M E G A P H O N E

Today I ran a bunch of errands for the meet on Saturday. I bought some extra awards ribbons, met with the high school coach to work out using his measuring tapes and stopwatches (which he's donating, we just have to get new batteries!) and, went to pick up the MEGAPHONE I am borrowing from Parks and Rec. to do the announcing at the meet. I know many people have probably used such a thing, but I never have, so Brandt didn't have to twist my arm to try it out once we got home. "Does it work?" you ask. Well, I'll put it this way, anyone in our neighborhood home at around 2 today, was greeted by me with a friendly "Hello" --whether they wanted to be greeted or not! It was definitely one of those, "I've gotta get me one a'these," moments.

For practice today, I had the 5-and-up kids do some Indian relays passing the baton. (see my post in March about these). While they were doing a couple of laps of those, I was helping the preschoolers practice running in their lanes. Then we practiced shot-put and jumping. I had them run one more lap at the end. One of the moms brought popsicles, which was a great incentive for them doing that last lap.

For my workout, I ran 50 minutes, mostly on the trails. Yesterday was slated to be a cross-train/rest day, and I chose rest. I watched a friends two boys all day, so I needed to conserve my energy. I'm doing some weights before bed tonight.

Answers, Reasons, and Excuses

Over the last few days Eli has come up with some pretty deep questions for us. Yesterday on the way to church he asked us how old we would be in heaven. Then on the way home he asked who made God. No one can accuse him of being shallow. We answered to the best we could, but told him some things we just have to wait and ask when we get to heaven--so we had better try to live right so we can be there to get the answers!

This morning I ran 50 minutes, 5.91 miles (my route) . The schedule I'm using for my workouts has this week as a "rest" week--which essentially means no speed work or long runs. The reason is to give your body some recovery time. I'm really glad. I can tell my legs need the break. And since this Saturday is our home meet, I'm happy to forgo a long run that morning.

I really don't feel like I worked the kids too hard today at practice--it was definitely an easier workout than many we've done. We did a warm-up and stretching. Then we did high-knees, bum-kicks, and bounding. Then I had them run a 200 and a 400. We ended at the sand pit where they each practiced their standing broad jumps. After the 200, I heard about so many reasons for not being able to finish the workout, from general aches and pains, to sweating in unusual places. They were forming a line. I finally just had to say "GO!" and they all found the energy to take off fast and finish their 400. A couple of them ran it the best I've ever seen them do. With exercise, excuses enter your mind your whole life. I've never read the book, but the title phrase, "The Power of Positive Thinking" comes to mind. Also, the line from the movie, "Chicken Run," "It's all in me head, it's all in me head..."

Be Prepared!

We had a family activity at church today with the theme that titles this post. The adults had classes on home storage, gardening, and financial management and preparedness, which neither me or Eric attended. We went to the hands-on activities for the kids! The children got to use a canner to seal their own can of red wheat. They did an assembly line to make 72 hour kits for each family who came. They made little banks with three compartments for saving their money and setting aside their tithing. And last, but definitely not least, they made these cool little plant terrariums in balloons! They planted radishes inside, which are supposed to grow from seed to harvest in about 21 days. I was impressed that even the little 3-year old kids could do this activity.

Eric was over the Boy Scouts' portion of the activity, which was the 72-hour kit assembly and a presentation on 72-hr kits to everyone at the end. The scouts did the presentation on their own and really did a great job. I could see how all those camp-outs Eric has taken them on has helped these city-boys understand something about survival.

Asher's favorite part of the activity was the giant vacuum Eric let him ride on during clean-up!


On another note about survival--on my run this morning, my stomach was giving me some trouble. I did about half the run on the trails, and at one point, didn't think I could make it to a bathroom and would have to step off the trail and hope no one came by. I hadn't seen anyone at all on the run, so I made sure I was at a secluded place without poison ivy around. Just as I took off my headphones to see if I could hear anyone coming, a guy on a bike came around the corner. Luckily, I wasn't to the point that he could tell what I was about to do. I just acted like I had stepped off the trail to let him pass, and then decided I could, in fact, wait to go to a real bathroom! Phew! I ran 1 hr 32 minutes. I went around Sherman Oaks twice, which includes an enormous hill; that, combined with my tummy troubles slowed me down a bit. I may have run just under 11 miles.

