Today is Vol. 16 of “Marathon Mommas.” Come along as we follow two women — Theressa Miller and Christine Vassen — in their quest to run their their first marathon in the spring.  Each week, they’ll give us a glimpse into their training and mindset as they push themselves toward 26.2.

By Theressa Miller

If you have read many of our blog entries, you will know that I am not the runner who likes to get up and get my run in just for the sake of running.

I like to run and talk and just enjoy being outside. Yes, even when the weather is not enjoyable.

On Saturday, we had our long run.  18 miles. (Just 10 weeks to go until the marathon!)

We ran on mud and slush and ice for the first 4.4 miles, then …. glorious pavement.  I am not normally a fan of pavement, but after the early soft surfaces it was a welcome change.

As we stopped for a moment, about 6 miles in, we noticed that the air, literally, sparkled. It was snow blowing off the trees, but it sparkled in the sunlight of the morning like someone had just shook a jar of glitter over us. The tree tips were frosty ice-white against the blue cloudless sky.

As we ran, there were dogs that came out to say hello. Their owners were not really sure what to think of the two women running so early. Christine talks to the dogs. Since we’re usually doing an out and back, she usually tells them that we will be “right back.”

I’m sure to clarify for the pooches that we don’t be “right back,” but we’ll see them in an hour or so.

[Christine]   Theressa fails to mention that I ALWAYS talk to the dogs.  The bigger the dog, the more like I am to chat friendly with the dog about how it should stop barking because we’ll be right back.  but, if some little lap dog comes barreling at us, I start yelling at it to eat Theressa first.

Then there are the vehicles. We have been training a lot near my house, so some of the drivers and neighbors are getting used to seeing us. (There was the Amish girl in the window who looked confused, though).

[Christine] She was probably wondering why the shorter woman was yelling at her dog.

There were geese flying north.  (Silly birds its only early March!)

There was the sun.  The warmth of a spring morning.

In the end, it was 18 miles of mind-filling beauty and an awareness that spring will soon be in full bloom.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Erie Times-News file photo by Janet Campbell

I’ve toyed around with weight training. In fact, there was a time I was regularly going to the weight room and hangin’ with the meat heads (and I use that term with great affection for the thick-necked, barrel-chested ones) three nights a week.

I liked it, but, frankly, didn’t have much of a clue about what I was doing…or if it was worth my time… or even if I was working the muscles I needed to work.

I  did learn how to use the equipment and a few basic exercises when I took a “women in the weight room” class at the Eastside YMCA, but I promptly forgot most of the whys and hows when I was on my own.

So, I went back to taking BodyPump class at the Downtown YMCA at lunchtime a few times a week to get in some strength training.  I like the class, but it’s not easy for me to get there — leaving the office in the middle of the day can be tough.

It would be ideal if I could just weight train at home.

So, I asked for adjustable weight handweights (dumbells) for Christmas.

I got them.

I think I’ve lifted them up twice since Christmas (and that was just to move them a couple of times) because I don’t know what exercises to do with them.

Then I saw this really cool poster at BodyPump class that pointed out all the muscles in a woman’s body and, then…told you which weight lifting moves target that muscle.

I wanted one of my own, so I went to www.algra.com and, to my surprise, it was just $5 ($2 more if you wanted the laminated version). I put it in my “shopping cart”

…until I found this flipchart poster book with the same information in a smaller, sturdier format that was even COOLER.

With shipping, it was less than $30.

I can’t wait to get it and start doing more with those pricey adjustable weights than moving them from one area of the basement to another.

P.S. If you’re wondering why I’m telling you all of this you should know that srength training will make you a faster, leaner, stronger runner. It’s not the type of exercise we cardio-junkies like, but…it will make you a better runner.

Learn everything you ever wanted to know about strength-training for runners at www.RunningPlanet.com.

Feeling fatigued? Is every run a chore? Losing speed AND enthusiasm?

You could be overtrained.

Check out these top 10 signs of overtraining from Running Planet.

Overtraining is pretty easy for a mileage-obsessed runner (like most of us) to do.

I should know…I do it a lot. I can tell I need a break when I have a “lead legs” run like I did this morning.

Actually TAKING that break…well, that’s a whole different story.

I have yet to master the ability to rest (which explains the lead legs).

There’s a nice article in the latest Active.com E-newsletter I received.The article, “Are you Ready for a Lifestyle Change,” was written by Jayme Otto for Women’s Running magazine and tells the tale of three women who changed their lives by …well, choosing a different lifestyle, namely a healthier one.

Read it here.

I like that these women took charge of their lives and wish that more people realized that the key to weight loss lies in their own hands. I was one of those woman who fretted and worried and complained and whined and obsessed about my weight and my body. I filled journals with diatribes about how much I hated my body and wanted to lose weight.

