Running Music

Generally when I start a new playlist for workout music, I'll keep with it a couple of months then abandon it and start a new one.  However my current one I started at the beginning of August when I signed up for The Hawk 50 miler and have been keeping with it and adding to it ever since.  It is currently over 5 hours long, perfect for those long runs.

It started with all country mostly red dirt and Texas country.  Nothing I used to consider workout music but all perfect for trail running when I was pretty much in a crummy mood everyday.  After running my 50 miler I was still loving my playlist but started adding to it.  Some mainstream country then my favorites from Eminem and Theory of a Deadman made their way back in.

I've started singing during my long runs for entertainment I guess.  I think this makes me a lot more aware of my surroundings thus safer since I'm clearly way more worried about someone hearing me sing than being murdered.  I go from singing about whiskey and exes to being racially profiled to firing at the british to rolling blunts to loving beer and trucks.  I'm sure my singing makes me sound crazy, maybe help keep the real crazies away.

My current top songs to listen to at the gym compared to outside.  I think I'm angrier at the gym.




I added This Land is Your Land after seeing this commercial.  It's a good commercial, I wanna go buy some North Face and run up a mountain.



If this commercial doesn't make you wanna run up a mountain I don't know what will.

Finished the week at 75 miles.  It's all downhill from here till the race on the 31st.  Taper time starts tomorrow.  What to do with all my free non running time?  I don't know, taper is the worst and 3 weeks seems like a long taper but that's what they say to do.


Whats your favorite songs to run to?  I love suggestions!

14:23

Snow Cap Lard only $1.91!

14:23 minute miles, that's all I have to do to run 100 miles in under 24 hours.  No big deal.   It seems so slow like nothing but 100 miles is a 100 miles.  I was trying to figure out what my pace for the race should be basing things off of my 50 mile races.  My first race was a rails to trails flat course with a pace of 9:50 and my 2nd race was a more technical trail that I'm told is more technical than the rocky raccoon.  My pace was 12:04 for that race.  100 miles is a full 50 miles farther than a 50 mile race but isn't the last 50 miles all mental.  I feel like mental is were I'm most strong.  I definatly handle pain better than the general public but compared to other distance runners I'm probably a big wuss.    I chit chatted with the guy who says he'll help me out with the pacing for the rocky raccoon.  Talking about what my pace might be.  I didn't want to scare him off by telling him I find cursing and dirty rap songs very motivating when I'm in pain and would rather die than run anymore.  I think he might be down with it though.



"The greats weren't great because at birth they could paint; the greats were great because they paint a lot."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   ---Macklemore, rapper

From my new running Journal.  I'm loving this quote.  I certainly don't think I'm a great but I really like the work a lot aspect of the quote.

New Years Goals Blah Blah

Christmas Day run in shorts!  It's been a little colder since then.  I feel like my running has been a bit all over the place.  Working more hours than usual the last month, good but harder to fit all my miles in then thinking I would have so much time to run last week with 3 days off work but asking someone to watch Gretchen so I could go on a 4+ hour run felt wrong.  Had a couple good runs from my parents house to Warrensburg and back and somehow managed to get up at 5am one day and run a solid 17 miles on the treadmill.

Had a few good runs with a little snow pre Christmas.

Egg Nog makes a great coffee creamer substitute, just saying.

Christmas Present, It is a Running Journal by Lauren Fleshman, a pro runner.  I'm pumped about filling it out and it is full of inspirational running quotes.  Nothing I love more than a good quote.

Getting to it I started my New Year's Day with 13 miles at Wallace State Park in Cameron, MO at a Fat Ass run.  It was a warm 18˚  when we started.  It was put on by this nice couple, they apparently do it every year.  It was a 6 mile loop you could go as many times as you wanted.  I went with a group and we did two loops.  After we went to the couples house where they had soup and lots of cookies all for free.  So nice!   Once I got home I showed, napped then decided to drive out to  WYCO park and finished the day with another 7 with the BAR group so good way to start it all off I think.

Miles: 

2012:  1166.63

2013:  1328.68

2014:  1963  

Calling it a win.  So close to 2000 but not quite.  Way more than last year though.

Last Year's Goals:

3 pull ups in a row  --- Not a total fail I bought a pull up bar and can do a solid one

Run a 50 mile race  --- Nailed it!  Ran 2, won both

New Marathon PR  ---  Fail, didn't even try to run a marathon

Run without injuring myself  --- Nailed it!  Ran lots, no injuries

Only made fitness goals and decided to ignore the rest of my life because I didn't know what to do with that mess.

Fail or not fail I don't know.  It's less of a mess but not where I want it to be.

This Year's Goals:

Run 100 mile race  --- Planning on that happening Jan 31st-Feb 1st.

3 pull ups in a row  --- I feel like getting to 1 pull up was a lot more work than getting to 3 

New marathon PR  --- Already signed up for Rock and Roll DC so unless I injure myself I should be good.