I had to have practice 30 min. earlier than usual today so we could make it to the activity at church, but I still had a pretty good turnout. After a warm-up and stretching, I had them practice sprinting, concentrating on running on their toes and leaning forward. I also urged them to sprint all the way past the finish line. Too often, they turn their brakes on 2 or 3 steps too early. They did two 100's, three 200's, and two 50's. Then a cool-down. Those 200's were hard on them. They really had to search their bodies for the stamina to go hard all the way past the finish. Next week is our meet, and these kind of work-outs will really help them find the energy they'll need in competition.

85 Degrees

Yep. It's still April and that was the high today. I had to turn on the air conditioning at lunch-time.

Today was my tempo day, so I ran it on the treadmill this morning to make sure I kept the right pace. I warmed up for about 12 minutes then did 5 miles at a 7:16/mile pace (8.2-8.3 mph). I watched the Billy Bob Thornton movie "Astronaut Farmer." It was a sweet, though slow, movie about family, perseverance, working toward your dreams, etc, etc. I would recommend it for a relaxing night on the couch, not a hard morning on the treadmill....Actually, two mornings--I started it yesterday on the bike. I rode for 50 minutes. I also did bicep curls, military press, and push-ups.

We ran at the track today. I brought popsicles and held them over the kids heads (figuratively, but probably would have helped to do it literally, too) to keep them moving during practice. After a one lap warm-up and stretching, I had our older group work on their running baton hand-offs. They did about four 4x100's. They were looking pretty good. The younger group did a back and forth relay (two lines of kids face each other and pass the baton as they run to the other line). Then I did one lap of run-sprint-walk intervals with the younger group. It was almost too-many to really keep up with how they were all doing. Overall, their sprinting looked pretty slow. It was hot, which isn't energizing. Then they all did a few broad-jumps into the pit and we had popsicles and called it a day!

Something funny that Brandt said yesterday I had to write. He asked me to come and look at something "immediately!!" He also frequently describes silly sights he sees as "ridiculous," but his pronunciation is more like "redic-wee-us." I love big (nice) words coming out of little bodies.

Oh how many feet you meet

Today's practice went really well. We had about 10 kids there, and they all really ran hard. After a lap warmup and stretching (a couple of them voluntarily ran an extra lap b/c their friends arrived late and would have been running the warm-up alone!), we did several games of foxes and hounds. We did two short, two long, then two short games. On the short games, we started halfway across the field, and I had the kids really concentrate on running on their toes while leaning into their sprint. On the long games, we started most of the way across the field, and I told them to try to run at their 400m. race pace, which I described as sprinting but with a heel-toe running pattern, instead of toe-only. They really did well. I had them run a lap for a cool-down. I had to tack on an incentive of Popsicle on Wed. to get a couple of them to run the whole lap, but they all did it. They are building endurance, little by little.
A few of the kids have gotten, or are getting, new shoes. I have advised a few of them to get fitted for shoes at the local running specialty store. Trak Shak should start paying me for all the business I have sent their way. The right (or wrong) shoes really can make a difference to a runner, though. You pay a bit of a premium to go there and have them analyze your gait and foot structure, but in the end, it's worth every penny. If your feet hurt (or ankles, or legs--all can stem from bad shoes) , running is miserable. I want only happy feet on my team!

I ran on the trails, just over an hour for my workout. My legs were feeling pretty fatigued from Saturday, so I took it pretty easy.

Two Wheels!

This week was a momentous occasion for Eli--he learned to ride a bike without training wheels. We have been pretty slow about teaching him. Nowadays it seems like most kids are riding bikes when they're two and take the training wheels off by the time they're four. We live at the bottom of a steep hill, so in order to practice riding much we had to leave the house. While I was pregnant and while Asher was still pretty little, trudging up the road for Eli and Brandt to ride just didn't happen often enough to give Eli the chance to really get good. But, this week we started going up so he and Brandt could play with all the neighborhood kids who ride bikes, swing, and jump on the trampoline at a central house after school. Well, seeing a bunch of kindergarten and first grade kids riding their bikes seemed to fuel Eli to really work at riding. He got better each day we went, and today he took off one training wheel and didn't use the other at all!! We went to my parents' house and got a bigger bike for him to start with next week; as you can see from the picture, he has outgrown his bike. Now it will be Brandt's turn to learn!

