Category Archives: Uncategorized

running shoes

April 2, 2009Uncategorizedtake it and runLauren @ mostly i run

This week’s theme at the Runners’ Lounge “Take it and Run Thursday” is Ode to My Running Shoes.

I was going to write something silly: “Oh, Nike Elite+4, how I love thee …” but then I saw the catch. We are only allowed to use the same number of words as dollars spent to buy them.

While I don’t remember exactly, they retail for $100 on Nike’s site so I’m going with that …

When I first started running, I tried Mizunos. I didn’t realize they were the cause of my knee problems until I switched to Asics 2090s. While not perfect, I loved them for not causing any more pain! After two pairs of those I went to the 2110s, with a brief Saucony Hurricane 9 (I think) experiment that did not go well. Back to the 2110s, but still something wasn’t quite right.

And then, on a Nike promo night at the running shop, I found them. Nike Elite+ 4. They’re light, comfortable, work with my orthotics, and don’t cause any pain!

I’m on my second pair now, and due to buy a third. I had a moment of panic when I didn’t see them in my initial scan of Nike’s site. The newer version is blue … but they do have purple on clearance!

weekly winners: cats vs. dogs

March 29, 2009Uncategorizedfurry babies, weekly winnersLauren @ mostly i run

March 22-28, 2009

Anybody who’s been here before knows I’m a cat person. My kitties are my babies. While I only have one of them in my ‘Winners’ this week, he’ll serve as a good example.

Jeter

I had the opportunity to meet a couple of, um, unusual dogs last night. They belong to my brother and sister-in-law’s neighbors.

I declare cats the winner.

Visit more Weekly Winners at SarcasticMom.com!

the need for speed

March 26, 2009Uncategorizedrunning amuck, take it and runLauren @ mostly i run

I’m not a particularly fast runner. I’m usually finish races somewhere in the middle of the pack. And generally, I’m fine with that.

But it would be nice to be just a little faster.

This week at the Runners’ Lounge, we’re discussing tips to satisfy the need for speed. We’ve been asked to share “a tip, technique, training idea or magical potion” to get faster.

While a magical potion would be nice, I have found there is a simple trick to running faster.

Are you ready?

The secret to running faster ….. is to run faster!

I often find myself getting a little lazy with my running. Sure I’m out there putting in the miles several times a week, but I’m not always challenging myself. I’ll just plod along at a comfortable speed.

Sometimes I run with a friend much faster than me. I can’t keep up with her, but she turns back whenever she pulls too far ahead. And even though we can’t run together, I always have great runs with her. I push myself a little harder, and run a bit faster.

I shocked myself the first time I “chased” her last summer, finishing four hilly miles in 36 minutes. At the time, I didn’t think I could run that fast for that long. And it wasn’t even that hard!

Not all of my training runs are speedy, but I’ve been motivated to push myself more often now that I know I can do it.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been running hill repeats once a week. It’s part of our team runs — for a racing team started by my local running shop. We ran seven hills this week (200 meters up a bridge), and we’re working our way up to 12. And then it’s time for speed work on the track. Surely this will help my speed as well.

I’m looking forward to all the spring and summer races to see if there’s a difference!

weekly winners: spring!

March 22, 2009Uncategorizedweekly winnersLauren @ mostly i run

March 15-21, 2009

Slow photo week here. I didn’t even pick up my camera until Saturday!

Get Outta My Yard

Meadow cat thinks it’s time to rake the leaves.

Old and New

Again, time for some yard work!

Future Flowers

Daffodils

And … this last one has nothing to do with the above set. But yes, I found the need to take a photo in the stairwell of the mall parking garage.

Visit more Weekly Winners at SarcasticMom.com!

hooray spring!

March 21, 2009Uncategorizedrunning amuck, virtual raceLauren @ mostly i run

When I got up to run this morning, the sun was shining. Flowers were blooming. Pollen in the air was making my throat itch.

And it was 35 degrees.

Well, at least it looked like spring. And it did start to warm up while we were out there. I lost the gloves and earband early on, and tied my jacket around my waist after the halfway point.

Today I ran six of my miles for the Hooray Spring 6 Miler virtual race, hosted by RunningLaur.

My total distance was 10 miles, in 1:45:34. That’s about 10:30 pace — and I’m very happy with that for a training run. Actually, I just checked my stats. My last 10-mile race (last April) was 1:45:11. So it was a very good run today!

And I suppose it was really a bit better. While I did pause my watch for a water break for my running buddy (I always bring my own!), I kept it running the few times we had to wait for traffic and the one time we waited at the bottom of the bridge for the rest of our group to cross. (We needed to see how long they’d be sticking with us. There were three people running three miles, two running six, and two running the full 10.)

I stopped my iPod/Nike+ when it said I had run six miles (well, I caught it at 6.09), and my time was 1:00:59. However, I’ve found that while it paces me correctly when I’m running 10-minute miles or faster, it’s always off when I’m running slower. That’s why I run with a Garmin as well. Or maybe it’s just because I’m that big of a dork.

My Garmin was only at 5.72 miles at that one-hour mark. It hit six miles at 1:03:24. This will be my official race time, since I’m pretty sure it was closer to the actual mileage.

Certainly no speed record for me for a six-miler … but I felt great today!

Oh, and I tried a new-to-me Gu flavor during the run — Tri-Berry. It tasted mostly like raspberry, which I found delicious. I’ll be adding this flavor to my usual rotation of Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Outrage!