Friday, December 26, 2008

2008 is Almost Done!



First of all, I have updated the run chart and the event calendar. Please let me know if I got it correct.

Secondly, please welcome Rachel! She will be joining our group! The group grows again!

Thirdly, make sure that you update your miles this weekend! Let us end this year with a bang!

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Finally, I would like to thank each and everyone of you for your support and inspiration in 2008. We did some amazing things as a group and as individuals. I don't think that I would have had the inspiration to attempt a marathon if it weren't for this group. It took two attempts but, you know what? Practice does make perfect and I learned a lot from Chicago that assisted me in succeeding in Las Vegas!

I find inspiration with this group all of the time. Meeting Petra, Maddy and Melisa in Chicago was a great experience. Watching and reading as people are setting up a meeting in Orlando for the upcoming Disney events brings back memories. PLEASE! Find the time to meet! It is so important to do so! I've read personal tributes to friends and fellow runners. Thanks, everyone! Thanks a lot!

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OK... Now that I've gotten all sappy and sentimental, you guys just get out there and exercise! Run! Walk!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Monday, December 22, 2008

Thoughts on the Disney Meet Up

After trying to meet up with David Peach and MarathonGirl this past week (Maddy couldn't make it) it can be pretty tricky to work out a meeting.

I also see that NYLisa comes in Sat morning.

Here are my preferences since I am Goofy bound and have a race on Sat and Sun.

Saturday morning we (hubby and I, MarathonGirl and Maddy) will be running the half marathon. Given the 6 am race start, delays to get to the start line and a plan to run this one easy (goal to run 2:45 - 3:00 hour race), I don't expect we will finish the half until around 9:30 - 10 am. Hubby and I want to seek out massage and maybe some ice at the finish line area before moving on to help put us back in shape for Sunday. In addition, we want to get home early enough to get to bed and ready for a second rising time of around 2:45 am.

So....my preference for a meet up would be around 11:30 or 12 for lunch for around an hour or so. Maybe downtown Disney or somewhere near there - 192 has lots of places.

What is everyone else's preference?

If this doesn't work for everyone else, don't let us hold you guys back. I just don't want to be in the Disney area after 2 pm-ish because we want to get home (45 min drive) and prep for an early morning start before the marathon.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Are You Ready For The Weekend?


- - - - - - - - - -

Question - Does everyone want to continue this in 2009?

Leave a comment!

- - - - - - - - - -

Some of you are running a competition. Others are training. Some are on the taper to a competition!

Jim is running his race this weekend and dedicating it to his friend, Tim Feeney! It seems so appropriate!

I am running a comfortable 3 miles a day now. So relaxing...

Run, though! Walk! Motivate! It is good for you!

Remember to report your runs or walks in a comment here!

Share a Moment with Jim...

Share a special tribute with Jim.

His friend, Tim Feeney, and a fellow runner has passed on. Please read Jim's blog. I would want as nice a tribute when I cross that Finish Line.

http://runninggeezer262.blogspot.com/

I can't say anything half as nice as Jim has. Thank you, Jim, for sharing this personal, private moment.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Disney is Almost Here!!!


Hi folks - just another note on coordination for the Disney Marathon. We are at T minus 4 weeks!

Here is the list of runners I posted in October:

MarathonChris and husband - running Half and Full marathons (Goofy)
Maddy - running Half and Full marathons (Goofy)
Rachel - running marathon
Gordon (Running to Disney blog) - running marathon
Adam T - running marathon (update - won't be able to run)
NyLisa - running marathon

I think MarathonGirl is also running Goofy!

Is there anyone else we know of?

I was trying to figure out when we would all try to meet up. My husband and I currently do not plans to stay on property - but drive in each day. This usually means we leave the house around 2:45 am. Needless to say we will be in bed early on both Friday and Saturday nights! I think we will hit the expo on Friday (early).