Run more races  ---  I've got a list going of races I'm thinking about, some I don't wanna sign up for till I see how this 100 miler goes 

Blog more  --- You know for all my fans(Hi mom!) haha

Still gonna just ignore the rest of my life, that seems to be working for me. kinda.

Winning, Not Winning

Looks like I found a pacer for the Rocky Raccoon.  Never met him but he is apparently from the area, is familiar with the trails we'll be running and upon inspection of his FB page runs a ton completed a full iron man this year and loves beer.  I am so pumped he offered to pace.  My day was really looking up then I went grocery shopping and they were completely out of Boulevard Nutcracker Ale.  You win some you lose some.

Started my Christmas shopping today got about half way through it all.  Switched gears for the afternoon getting out in the warm 30˚ overcast weather for 22 miles.  Saw a few bikers and one other runner while I was out.  Two miles from being finished I decided to walk for a moment and take some pics of all the geese and deer but my phone died as soon as I snapped one pic.  No music for the last two miles but made it through without my jams.

Half way through my run I snacked on a gingerbread cliff bar.  So freaking delicious or I was starving and 11 miles from my car, either way.  Later this evening Gretchen wanted to make gingerbread men cookies so I bought a mix and we made some.  So not good at all.  Should of bought more cliff bars and cut men out of them.

This evening I got an email saying I had been accepted as a Nuun ambassador for 2015.  Nuun is my sports drink of choice already so this is exciting for me.  It is a 7 calorie electrolyte enhanced drink tabs that dissolve in your water bottle.  No sugar or sugar substitutes and so tasty.  The energy flavors are caffeinated.

Flavors currently in my cabinet. 

Long Run

Ran to the start of the trail on my 22 mile long run last week.  It was in the mid 30's, not to bad.  They have new mile markers every 2/10ths of a mile now with exact location information on them now.  Now when someone wants to murder me I can ask them to hold off till I can make a call and give the 911 operator my exact location.

This Thursday my official long run day I started off with an hour of piyo in the morning.  When your piyo instructor shows up at your Christmas party you kinda have to start showing up at her class again.  It's a great class I just was lazy and missed last week.  Class was great other than I don't know how I feel about the free style sun salutations.  I prefer just being told what to do.  After I went home napped then finally got out to run after 1.  Only saw 2 cyclist the whole time I was out.  Ran 20 miles went home showered put on a clean running outfit and immediately drove out to run another 4-5ish miles with the BAR group.  Does it make sense to shower just to go out and run again?  I have no idea but it feels right.

Only have 155.5 miles left to hit 2000 for the year.  With just short of 3 weeks left it seems like no big deal since I should be running over 50 every week anyway.  

Ways To Save With The Good Stuff

Christmas is not really my favorite time of the year just more to do and money to spend but in an effort not to be a total scrooge this year I bought Gretchen a Christmas tree.  She was really excited about it.  I let her start the decorating but then helped even things out.

A fun way to save on decorations is to make them yourself.  Here are some that I made in past years at Christmas.

A pinecone wreath made by painting pinecones and glueing them onto a plain wreath.

Ornaments made wrapping strips of pretty elastics around strofoam balls and knotting the ends.

Ornaments made by cutting the shape out of stiffened felt then decorated with glitter and ric rac.

Ornaments made by cutting hearts out of cardboard and glueing craft feathers to cover.

Coupons.com web magazine The Good Stuff is featuring gift guides to help you find gifts for everyone on your list.  They have budget friendly gifts, gifts for enthusiasts and hostess gifts.  Along with the gift guides Coupons.com is throwing The Good Stuff 2014 Holiday Sweepstakes where they are picking one $100 winner a week till Christmas and one $500 grand prize winner.

I Ran Now Give Me Pie

Had a really solid 20 mile run Thanksgiving morning.  I was not looking forward to it and not sure how it would go seeing how it was a super warm 25˚ out.  I was starting out at my parents house and planned to run to my sister's house in Warrensburg, exactly 10 miles away.  

About 5 miles out I decided I wouldn't turn around and texted my sister on my ETA at her house.  Then took a couple of pictures.  The whole run was a lot more pleasant than I pictured it being. Even though it was below freezing out there was really no wind.  I had dressed well for the run and did take a 30 minute break at my sister's house to dry out my sweaty clothes(gross I know).  She had water and saltines with peanut butter which was perfect snack for running the 10 miles back to my parents house.  The run back went by fast and I was starving when I reached my parents house.  Worked out perfectly since there was a Thanksgiving dinner to eat.

Got mentioned in the December issue of Ultra Running magazine.  A magazine no one has ever heard of but it exists.  It was a race report on the Hawk in September.  

Finished last week with 52 miles and the week before with 51 all ok but need to beef it up with only 6 weeks left of training till taper for the Rocky Raccoon.  Weather guys are says temps and conditions look to be pretty mild for the first half of December so I'm hopping.  Decent temps would make training so much easier and pleasant.