Monday, 7/29/31: Monday Running Trivia *OR* Chronicles of a Burning Man

I ran an identical route last night and this morning.  Yeah, maybe it would be good for me to vary my route a little, but as the end of July creeps up on me, I'm looking for routes whose distance I know by heart.

Distance:  5.78 miles (x2)
Pace:  Last night:  10:15 min/mile
          This morning: 10:50 min/mile


Time for Monday morning running trivia!

Question:  Why do marathoners wear band-aids on their nipples?


Answer:  Sweat is filled with sodium.  As technical t-shirts (designed to move excessive sweat away from the body to aid in cooling) soak up sweat, they also soak up sodium.  When the water in sweat evaporates, the sodium doesn't; it stays in the shirt.  After a few hours of sweating, a tech shirt's texture can start to resemble sandpaper, which, when rubbed on sensitive skin (like nipples), can be very, very painful.

Yep. You started your Monday with a horror story about sandpaper on nipples.

Last Saturday, I went to Laurel Lake in southern Kentucky with my Bible study group from church.  We rented a pontoon boat and spent the day swimming, jumping from the second story of the boat (which we weren't technically allowed to do, but... yolo), and floating around on the life preservers. I didn't apply any sunscreen that day, because the day started out mild and cloudy and stayed that way for most of the day.  The sun made an appearance for a while, but, overall, it was very overcast.

Remember when you were a kid and your mom would tell you to put on sunscreen on a cloudy day, and you'd get mad at her because she knew nothing and you knew everything and 'The X-Files' was never going to be cancelled?

Turns out, your mom was right. And 'The X-Files' was cancelled.

My face was somewhat burned (I actually had enough brains to put some sunscreen across my nose and cheeks), but my shoulders and arms got fried pretty thoroughly that day.

Fast forward to last night.  With a sunburn barely 24 hours old, my technical shirt soaked with sweat (and thus, sodium) became an object of torture across my braised skin.  When I got home from the run, I seriously considered cutting myself out of the shirt so I wouldn't have to pull it off over my head.  This morning wasn't so bad (I'm going to assume it's because I lost most of the burned skin last night to the cheese-grater-like action of my sweaty shirt), but it was still pretty uncomfortable.

The moral of the story?  WEAR SUNSCREEN.  Or be comfortable enough with your body to run shirtless when you're sunburned.  Or, aloe. Like, LOTS of aloe.


At least this morning I'm able to have breakfast at North Lime Coffee And Donuts, a fantastic local business that makes the best donuts in the city. From their window I can see this phenomenal mural on Al's Bar next door.

Total July miles to date:  90.33

Friday, 7/26/13: Graham vs. Courthouse Rock

Confession: I didn't run yesterday.  Sorry if that's shocking but you're the one reading a blog called 'Runner Confidential'.

Yesterday, I DID, however, go hiking with my youth group kids. A ninety-minute drive from my fair city lies Red River Gorge National Geological Area, a state park literally world renown for its rock climbing, hiking, and geological formations. Myself, two other adults chaperons, and four youth group kids decided to tackle five miles of trail and, ultimately, Courthouse Rock. 

That monster is Courthouse Rock. It rises about 80 feet above Auxier Ridge in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. 

In order to climb this beast, we had to shinny up a crevasse in the side of the rock, visible in the picture below (which I didn't take; I found it at The Running Yoders, another great blog about running and outdoor adventures). 

That. I climbed up THAT. 

Halfway up, I actually started to freak out, and I didn't think I could keep going. But, seeing as how a 13-year-old girl (the only kid who climbed the rock) was climbing behind me, I couldn't turn around. Now I'm glad I didn't, because WOW, was the view worth it! 

Even though this is a blog about running, and I'm recording RUNNING mile for the month of July, I think I'll still tack on 5 more miles. With as sore as I feel this morning, and for the scant moments I feared for my life, I think I deserve it.