One option for a meet up would be on Friday - but it would have to be around lunch time. Another option would be Saturday after the half marathon. That race should be over by around 9:30 - 10 am. I am thinking about trying to get a massage afterwards to help recovery before the marathon. Since we live on the other side of town (about 45 min East) - we would have to meet before we go home.

I was wondering if anyone else had any thoughts on what they might want to do??

Friday, December 12, 2008

December 12, 13, & 14!


Phew! I'm resting now (Charlie - cewtwo). Going to run some, but not a lot. I think that most of my minor aches and pains are gone now, so I'll give it a go this weekend!

I know that Marathon Girl Leslie is running the Madeira Beach Half-Marathon this weekend, so give her a shout out and wish her luck!

Now, how about you?

Report your miles here!

Monday, December 8, 2008

CONGRATULATIONS TINA and CHARLIE!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS to TINA and CHARLIE for their finish in their respective marathons: California International Marathon and Las Vegas Marathon !!!!!!!!!

Friday, December 5, 2008

VRR - December 2008


Getting cold in Denver this time of year! Motivates one to keep moving! (or to go to the warmth of the house or club and a run on the treadmill)
Good luck! Report your runs!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Ready for the Weekend!


Almost 700 miles for the month! Great Job! How many miles for December?
- - - - - - - - - -
Some of us have events this weekend!
Good Luck to Lizzie Lee, Jim, Marathon Girl Leslie, & OrtingRunner!
Some of us were volunteers this week, Thanks Akshaye!
Thanks everyone!
- - - - - - - - - -
Look at all of you! We made our 500 miles even with colds and other maladies! AND... We have an additional weekend to go!
- - - - - - - - - -
Lets think about December and how many miles we want to commit to?
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Please update your runs!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Got Story?

In this group are people with similar interests. We have a lot of sidewalk, pavement, track & trail under our shoes. That is a lot of experience. We gather with other people and tell the tales of running and competitions. Hey, most of us blog about our passion for the sport.

Jim thinks that there is a potential for a book out of the many tales of running. He hears them where he lives and exercises. He reads them on blogs. He hears them during competitions. He shares tales on the trails.

He'd like to hear your story.

If you'd like to share a dream, contact Jim. Jim can be reached through his blog, http://runninggeezer262.blogspot.com/, or through his e-mail.

Thanks, Jim, for thinking of us!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Event Calendar


11/26/2008 - Added a JadeLady event!
This must be a good idea.
I can't keep it updated! Are we good at this avocation or what?
An updated event calendar! If you'd like to add or remove an event, just post a message here! Thanks!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Here Is The Skinny!



!UPDATE!
2 marathon events were completed this past weekend! Shirly Perly and Marathon Chris completed marathons last weekend. Shirley ran the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, OK. Chris ran the San Antonio marathon.

Have you ever thought about what would happen if you caught that cold you so stridently tried to miss? Then you knew you had it on the very morning of the marathon event? Then on the way to the starting line, you twist your ankle? Well, Marathon Chris is experienced! You know what? This class runner completed the marathon with both of those things! Go, Marathon Chris, go!

If you get a chance, commend these two runners! Congratulations!

What a team of runners we have!

- - - - - - - - - -

Here is the skinny on this one! As a group, we already have over 300 miles logged so far this month! And we did it in only 2 weeks! I know that I say it all the time, but what a group we are!

Now... I've signed up for another marathon. So for the next few weeks, I will continue to contribute to the overall. Let's start thinking about December and the target miles.

I am working on an update of events that are coming up. If you have a competition scheduled (as a participant or a volunteer - We all know that those volunteers are oh so necessary!) then let me know! Look for an update soon!

Thanks everybody for being a part of this! Each and everyone of you are really great being a part of this! Thanks!

Now... Get out there and run or walk!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

November 10 Update!



Are you aware that we have achieved almost 300 miles in just 2 weekends? What an inspiring group to run with. Why I feel that I could almost complete a marathon running with this group!

I have set the goal for November at 500 miles. 500 miles! And we have already achieved half of that with 3 weekends still to go!

