I'm looking forward to lunch
with two wonderful running buddies
tomorrow.
What's on your agenda?
Own your journey. One run at a time.
Have you checked out
yet?
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Have a Little Faith in Me...
A recent Monday Motivation, here, from Mahatma Ghandi, reminds us that faith is more than just something we wish and hope for, or happens haphazardly.
Instead, it's a 'place' that we slowly and steadily grow into and own.... if we choose to. And sometimes, for various reasons, we find ourselves having our faith tested a bit more than usual.
Do you remember the last time
your faith was tested?
No, I mean REALLY tested?
Maybe it's now.
Fellow blogger, MizFit, recently wrote a post that included this message:
Wow. Talk about hitting home. How did she know that that's what I needed that very day???
"Don't dig up in doubt what you've planted in faith."
Wow. Talk about hitting home. How did she know that that's what I needed that very day???
Pam Slim's final words in her book Escape from Cubicle Nation
include this tip:
include this tip: "It is a leap of faith. You can choose to take it or not."
(p. 320)
Seth Godin, in Tribes, writes, "Faith leads to hope and it overcomes fears" and goes on to say, "Faith is demonstrated in the actions you take." (pp. 79 - 83)
Why should I have faith???
- Because it is faith that helped me complete 13.1 miles back in March when I really thought I couldn't.
- Because it is faith that has helped me accept and attempt to understand my toughest lessons.
- Because it is faith that helps us stay grounded and purposeful.
- Because it is faith that ultimately gets us to those places we want to be ~ physically, emotionally, spiritually.
- Because it is faith that guides us ~ if we choose to listen. Very carefully.
Yes!
I hear the messages.
I understand.
H-a-v-e f-a-i-t-h.
I do.
Do you?
Monday, August 16, 2010
Monday Motivation ~ Week 32: Miles = Mindfulness
“Running is one of the best solutions
to a clear mind.”
~ Sasha Azevedo
Another lesson recently learned:
Two runners,
one, frustrated and mad.
(not the Turtle Runner this time!)
6 miles later:
new perspective (for both!)
feeling m-u-c-h better.
YES!
Do you run to work out your issues?
Own your journey. One run at a time.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Celebration of Running 5K Race Recap
 |
| Photo credit: TrackShack.com |
Ants. Blueberries. Cheering. Determination.
A newbie runner celebrates her first-ever race! (Yay, Kim!)
After a flurry of e-mails and Facebook messages Friday, several of us headed out for the 19th Annual Celebration of Running 5K, kicking off the 33rd Track Shack Grand Prix Series, as the fall racing season gets underway.
It was a chance to join a newbie runner-friend in her debut race, have a tweet-up/meet-up, and run with fellow Galloway group runners. With over 2,000 racers in attendance, it was a fun event and a nice course.
Kim and I arrived early to do a short/slow run to warm up. The humidity was already in full-on mode, oppressive and miserable; we were soaked in the first 5 minutes of our early-morning jaunt.
After a short warm-up, running into blogging/running buddies either racing or volunteering, and doing last-minute prep, we headed for the always-important porta-potty stop before cruising over to the start line.
 |
| Look how intense the people are behind us! Wow! |
Next, we headed to the start line when Kim confessed, "I know you'll think this is stupid, but I drove the course last night ~ just to check it out."
Me: "Stupid? Not at all! I think that's great planning. Can visualize and hopefully minimize your anxiety." (She seemed pretty calm that morning, so it must've worked!)
We found a few buddies at the start line, including Maddy, whom I've chatted with via twitter and FB, but hadn't met yet, and Christine, one of our Galloway buddies, who had already run six miles that morning with the group (such a responsible runner, she is!). We had all e-mailed what we'd be wearing. Helps when someone wears a shirt with her name on it! :-) Takes away all the guess-work!
While waiting for the race to begin, I asked Maddy if she had seen @KrystalRunner, another local running/blogging buddy, who also runs with one of our Track Shack groups (Marathonfest). Krystal and I are SURE neither exists because we've tweeted and messaged back and forth, trying to meet up for two months, and have YET to meet in person. Turns out, I walked right past her, saw her, wasn't sure it was her, and SHOULD have hollered out to her (dang it!). Krystal, I did SEE you, so at least I know YOU exist! LOL
After the prerace pleasantries, it was time to get this party started and before we knew it, we were off for Kim's first-ever race... woo hoo! (It was about 5 minutes before when I realized I had left my water/Gatorade mixture in the car ~ not good.) But I'm thinking, it's only 3 miles and we just had water (knowing in my heart of hearts this could be a problem).
The first corner took us right into a hill (small, but an incline nonetheless....yuck!).
Me: "Okay. Do you know what to do with hills?"
Kim: "Nope."
Me: "Shorten your stride. Small, tight steps."
Kim: "Okay."
And off we went....
