5 Phases of Race Day

I'd like to say that in my community people come out to participate in races just for the fun of it and to show support for the organization that is sponsoring or being the beneficiary of the race.

Unfortunately that doesn't always seem to be the case because most people that run our local races seem to be super fast runners and are always gunning for an AG award. Also, our local races bring out a ton of high school students who are track stars in their own right. This can be kind of intimidating for an average runner like myself.

For that reason, I am often more nervous at local races than I am at large races such as Disney, RnR races, or any other destination race. I think I know that I can just blend in with the crowd there. At local races, I feel like I need to hold myself more accountable.

But regardless of the location or size of the race, I find myself going through these same emotions throughout the course of the race.

Pre-Race: The pre-race jitters. I get this more so at smaller local races. It might be the pressure to perform well. There's always the need to use the port o potty even after I just visited one.  At large races such as Disney, the nervousness is more subdued and I am more excited and pumped. I think it has to do with the atmosphere. At most local races, there really isn't a whole lot to do but stand around and wait. At large races, they keep you entertained.

Start of Race:  At local races I always go out way to fast because my body tries to keep up.  At large races where I am corralled properly, I start at an easy pace that's comfortable to me.

Mid Race:  Regardless of distance, my thought during every race is Ugg, this is hard, I don't care about my time anymore, I don't care about the goal I set, Maybe I should just walk a little.

End of Race:  Again, regardless of distance, when I know the finish line is near, I start to get heart palpitations real bad. I don't know if it is the excitement or what. Even if i'm dragging, I pick it up at the end and ALWAYS sprint across that finish line (or maybe I just think I'm sprinting).  Of course it takes me a while to catch my breath.

Post Race: I probably look like a zombie as I collect a water and medal (if applicable) and then its off to find my friends/ family or a place to rest for a moment.  A minute later, I feel so accomplished  and am so glad I participated in the race. Races usually set the tone for the entire day. How can you have a bad day after just completing any race? -M

An InLinkz Link-up

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Sharing motivation with a friend

Yesterday morning would have been a perfect day to do an early morning run. It had rained the night before so it cooled things down a bit. I was up before 7am, so I certainly could have gone out for a run, but I had to wait at the house and let the painters in. I missed my opportunity for a "cooler" run.

So the day went on and I became busy with errands and such. I got home around 7:00 pm and promised Baylee a swim, so we did that.  While I was watching Baylee swim I was talking to a friend and  I was telling her how I missed my run that morning, so I should probably go do it  tonight but was lacking motivation. She told me that she needed to clean her kitchen, but she was also lacking motivation.  So we made a deal.......

I was to run at least 2 miles and she was to see how far she could get cleaning her kitchen. She had a list of three tasks she was to complete by the time I finished my two miles.

I ran down at my island and it was not uneventful. I ran into an old co-worker (who I ended up walking with for a bit later after I completed my run), I saw three deer chasing each other, and guess what, I ran into that guy that has the tropical bird ( I wrote about that  back in the Spring).

After my run  I actually talked to him this time and learned a bit about his bird.

Turns out, I ended up doing three miles. I texted my friend when I was done and told her I gave her some extra time to do her chores because I ran an extra mile. We both exchanged "proof" that we completed our assigned tasks. I sent her a picture of my Garmin, and she sent me a picture of her kitchen.  Now that was pretty good trade off as far as motivation, and it was pretty fun too. -M

Ways to organize running gear

I know this sounds odd, but one of my favorite things to do is to organize stuff, especially stuff in closets. I think I have some pretty good techniques on how I store and organize my clothes and gear so I am happy to share them with you here. Some of these I have mentioned before in a previous post called The Runner's Room, where I talked about how I organize my dressing room.

   

For around $10 a piece, I bought these closet organizers.  In the one on the left I store all my running shorts, skirts, capris, and pants. Below that are cotton race shirts that I actually do like to wear, but not for running.

In the one on the right hand side I store all my tops. Tank tops go on the top since I wear them the most, short sleeve shirts in the middle, and long sleeve shirts on the bottom.  I admit I did refold all these shirts since this picture was taken. The shirts don't look in disarray! 

I also have a separate section for just running socks and sports bras. 

I organize all my running shoes on top of the rack I hang some of my clothes on. My husband does not think it is a good idea to store shoes above where I hang my clean clothes but 1) I always make sure my shoes are clean before I put them away and 2) I place the shoes on top of their original box. So see, I'm keeping it clean!  You can see a picture of my shoe organization techniques from this post HERE.