Let's keep this up! I have a marathon coming up in the near future that I sincerely hope to complete (I am training to complete that goal in the near future). I know that many of you have a marathon goal in mind for the near future. There also some half-marathon, Tris, 10ks and other races as well!

Maybe we should take the time and update our goal/event calendar!

Run on, friends!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

In your Thoughts and Prayers!

You know, as a group, we share our experiences. Most of our experiences are positive ones. Occasionally, though, something else can come up that also needs to be shared. Please keep Tim and Susan Feeney in your thoughts and prayers. The following article is from our friend and fellow runner, Jim Reed.

*NOTE - Because of this special announcement, please leave your run amounts for the weekend of 11/7 to 11/9 on last week's chart. I will update it from there! Charlie (cewtwo)

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A Moment to Reflect

The photo is of Tim and Susan Feeney. I took the photo one day after the 2007 Marine Corps Marathon. We had met at the World War II Memorial and walked around the monuments pausing to eat lunch at a hot dog truck. Best hot dog I ever had!

Tim was unable to run the marathon with us. In June 2006, several days after completing the Mickelson Trail Marathon in Deadwood, SD, Tim was diagnosed with a brain tumor. For over two years he has fought hard and endured pain and treatment which puts a marathon in the category of "a walk in the park". I often feel a sense of guilt when I complain about an ache or a pain. We can take two Tylenol and and put an ice pack on the injury and it goes away. Unfortunately, all of the modern technology and medicines could not take Tim's tumor away. Several weeks ago Tim made a decision to cease any further treatment for the tumor. He is at home with Susan and is receiving hospice care.

He has been running about the same time as myself, four plus years. We have done training runs, 5K's, 10K's, halfs and marathons together. He was a "Group Leader" in our training program, teaching new runners how to adapt to the rigors of marathon training. He helped many runners accomplish goals they never thought possible. However, no matter how hard we try, we cannot help Tim achieve the goal of health.

As runners we enter a race with the goal being the finish line. Tim is running the race of and for his life and this time we don't want to see the finish line. We want someone to declare a false start and go back to when things were fun and we laughed and told stories.

Susan has been continuing her running, in fact she completed a training run this morning. She may be tiny, but her nickname is "Big Dog". Several years ago Susan didn't think she could run with our pace group. The old saying is, "if you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch." Well, Susan got off the porch and ran with the "Big Dogs".

I read a quote from Olympic champion Jesse Owens that's speaks to the battle Tim is facing. "The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself - the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us - that's where it's at."

Please keep Tim and Susan in your prayers.

- - - - - - - - - -

Thanks, Jim, for including all of us in this important time of your life and that of your friends.

You can read Jim's blog at http://runninggeezer262.blogspot.com/

Friday, October 31, 2008

A Double Chart Weekend!


548.81 Total Miles in October! What a group to run with!


A start of 135.05 miles for the first weekend in November! What should we set our goal for this month?
- - - - - - - - - -
The rules are under the charts! It looks like we are going to have another great weekend! Report your runs!

Leave a message to welcome both NYLisa and OrtingRunner to the VRR group! Great to have you join us!

Now... For a little fun, watch the video on Petra's blog! http://petraruns.blogspot.com/

And... Listen to the latest Runner's Round Table! Some members of our group were guests! http://www.runnersroundtable.com/

Isn't running fun?

A Double Chart Weekend!



The rules are under the charts! It looks like we are going to have another great weekend! Report your runs!

Leave a message to welcome both NYLisa and OrtingRunner to the VRR group! Great to have you join us!

Now... For a little fun, watch the video on Petra's blog! http://petraruns.blogspot.com/

And... Listen to the latest Runner's Round Table! Some members of our group were guests! http://www.runnersroundtable.com/

Isn't running fun?

Friday, October 24, 2008

A Virtual Group Run Weekend


Are you ready for the weekend?

What a group! More miles, please!

A Joke:
Charles Dickens went into a bar and ordered a martini.
You, of course, know what the bartender asked, don't you?
"Olive or Twist?"