My workouts: Yesterday, I rode the stationary bike for 40 minutes. I also did 3 sets of 20 push ups, some chair dips, and some pull-ups out on the playground. Today I ran 11.3 miles. I just "mapped my run" on google maps (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1815070). It took me about 1: 32 minutes--an 8:08 avg. I felt really good for the last 4 miles or so--I'm pretty certain I ran negative splits.

For the team's practice, we did a 1 lap warm-up and then stretched. Then I had them do two 200's and really concentrate on leaning forward and running on their toes. Some of the runners' stances are flat-footed and very upright, which is holding them back some in their sprints. Then they ran a 400. We worked on jumping and throwing for a while at the end. I only had 4 athletes out there today. I sometimes feel like the fact that participation in this was free makes coming to practice not as high on people's priority list as I'd hope it would be. I know when I have paid for my kids to be in something, I do whatever I can for them not to miss so I don't feel like my money has been wasted. Oh well...those who were there had a great workout. And they seemed much more comfortable with the heavy shot-put than I've seen them yet. AND...drumroll....Brandt actually did the whole practice!! He participated better than ever! The main reason I started this team was for my own children to have this opportunity (which Eric continuously reminds me when I have negative thoughts), so if no one else comes at all, at least my own children are getting out and running, jumping, and throwing.
This pic is a candid one of the boys relaxing tonight watching some Magic Schoolbus. We loved how Brandt scootched up next to Eli on the couch.

tempo tale

I've been better lately about getting to bed early, but waking up before 6 is still a challenge. Napping just doesn't happen for me these days, so I just have to count on my body adjusting. Yesterday morning I rode on the stationary bike for 40 minutes. I had a field trip with Eli, so I knew I needed to workout early, but easy since I'd be on my feet watching kids all day. I was worn-out last night. This morning I woke up to work out, but did NOT feel like it. Somehow I managed to do the workout, a doosey of a tempo run on the treadmill. I did 6 miles total--a 1.5 mile warmup run, 4 miles at a 7:12 pace (8.3 mph), and then a 1/2 mile cool-down. I watched the movie Sahara, a somewhat mindless, but action-filled Matthew McConaughey flick, which helped me during the tempo portion of the run.

For the kids' workout today, after warmups and stretching, which I had one of the kids lead, we did some relay work. I tried to teach them how to do a running baton hand-off. It was much harder to teach than I expected. The older ones started to do it pretty well by the end, but I gave up for the day with it with the younger kids. They did get it right a time or two, so I know they are capable of it, but I'm not going to push it with them anymore. They don't need to be able to do it for competition. After relays, we did some jumping practice. The spring weather doesn't seem to be invigorating the kids like I thought it would. I may need to bring some popsicles to practice on Saturday as an incentive.

Some great news, though: We get to host a meet! I am excited, and I hope it is successful. I think we may be skipping the next couple of meets we were going to, which will help me have time to work on planning the home meet.

No Pain, No Gain

My team is learning first-hand about the principle that titles this post. They are moving to the next level in their fitness, but, like most good things we achieve, something must be sacrificed. In this case, it is their comfort. Many of them were very tight and sore from the meets this weekend. One parent said something about how eventually they wouldn't get sore anymore. I said they may not get AS sore, but hopefully they will get a little sore many more times. In my experience with running, soreness is necessary to progression. No pain, no gain.

For our workout today, after a 1 lap warm-up and stretching, I had the older kids (who ran the 400 and 800 on Saturday) do 12 minutes of slow intervals (1 minute jogging, 30 seconds walking, repeated). I did some of the same with the younger kids. Then they did some bounding, high-knees, and bum-kicks.

At the end of practice, I presented each child who got a personal record at the meet with a P.R. Bar. This was a candy bar with a sticker on it that had their names and their new time records. I tried to convey to them that personal achievement is more worthwhile than the place they finish in a competition. I don't know how much sunk in, but it won't be the last time they here this message from me.

