Friday, August 31, 2012

August's Top Ten.....Or Thirteen

Yikes, where did August go?  My last post was 3 weeks ago?   Guess that means it's time to sum up the month with a few highlights in runwithjill's world:

1. The month started with an amazing day at the Tri for the Cure (which, coincidentally, was my last post HERE :)), my first since before most of you were even born.  It was fun and I enjoyed it for the most part but it opened my eyes to just HOW slow I can run these days.  Unlike!

2. Cross Country kicked off with a little high altitude training camp in Grand Lake.  My son, Ryan, and the rest of the CC crew had a fantastic time running the trails up there 2x/day for 5 days.  This camp is amazing and does wonders for these kids; it is going to make them race faster (we are so blessed to not just live a gorgeous state, but at altitude too) as race season kicks off with the pre-state meet in Colorado Springs today where they'll face 170 other schools, which equates to about 6000 runners.  It is insane.  But oh so fun.  If you've never been to a cross country meet - especially one as large as this - you really should find your local high school or college and experience one.  I promise you, it will move you!

Ryan running the trails near Grand Lake
3. I am in baby heaven!!   Once fellow blogger *ahem* Tara had her baby a couple weeks ago and he is the sweetest baby ever.  I could hold him all day (except between the hours of 1-5am :)). I visit as often as they let me....not that I'm a stalker or anything.
I'm pretty sure he recognizes my voice as the one who complains
constantly about the ice cold water at the pool!
4. I ran a half marathon, which, in keeping in line with sub-par races for 2012, was miserable.  But I got a cool medal....
It's a little mini mining pan; the race was in Idaho Springs, which is an old mining town.  Pretty cool!
5.  ...but Ryan ran fantastically and had a 10-minute PR over last year's race with a 1:29.

6.  For awhile, we all thought he got 3rd in his age group .... until we realized that I registered him as a ... um... female!  Opps.  Had to QUICKLY change that as they were just starting to do awards when we realized this little glip and didn't have time to change his wardrobe into something a little more feminine.  He did end up 6th out of something like 95, though.  Not too shabby....but dang, he should have been a girl!


7. *waving my hand high in the air* Marching Band Board President right here, people!!  I was a runner and swimmer in high school, I know nothing about band.  But huge amounts of guilt were weighing in on how much time I spend with the cross country kiddos and my running son; yet zippo with the band child.  So why not sign up for the top of the ladder position?!  I'm sure this doesn't surprise most (sort of like running a marathon with minimal training *see below*). I marched with the kids one day for mega hours in a band parade....I counted this as my LONG run!

Arrow points to the band child
8. I got to spend a couple incredibly fun days with blogger Ewa, when she came to visit my awesome state for a few weeks.  She stayed with me for a night, without even having previously met her, but I felt we were just meant to be great friends.  We had some fun conversations as we hit the trails at Lair O' the Bear one afternoon.



And then a quick peek into our state's past at Dinosaur Ridge.  Just a warning, if you come to visit me in Colorado, you'll have to have endure a little adventure to Dinosaur Ridge on our way to or from whatever else we may be doing. I LOVE the geology here and one day I'm just going to have to be a volunteer! :)

Dinosaur prints = awesome!

Showing Ewa the ancient ocean ripple marks.
Apparently, your skin will turn the same color as your jacket and shirt
if you wear too much of that color!
9. One day last week, I announced to anyone who would listen that I was bagging Chicago Marathon; my long run training has been pretty much non-existent and my 8-week old inner ankle sprain is giving me some grief, as well as the bottoms of both feet (arghhhh!).  The evening of the day I told the world I wasn't running Chicago, I bought a plane ticket to ... Chicago.  Guess my ill-trained, achy ankle and feet will be shuffling through 26.2 agonyzing miles.  Woohoo!  I wonder if I can be last in a sea of 40,000 runners.  I should make it a goal!

10. I'm now one proud (proud??) owner of a wetsuit (thank you half price sale at Runner's Roost!).  Looks like I got some cold water swimming to do.