Just a little reward for the many miles we are sharing!

Remember to report those miles!

- - - - - - - - - -

This is an amazing group! 550 miles? Wow!

Lets think about next month. What should our collective amount be?

Go, go go!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Another Running Weekend!


Over 300 miles in just the first 2 weeks. Amazing. I am always impressed with this group. Some amazing marathons were run in the past week! Make sure you visit everyone's blog and check out what happened!

Have a good run this weekend, everyone. I'll be getting my old legs out again (finally).

Report those runs and have fun!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Chicago - Our Running Delegation!


Charlie, Maddy, Petra, Melisa


Melisa & Bill

I thought that I would post some pre-event pictures. Remember that this Blogsite is where we met and decided to go to Chicago!

Notice the shirts! I was called by name so many times that I lost count! They were also printed on the back.

In addition to this website (with a special logo design), and the Chicago Marathon, they also extolled the World Wide Festival of Races and named each individually.

Friday, October 10, 2008


What a weekend last week was. What a weekend this one will be! As a group, we are kicking butt and taking names!

Report your miles run!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Marathon Coordination


Hi everyone...

I was beginning to realize that there are lots of folks running Disney (more than I have been able to keep count of). I wondered if we could use this website or set up an email list to coordinate a meet up there! I don't even recall everyone that is planning to run.

So let's begin with the list of runners and go from there...


MarathonChris and husband - running Half and Full marathons (Goofy)
Maddy - running Half and Full marathons (Goofy)
Rachel - running marathon
Gordon (Running to Disney blog) - running marathon
Adam T - running marathon
NyLisa - running marathon

10-14: Added NY Lisa - who is running Disney as her second race.


Who have I missed?

Thursday, October 2, 2008

VRR - Starting October!


What a month September was! I know that I added up to 190 miles last month. Tinagirl ran an amazing 130 miles! A lot of us had some amazing miles!

Be sure to wish TinaGirl a great race as she has the Sacramento Cowtown Half Marathon this weekend!

Next weekend - Jim, Maddy, Petra, cewtwo all have marathon races! Wish them skill, luck and fruition to their training efforts!

Be sure to report your miles run!

Again! What a group to run with!

Run on, friends, run on!

Coming Events for Team Members!

Here are some of the upcoming events for members of this blog!

Cewtwo (Charlie) –
October 12 – Chicago Marathon

Gordon
October 25 - Gamecock Gallop
December 1 - Chief Ladiga Trail half-marathon
January 11 - Disney marathon

Jim
October 12 - Mohawk-Hudson Marathon in Albany, NY
November 30 - Space Coast half-marathon
December 21 - Jacksonville Bank half-marathon
February 15 - "26.2 with Donna"

Lizzie Lee
November 30 - Seattle Marathon

Maddy
October 12 - Chicago Marathon
January 10 - Goofy Challenge - Disney Half-Marathon!
January 11 - Goofy Challenge - Disney Marathon!

Marathon Chris
November 16 - San Antonio Marathon
September 27 - 15K race
January 10 - Goofy Challenge - Disney Half-Marathon!
January 11 - Goofy Challenge - Disney Marathon!

Petra
October 12 – Chicago Marathon

ShirleyPerly -
September 28 - Clarence DeMar Marathon
October 5 - Maine Marathon
November 9 - Miami Man 1/2 Iron Tri

Susan

October 11/12 - World Wide Half Marathon

Tinagirl
October 5 - Sacramento Cowtown Half Marathon (Yay! 14 minute faster PR!!)
November 9 - 20 mile race
December 7 - California International Marathon

- - - - - - - - - -

Do you have an event coming up?

Add your schedule to this one! Lets cheer each other on!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

VRR - Runs for this Weekend!


What can I say? You are amazing people! What a massive amount of miles.

Lets see what we can finish the month of September with.

I'm scheduled for 12 miles, but I expect to do 13.1 (half of what I will run on October 12th at Chicago).

Take a moment this week and let us know what your next event is and when you'll be running it!

