Ain't Nobody Got Time for That.

"I don't have time to work out."

If you run, cycle, P90X, or do any other fitness routine odds are good that someone has played that card on you. I hear it too often. In full disclosure, the Krista from the past is even guilty of using it in defense of her laziness. Every time I hear it I struggle with how to respond.

Sure you do. Do you mean to tell me that your hands are tied from the moment you wake up until you lay your head back onto your pillow? I avoid this route because it's based on assumption. Maybe my friends are occupied all day. They wake up with just the right amount of time to do all of the requisite tooth-brushing, breakfast eating, peeing and pooping, driving to work, being productive, eating lunch, driving home, cooking dinner, eating dinner, showering (unless the commute was slow and ate that time slot--sacrifices, man), and getting back into bed to start all over. How should I expect them to have time for fitness when they don't even have time for wiping their butts?

Oh, are you suggesting that I spend my days doing unimportant work and sitting in front of the television, just waiting for time to pass? It's kind of true. I mean, I have a job that allows me to show up whenever I want and slip out the door whenever I've had enough for the day. Because my life is so flexible that sometimes I wake up at like, 8:00AM and go for a leisurely hour run, then I shower, get dressed, and sip on some Chai while watching Kathy and Hoda until I feel like driving to work. If I don't get that run in the morning, I just leave work at a time that will allow me to run before the sun goes down. Afterwards I shower, slip into some pajamas, and watch Dancing with the Stars because hey, I've got nothing better to do.

I used to say that, then I decided that my health and fitness level are really important to me. Do you brush your teeth every day? Wash your hands after going to the potty? Eat a couple of meals? Yes? Yes? Yes? So do I, and all of that stuff is just important for me as running is. I make time for doing all of those routine things. Running is part of the routine.

I'm confident that it's true about most adults: We've got a lot of stuff on our plates. We wake up early, we work hard, and we are tired at least some of the time. For a lot of people I think it's as easy as this:

1.) Prioritize fitness. Just like you don't want your teeth to rot, the rest of your body shouldn't either.

2.) Wake up a little earlier. The energy gained from exercise trumps that lost by a shorter night's sleep.

3.) Make sacrifices. You can watch Dancing with the Stars later on Hulu.

How do you make time to work out? Where does it fit into your routine? What are other excuses you've heard to not exercise?

Good Weekend, Bad Weekend

Some really awesome stuff happened this weekend.

Friday:

Beer and euchre to celebrate a friend's accomplishment.

Satuday:

8.5-mile run.

Tasty mediterranian lunch.

Stumbled upon a wine tasting while visiting the new Kroger in Maumee.

Super fun oil change and car wash.

Bought a brand-spanking-new road bike and helmet at an awesome price.

Enjoyed cocktails and dinner at Registry Bistro finally.

Sunday:

Ran a solid 7 miles.

Failed attempt number four at trivia finals. Damn you, Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Survived the severe storm of the freakin' year.

Lay awake in bed all night fearing that trees would fall onto our house.

And now it's Monday. We've been without electricity since 5:35ish yesterday evening. Nearly 15 hours without power and counting. I took a personal day due to the lack of sleep. P-burg schools are closed, most businesses in our commerce-dense area remain closed, our house is cold, I can't open the fridge, and we may never see the lid to our hose box ever again.

I tried to juice up my phone last night via the laptop, but the power on that source drained before I could get a decent charge. I hung out in my car a little bit earlier this morning to plug it in and listen to the radio--neither of the two we have inside work even with new batteries. What? I came to Starbucks for heat, caffeine, and an internet connection to check on the status of this dang power outage. Ohio Edison is apparently only capable of letting me know that my power is out. Thanks because I wasn't sure.

Here's hoping for a day on the up-and-up. Also, maybe a nap.

OK, I'm a Runner. I'm Not Over It.