I was hearing all that I've been learning the last year in my head as I mentored my new friend through her new endeavor. She was amazing! We planned to run intervals and discussed our split times, deciding on 12:00 - 12:30 miles. (For all you speedy folk out there, remember: I AM the Turtle Runner after all, AND the heat & humidity were brutal!).
TOO FAST. TOO SLOW. JUST RIGHT.
We found ourselves changing our intervals as we entered mile 2, with 1:30 (run) and 1:00 (walk) not working for us. The walk interval felt too long in this short-distance race. We switched to 1:30/:30 intervals. This worked for a little while, but when we started into mile 3, we weren't digging that combo either, as we were shooting for under 40 minutes, felt we were moving too slowly, but then needed longer than 30 seconds to recover in our walk intervals. We tried speeding up on the run intervals, adjusting interval times, etc.... we never quite seemed to find our interval nirvana, but now we have something (new) to work on in training. Figuring out the whole correlation between distance, interval times, exertion levels, etc... Can you say 'technical training' ladies and gentlemen??
As mile #3 got underway, we were really feeling the effects of the morning sun, being used to running before sunrise (slightly cooler). And even with water stops conveniently placed at each mile (though I wish they had been right AFTER the mile markers so we didn't slow down right before hitting our split time), we were still feeling underhydrated. Not a good feeling at all!
We were consistent, though: 12:09/mile 1, 12:03/mile 2, but began...to...slow....down... in mile 3. Not much, but just enough to not achieve negative splits. Kim's Gym Boss (our interval time-keeper) died at the beginning of mile 3 (weirdly, this same thing happened to mine in the same place during the 4th of July 5K. Hmmmm.....) Gym Boss folks, are you listening?? What's up???
In spite of our fatigue and having to go 'old school' to keep intervals (as in me keeping time on my watch!), Kim managed a big smile in mile #3 ...
Then, it was time for the home-stretch. For the first time since I've started running with Kim, she actually got REALLY QUIET, which I teased her about later. I knew we were both struggling by then. My problem began to be my glucose level (remember water/Gatorade in the car?? needing it NOW) ...
Me: "Kim, I'm feeling not-so-good."
Kim: "You okay?"
Me: "Feeling kinda dizzy. But I'm okay...."
We could hear the finish line announcer and knew we were close. I told her, "Go. Don't wait for me. I WILL get there." Being the awesome running partner that she is AND a mom, she wasn't about to leave me behind. Bless her. I nudged, pushed, insisted she go on. Finally, she did, but not without looking back repeatedly.
Finally, I yelled, "Kim, keep going! Don't look back!"
And with that, she crossed the mile 3 marker and headed around the corner to claim her first-ever PR. I was soooo proud of her! I clocked her split (12:46) and her finish time: 38:06. WOO HOO!!! KIM, YOU DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 |
| She looks so calm, relaxed! |
Twenty seconds later, I crossed the finish line, too, and got to hear my name (pronounced correctly - very nice!... thank you, Track Shack!). Fun!
After high-fives and hugs, we headed to bananas, blueberries, water, and Gatorade. NEEDED!!! And... found a nice young woman willing to snap a shot for us:
 |
| Note to self: ditch the stupid, ill-fitting hat! |
Met up with Christine and her other half, chatted a bit, and then I needed to sit down (feeling dizzy again). Hot, humid, blood sugar level a little wonky... no biggie. Pretty normal after a race.
ANTS IN MY PANTS!
Ha Ha... Pretty self-explanatory. Managed to sit my wet backside right in an ant pile and didn't even know it for a couple of minutes until.... OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 |
| Invisible ants? No, just on ME instead of the cement..notice wet butt print. |
The whole world got a peep show right after that as the skirt went up, the built-in shorts up even more, and we looked for those nasty little critters. Kim says, "You have GOT to take a picture of those things!" (She's already on board with this whole blogging/photo-taking thing... YES!) So I did... though they appear to be HIDING in this picture. Trust me: there were MANY. Well, there were many on my butt(!). Maybe that's why we don't see them in the picture.... Damn ants.
RUN, KIDDOS, RUN!
Before we left, we watched the littlest guys run their races ~ the wee ones running 40? feet or so and then the slightly older ones (but not by much) running a one-miler. Wow! They were cute and some of them, really fast!
Fantastic day.
Fun times.
Wonderful friends.
New lessons learned (don't forget the water/G bottle and watch out for nasty little critters!)
Thank you, Track Shack and Florida Hospital, for a wonderful race day! Glad to support the Orlando Science Center... a HUGE "thanks" to all of the staff and volunteers!! You guys were AWESOME!
Great course, plenty of water stops, and well organized... fantastic!
Krystal, we WILL meet up!
After a short nap, Hubs took me out for Saturday lunch to a favorite place, Cheesecake Factory, and I had this (without the rice):
 |
| White chicken chili....ridiculously good!!!! |
Do you have a favorite place or food to eat after a race event?
(p.s. ~ yes, we did have chocolate milk postrace!)
