I have received a number of emails asking me which races I am looking at.  Thanks for asking! (I live in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area.)

Here is my list; I (probably) won’t do them all.  The * ones are races that I have done before and really enjoyed; plan to do them again. These are all 5K and 10K or further except Northville Road Runner 8K.  It is a trail run at Mayberry State Park.

4/14 Martian (Dearborn)
5/2 RunFit (Novi)
5/6 Burns Park (Ann Arbor)
5/20 Race for Your Memories (Milford)
6/2 Dexter-Ann Arbor (Dexter) Planning on this one for sure
6/9 Flirt with Dirt * (Novi)
6/23 Solstice * Northville
7/4 Hungry Duck * (Brighton)
7/23 Northville Road Runner (Northville)
9/8 Woodstock * (Pinckney)

Which ones are you interested in?  Do you have a list?  We would LOVE for you to share it with us!

I am determined not to injure myself this year, (pretty good beginning of a plan, huh?)   So, I am going to follow the guidelines in a new book I just got called “Run for God.”  It is a disgustingly sensible plan that may be difficult to follow.  Once I get out on the trail or track, it is REALLY difficult to be “sensible…”  I JUST WANT TO RUN

You know that feeling, don’t you!  I can see you shaking your heads “yep!”

So, I am going to make a commitment to you, my fellow runners: I will follow the guidelines in the “Run with God” for the rest of this month (January.)  Then we will re-visit this situation.  O.K?

My actual plan is
1. To be running 5K’s with a speed of sub 10 by Spring.
2. To be running 10K’s with a speed of sub 10 by Summer.
3. Run a half-marathon this Autumn
4. Run a full-marathon next Spring 2013.
5. Qualify for Boston ~Autumn 2013 or Spring 2014.

I will turn 65 years old this September, so my qualifying time is 4:45:59.  That is a 10.9 minute mile!  I can do that now; well, maybe not for 26.2 miles in-a-row

I have a list of 5 and 10K’s lined up.  It is difficult to find a half- marathon that is not on a Sunday…Do you know of any?  Please, let us know!

What is YOUR plan?  We would LOVE to hear it.

Let’s go to Boston together, shall we?  I can see you shaking your heads “yep!”

Wondering what YOUR qualifying time is?  Just go to:

http://www.asksasha.com/boston-marathon-qualifying-time.php

I won’t be running the Boston Marathon quite as soon as I had planned…but I am getting back on track!

My running was going very well until about mid-April when I “ran too far, ran too fast and ran too often; ” results?~a stress fracture in my tibia and  running stopped!  By mid-summer I was running again; a little more carefully, but running!

Then, mid-October, my father became ill and running stopped again… 
I sat by his bedside, every day, all day, until the evening of November 29, when our Heavenly Father called him Home.
I did not run all of December, due to the busyness of the season, the need to clean out his home, legal stuff, and on and on and on… That was my excuse…
Truthfully, I just did not have the energy to even put on my running shoes…

But now, it is January 1st, and I am determined to (first, find my shoes), put them on and start running again!

Tomorrow I will post my plan!  Will you run with me?  Please say YES!

BOSTON, HERE WE COME!

My buddy coach, Jo, (www.jochristie.com) sent me a quote that she received from Runners World. I wish to share it with you as it really “rang true” for me.

HaIf I didn’t run, my writing would be very different from what it is. To be a fiction writer, the most important qualities are imaginative ability, intelligence, and focus. To keep these going at a high level, you can’t neglect your physical strength. Otherwise, you can’t accomplish anything very intricate or demanding.
Haruki  Murakami, Novelist

I am not a fiction writer, but I do love to write!  I mostly write short stories, journal style, about my own experiences that I rarely ever share with anyone.  They are simply for my own clarification.

As I ponder that quote, I realize the correlation for myself. When I don’t run, I rarely write…or is it the other way around???  The two are certainly linked together…

I think I shall ponder this…write about it?  Run with it?  Or is it the other way around…

Have you found this link to be true for you?  We would love to hear about your experience!

Haruki  Murakami, Novelist

ruki Murakami, novelist

Do you have your Autumn schedule for your personal favorite sport?  Have you looked up the races in your area or the races in someone elses area that you would love to travel to?

It is only a few days into the Autumn season, and I have all of my runs lined up (either participating in or volunteering at) and registered for.  If I don’t register in advance, they either fill up quickly, without me,  or I get distracted and don’t go back to the registration pages.

Last week I volunteered at the race-of-all-races!  DANCES WITH DIRT!  
http://www.dwdhell.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=48

It is not for wimps; not even wimpy volunteers (which I border on being).  As the volunteer at the Silver Lake Exchange, I directed running traffic (follow the blue flags) pulled back runners who started before the “touch-off” (in a relay, one runner must touch the hand of the next before he/she could continue the course.) For those who did not heed my warnings, I got to threaten them disqualification if they did not go back… Please note:  I am 4’11” tall.  Did they listen to me?  YES!  THEY DID!  (how cool is that!)

My favorite part, however, was helping to wash down those who had  run  miles  threw knee-deep mud, swamps, and corn fields.  Not only was that FUN but very inspiring to those (like me) who need to push their goals “up a notch.”

Sign me up for next year?  Maybe!  I have been invited~want to be on my team?