Just one day ago the Wall Street Journal published an editorial from some guy who is really annoyed. He doesn't like it that runners slap magnets onto the backs of their cars and share their accomplishments on social media. Running stores and reflective apparel seem to perplex him. We are a self-absorbed bunch and he's sick of us talking about ourselves.

In one day's time two rebuttal editorials have appeared; one pokes fun at the dude's anger and the other defends us; albeit with a snarky tone. I appreciate the original writer's bitterness, but of course I don't see eye-to-eye with him. Also, I've committed all of the offenses that he loathes.

When I started running I had Endomondo set up to automatically post my workouts to Facebook. After my first half marathon I drove straight to the local running shop to buy a 13.1 magnet and then 26.2 the afternoon after my first marathon. I wear technical tees, shorts, tights, compression sleeves, and hats that reflect headlights with a blinding glow. I really like to talk about how I ran in any given race.

The only point the guy made that I understand as at least slightly annoying is social media brags. When I first took up running I had Endomondo set up to automatically post my workouts onto Facebook. When I ditched the app for a Garmin so ended sharing stats from every run. Still, I occasionally posted about how good it felt to run 8 miles before most people were awake or finally running 5 miles in under 40 minutes. When I run marathons my splits post to Facebook. Just a couple of days ago I asked the world of Twitter for input on my next 26.2-mile race.

Do I want people to notice? Yes! But not for a pat on the back--although anyone who runs farther in one day than many people drive deserves it if not a beer or two. I do it because I want someone else to want to experience what I do when I run. I started running because I had friends posting that same kind of stuff to Facebook; they encouraged me to switch from thinking "It would be nice if I could do that" to "It's time to start doing that."

Running is awesome. People who run are awesome. When I pass a car with 13.1 or 26.2 on the back I immediately have more respect for the driver, even if he's driving like an idiot. I like it when I spot real running shoes and race shirts. Keep it up, runners. It's nice to inspire people.

It's cold--FINALLY!

It's about midway into November in northwest Ohio. The only consistency of seasons in Ohio is that the weather patterns are eratic. I ran the Fall Classic half about this time two years ago in a tech tee. I sweated my balls off. A few weeks ago snow flakes fell onto my windshield as I drove home from school. I ran the Churchill's half two days ago in shorts.

Tomorrow morning I'll be up shortly before 5:00AM to run five miles. Here's the forecast:

Twenty-five degrees. Fifteen with the wind chill. While many of my friends are already bundling up and loathing the thought of walking from the car into work tomorrow morning, I can't wait. This might be my favorite time of the year to run. Crisp, cold air, less sweating, and the most fun running gear.

Precipitation proof hats, ear warmer headbands, mittens, vests and jackets, Yak Trax... did I mention mittens? I love mittens.

I clearly have a thing for Nike Running stuff. Seriously, Nike makes some good shit. That grey jacket there--I've had that since Winter 2011. It's crazy thin, but it keeps me warm, nay, hot even when temperatures hover at or below zero and that's with a tank or tech tee underneath. I'm only thinking about getting a new one because I want another color.

I have goals for this winter. This blast of cold air is making me want to throw myself earlier than planned into a routine more serious than those of the past two winters. Also, I hope that it snows a lot; I only got to wear my Yak Trax once or twice last year. I get excited for Yak Trax-worthy mornings.

What's your favorite season for running? Any must-have cold weather gear suggestions? How often do you replace pricier items like jackets?

46.5th Churchill's Half Marathon

Yesterday Joe and I ran Churchill's Half Marathon, version 46.5. Churchill's boasts being the second oldest race in Ohio and is sponsored by my favorite grocer, Walt Churchill. I ran the Churchill's Half in March 2012 while training for the Glass City Marathon. For some reason I didn't run it this past spring, then when the directors switched it up to a fall race Joe and I were on board.

Rob was going to run with us but at the last minute he had to pull out due to a death in his family. We didn't do any real training for this race, but we did just run the Chicago Marathon less than a month prior so we weren't concerned. I mentioned in a previous post that it's awesome that I can now just sign up for a distance race without really preparing myself for it. On race morning we both agreed that it wouldn't be a PR morning; instead we were just going out to run our town and score a nice shirt and medal.

