My second-worst run ever...

First of all... congratulations to Casey, for finishing her 20 mile run! She'll be gone for almost 2 weeks after this, and I will miss her terribly while she's away.

Now...let's talk about these "weather conditions" Casey mentioned below for a moment. Due to the ice storm in the Northeast that you may have heard about (or experienced first-hand) our group run was moved from the scenic, peaceful sanctuary of the Niskayuna bike path (where we have had all of our group runs to date) to the State Office campus... a 2 mile loop of arterial roads and overpasses that circle the office complex. As you can imagine, compared to the tree lined bike path with a view of the peacefully flowing Mohawk River, the honking and screeching of SUV tires and ice-slicked asphalt was a slightly less soothing environment. It was also a lovely 12 degrees out, with a windchill of about -80.

Only a brave few attempted to conquer the inclement weather, and with Casey's 20 and my 10 miles on deck, we chose to give it a shot. As Casey will attest to, I've been relatively good about keeping the whining and complaining down to a bare minimum during these Saturday morning group runs, despite the fact that they get me out of bed at 5:40am on my precious weekends and it's freezing cold out, which I hate. Unfortunately, this Saturday proved to be too formidable an opponent for my recent good cheer. About 1/3 of the way through lap #3, somewhere near mile 5, I called it quits, and just before mile 6, Casey agreed. I went back to my apartment complex and did another mile on the treadmill, and Casey went back out on Sunday, determined to get in her 20 miles.

The thing is, it wasn't even the cold temperatures alone that scared me away. We've been running in the cold, and I can handle it. It was the entire environment as a whole, which further proves to me that this running business is just as much a mental challenge as it is a physical challenge. Yes, my muscles hurt in weird ways when it's cold out - but that wasn't what stopped me. I've grown comfortable with the bike path - I know where the mile markers are, I know what is ahead of me and what's behind. The dog walkers, bike riders, bird hunters and fellow runners all afford me a sense of comfort and camaraderie...but pounding pavement in circles on a 4 lane roadway, even with my best friend in the entire world on one side and our ever-inspirational mentor on my other wasn't enough to save me.

I'm really hoping next weekend's run (which I will be doing without Casey, much to my dismay) is back on the bike path...

~RSF

20 Mile Run!

Due to weather conditions yesterday that were absolutely deplorable, I decided to postpone my 20-mile run until today (Sunday). I enlisted three wonderful friends to accompany me on 4 loops around the Pine Hills/Whitehall Rd. area, amounting to a (according to Google Maps) total of 20.13 miles. Allison (orange hat) was with me on the first and last loop, Emilie (maroon shorts) did the 2nd loop, and Theresa (baseball cap) joined me on the 3rd. I couldn't believe I did it, but I did it! And I have great friends to thank for braving the cold and ice to support me in this effort. I couldn't have done it without them!

Got my new shoes on...

This is a picture of my new sneakers (well one of them anyway - don't worry, I have two). The Addidas Supernova Sequence. If you know me, you know my love of shoes... but did you ever think I'd be so excited about a sneaker? Probably not. Now, what if I told you I'd be running 10 miles in that sneaker on Saturday? Being excited about them just started to make more sense, huh?

~RSF

PS - I thought it might be time for an updated countdown clock, so...

MySpace Countdowns

Kickboxing

Becky, in her awesomeness, is taking a kickboxing class, which serves as cross-training for the race preparation. I have the utmost respect for Becky's participation in this, but I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of kickboxing. I like yoga, cardio dance, step aerobics, actually most classes I have tried I have liked. I'd love to try spinning but they don't offer it at my gym. But kickboxing...not so much. I always feel stupid doing it, especially because I generally smile all the time, and you look stupid when you are making kicking and punching motions with a big smile on your face. Plus, it just makes me think about how I'm probably not doing the kicks and punches right, so now matter how much I try to twist up my face I'd still be getting my ass handed to me in an actual fight.