Oh yeah! Report those miles run, too!

Have a run weekend! Umm... Err... Fun weekend!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

VRR Update for September 19, 20 & 21


Again... I have to say it! What a group of runners!

It doesn't matter to me if you are a Bad Girl of Running or a Bad Boy of Running!

What an inspiration. I really should have bumped up the total for the month! I know that I have a 20 - 22 mile run on Saturday morning. Can I make it? With inspiration from the rest of you, I know that I can! Hmmm... I wonder if the training I've put in counts for anything?

Congratulations on some great miles!

Don't forget to report your miles!

Good luck, good skill!

Friday, September 12, 2008

VRR - September 12, 13 & 14



What a first week of a month! Some of you must be in training!

Wait! Is it September 12th? Why I just happen to have a marathon coming up! October 12th in Chicago! Me, some of the people on here and about 44,997 other runners!!

Listen... If you are in training for an event, let the rest of us know where and when! We'd all like to encourage you to your best event yet!

Don't forget to leave your miles after your run!

Good luck and even better, Good training and skill development!

AND... How does everyone taper down to an event?

Thursday, September 4, 2008

VRR - The Start of September!



We did a great job in August! We surpassed our goal by 64 miles! What a group of runners we are!

I have placed 300 miles as our goal for September (75 miles per weekend). Is that good? Should we do more? Less? Let's talk about it...

Remember to report your miles that you run on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday!

Congratulations go to MarathonChris for sponsoring the "Run For The Fallen" on Runner+. I believe that group of runners did substantially more than 8,000 miles! That IS a great result!

I know that I will have some long runs this month, After all, the Chicago Marathon is on October 12th.

Let's have another great month!

I need to stop now... I just keep runnin' on and on...

Monday, August 25, 2008

VRR - What a Weekend!



Great job by everyone this weekend! I was tired just reading about it! I wanted to post it early so you could see that we set a realistic goal AND we are going to acheive it!

Thanks everyone! You sure inspire me in my marathon attempt! Thanks!

Everyone, welcome to Tammy and Gordon! Our newest members!

- - - - - - - - -

Update - September 2, 2008 - Welcome to Leslie and Kimberly!
Remember to post your hours!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

VRR for the Weekend of August 22, 23, & 24



I am so impressed with this entire group!

We covered a lot of miles last week! It appears that we can easily meet our goal for the month! I know that I am scheduled for 19 miles tomorrow morning. I am planning for it already - What I'll eat tonight, what is the quick breakfast, water to carry and beautiful weather is supposed to happen! I am ready!

Report those miles! Let's make this our best month yet! Thanks everyone!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

VRR Group for August 15, 16 & 17


Hello Friends!

What a couple of weeks it has been. I know that I have been very busy training, as well as a stepped up project for the company! Is there ever enough time to get things done?

I will get one thing done this weekend! It will be my longest run yet. I've scheduled myself for 18 miles! Well, we'll see!

We have got a ways to go to meet our goal for the month, so get out there and run! Share your mileage with the group!

Good luck!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

VRR - Weekend of August 8th



Wow! What a start to a month! Some fairly sterling performances this last week! Jim ran 18 miles! Maddy ran 17 miles! Everyone seems to be ramping it up! Congratulations!

It seems like everybody is training for something! (hehehe)

I know that I am running 13.1 tomorrow in the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains! What will the rest of you be doing?

Well, thanks for all the miles! I know that you guys really inspire me!

Friday, August 1, 2008

VRR August!


So! What does everyone think that our target for August should be? I averaged the previous months to get 375 miles for August. We can change that very easily to go DOWN -or- UP! What do you think?

Some of us are headed for Chicago in October. It's a matter of a little run. I know that my miles are ramping up.

Remember to report those miles that your are running. Let's make this virtual group count! Check the previous VRR post to see how we ended up! Congratulations, everyone! We did it!

Here we go again!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

The End of July Approaches!


Wow!

The end of this "RUN" is here! I found it to be fascinating and a lot of fun!