One day it occurred to me that if I spent 1/2 as much time doing something about it (instead of just writing about it and wishing the weight away), I might actually see results.

And…boy, did I. Walking just an hour a day progressed to running and….in one summer — from January to September, I went from a size 20-something to a size 8, which is what I still am 10+ years later.

Exhibit A:

With newborn niece in Feb.  ‘96        With same niece in Dec. ‘96

Today is Vol. 15 of “Marathon Mommas.” Come along as we follow two women — Theressa Miller and Christine Vassen — in their quest to run their their first marathon in the spring.  Each week, they’ll give us a glimpse into their training and mindset as they push themselves toward 26.2.

By Theressa Miller

Have you ever been hit by the crazies?  Sometimes I think that endorphins make you crazy. For instance, when Christine had a great run in December, she turned on the computer and registered us for Cleveland’s marathon 2 weeks into our official training and 5 months before the race.

The first Oil Creek 100 trail run happened in 2009. This year, the race distance is a 50-K (31 miles), a 100-K and a 100-mile race.

Last year, Christine read all about these trail runs on the blogs and Web, but I was not moving from… “Stop thinking about it. It is crazy!”  At the time, we were only training for a half marathon (13.1 miles) and training mostly on flat roads. I knew Oil Creek park, or at least how to get to several fishing holes thanks to my husband.  I am not sure that there is flat space anywhere in the park.

So in January, when Christine saw the web chatter about the trail runs picking up, she started talking about the run.

It was funny because she would talk about it and I was not saying “no.”  I was listening. Thinking.

Well, our marathon training has been going really well.  We are training for 26.2 miles on hills. Nothing like the park, but at least our legs would not completely be unprepared.

This past Saturday a group was gathering to hike part of the park.  Just 5 miles.  Just a test, a trial? Could we think about going 31 miles of hilly trails?

This is the type of thinking that lead Christine and I to join the group.

What an amazing hike! It was beautiful and pristine and WOW …you want to talk about hills?? (I think they might be mountains).  Our guide was great.  He kept the pace moving. He even gave the group an out after 2 miles, but no one took it.

After 2 hours and 45 minutes, the 5-mile hike took us up one side and back down, across a bridge and back up and down the other side.  I wore hiking boots, when I should have gone with spikes (Silly me!).  I fell down a flight of stairs in the woods.  And that was after falling in a small wet spot less than a mile into the hike.

So why am I thinking more about Oil Creek and how to train for it?

It’s a little crazy!  Those hills are not small and I was very tired after the 5 miles.

So why am I looking forward to going back?  Why do I want to drive down into the fishing hole parking area and see if I can find Gerard Trail?  Why am I looking at any path in the woods thinking, is that a trail?  What about the trails at Asbury Woods and Preque Isle?  Would running those help with training?

This type of thinking is what pushed Christine and I from running a 5K at Cook’s Forest to a half-marathon.

Do you ever get the crazies?

Just maybe, it’s not so crazy?

TO BE CONTINUED…

Meant to post a link to this when I read it a few days ago — it’s a Good Morning column written by Erie Times-News reporter Kevin Flowers in which he talks about his favorite workout tunes.

I haven’t had a chance yet, but I plan to sample some of these songs on iTunes because my running mix could use some fresh tracks.

One of these days I’m going to have to share my iPod running mix playlist with you, but…if I do…you have to promise to share yours (I’ll show you mine…you show me yours).

That’s my best Patti LaBelle impression ….you know, Patti LaBelle’s 80s song “New Attitude.”

Yeah, so…anyway….

Where I’m going with this is that I got new shoes (never would’ve guessed, eh?) and coincidentally (or not?), had the best run I’ve had in months on Sunday morning.

I should’ve had a lousy run because it had, of course, snowed inches overnight and I had run 8 miles on Saturday.  Normally, this would be the recipe for a draggon ass run  (you know…draggin’ ass), but…for some reason (perhaps the new shoes?), I had a great time.

It was fairly warm on Sunday morning and there was virtually no wind. I ended up ditching my windbreaker and running in a long-sleeve t-shirt. I even took my gloves off for the last half of the run. All the neighbors outside snowblowing, bundled up in all their parkas and winter gear, thought I was insane, I’m sure. I’m used to that…and I kinda like it.

I set out to do about 5 miles and ended up running 7. I’d have run longer, but that was all I had time for.

I love the township I live in….we may be south of I-90 in the sticks, but my township knows how to clear streets. Some were actually down to pavement at 8 a.m. on Sunday.  (Not so in Millcreek & Erie, though).

So I don’t know if it was the weather, the shoes, the iPod playlist or the stars aligned just right that day, but…I’m grateful for a good run.

This time of year, you gotta take those whenever you can get them.