11. In feeble attempt to rid my bod of some mid-age fluff, Les Mills and I are becoming pretty intimate.  Unfortunately, his Body Pump class is leaving my glutes so incredibly sore the next day, I'm having a really hard time running.  I'm bound and determined to stick with it though, it's not like my feet are that happy running anyway.
12. My daughter and I did a "fun run" together last weekend called the Retro Run.  Everyone (and I mean all 800 of us!) was dressed up in brightly colored 80s attire; we laughed so hard at some of the crazy concoctions put together and were entertained by a few members from "KISS" around mile 2 to the end. Fun runs apparently are not time, do not provide water along the course (in 90 degree heat), do not provide water at the end and do not provide any sort of post fun-run food.  The 80s band at the end was really good, though....not that I'm old enough to remember any of those songs or anything.

No water, but they had a race photographer.  What????
Random participants

Ran into Katie from Will Race for Carbs - she was totally into the whole retro thing,  right down to the earrings!
13.
Month's Totals:
Run: 167.35 miles (this is pretty low for supposedly a high marathon training month for me.  Thus, explains my ill-preparedness.  Again!  It's okay...onward and upward)
Bike: 187.5 miles (low, but I'm not too worried since I'm not training for anything on the bike)
Swim: 4.37 miles (considering I did zero miles for two weeks post triathlon, I'm okay with this)
Weights: 6:45 (you'd think I'd be all body builder-esque by now.  Not so much.  Not even noticeable.  Whatever.  It's got to be doing someting in there somewhere, right?).
Races: 2. 
1) Tri for the Cure
2) Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon

Bring on September (and if September could bring on some less painful feet and ankle, that'd be very much appreciated!!!!).

Until next time....

51 comments:

Tara said...

I know...I know.....I shall blog again! Once my little man stops having me in the poop, feed, pee, poop, feed, pee cycle. You are welcome to come over anytime, we love our Aunt Jill!

I love that pic of Ryan, beautiful trail.

You bought a wetsuit?!?! Yeeehah! Now, if I could just get my fat butt to fit into my wetsuit, we could go practice our cold water swimming.

Marching Bank President....bwhahahah! I love it. ;)

xoxo

Denae said...

It sounds like you've had a great August! That is awesome that you help out with CC and the band!I Love Body Pump :)

Matthew Smith said...

You're going to be fin in Chicago. I'm glad you're going to do it. I think those numbers are pretty good for the month. That many running plus all those biking miles? Nice work!

Katie said...

high fives, I'm a band geek at heart!!

Rachelle Q said...

Wow what a great month! I am very impressed:) I will have to take my kids to a cross country meet. My youngest is a budding runner and I think he would love it! Thanks for the idea:) hoping September is as exciting!

misszippy said...

You packed a ton into your month! Good mama for doing the band mom thing. And wow is your running boy getting fast--very impressive. A meet with 6,000 runners is mind boggling!

I hope you get some foot relief and that Chicago is fun for you, no matter what.

Karen said...

I'm blown away by the totals you posted at the end of the month! 167 is a great month for me and I don't bike or swim on top of those miles!

GZ said...

My daughter is at the prestate meet today too. And freaking out about it. Hope our paths cross then where we get to yell for other people running.

FUN AUGUST!

Kate Geisen said...

That trail is gorgeous, the dinosaur park sounds super cool, and I really wish I could hit up Chicago and meet you in person.

My August was awfully quiet, too. I need to register for more stuff so I have more to blog about!

Raina said...

The retro run looks fun!! I would like that one. :)

I need to go to your son's CC camp. It sounds AWESOME. Altitude + doubles. Talk about an insane combination. That will be some good prep :)

Have fun in Chicago!

ShutUpandRun said...

Girl, you have been busy. I never said congrats on your Tri, but I was thinking it. Congrats!! And, GTIS has medals now??? Fancy!! I'll see you at the Denver half, right?

Robin said...

Love that retro run! Great idea... Funny about registering your son as a girl, that made me laugh! Good luck in Chicago, I'm sure you'll have a blast regardless of how fast you can run!

Julie said...

I just have too much to say about this post!! ;)

Oh that baby is CUTE! Even if I can't see his face here. :)

Understand the guilt on spending more time with one son than the other..But ...board band PRESIDENT! :)

Born and raised in Denver and I've never been to Dinosaur Ridge...when can we go?