Total miles in July: 78.77

Wednesday, 7/24/13: Happy Anniversary, Arches.

I'm making great strides!  I'm actually posting about a run the day of the run!

Start time: 5:50 AM
Finish Time: 8:13 AM
Time running: 2:22:56
Distance: 13.02 miles
Pace: 10:58 min/mile
Weather at start of run: cloudy, 65 degrees, 45% humidity
Weather at end of run: sunny, 68 degrees, 45% humidity

This morning, the radio toted today as "fall-like," and I cannot express my delight that they were correct.  In fact, it was the radio's testimony that got me out of bed this morning and into my running shoes.  My brain likes to make excuses so it can get some extra sleep, which sometimes hurts my weekly milage.  Not today.

My pace wasn't great, mainly because I walked quite a bit on this run because of arch pain.  Arch pain has plagued me in the past, though not in the last few months (it's been replaced by achilles pain, unfortunately). This is probably because I stubbornly wanted to log some miles last night, even though I spend the day whitewater rafting with my youth group kids, being tossed around a river like a pinball.  Despite all this, I'm not sorry I went hard this morning.

Because today would have been my third wedding anniversary.

If you're unfamiliar with this blog, I started it about a year ago, but then took a nine-month hiatus on updates because I was dealing with the emotional fallout of the collapse of my marriage.  Many of the scars have healed now, but I knew that today was going to be one of the 'bad days' (anyone who's gone through emotional trauma knows what I mean).  These were the days last summer when I would drink myself into nigh oblivion.

But not today.

A year has passed, and I am hardly the person I was last year.  Though it's been one Hell of a year (almost literally), I would not be who I am today without going through it.  Without going into the gory details, I feel like I have a far better understanding of what it means to be in a relationship (especially a marriage relationship), and I feel closer to where God wants me to be than ever.

So was I going to lay in bed this morning, crushed by defeat, the victim of a hard year? Absolutely not.

Even though this wasn't statistically the best run I've ever logged, I'll chalk it up as one of the greats, simply because it came at a time and place when I severely needed it, and my body managed to carry me through.  I hope that you, dear reader, have had a run like that in your life. And if not, I hope you have one in the near future.

Also, I saw this fantastic car this morning.  Sadly, it was not for sale.

Total miles in July: 73.77 

Tuesday, 7/23/13: Tired and Sweaty

I ran tonight. Here are the stats.

Start time: 8:10 pm

End time: ~9:07 pm
Time Running: 56:50

Distance: 5.81 miles

Pace: 9:48 minutes per mile

Total miles in July: 60.75

It was hot. And sweaty. I'm tired and going to bed. That is all.

Tuesday, 7/23/13: Pains of Procrastination *PLUS* 2 New Product Reviews!

Yes, today is Tuesday. Yes, I'm posting about last Friday's run. I've been procrastinating.

I hate putting off posting my runs. 

This was my longest run since my last half marathon, at the end of April. Because I put off recording the run, I don't remember what the weather or temperature was like, or even when I started (that image says 6:38, but I'm pretty sure it was 5:38).  I did eat TWO energy products on the run (reviewed below!), so I'm sure that they helped with the excellent distance and pace. 

So, if there's one thing I can take from this experience, it's to post my runs immediately to make best use of all this data I'm collecting. 

In case you're keeping count, I'm up to 54.95 miles for the month of July. I still have a week left, and a lot of miles left to log!  

Anyway, about the things I ate on my most recent run.  

Jelly Belly Extreme Sport Beans 

Stats: 

 - Weight: 1 oz. 

 - Calories: 100

 Good Stuff: 

 - Potassium: 40mg 

 - Sodium: 80mg 

 - Carbs: 25mg 

 - Vitamins b1, b2, b3, and C (amount undermined, but the package claims they're in there). 