Check out this older post  about winter running over at Mark Remy’s blog at www.RunnersWorld.com. It gave me a chuckle when I read it because, of course, we tough-as-nails winter runners in Erie scoff at those pansy runners down south who are intimidated by a few feet of snow.

The comments are worth scrolling through, too.

Though, I have to admit, I wanted to use the spike side of my Grip-On Ice and Snow Traction Cleats to bitchslap all those annoying people who wrote comments like … “That’s too bad, it’s 60 degrees here in Tampa Bay…” and “…70 degrees and sunny here in California”

Braggart schmucks.

Don’t be trying to spread your sunshiney, sing-songy Southern charm up here in the ice-encrusted, snow-covered angry North.

Looks like it’s going to be another snowy weekend of long runs for all you spring marathoners out there. Take it easy, stay upright and try not to pull anything.

And, next time, pick a fall marathon….muuuuccchhh nicer (though hotter) to train for.

Today is Vol. 14 of “Marathon Mommas.” Come along as we follow two women — Theressa Miller and Christine Vassen — in their quest to run their their first marathon in the spring.  Each week, they’ll give us a glimpse into their training and mindset as they push themselves toward 26.2.

By Theressa Miller

I am the unorganized running partner.  I never have “everything.”  I don’t normally miss big things, but between my office desk, my purse, the running bag, the gym bag and the office bathroom, somehow I don’t always have what I need.  I am the wing-it partner.

This works for Christine and I because she has thought about all of the things she could be missing and planned accordingly, so, normally, we are good.

Last year, I tried to do the training log that all the “seasoned” runner talk about.  Something to look back on and something to note your accomplishments. I love the idea in thought, but, in practice, it just doesn’t work for me.  So I judge where we are by our PRs.  (Personal Records – the fastest time we have completed a specific distance.)

Saturday, we were scheduled for eight miles. Angel, Christine and I met at the Rotary pavilion on the peninsula to start our run. Time conflicts and mom schedules meant we needed to run in Erie. I was very happy with this flat route.

We were very pace focused.  For the eight miles, we have a minimum and a maximum pace range.  The min. was supposed to be 12:30.  (This is still hard for me to judge. It’s going to be lower next time. Keep reading!)

I realized at 8:01 a.m., that I had no headphones, so I had to run without music. It was a quiet run for me. Just lots going on, and, really, Christine has been the talker lately on the runs.  (For those that know her, I swear she talks a lot on the runs.)

At some point, Christine said we had a mile to go.  This is our code for, “if you have anything left, you best run it out hard.”

My legs felt fresh so I took it up a notch.  Christine said to me, “what did you hit a Nickleback song?”  I yelled a little angrily, “I DON’T HAVE ANY MUSIC!”

We finished well.

Here is the e-mail that Christine sent me later.

“12:56. That was our pace last year for the ½ marathon. And we were overjoyed by that pace — and it was hard earned — not a cake-walk pace.  Today, (Saturday) was 8 miles at a 12:25 pace. OK, I know you said to keep us under 12:30, but I didn’t expect those 10:xx pace for the mile…..so I’m saying I kept us on pace.  And that was on non-ideal sometimes slippery conditions.

Wow! Triple WOW! All the dragging my butt out in the winter weather/gym might have actually paid off.”

Her organization pays off again. I am really looking forward to the half and the whole marathons on the peninsula this year.

Flat speed is a reward of the Turtle hills.

TO BE CONTINUED….

Living south of 90 means the roads around my place (on Saturday morning) were still snow covered & icy in parts. I honestly couldn’t bear the thought of another winter run on uneven footing Saturday when the sun was shining and the birds were singing.

So, I got all my gear and decided to head for parts north, er, west.

In any event, I decided to go run at the peninsula where I’d have a chance at running on dry pavement. I don’t often drive out to the peninsula to run…especially to run by myself…but Saturday it just seemed to call to me.

I ran the loop backwards starting at the first parking lot, going out to Sara’s and then over the beach road past Beach 1 and on around the park. It was icier than I had anticipated….in some places I had to stop and walk very carefully, but, fortunately, there were only a few.

In some spots I saw lots of other runners and walkers, but…mostly it was a peaceful, serene run (well, except for the Kid Rock, Ozzy and Rush playing in my ear).

I took my time and enjoyed the run…for the first time in a really long time.

The good news…no real P.F. pain afterward, though I made it a point to both ice and stretch after the run.

Sunday, of course, turned out to be just as beautiful and…warmer, even. I was tempted and actually Attempted to go out for another run, but….good sense prevailed (and sore legs) prevailed and I decided to just walk.

Normally, I’d have pushed through the soreness and forced myself to do at least 5 miles, but…in the interest of getting healthy, I realized it would be better if I wasn’t always pushing and actually allowed some time for recovery.

Hope you were able to get out & enjoy the sunshine!