In my dressing room, on the back of my closet door, I have this over the door organizer (also for around $10).  This is where I store things I use for running, but things I don't need or use every day. These things include body glide, extra GUs, extra water bottles, calf sleeves, KT and Rock Tape, heat sheets, gloves for winter running, heat patches, biofreeze, etc.

I have a shelf in my bathroom that has hooks on it. This is how I organize all my headbands. If you are interested in checking out my favorite ones for less than $10, you can read that HERE.

If you haven't already seen how I display/organize my medals, you can see that HERE. I probably do need to update it some. I now have all three of those racks filled!

Now on the back of the door in my foyer is where I keep my running essentials that I use for every day running (if they aren't already in my little running tote).  This is wear I keep my Garmin and charger, my ipod and charger, sunscreen, sunglasses, pepper spray and anything else I may use on a regular basis before I go out the door. And yes, even though it is not a running essential, I do keep a lint roller in there because when you live with a Yellow Labrador a lint roller is a life essential!

What are some organizing tips you use for your gear? -M


PS: sorry for the sub-par photos.

                                        We will be linking up with the gals from TOTR.

Weekly Wrap July 16

It's time for the weekly wrap. This week went by so quickly. Maybe because I feel like it was such a productive one! 

Sunday I did a 17 mile bike ride on the rail trail with my mom.

We rode to the end of the trail to the park where the 4th of July race took place and then rode all the way back to where we started. We stopped at an ice cream shop along the way but the line was like 40 people deep. We decided we could just load up our bikes and drive to another shop on the way home.

After getting ice cream, we had to go take our Peddle boat out of the water so my dad could take it home and wash it. We have it launched in the water at my Pap's house.  My mom and I had to peddle it UPSTREAM so we could get it into the launch so we could remove it. Trying to peddle against the current does not make your legs happy after just biking 17 miles!

Monday I wanted to start the week out right with a run, but I just didn't. I felt so achy. I stayed home and painted more trim around my door (and waited for the professional painters who never showed up).  Monday night I was so achy I couldn't fall back asleep. I ended up going downstairs to sleep on the couch. I was surprised to see Baylee laying beside me when I woke up. She sure loves her momma!

Tuesday was quite productive. I went to the paint store to pick out more paint colors and then headed to the trail for 4 steamy miles!

The sun was not out in all its glory because it was overcast so at least that felt good but all the humidity in the air did not feel good.  After the run, I rushed back home to shower and then went to a massage appointment.

There is a spa only 5 minutes from my house and I did not know about it.  The best part was that because I agreed to have an intern give me my massage, I got an entire hour for only $35 (plus tip)! Isn't that awesome?  Now if I was injured or had a major problem I would not have agreed to have the intern work on me.  But this worked out fabulous and to tell you the truth this massage was better than any I've gotten at any of the fancy resorts I've stayed at!

After the massage it was pool time with my favorite girl.

Wednesday was more working around the house.

Thursday-  I was up and out the door by 8 am and thought I could beat some of the heat.

I ran the 2 mile loop by my home and it certainly felt every bit like 89 degrees (or more). I made it home in time just to see the painters arriving at my house! That made me happy.

Friday was a rainy day so I stayed in with Baylee and did more housework and made food.

We ended up celebrating a friend's birthday later that evening at our house. I made Keylime pie for the first time and it actually turned out pretty good!

Saturday
Scott and I were on the go all day. we did get to walk at the marina, but it was actually more of a stroll as we watched the boats. We came home a cooked out while watching Baylee swim. 

Around 8pm I decided to go to my island and do a 3 mile run. I did most of  the run through the woods and because it was so late in the evening, I really thought that I would see some deer, but I didn't.

What was the least amount you ever paid for a massage? What is the latest you've ever ran? I actually plan to do more late runs this summer. They are so peaceful. -M

We are linking up with Tricia, Holly, and the guest host.

What does your Amazon list say about you?

So, unless you were living under a rock, you probably heard that Amazon Prime day was this week! Yup, it started Monday night and lasted into the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

I for one was very excited about Prime day because this was the first year I've actually been a Prime member! Let the shopping begin..........!

Except, I searched and searched and there wasn't anything I was wanting that was a Prime day deal.
No Mizunos, No dress shoes, no home furnishings, not even any beauty supplies. Womp Womp!

I guess I saved money though.