First of all: if you pick these up and expect the flavor of standard Jelly Belly beans, you will be sorely disappointed. As far as flavor goes, these are NASTY.  It's not just that they're salty, from their sodium content: they're sour, and not the good kind of sour, like Sour Patch Kids. The BAD kind of sour, like, "Oh man, these things aren't supposed to be sour.  Holy crap, these are nasty."  Also, I think I dropped half of them because I was trying to pour them into my mouth while running. I'm probably lucky I didn't choke.

And now, product number 2. 

(This is an old picture of the product. I actually had a grape flavored one) 

Cliff Kid Organic Z-Fruit Rope 

Stats: 

 - Weight: 0.7 oz

 - Calories: 70 

Good Stuff: 

 - Potassium: 120mg 

 - Sodium: 5mg

 - Carbs: 17mg 

 - Vitamin C: 20% daily value 

Maybe it was just the fact that I ate this after choking down a package of Sport Beans, but this one tasted AWESOME.  It's sweet chewability seemed to alleviate my thirst, which was also a major plus after the face-puckering sourness of the Sport Beans.  

Unfortunately, because I ate both of these on my run, I'm not able to give much analysis on the effectiveness of either of them alone.  However, the flavor alone may be enough to keep me from trying the "cherry" Sport Beans again. I'll have to try that product again in a different flavor.  However, if that's also terrible, I might be turned off of the product all together.  

Initial Sport Beans impression:  D (terrible flavor, awkward shapes, and the sharp corners on packaging poked me through my running shorts!) 

Initial Z-Fruit Rope impression: B-  (good taste, wish it had more calories and carbs, LOADED with potassium, and easy to fold into running shorts pocket). 

Friday, 7/19/13, part 1: Dr. Strangerun, *OR* How I Learned to Stop Sweating it and Hate the Treadmill.

Sometimes, running in the summer sucks.

Afternoon runs are next to impossible, because of heat and humidity.  Night runs are sometimes do-able, but most of the time they're just as hot as the afternoons (especially if you live in a city; concrete holds heat like a brick oven).  For this runner, morning runs are, most of the time, my only option.  

What happens if the sun beats me to the punch, but I'm desperate to get my daily run in? I'm forced to resort to.... 

The treadmill.  

<Dun dun DUUUUNNN> 

You can always tell stock photos of people on treadmills from real pictures of people on treadmills.  No one has ever, EVER, looked that happy while on a treadmill. 

I hate the treadmill.  First of all, I have ADD, and staying in the same place for a long period of time irritates me.  Especially if I have to keep looking in the same direction.  Second, I can't stand the stagnant air that seems to surround a treadmill.  Running outside creates a breeze which helps sweat evaporate, cooling the body. On a treadmill I feel like I'm stewing in my own heat, like a side of roast beef in the oven.  

But the worst is my body's ability to rationalize quitting, because I'm always less than a foot away from where I started.  If I'm running outdoors, I have things to look at to keep my mind occupied. And when I decide to quit, I HAVE to keep running to make it home.  On a treadmill, my brain assails me with a constant barrage of laziness, like, "That's far enough. You should stop now. Isn't your knee a little sore?  Maybe you should call it a day."  

That said, here are my treadmill results from earlier in the week.  

Time:  39:25 

Distance: 4.00 miles 

Pace:  9:51 min/mile 

Incline set at 1.5 to offset the lack of wind resistance 

Now this seems better than it actually was.  I stopped after the first two miles and took a water break, and then did the remaining two miles. 

So yeah, treadmills suck.  But I guess sometimes they're necessary, because of the summer heat.  But, whenever possible, I'm dragging my butt out of bed to get outdoors.

Got any tips, motivational tricks, or other advice that might make me like the treadmill more?  Please share!  I know I'm going to have to use them more often this winter, but I'm still sort of in denial. 

7/15/13: Night versus Day *OR* Sweating it Out

I did the following run last night, but was much too sleepy afterward to put together a readable blog entry.