Happy running, friends....
Robin
Own your journey. One run at a time.
Friday, August 13, 2010
TGIF! Friggatriskaidekaphobia
Happy .....
Being the info junkie I am, I was curious about the history and meaning of this day that seems to elicit so many warnings. Here's what I learned.... (not running-related, so feel free to hit the little red x in the upper right corner and go on with your day. But if you're the least bit curious, read on - and then be careful out there - LOL ...... )
According to Wikipedia.org,
The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia, frigga meaning "Friday" and triskaidekaphobia (or paraskevidekatriaphobia[1][2]) being a word derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή, meaning "Friday"), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς, meaning "thirteen") attached to phobía (φοβία, from phóbos, φόβος, meaning "fear"). The word was derived in 1911 and first appeared in a mainstream source in 1953.[3]
And...
Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year. Any month's 13th day will fall on a Friday if the month starts on a Sunday.
 |
| Who knew?? |
Do you have your own superstitions?
Happy Weekend, Friends....
Own your journey. One run at a time.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wed Winners: Bloggers Earn Media Love
Happy Wednesday!
 | |
| THIS may make more sense as you read on... |
With blogging making the news, sometimes positively and other times, um... not so much, but continuing to move into people's living rooms nonetheless, it's interesting to reflect on our own friends whose stories have crossed over from the blogosphere....
In the past year, it's been fun to see these fellow bloggers make their way into mainstream media (in positive ways, *thank*you*very*much!), kind of like knowing a celebrity. :)
While I'm certain my list is incomplete, these are the ladies I personally know of who've earned Media Love in the past year, and rightly so... If you know of others, please tell us in the comments section so we can send the appropriate hugs and well wishes!
Recognized for their weight loss efforts, these ladies found themselves in magazines:
Shelley celebrated a shout-out in Woman's Day magazine here and Lori teased us with a big surprise for quite some time before revealing her feature in the May 2010 issue of Shape magazine, which you can see here.
Next came two ladies, Jill and Mel, whose ARMS "Awesome Running Mom Status" earned each of them a spot in a newly released book, Run Like a Mother, authored by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea, two running/blogging moms whom I've not yet met, but I do enjoy reading their blog (even though my maternal responsibilities belong to a fish!). Does being an auntie count?
A Media Maven in her own right, a gal who's been in mainstream media a bit longer than the rest of the tribe, this lady is also a mom who's teaching fabulous values to her own up-and-coming-athlete. Carla, aka MizFitOnline, is an accomplished writer, business owner, and witty blog author. You can catch up with her here.
And last, but certainly not least, the latest addition to the literary world is a young blogger/runner whose determined efforts to impart beauty through her project, Operation Beautiful, is celebrating the brand new release of her book, out this month. Congratulations, Caitlin!
BIG TURTLE HUGS to each of you for being a Winner! Keep up the good work, exploring your own journeys, making us proud as fellow bloggers and runners, shining a positive light on blogging, and inspiring each of US to reach just a little bit higher.
Did you catch the fish reference? Did you smile when you saw him? Well then...my work here is done today!
AND we'll be initiating a new running friend this Saturday as we celebrate fitness in the Celebration of Running 5K, sponsored by Track Shack. Another race virgin will join the ranks and call herself 'runner' after Saturday's 3.1 miles, which will take place AFTER our group long run ... won't that be fun?!
Happy running, friends....
Robin
Own your journey. One run at a time.
And last, but certainly not least, the latest addition to the literary world is a young blogger/runner whose determined efforts to impart beauty through her project, Operation Beautiful, is celebrating the brand new release of her book, out this month. Congratulations, Caitlin!
BIG TURTLE HUGS to each of you for being a Winner! Keep up the good work, exploring your own journeys, making us proud as fellow bloggers and runners, shining a positive light on blogging, and inspiring each of US to reach just a little bit higher.
Did you catch the fish reference? Did you smile when you saw him? Well then...my work here is done today!
Stay tuned for a group run update:
Things that make you go hmmmm......
AND we'll be initiating a new running friend this Saturday as we celebrate fitness in the Celebration of Running 5K, sponsored by Track Shack. Another race virgin will join the ranks and call herself 'runner' after Saturday's 3.1 miles, which will take place AFTER our group long run ... won't that be fun?!
Happy running, friends....
Robin
Own your journey. One run at a time.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Monday Motivation ~ Week 31: FOCUS
"Channel your energy. Focus."
~ Carl Lewis
Simple.
Straightforward.
Powerful.
Friday, August 6, 2010
TGIF! Creative You ~ A Running Haiku?
Happy Friday!
Time for a little fun!
Ready to tap into your creativity?
Write a haiku about running.
Want to see a few (super simple) examples
to help get you started?
Click here.
Here's my attempt:
Dirty running shoes
wait quietly to be cleaned
And smile at the miles
Happy running, friends.....
Robin
Own your journey. One run at a time.
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