For today's post, I thought it would be fun to share what Amazon thinks we should buy!  What is on your "recommended" list?   The recommended list is obviously based off of your shopping habits on Amazon. Would you buy the recommended items?

Of course Mizunos are always my top pick because I indeed have purchased a pair of Mizunos from Amazon and I'm always checking to see if there are any good deals on the colors and style I like. The WaveRider 18's are my favorite and they are becoming harder to find.  This recommendation is Spot on!

I am always searching for dress shoes too. My favorites for work are the Anne Klein Sport shoes.  I have bought shoes that are similar to those first pair but would probably not buy the others. Good recommendations by Amazon though.

Amazon could have done a much better job recommending books to me. Yes, I admit several years ago I bought a book for school about Library media, and I DID buy a book about making candy creations (also for school), but that that was a long time ago. I have since searched and bought other books from  Amazon. I would not purchase any of these items again.

I'm not sure where these recommendations are coming from.  I know I bought my sister a season of Dawson's Creek DVDs but that had to be about 15 years ago and I'm not sure I even ordered them from Amazon.  I've never seen one episode of One Tree Hill not have I ever watched Dynasty.  I think  maybe Amazon is recommending Dynasty to me because I have bought several seasons of Dallas on Amazon and this show is similar. Yes, I would like to watch Dynasty some day but do I have time to get into another series?

These suggestions look pretty accurate too. I think I may have actually read that Beth Harbison book "Think, Rich, Pretty" although I did not get it from Amazon.


What would be on your Amazon recommendation list?  -M

An InLinkz Link-up

Running on Island Time

I mentioned in the weekly wrap earlier this week that I 've been visiting my mom at work and walking with her and her "work dog".  Well the other day we ventured over to the Marina which is actually on an island. Not the same island I usually run on, but a different island (that is much bigger). I bet you didn't realize we had so many islands in my state did you?

After we walked the loop, I ventured on my own to do a run.

There were so many people here walking, running, and walking their dogs, yet it was so peaceful and serene.

There is also a marina on this island and you can rent water craft. The morning we visited, there were several groups of people renting kayaks and putting them in at the launch.

We even saw some wildlife along the way.

This run wasn't anything amazing or anything but it was a nice little way to mix things up with a new route.  I've known about this island forever and it isn't too far from my home so I can't believe I've never ran here before.

I should have taken more pictures but honestly I didn't think that I was going to blog about it, so I didn't.

What are some new to you routes you've discovered this summer? -M

What's in the 20 year old running tote?

Whenever you head out for a run, do you have to double check and make sure you have everything? Have you ever made it to the start of your running route and forgot your Garmin? Your ipod or earbuds?

I feel like I am constantly gathering up all the things I need for my run. I rarely walk right out my door and start my run, I usually drive to a designated spot. For that reason I keep everything in a little tote bag. I've never carried a gym bag (even when I went to the gym) but this tote bag is the perfect size where I can easily grab what I need without digging around.

A little background story of this tote. This was a Christmas gift from a friend way back when. It has to be at least 20 years old. I don't ever remember using it as a purse or a tote then. I was on the verge of getting rid of it a few years ago but decided it would be perfect for my running essential.  I ALWAYS use it now. So glad I held on to it. 

My running essentials.

My phone -Sometimes I run with it, sometimes I don't, but I try to always have it with me in the car.

My ipod AND earbuds -There were times where I actually forgot one or the other. This is when the phone comes in handy. At least if I have my earbuds, I can listen to music on my phone.

My Road ID - Not only for safety reasons, but as of lately I've been clipping my ipod on it.

Garmin -This is a given. if I don't have my Garmin, I've lost my motivation to run. I know that is So wrong!

Pepper Spray- Not sure if I would need this for a personal encounter or an animal encounter. Thank Goodness I've never had to use it.

Personal Alarm - Same as above.

Water bottle

Sunglasses

Running belt /Roo pouch

Sometimes GU- Depending on how far I plan to run. Needless to say I haven't packed GU in several months!

Facial Wipes- These come in handy if I need to run an errand on the way home from a run, or stop at Starbucks for a frosty post run beverage.


This has now become my running tote and most of the time I just keep what I need in there unless the electronics need to be charged.

Seems like a lot of stuff just for a run, huh?

Do you feel like you have to "pack" for your run? Do you drive to your run spot or do you run right out your door? -M



                                      We will be linking up with the gals from TOTR.