Go to Chicago and have fun! Don't be so hard on yourself.

Yea for the wetsuit! Did you have fun trying it on? Oh and I suggest you not complain about the cold pool water any more...that's nothing. ;)

Love the Retro run pics! How fun you ran into Katie! I love the pictures!

Doesn't look like a bad month numbers wise to me...I'm much embarassed by mine.

Lunch SOON!

Sheryll said...

What an action packed month, you must live in the best place for trail running - although the Lair of the Bear terrifies me a bit!!
Hope your feet behave by the time you get to Chicago!

Average Woman Runner said...

Great month! I love #9, you bailed then unbailed. I think that's something I would do. If only we had a retro run here! Looks like a hoot.

BabyWeightMyFatAss said...

Not laughing about being last at Chicago. It's easy to do. I know I did it! Well last female in 2010. At first I was last for awhile then some older guys got in after me.

I'm not feeling Chicago either and long run/walk? Yeah well we'll talk about it next week I think.

And would love to meet you in Chicago!

funderson said...

LOVE the retro pics!

ajh said...

I wish I could hold Tara's baby! Ohhhh.

Your low mileage is pretty impressive! You are very demanding of yourself. You are awesome, give yourself credit!

Looks like a lot of fun with Ewa.

Ransick said...

Too funny you registered Ryan as a girl! It probably wasn't too funny at the time but you two will get a lot of future chuckles about that one :-).

Congrats on the wetsuit! Do you have a lake handy you can swim in?

Marching band president sounds so official! I played French Horn in marching band in high school. Yep, pretty geeky and unathletic.

167 miles in a month is impressive to me. I don't think I've run more than 100 and usually less than 50 which probably explains why I'm so slow.....

Char said...

You're right about your medal - that's got to be the best one I've ever seen. And I love the idea of racing in 80s retro - after all that was my era. I wonder if I could find any of the fluoro g-string leotards we used to wear to the gym. I wonder how much my butt has sagged since then and whether the g-string part might be swallowed, never to be found again.
And yay for your band geek!! My youngest was in band too and it was amazing - especially since his brothers were so sporting.

Anonymous said...

Dead ass last in Chicago? I dare you!

Jimmy said...

Anything 80's = thumbs up from me!I haven't seen too many themed runs in my area except during Halloween...
Your trail run pics are incredible.

Christi said...

Hi Jill! Great month! Miss ya!

Black Knight said...

A great month of sport ... and life.
Beautiful recap with many photos.
The wetsuit..... I was going to buy one but .... the incident was faster!

Petraruns said...

Jillie you PACKED it in this month! Wow - what a lot of stuff you did! Love the photos and can't wait for you to show me dinosaur ridge one day :).

Those photos from that retro run make me feel old - those kids who work hard to look the part - we WERE the part OH those years ago...

XLMIC said...

HAHAHAHAAH! love the retro pics!

Wishing you the best with training and running in Chicago :)

Terzah said...

Hey! I'm late to the commenting party as usual (this time I blame my dad for arriving on Friday to visit me!). I love the 80s run photos--Katie looks scarily accurate as far as the "style" of the era. And you've got me thinking I need to take the 5-YOs to Dinosaur Ridge--haven't done that yet.

BTW, does it seem like there are more "no school" weekdays now than there used to be? Now that I'm getting in the groove of this elementary school thing I'm seeing that.

GOOD LUCK in Chicago! I knew you'd do it. :^)

Lindsay said...

our hard-headedness binds us together in our friendship jill ;)

the 80s run looks like a blast! and i think band son would like to be represented on the blog more often.

xc meets are so inspiring. i always want to go run super fast and super long after i go to one. of course, i do not have either of those abilities though.

Glenn Jones said...

Much can happen in 3 weeks Jill. Congrats to your son!

Liz said...

Wow - busy month! I love the 80s fun run, that looks like a great time, (although ridiculous that they didn't even provide water...). Well done to your son on his fantastic Half time, and good luck with that marathon training...!

Johann said...

