Category Archives: Uncategorized

running long

July 23, 2009Uncategorizedtake it and runLauren @ mostly i run

Well, the day is almost over, but I wanted to participate anyway. I’ve missed quite a few ‘Take it and Run’ Thursdays!

This week’s theme is … Slaying The Long Run Dragon. What are your best tips for getting through the long, hard, hot, hilly, sweaty, torturous but enjoyable runs?

I haven’t run more than 16 miles since marathon training in the spring of 2007. But I sure remember those long runs!

It was no accident that we selected a spring marathon. No long runs in the heat and humidity. Though, we did have to run through the rain and snow.

We spend a good amount of time on local trails. As distances got longer, MapMyRun.com became our friend as we charted out 18-mile routes through town. And to keep things interesting, we planned field trips.

We’d pile into a couple cars and drive an hour or so to try some new destinations. We ran on trails that would be too far to travel to for a shorter run … but if you’re going to be out running for four or five hours, why not? (Uh, yeah, we were running for over five hours. We trained up to 24 miles, and we took it slow!)

And, of course, having friends to chat with make those long runs a lot more bearable!

weekly winners

July 19, 2009Uncategorizedweekly winnersLauren @ mostly i run

July 12-18, 2009

Last week felt like the longest week. I’ve been busy every night with training, singing and concerts (both as a performer and in the audience). Plus we’ve had a college friend visiting over the weekend. Fortunately he was mostly here to do guy things with my husband — I haven’t seen too much of him!

But I was around yesterday to join them for half-price crab legs.

My week started out with a BBQ at a friend’s house. As the sun was setting, a bat was flying around quite close to us. He was too quick to photograph (see black smudge in the first photo), but the sky was pretty!

This photo doesn’t need an intro, but it feels like I should add one since the other two pairs of photos had one. Ooh Look! A pinecone!

Visit more Weekly Winners at SarcasticMom.com!

i’ve got to work on that last mile …

July 13, 2009i like to run., Uncategorizedrunning amuckLauren @ mostly i run

On Saturday, I ran another 5K. It was in my town for a change, so I decided to add a little extra mileage. I got up a little earlier and ran to the start, about 2.25 miles away.

I took it really slow (especially since I didn’t really give my bagel enough time to settle!), running 11-minute miles. I wasn’t so sure how this race was going to go!

I cooled down a little bit waiting for the start time, but I was feeling good. I started a little too far back in the pack but managed to pull out of the crowd and find a good pace.

Mile 1: 8:35
Mile 2: 8:36
Mile 3: 8:56 … getting tired, but I managed to kick it up to a 7:10 pace for the final .1

Official finish: 26:47. New PR! As I mentioned after my last race, I really wanted to break 27. Hooray!

After chatting with friends and cooling down a bit, I jogged the 2.25 miles (again, slowly) back home, bringing my total mileage to 7.6 for the day. A semi-long run and a 5K PR, all before 10 am!

And guess what I did on Sunday?

Well I ran another 5K, of course!

Local running clubs all around our area host women-only 5Ks as part of a Women’s Distance Festival series. (Some clubs have separate races for the guys.) We have a team, and go as a group to many of the races. Our club and one in a neighboring county usually host races back-to-back, and I usually do both of them.

After my fast race on Saturday, I wasn’t planning on running too hard. I was chatting with another runner I had met before through her sister. She used to be fast, but had slowed down after an injury and was hoping for a 28-minute 5K. That sounded perfect, so I started out with her.

We felt a little fast, but not too bad. I still felt comfortable. I didn’t really realize how fast we were until we hit the first mile.

Mile 1: 8:29
Mile 2: 8:43 … and then we hit what felt like (and may have been) a .75-mile incline. I knew this was a tough race but I forgot that the incline went on for so long! She left me after mile 2 and finished strong. Meanwhile …
Mile 3: 9:19 — not too bad, actually. I felt like I was crawling!

The last .1 was around a 7:30 pace, and I finished at 27:17. So much for not racing — my previous PR prior to Saturday was 27:19.

I think I’m going to skip the speed work tomorrow!

weekly winners: cat dilemma

July 12, 2009Uncategorizedfurry babiesLauren @ mostly i run

July 5-11, 2009

Ever since we’ve owned our house, we’ve been caring for a stray cat that calls our yard her home. Her name is Meadow. Shortly after we moved in, we discovered she had three kittens.

I got the help of a trap, neuter and release program in our area. The kittens were young enough to tame, but Meadow was already an adult and pretty set in her ways. They lent me traps and a cage that we set up in the garage to tame the kittens, and we got momma spayed and returned her to our yard.

Eight years later, she’s still doing great.

For a couple months now, she’s had some company. A little gray kitty has been showing up regularly. He was a tiny bit shy the first time we saw him, but he eagerly ate the food we put out for him.

He warmed up very quickly — rubbing up against us and jumping up for head pets. After he first appeared, we saw him daily. And then he vanished for a week or two. I worried a little, but hoped he found his way home. He did seem a bit too friendly to be a stray …

And then one day he was back. We see him pretty regularly. Not as often as Meadow, but he’s around a lot. And he’s looking a little scruffier — there are some cuts (bug bites, maybe?) on his nose, and he seems a little dirty (fleas?). So now I’m beginning to wonder.

Does he just have irresponsible owners? Is he lost? Or is he an unusually friendly stray?

I feel like I have to do something. I really like this little guy!

But what? I want to take care of him … but I don’t want to steal somebody’s cat if he’s actually lost. We see a similar cat (don’t think it’s him?) hanging out at one of the houses further down the street. But if he’s that local, he wouldn’t be lost … and he definitely needs some TLC (and a vet!).

We have had a feral cat problem in our neighborhood, due to irresponsible pet owners in a house around the corner. Which is why I’m more likely to take action …

Anyway, this week’s photos are all of my new friend.