I am scheduled for a 15 mile run tomorrow! I plan on starting early (for this swing shift worker) between 6:00 and 6:30 AM.

What are your plans? It looks like we are going to do 300 miles this month! Thanks everybody!

The question comes up now - Are we going to continue this? I would like to! How do the rest of you feel about it?

Remember - The run does end, but not the running!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

VRR - July 18, 19 & 20


Are YOU ready for the weekend?

Be prepared! Watch the heat! Stay cool! But...

RUN!

Let us know the mileage!

Friday, July 11, 2008

VRR - July Continues!


We are off to a great start! Even in the heat of Summer, we are developing a heat of our own! We have 2 members that are going the distance of 26.2! Do you have butterflies just contemplating it?

Have a good run everyone! Let us know how your run goes!

Remember... The run does end, but not the running!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

VRR - Starting July with a Bang!



Welcome Sally and Kassy! Great start to a new month!

300 miles is our goal! Of course these things are easily changed!

Remember that if you celebrate too much on the 4th, you can always enjoy a nice long run to get it all together!

Have a good run everyone!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

VRR Update - June 2008


We are so close for June. With almost everyone reporting, we are less than 20 miles from our goal!

We need to think of July and what goals we should set for this month.

Let's get some ideas going for the month of July!

Friday, June 27, 2008

VRR Update!



This is the current chart as we head into this weekends round of runs.

We have a mere 99 miles to make this month's goal!

Have fun! Do your run and let the rest of us know how you did!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

VRR Update...

This is the update after last week's runs!

Good Job everybody!

Thanks, Jim!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Let's Run for the Fallen


If any of you listened to Phedip 142, you will know about this run called Run for the Fallen. A team of runners are running 1 mile for every soldier lost during Operation Iraqi Freedom (I believe they may be using the count of Americans lost).

They started their run yesterday (Flag Day here in the US) and will end the run in Arlington Cemetery after running over 4000 miles. They invite everyone to run a mile on August 24th to support the effort.

Just for fun, I started a Challenge on RunnersPlus to see if we can get enough runners to virtually run the 4000+ miles between now and August 24th. If you want to participate, sign up!!! And as I recently discovered, you don't need a Nike+ system to participate. Create an account and just manually log your miles.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

VRR Runs - June 13, 14 & 15


I did a graphic to assist us in following the runs this month. Please check the totals and make sure that I have recorded them correctly! Also, make sure that I haven't forgotten anyone.

Let us know your total for this weekend!

Enjoy your run!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

VRR Runs Weekend 6/6 to 6/8

As a group, we did so wonderfully last week! 93 miles! What will be our totals for this weekend? Let us know!

Monday, June 2, 2008

VRR Runs Weekend 5/30-6/1

OK, here we are at the end of May already. We had 266.43 miles for the first 4 weeks and marathon training hasn't even yet begun for some of you. I'm thinking that perhaps we ought to shoot for 250 miles/month. What d'ya think?

And tell us what you ran too while you're at it!

Monday, May 26, 2008

VRR Runs Weekend of 5/23-25

Happy Memorial Day, Everyone!!!

As TinaGirl mentioned, we need to set some new goals for ourselves. We've already racked up a whopping 203.43 miles in May and there's still two weekends yet to be counted.

Let us know what you ran this last weekend and feel free to post any suggestions on what our goal should be in June. Note, however, that June will have only 4 weekends whereas May has 5.

Also, my new Endurance Sports Bar is now open. Please check it out!


Monday, May 19, 2008

VRR Runs Weekend of 5/16-18

Middle of May and, believe it or not, we have already topped 130 miles -- 131.44, to be exact!!

CewTwo ran this third half marathon this weekend, PR'd and earned his first race medal. Check out his blog for his race report coming soon.

Did anyone else run a race?

If so, let us know in the comments along with your miles run!

Monday, May 12, 2008

VRR Runs Weekend of 5/9-11

Hope you all had a good Mother's Day weekend!