Start time:  ~ 9:10 PM

End Time:  ~9:50 PM

Distance:  4.56 miles 

Time:  38:42 

Pace:  8:29 min/mile 

It was only my second night run of the summer, and I was able to get some great pictures of the post-rainstorm Lexington skyline. 

And this morning's run:  

Start time:  ~ 6:10 AM 

Finish time: ~ 7:10 AM

Distance: 5.65 miles 

Time:  59:14 

Pace:  10:29 min/mile  

Lexington has been a wet, soggy, humid mess for most of the month of July. Most evenings, even after the sun has gone down, have felt too sticky to brave more than a scant few miles.  So when I was finished last night's run, almost literally pouring sweat, I told myself that it was my last evening run until the fall.  

Then I compared last night's pace to this morning's pace.  

Holy cow!  How did I manage to go so much faster last night?   

Obviously there are extenuating factors to think of, here: 

 - Yesterday, I had a full days worth of fuel in my stomach to run on 

 - This morning, I had only recovered for around 6 hours before trying another run 

 - I hit the snooze too many times this morning and got off to a late start. 

 - Last night's distance was considerably shorter 

But, then again, it was about 10 degrees warmer last night than this morning, no to mention the added humidity of the passing rain.  So what made the big difference?  I'm not sure, but I'm definitely going to try a few more evening runs to figure it out!  Stay tuned for the (sort of) scientific results!  

If you're having trouble running in humidity, check out this article from Runnersworld.com about those sticky summer days!  

Total July Miles:  37.95 

Thursday, 7/11/13: Three belated runs, *PLUS* How YOU can do something great!

First, I have three runs from this week to log, because I've been lazy and haven't updated in a while.

Sunday, July 7:
Start time: ~8:30 PM
End time: ~9:14 PM
Time: 43:44
Distance:  4.70 miles
Pace:  9:19 min/mile

Monday, July 8:
Start time: ~5:45 AM
End time:  ~ 7:26 AM
Time:  1:40:22
Distance:  9.32 miles
Pace: 10:46 min/mile

And finally, this morning's run:

Thursday, July 11:
Start time: ~5:58 AM
End time: ~ 6:56 AM
Time: 58:12
Distance:  6.12 miles
Pace: 9:25 min/mile

I love running by Billy's Barbecue in the Chevy Chase area of High St.  The restaurant smokes all their daily pork early in the morning, which makes the entire street smell like bacon. My stomach growls for the entire way home.

Normally, this is the place in the entry when I share some flash of insight I had while on my run. Occasionally I give little snippets of running advice (always to be taken with a grain of salt, because I am FAR from a professional). But I've got a more important use for this blog today.

Trinity Hill United Methodist Church, where I regularly attend (and am on staff as the youth ministries assistant) always hosts a 'Back to School Bash' every August, in which schools supplies are given away to needy families in the area.  The local needy community relies on this every year to ensure their children are prepared for the new school year.

So, I started thinking:  "What can *I* do to help?  I'm just a high school teacher/ runner/ amateur blogger."  Then my friend Erica and I dreamed up the MILES FOR MISSIONS project (thanks to Sarah Bailie for the catchy name!).

I am seeking generous people to sponsor every mile I run in the month of July.  Any amount will do:  $0.25 per miles, $0.10 per mile, or even $0.05 per mile.  And if sponsoring per mile isn't your thing, you one-time donations are also greatly appreciated.

All money donated (yes, every single cent!) will go toward the purchase of school supplies to be given away to needy families in the Tates Creek Rd. area of Lexington, KY.  Your donation is completely tax deductible, and receipts for tax purposes can be provided.

If you're interested in helping needy children receive the materials they need for a successful school year, you can contact me:
 - by Email
 - on Facebook
 - or on Twitter

So far, I've amassed 27.74 miles this month.

I'm shooting to hit at least 100 miles over the course of July!  With your help, needy children can be ready for the upcoming school year!