I have been away from my blog for awhile; swimming, biking, running, a little competing, a few injuries, alot of having summer fun!

But, summer is winding down now; it is getting lighter later now (which is not appreciated by us morning runners!)  It is time to re-think and re-group my work-outs, swims, bikes and runs.

It is also time to set my goals for the coming season and even into next year. 
1. what distances do I want to do?
2. which races are calling to me?
3. any tri’s?
4.  what about something new or different? (Now, this thought intrigues me!!!)

How about YOU?  Where do you see yourself swimming, biking and running?  What distances do you dream of?  Which races have you always wanted to do?
Anything new and different calling your name?

As I ponder the answers to my questions (and would love to share them with you…); please join me in pondering yours (and, of course, would LOVE to have you share them with us!)

Here we go!

How is your summer running?  Have you found some great 5K’s, 10K’s, 1/2 and full marathons?  There certainly are alot to choose from!

I loved doing the Solstice Run in little Northville, Mi!  Still only able to run a 5K and even at that my time was pathetic!  Speed has improved since the stress fracture, but each time I go out for a run~whether it is competative or just for because I “gotta run,” I always say a little prayer:  Dear Lord Jesus, do not ever let me be so intent on my “time,” that I will not stop to help another.”

And, you know what? God always takes me up on that prayer! 

In this particular race, there was a young boy (probably seven or eight years old) sitting on the curb having an asthma attack…There was no parent in sight, so~of course, I was not going to run past him!  I sat down on the curb next to him and soon his father  appeared and had his inhaler. The young boy was then fine.
Later in the run, I heard a woman behind me complaining of an elevated heart rate and shortness of breath.  All I did was offer to walk with her and guided her into taking deep breaths.  She was fine after a few minutes  and then “help” arrived to be sure…

My “time” looked more like a decent 10K than a 5K, but I  don’t care…God answered my prayer, and that is really all I ever want…

Well, I sorta-ran Running Fit’s Flirt with Dirt; a trail run on an unkept wooded trail with ankle deep mud, tree roots and an ending stretch of trail UP a sledding hill.  Was it fun? You bet, it was !  Just being out there was such a boost to me.
My time?  We won’t talk about that…I was way to careful since the “crash and burn” that I took at Woodstock  last September…
I am just thankful to be B-A-C-K!

It was an interesting six weeks that I was grounded from running due to my stress fracture.
It was almost as though I had lost part of my identity…As a runner, YOU understand, how we become so connected to running, that it is who we partly become…UGH!

Now, with that being said, my true identity is being a child of God; that I will never lose!  Even if He grounds me!    (…and, I am certain He has been tempted to…)

So, I ran the 5K last Saturday and have registered for three more.  Tempted to run faster, farther and more often?  Of course, I am…Will I? probably~but not yet…the pain of six weeks grounding is still too fresh in my mind!

What are YOU training for?  How is it going?  We would love to hear from you.

Yesterday was the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run, and they ran without me…all 7,000 of them.  I must confess that, at first, I hoped the weather would be really crummy, so I would not feel so bad about missing it…:)  But, then I thought about all of those 7,000 runners who would be there, and asked God to bless them with really great weather; and He did.  Thank you!

I also asked God that my stress facture would be healed so that I COULD run; but God must have something better in mind for me, because it wasn’t…

I am “beginning” to run again, just a little.  There is  a 5K trail run in Novi this Saturday; couldn’t hurt to try it…right?

Which “runs” do YOU have coming up?  How are you feeling about them?  We would love to hear from you.

Run safe

Thank you so much for all of your inquiries, well wishes and prayers for recovery from my stress fracture.  They have helped so very much!

Thank you, Annie, for requesting an update as she is also grounded due to a stress frature…

I have been working with Coach Ron Warhurst and Earl Wenk of the Running Institute.  I am impressed that I even know them, much less that they would work with “me!”
Each week, they check my medical progress, my stretches and my ability to run/walk , on grass (low impact) with/without(?) pain.

My nutrition has been excellent, to encourage healing.  Have you seen the handout for Sports Injuries?  It is well worth checking it out.

For fractures, the recommendations are:

Calcium for bone formation
Top sources are non-fat yogurt, collard greens, and broccoli
Vitamin D to promote calcium absorption
Top sources are oysters, button mushrooms, sardines and SUNSHINE!
Magnesium  to support bone structure
Top sources are beans, spinach, and green beans
Folate which counters homocysteine, linked to increased risk of fracture
Top sources are beans, spinach and broccoli
Vitamin K to enhance mineral-binding capacity of bone proteins.
The top sources are collard greens, spinach and broccoli

For more information see “Anti-Injury Eating” in the archives

Between the expertise of Coach Warhurst and Earl and healthy nutrition (plus your concerns, well wishes and prayers) I am back on my feet, running slowly~about 2 miiles now.  Whew!  At least, I am running again!

Coach and Earl have gone back to working with the Olympic runners; thanks so much for all your help.  You are the best!

The half-marathon that I WAS training for is this week-end.  Will I run it?  Nope!  Not risking further injury Am I “bummed?” Yep!, I sure am…Will I train for another half?  I have already begun~planning on one this Fall.  I don’t know which one yet; any suggestions?

 How is YOUR training going? What are YOU training for?  We would LOVE to hear from YOU:)