We have 9 people in our group and are well on our way to reaching 130 (or 150) miles for the month of May. Last weekend we racked up 61.51 miles.

How did we do this weekend?

Friday, May 9, 2008

On The Road To Mandalay?

Not Exactly!

But some of us are on the way to Chicago!

I just did this to inspire some of the other (better) artists than am I.

Notice the background of the 'What's a few miles among friends?' blog and some headers from the blogs of fellow travelers (both runners, supporters and coaches)!

Now I have to send this prototype design to Maddy...

Monday, May 5, 2008

VRR Runs Weekend of 5/2-4

Well, we totally blew away our original goal to run 100 miles/month by running 133.18 miles in April -- INCREDIBLE!!

This is the start of a new month, the second of four in the Run the World campaign. We will shoot for 130 miles this month and see if we might hit 150 :-)

Please post your group run mileages for the first weekend of May!

Saturday, May 3, 2008

T-Shirts for Chicago

As you know there are several of us are running the Chicago Marathon:

  • Charlie

  • Petra

  • Melisa
  • Maddy

  • I know there are others, like David


  • I was thinking that it might be fun If we had matching, or similar T-Shirts.

    We can have them printed at Running Banana or somewhere else if we can find custom tech shirts for a better price.

    If you have a concept or a design, please email me (Before June 30th) and once we have the all designs, I can post them for voting.

    What do you think?

    Wednesday, April 30, 2008

    Couple Quick Announcements

    1. We've got another two VRR members: Akshaye and TinaGirl. Welcome to you both!

    2. Registration fees for the Run with Donna 26.2 (aka National Breast Cancer Marathon) on February 9, 2009, go up after May 1. I know some of us were interested in running it so just wanted to remind folks if you haven't yet registered. I just signed up for the half yesterday!

    Marathon
    Early entry: by 5/1/08 - $85
    Entry between: 5/2/08-10/31/08 - $95
    Entry between: 11/1/08-2/14/09 - $125

    Half marathon
    Early entry: by 5/1/08 – $60
    Entry between: 5/2/08-10/31/08 - $75
    Entry between: 11/1/08 - 2/14/09 - $95

    Added: The Pink Bandanna Blog is where you can see who else is doing this race!

    Monday, April 28, 2008

    VRR Runs Weekend of 4/24-27

    First of all, we are still growing! We've just added RunningGeezer26.2 to our team roster and a couple more have expressed interest in joining us soon. And just to remind everyone, the Run the World Campaign is 4 months long so we will be doing this group running thing through the end of July. Anyone is welcome to join us at any time. Just email me.

    And now for the weekend mileage call. Post away!

    Monday, April 21, 2008

    VRR Runs Weekend of 4/18-20

    All righty, we're now three weeks into our 4-month running group thing. For some of us, there's still snow on the ground. For others, it's 80+ degrees!

    How'd we do?

    Wednesday, April 9, 2008

    2 more VRR members!

    Added: This post is doubling as the call for mileages for the weekend of 4/11-4/13.

    Just a quick note to say that CewTwo has joined our virtual running group and also WV Momma, a friend of Jade Lady's. WV Momma does not have a blog but will be posting her mileage here on Mondays. Here's a little info about her:

    A Midwestern transplant to West Virginia who is a mom and works as a federal investigator. For many years she's enjoyed playing volleyball, running, and reading when she's not chasing her kids. Loves Jane Austen, PBS, and NPR! Not a techie -- what the heck is blogging?


    Welcome WV Momma and CewTwo, who is now back from Moab and has some awesome photos of his trip posted on his blog.

    Now with 6 of us on VRR (ShirleyPerly, Jade Lady, Maddy, Marathon Chris, CewTwo and WV Momma), our goal to run 100 miles/month should be quite attainable even if one of us misses a run for whatever reason. We've got 29.45 miles so far for April.

    Let's have fun and run!!!