This is a good shirt.

The route was a point-to-point--my first run on such a course. At about 7:30AM we headed out the door to drive up to Fallen Timbers in Maumee. During the ride up there I realized that I had forgotten to apply Body Glide to my toes and deodorant to my pits. Joe offered to turn around and go back home so that I could do those things, but I opted to just go natural.

We parked at Fallen Timbers in Maumee, boarded a yellow Perrysburg school bus, road back down to Perrysburg High School, hung out in their fancy-schmancy cafeteria for about an hour to keep warm (my Garmin tells me that it was 41 degrees with wind at 15 miles per hour--more on that later), then walked outside and to the start shortly before 9:00AM.

Walt Churchill himself fired the shot to signal the start and we were off. Joe and I went out a lot fast than I think either of us had planned. He said that he felt fine, but I wanted to back off early. Admittedly, I am fairly certain that any time I say that I want to back off I end up going faster. Joe and I maintained a pace that was a little too fast to start for about three miles. I totally dug on the route because it took us through our town. It's almost like I felt a home field advantage in a weird way.

No roads were officially closed but cops were holding traffic at intersections. On a Sunday morning on the outskirts of Perrysburg there aren't a whole lot of people out and about, but one lady waiting at an intersection in her soccer mom van was absolutely not having it. With her window down as Joe and I passed her she shrieked that "You can't just close the road without telling anyone!" Those of us who heard her laughed, exchanged comments about motorists being angry about runners, and then seconds later she was flying past us. She thought that she could outsmart the race by turning around, only to be held up again at the next intersection. She was trapped and it was awesome.

Mile 1: 8:02

2: 7:59

3: 7:52

So much for backing off. We encountered our first hill which was a big surprise. Hills? In northwest Ohio? We were running close to the mighty Maumee River for much of the race so I guess that's why it wasn't so flat. Another runner assured me that it would be the only hill for a while--I hadn't said anything, but he probably knew what was going through all of our heads. That's when I unfortunately lost Joe. I'm not particularly "good" at running, but I can handle hills. I hate them so much that my brain tells my legs to get me to the top of them as quickly as possible and that the shorter I'm on the hill, the sooner I'll feel relief. After that hill I found myself passing a lot of my competition. I figured that I'd eventually conk out and that they'd all pass me again, but I was going to milk the energy for as long as I could.

Mile 4: 8:08

5: 8:02

6: 8:20

We spent more than two miles on the same country road. The wind gusts were crazy annoying all up in our faces for a lot of that stretch. Mile 6 would be my second slowest of the entire race. I ate my 6 Gatorade strawberry chews hoping that there would be water soon so that I would wash them down. I can't remember exactly where the water was, but I'm pretty sure it was right before mile 8, which is also where we crossed the Maumee into Waterville. The Maumee River is a damn pretty river and it looked all majestic and shit. As I reveled in its beauty, I caught up to some guy who seemed lonely, pulled out his headphones, and started talking to me about running the Toronto Marathon three weeks prior. Although I was feeling okay--not good and not bad, I wasn't feeling talking to him. I peeled off from him after a few minutes of him talking about himself. The rest the race was hilly as a mofo, not just for northwest Ohio, but hilly by any standards. Absolutely the hilliest route I've ever run, be it racing or training.

Mile 7: 8:08

8: 7:53

9: 7:54

Just before mile 10 I could see a huge incline approaching. Race marshals stood at an intersection announcing that water was just at the top of the hill. The field of runners had thinned out; I'm pretty sure that the hills, which seemed to never have a descent after the peak, kicked some butts. I could see one of my former students running up ahead of me. I made it my goal to catch up with him, say "hi," offer some encouragement, and then hopefully hang with the kid and all of his kid energy. I managed to catch up to him, exchange a few words, and then I was somehow pulling ahead of him. Score for the old lady!