For my workout, I ran approx. 7 miles at an easy pace through the trails in the sports complex and down to the library and back. It took just under an hour.

Developmental Meet #1

Saturday was a full day. I got my run in. It was perfect weather and I ran for 1hr 26minutes. I didn't measure, but it was around 10 miles. As soon as I got showered and ready, we headed off for the track meet.
This was our first meet to attend put on by Alabama Striders. Striders is a youth running program founded by Dewitt Thomas, a true veteran track coach. He has coached several nationally and internationally competitive athletes, including Olympian Vonetta Flowers, the first African American Woman to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics.
The meet took place at Woodlawn High School, a beautiful, old building in the city, with a less-than-beautiful, old track. It was sufficient for our needs, though. That's the beauty of the sport of track and field--all you need is a stopwatch and a measuring tape.
The Striders team was made up mostly of inner-city kids. They were very talented, seasoned, good sports, and STIFF competition for our team. My kids didn't place first at this meet as much as at the meet we had on Thursday in Hoover, but they all improved. Only one didn't get a personal record, and that is just because she tied her best time in one event, and ran 2 other events for the first time. They all got to do the long jump and shot-put as well (and fared very well).
Coach Thomas and his staff were all super nice and encouraging to me and our team. Our kids all left with many ribbons and trophies--and I think felt very good about the day.
I don't want every meet we have to be with the level of competition we experienced on Saturday; it was good in that it gave the kids a chance to improve; the downside was not winning. Thursday's meet may not have produced the several-second P.R.'s that this one did, but it helped build confidence. As the kids get older, their times will mean more and more to them. But for now, they measure their success largely on whether they cross the finish line first or not.
As a side note, we all got sunburned. We put sunscreen on the kids, but it needed to be reapplied, I guess, because they are toasted. My neck and the back of my arms are the worst. I always feel so irresponsible when me or any of my kids get sunburned. It was cloudy and cool when we got there, but it turned warmer and was very windy. Oh, well, live and learn....

First Meet!!!

I made it through our first meet, and I'm exhausted. I'm sure the kids are, too. They all did great. The little ones stayed in their lanes better than ever. The older ones ran faster than I've ever seen them run at practice. I just recorded their times and most had PR's across the board! And they seemed to have a really great time. A few of them even won their races (some girls even won against boys!!). I love this picture; the kids all look so happy while they'rerunning.

I ran 48 minutes this morning, but I think I'll take tomorrow off entirely. On my training schedule I'm supposed to do 10 miles on Saturday, and I think I'll need to rest up. Asher is at a very clingy stage, so for the last half of the meet I was lugging him on my hip, which added to my exhaustion. Usually my mom is there, and he loves her, but she couldn't be there. Everyone was VERY helpful, but I was still worn out at the end. The meet on Saturday is a bigger one, so I'm sure I'll be ready to crash Saturday night. Thank goodness Eric will be there to help with the kiddos. Right now Asher prefers Eric to me when he's around. Otherwise I'm #1.

mile intervals

As I mentioned in a previous post, I downloaded a workout schedule for myself from runnersworld.com. I'm going to try to run in a 10 mile trail race at the end of May. I did the race last year and got 2nd place, but I think I would have gotten 3rd place except about 30 runners got lost (including the lead girl). So, I decided I needed a good plan to make sure I'm ready. I'd love to place again. Last year they gave out cool prizes. I won this sweet Outdoor Research jacket that is my go-to staple for wet runs.
I'm pretty much following the schedule they gave other than one easy day each week that I'm going to bike instead of run.
Yesterday I biked for 50 minutes. I went about 16 miles (well, according to the little computer on the stationary console; I really didn't go anywhere).
Today was my speed-work day. I was pretty nervous about being able to do it because it was mile intervals, which I haven't done since high school. I was supposed to do a couple mile warm-up, followed by three 1-mile intervals, each at a 6:44 pace. I don't have a nifty gps watch to tell me my pace as I go (though I want one-hint, hint, cough, anniversary, cough, ERIC...), so I did the workout on the treadmill. A 6:44 pace translates to 8.9 mph, which I figured out before bed so I wouldn't have to do any calculating before 6 am.
WELL.....I did it!! I was drenched in sweat, and I didn't jog an 800 between intervals (like the schedule said to; I walked 3-4 minutes instead ), but I completed the important part of the workout!! After my slow time at the race Saturday, this helped re-build my confidence in my speed capabilities.