Awesome month Jill, no wonder it flew by! Babies are so nice when they belong to someone else... I'm still a bit down thinking of PP. I'm so glad you could spend time with Ewa, fantastic! I'm really curious about the word "glip" you used. That is Afrikaans for letting something slip or drop. I loved seeing the word here :)

Kandi said...

Sounds like you had a nice month. Your son is fast and that cross country camp sounds so fun!! We never did anything like that. Band camp, sure, but not xc camp.
I have never done a xc race with 6000 people! I'm not sure there are even that many xc runners in my state.
Good luck as band president. I'm sure you'll be fine. :)

Lisa said...

Sounds like a great month! I definitely need to take my 9 year old to the Dinosaur place. He would love that! We were in Colorado Springs this weekend and he wanted to do the cave dwellers and the dinosaurs, rather than zip lines etc. He is my little science nerd.

Tricia said...

6. I almost just booked a flight at Christmas for my son as a female. Caught it right before I pushed 'buy' and then thought of all the potential trouble I might have caused if I'd not caught it.

7. Cool on the whole band mom thing -- bet that will be fun.

11. I'm thinking on trying a body pump class but haven't gotten around to it.

13. I still am impressed by your low mileage. And send sympathy on the feet -- I'm starting to wonder if feet aren't a bit overrated! There must be a better way. ;)

Teamarcia said...

how do you sneak these posts in and it takes me a friggin week to see them??
SO much going on girl! SO glad you pulled Chicago out of the bag. We'll have fun! I promise!
Holy wow 1:29. Ryan is smoking fast. I'm pretty sure I haven't yet run or biked as much as you did in August in my life. Couple more weeks and I'll be over for 'altitude training'! Haha can't wait!

Jen Feeny said...

You've been a busy bee!!!

Love the baby! He is so sweet!

Too funny about mis-gendering your son! LOL!

And those 80's outfits are great!

Also, it doesn't surprise me you "bagged" CM but then bought tickets anyway. :) Good luck!

Marlene said...

Sounds like a pretty awesome month - painful race and all. How fun is that retro event! Loving the outfits.

Big congrats to Ryan on the awesome half. And congrats to you too - a half marathon is a half marathon!

Very cool on cross-country camp. I wish I did stuff like that back in the day...

Can't wait to meet you in CHICAGO!

Sweat Is My Sanity said...

Sounds like you're staying busy and active. Now I want to hold a new baby!!! Good luck on the Chicago...you'll do great. My friend teaches Body Pump classes, I need to give them a try. Jessica

sweatismysanity.com

Adrienne Langelier, MA said...

Wishing you a super September! Wow, you covered some ground last month! I am a bit jealous ;)

Nice wetsuit, by the way! We don't really need those in TX!

Katie @ Will Race for Carbs said...

I need to meet you at Dino Ridge sometime. My kiddos love it and I can kinda fake my way through the geology but it would be so nice to have an expert there!! Then we can ride up the mountain to get in some HIM training :)

I had too much fun getting dressed up for that 80's run...still not over the no water stations!!! The one time I forget my water too!!

Good luck in Chicago! I have great faith in you!!!

2 Slow 4 Boston said...

I think I know why it took you three weeks to post... It took you that long to type all that up. You had one busy month. Me, all I had was some rehabbing.

I was a band geek in HS. I guess that means I can relate to all your kids. Props for being their President.

Suz and Allan said...

Quite a busy month! I have no idea how you were able to fit in all that exercise on top of all that you had going on.

On the Right Track said...

Have i told you lately that I love you?? No really...I do!! your posts always cheer me up and keep me going!!

have fun in Chicago.who cares if your last...but we all know you won't be ;)

Paul said...

Bizzy month!
Enjoy Chicago... hope u have cool temps :-)

Caratunk Girl said...

Hey stranger!

Busy month for you...that hike with Ewa looks awesome

mighty termitey said...

gurl.... how'd ya fit all that in only a month? damn.
** the body pump class rocks!

nice going, chica! xo

Tim said...

Not sure I've ever run 167 miles in a month. Well done.

Bookmaker Casino said...

I looks amazing Grand Lake. Like a great place to go. but I think that I can't endure the whole trip for all those days.

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