That water "just at the top of the hill" seemed really far away from the point at which that was announced. I drank a sip of water and kept on moving. I didn't know it, but the most hellish of hills to run at the end of a distance race was still ahead of me. When I got there somewhere in mile 11 I definitely slowed down. Some crazy dude flew past those of us struggling to make it to the top, screaming "SUCK THAT AMERICAN AIR!" He freaked me out and I was happy that he passed me. I got to the top to find a short stretch of flat ground followed by another incline to a bridge. After all, how else should I have expected we'd cross a major state route?

Mile 10: 7:48

11: 7:49

12: 8:27

That wind that I mentioned earlier? It was awful at about mile 12.5. We made a u-turn to head toward Fallen Timbers and immediately my eyes welled with tears. I still don't know if it was just a physiological effect of the wind hitting my eyeballs so hard or if I was actually crying, but it sucked, thus the approximately 30-second loss between miles 11 and 12. An older couple stood at the end of the wind tunnel shouting that the beer was waiting for me, then "Oh, you're not old enough for beer." Thanks, old people who think that this 29-year old looks like a kid! I was excited to be out of the wind's direct wrath and picked up the pace. The finish area had an awesome, dense, and boisterous crowd that extended probably 100 meters if not longer. About 50 meters from the finish mat a lady screamed at me that some guy was "right on [my] heels" so I kicked it into even higher gear.

Mile 13: 8:00

13.2: 1:23

Official time: 1:45:40

That's a 32-second PR and good for 3rd place in my age group!

So much for going out with no expectations.

Some lady handed me a bottle of water and Walt Churchill shook my hand then awarded me with my super cool medal.

You did a good job. Here, have some socks!

I planted myself in the crowd of spectators and cheered Joe into the finish. He didn't PR, but he finished with a solid time of 1:50 and some seconds. No worries--he still bears the title for fastest half marathon in our house because he destroyed the Glass City Owens Corning Half Marathon earlier this year. We went to the party tent, had a beer from the Black Swamp Brewing Company (it was a tasty red thing), I got my sad age group award (socks, really?), and then we drove home to clean up and have a celebratory, indulgent lunch at Social. a gastropub (I still don't like that name).

Apparently the Churchill's Half Marathon will now only take place in the fall. I'm kinda bummed because I like the "and-a-half" tacked onto the race number, but I absolutely look forward to running it again next year.

Do you prefer racing in your own hood or traveling to races? Ever run a distance race without training? Does a good run trump an underwhelming award?

Goodbye, junk food.

I have been eating too much junk. It's time to change that.

As busy as we got in the home stretch of grad school, Joe and I started a bad habit of turning to junk food: stuff like Taco Bell, wings and beer, and pizza became standard meals on the weekly. This happened in spite of the fact that we love cooking and have a lot of above-average quality tools in our kitchen.

After today, I'm done. A couple of weeks back I started to feel crappy. The stuff coming out of my body was abnormally smelly and irregular. TMI? Whatever, I didn't like it either. I figured that it would pass, but it still hasn't. Last night I had an awful headache that lingered into this morning along with some serious gastro-intestinal discomfort inclining me to stay home. It's got to be the shit I've been eating.

Last week we finally started meal-planning. That was inadvertent step one toward improving our diet. I'm still feeling like poo, though. On Sunday night I was grossed out by the stir fry I made and made a naughty trip to Burger King to appease my stomach. Last night I gave in an ordered some pulled pork at Max & Erma's. Oh, and a couple of beers. In two work days I drank three lattes. I have not been good to my insides.

It ends today. Beginning tomorrow morning I will:

1.) Start each weekday with a green smoothie. After all, we dropped a few Benjamins on a Blendtec back in August.

2.) Eat a PB&J and Greek yogurt for lunch at work. Joe makes the best PB&Js. I'm already disciplined in this respect but maybe once or twice per month I forget my lunch at home and end up making a run to Wendy's. It's so hard to order a salad sans dressing when they've got that awesome but terribly unhealthy spicy chicken Caesar salad.