Wednesday, 6/3/13: Running with friends!

This is my second post from Destin, FL. In case you missed the last one, I'm currently here as a chaperone on my youth group kids' high school beach retreat. 

Last night, two of my youth kids and one of the other adult leaders expressed interest in running with me this morning. They wanted to go at 7:00AM, which I thought was kind of late (I went at 6:00AM yesterday, and the sun was already high in the sky). 

Then I realized something. I hardly ever run with other people. And I came on this youth trip to invest in the lives of these kids. If they wanted to run with me, then it didn't matter how late they wanted to start, how far we went, or the pace we kept. What mattered was that we were going out together and sharing the experience. 

It must have been ordained by God that we go out this morning, because even at 7:15 the gray cloud cover hid the oppressive Florida sun. We ran all the way to Winn-Dixie and back (around 3.6 miles), kept a good pace, and even made small talk most of the way. Afterward, we cooled off with a dip in the ocean, and I treated the guys to a cinnamon roll at Bad Ass Coffee, a coffee shop a block from our house. 

I didn't keep exact pace or weather conditions today, because this was a fun vacation run. And like I said in my last post: when it comes to vacation running, don't sweat it. Just have fun!

Also, not 15 minutes after we got back, this started: 

(And it's hard to tell from the picture, but there's a steady rain coming down)

Tuesday, 7/2/13: Running on the run *OR* Some like it hot!

I've been out of town for the last week, on a combination mission trip/ beach retreat with my church's youth group. I'm normally very involved with the youth, so this has been a great experience to bond with the kids, as well as do some good work and relax. But, as I'm sure many of you can imagine, the busy days and time spent away from my normal running route have cut into my training schedule. Nevertheless, I've tried to remain vigilant and get in a few runs while I've been away. 

The first leg of the trip was spent in McDonagh, GA, a small town just southeast of Atlanta. Of the four mornings I spent there, I managed to squeeze in two runs: one of them around 5.75 miles, and the other around 4.25 miles.  I didn't record details like pace and temperature, mainly because I had to hurry back to the church where we were staying and prepare for a day of mission work. 

My apologizes for the crappy quality; they were shot with an iPhone camera before dawn. 

Also, me and three friends climbed Stone Mountain in Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta. I guess it doesn't count as a run, but I'll still include it in my "Vacation fitness exploits" folder. And besides, look at that view! (The tiny buildings on the horizon is Atlanta Proper!)

Yesterday morning we arrived at Destin, FL, for the 'retreat' portion of out excursion. And, of course, this morning I took out on a run. Because how often do hillbillies like me get a chance to run by the ocean?!? 

This run wasn't stellar (only around 4 miles), because I waited too late to get started (around 6:20), and by then the sun was already pretty high in the sky. And those high-rise hotels can only block out so much heat. 

Now time for the introspective portion of my usual blog entry. 

I HATE HUMIDITY. 

For anyone who runs while on vacation (or a business trip, or any extended period away from their normal climate), adjusting to a new area can be the hardest thing. I thought Kentucky was humid, but I had never experienced a humid run until I stepped out into the Georgia soup. Not to mention that my time has been a little crunched, what with looking after two dozen teenagers. 

It's probably inevitable that training is going to FEEL worse while away from your normal running route, because your body isn't used to the conditions of the new place. Which I suppose is good from time to time (how many of us run races on our usual route?), but it sure felt like I had lost fitness since leaving my house (even though that's absurd; it takes weeks of reduced workouts to lose fitness). 

I suppose I'll end with this: if your training suffers for a week or so because of vacation, don't sweat it (ba-dump tssst). As long as you don't become completely sedentary, you should be able to pick up with your normal routine as soon as you get back. I'd reference a recent article in 'Runner's World' magazine on that, but I'm posting from an iPad and I'm not sure how to do that on this device. 

Until then, happy running!