Spring! (in our steps)

I love this time of year. I love the green, the flowers, the beginning of longer days and warmer weather. Here it doesn't last long enough. I downloaded a new workout schedule for myself and pitied myself as I looked toward the bottom of the schedule (just a few short weeks ahead) and thought about how hot it would already be by then. Oh well, carpe diem, right? I seized today, anyway. I got up at 5:45 and got a 6 mile run in on the trails. It felt great! Then I did some push-ups and wall-sits as I was cleaning and taking care of the kids in the early morning. I also got dinner made for two families, ate lunch with Eli, and got a big grocery shopping trip done. Hopefully I'll sleep well tonight and get up early again tomorrow! (Incidentally, I put on my Wonder Woman shirt today--it's cute and comfy, but I only allow myself to wear it on days I feel "worthy" to :))

For the team's workout, I started by having them run around the mall field from the playground to Chalkville Rd. Then, I thought I would use the big field for some intervals by using the fairly evenly spaced lightposts and trees as interval markers. I thought it would be good to get the kids away from the distraction of the playground. I was wrong. The younger kids got too distracted by the bigness of the field. They found some little wire flags and started wandering off to play. Eli's legs broke out in a rash and started to itch him badly from the grass, which was a little long. SOOO, we moved back to our normal spot by the playground, and the rest of practice went great. We did several rounds of foxes and hounds and a couple of relay races.The kids are doing alot better with cheering each other on. We also did several standing "explosion jumps," in which you jump as high as you can from a deep-knee squat. My goal in today's workout was to get the kids' muscles and tendons springy, loose, and fast for the meets this week.

Race + Pyramid workout

This week I've been pretty sick with bronchitis (again). I got feeling better yesterday and decided to try to run in the Casey's Cause 5k today. I had wanted to run in it, but after I got sick had pretty much ruled it out. I probably should have stuck with that decision, but desire won over sense. The race started right by the track, and I run alot of the course on my Saturday morning runs anyway, AND it was for a great cause (www.caseyscause.org). I paid my fee and started warming up and felt pretty good. About 10 minutes later, though, I started getting really light-headed. I really wanted to go lie down somewhere, but the race was about to start. I started mentally preparing myself and tried to focus on the race. Well, I ran--not very fast, but I did it. My time was 23:30. Far from my best, but good enough to be the first female, which surprised me. I averaged a 7:33 pace (see http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/pacecalculator )
I just added this insanely flattering picture of me that a photographer sent from the race finish. He's putting it in some running publication. Lovely.
For the team this morning, I had them do a pyramid workout. They did a 1-lap warmup (which I'm going to start having them do every time to add to building their endurance), and then we stretched. Then they raced a 100, 200, 400, 200, and a 100. It wore them out. Then we walked over to practice shot-put with our new REAL 6 lb. shot. The kids really did well. I am really glad I decided to get the real shot. It was a much different deal for a 40 or 50 lb. kid to heave 6 lbs rather than 1 lb. Having Matt there was a HUGE help. He is much more experienced and could give them technique advice I couldn't . He also helped with organization and "crowd control" throughout the workout.
This week we have a "scrimmage" meet on Thursday and a real meet on Saturday. It will be fun to see how they all do!

hard working kiddies

Today the team worked hard. I could really tell they are getting in better running shape, because in between parts of the workout, some of them would jog rather than walk. After a warmup and stretching, they did two laps, running the straights and jogging or walking the curves. Many of them jogged more than one curve. I think Walker, who is 5, only walked about 50 yards of the whole thing. He was the first one done.
Then we did a 50 yard relay game. They practiced handing off and got their legs going fast.
After that, we did about a 200 yard game of foxes and hounds. I was really proud of little Eli. He was a fox, and only the two 11 year olds passed him--and not till the very end. He was the first fox to finish.
Our final run was a 150 yard run on the curve in lanes. The kids were to practice running in their lanes and really stretching out their strides. They all did well and collapsed on the track at the finish.
I let them each do a practice jump or two into the sand pit, then we called it a day.