3.) Come home for a snack of vegetables, chips and salsa/hummus, or nuts. No more ghetto nachos or Churchill's donuts. Goodbye, forkfull of melted sharp cheddar.

4.) Drink only one beer in a sitting. I really only have a weak spot for beer during trivia on Tuesday nights. Most often I opt for club soda in lieu of beer, but on those nights that I do drink beer, I end up having two of those tall mofos. I love you, beer, but you aren't good for me.

5.) Only eat when it is time to eat. This includes time for that post-work snack and a similar snack between dinner and bed.

Fortunately we've got a good foundation for all of this started because, aside from the cheese, we don't have anything in our house regularly that I classify as "junk food." Our fridge right now is filled with almond milk, a few beers, Greek yogurt, a block of parmesan, vegetables, soda (I've been fighting that battle for a few years), and hot sauces. Oh, and there is a pumpkin cheesecake in there that I baked earlier today, but I just made that to be a good wife and to keep me busy. Our dry food cabinet is mostly seasonings, grains, and snacks like Clif bars and nuts. A neighbor child actually once raided our kitchen and was whole-heartedly disappointed in our selection.

The problem I have is that it's all too convenient and normal for me to drive over to Starbucks or Chick-fil-a when I have a craving. The next time I get that urge, I'm going to do my best to mentally refer to this blog post.

No more junk.

What can you do to improve your diet? Is your fridge a shameful display of preservatives and hormone-ridden junk that is destroying you or an exhibit of fresh and organic nutrition for your body to love?

I guess I'll run a half...

I'm in! As of yesterday I'm registered for the 46.5th Churchill's Half Marathon. It's fun being able to just register for a half marathon on whim. Two years ago I would have been nervous. Three years ago I would have laughed at the thought of me running a half marathon. Now it's just another long, weekend fun-run.

I ran the Churchill's Half in 2012 during Glass City Marathon training. It was a mild spring day when my plan had me running 20 miles. Originally I was to run the half then a "cool-down" 7 miles. Then I changed my plan to run to the race start in Monclova, run the race, then run back home, which would have had me just over 20 miles. The night before I chickened out and changed everything; instead I ran 7 miles around Perrysburg then drove to the race location. Had I gone with my original plan I probably would have run significantly faster. I had no serious time goal for that race, though, so instead I ran it for fun with Alyssa and Rob.

I passed on running Churchill's 46th Half Marathon this past spring because the route, assuming it was the same as in 2012, was pretty boring. For reasons I believe to be somewhat political in nature revolving around rival running shops and race sponsors the race director(s) added a round 2 for 2013, thus the and-a-half added to the event number. Why am I running this 46.5th if I didn't want to run the boring route this past spring?

New route!: http://www.toledoroadrunners.org/churchills/2013ChurchillsCourseMap.pdf

Instead of running the windy out-and-back course in Monclova the 46.5th Churchill's Half Marathon takes us from Perrysburg High School northboud, westward, south, across the Mighty Maumee in Waterville, then back up north along the river all the way to Fallen Timbers. It'll be my first point-to-point race. The route should be a pretty one; I love Perrysburg and Maumee. Waterville: Meh, I can take it or leave it. It'll be fun to cross the river, though! The small joys in life...

What's my plan for half marathon number five? Not sure yet. I'm going to focus this week on running smart and see where that has me come Saturday morning. It's possible that Joe, Rob, and I will run this together. It's also possible that my pride will make me take it too seriously and tear off on my own. I'm in trouble if Joe chooses to do that--his half marathon PR is a solid minute faster than mine. I've got him in the 5K (as of now) and the full, but he owns the 8K and half marathon distances in races that we've run together. We'll see what happens...

The year is winding down, but the races keep coming! Are you running Churchill's this weekend? What's your race schedule for the rest of 2013?