    Monday, April 7, 2008

    VRR Runs weekend of 4/4-6

    So this weekend was the first group run by Virtual Runners Rock (VRR), a small group of us participating in the Run the World campaign mentioned below. In case some folks are not using Buckeye Outdoors, and to avoid having to study everyone's training logs, please just post your group run mileages in the comments. Again, if you ran more than once this weekend, just post the mileage for your longest run :-) Feel free to include any details you want about your run too!!

    And if you want to join VRR, just let us know. We're shooting to run 100 miles/month and can use a couple more people in case one of us misses a run for some reason.

    Tuesday, April 1, 2008

    New Running Mate & Run the World Campaign!

    Some of you have already met my sister Jade Lady. I'm happy to announce that she's also now our newest running mate!

    Also, there's a new Run the World Campaign being launched this week by one of the Team Evotri members. This one's really simple and no swimming is required ;-)

    Just commit to running at least once a week for 4 months with a group. In our case, we'd be a virtual group. We'd just run once a week on our own and the only constraint will be that the run is done sometime over a weekend, say, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. We'd do this starting this weekend and go through the end of July. The goal is simply consistency, running at least once over a weekend for 4 months and being held accountable to others for it :-)

    Anyone interested in being a part of this campaign?

    Jade Lady and me, ShirleyPerly, are in. If we can get at least 2-4 others to do it, we could shoot for a 100 miles per month group run goal, just as an extra incentive, which averages out to 4-6 miles per person. I'd be posting something here every Monday so we could report our group run mileage results to see if we made it. Of course, you are welcome to run more than 4-6 miles and more often than once over a weekend but just one will count as the group run.

    For those who are injured right now and unable to run, I certainly don't expect you to participate but you are more than welcome to join us when you're able to!

    Monday, March 17, 2008

    The Chicago Marathon

    Hi Everybody!

    I have added two competitions to my schedule this year. I will be running a 4 mile race with a friend. It is the Slacker. I ran the half-marathon last year, but my friend wants to run the 4 mile, so I will. You can find out about it here - http://www.slackerhalfmarathon.com/

    I really think that I should run the half (for training), but sometimes friendship overrides these things.

    The second confirmed and registered competition for me is my first full marathon. I am registered for and will be running the Chicago Marathon!

    I am so looking forward to it.

    I know that several people are planning on going. Do we have a head count yet?

    Tuesday, February 19, 2008

    Vote for Shirley!!!

    (repeated here in case you missed it on Shirley's blog or mine).

    Dear Blogger Friends,

    Just found out yesterday that I made it to the first round of Team Evotri, which involves the opportunity to win a cool triathlon sponsorship package (bike, coaching, wetsuit, etc). I need your help, though, as the next round involves voting by email. There are 10 folks in the round including me. Our 3-minute video applications, along with voting criteria, can be found at www.evotri.com. If you just want to view my video, go to http://youtube.com/watch?v=_RZAV0WAAG8. All of us in round one have motivating/inspiring stories that got us there so I encourage you to view the other videos and judge for yourself whether you think I deserve your vote.

    To vote for me, I need you to send an email to vote@evotri.com with my name, Shirley Pratt, in the subject line. The body of the email will NOT be read. Only one vote per person, multiple votes from the same email address won't count. Voting for round one closes tomorrow, Wed, 2/20, at 11:59pm PST.

    If I make it to the finals, I will be asking you to vote for me up to 3 times. If you do not want to receive further emails from me about this, let me know. On the other hand, if you know others who might be interested in voting for me, please forward them this note or consider giving me a plug on your blog like Ellie did (thanks Ellie!). I’d be glad to return the favor in the future if the opportunity ever arises and would love to get to know more blogger friends. In fact, chances are I met you via someone else's blog :-)

    Anywhoo, I appreciate any support I can get. If you’ve already voted, thank you for doing so, particularly if the vote was for me!

    -- Shirley (HumbleTriathlete.blogspot.com)

    Monday, February 11, 2008

    Let's Tri!

    The date of the SimplyStu Worldwide Triathlon has been announced! Mark your calendars ... it's the weekend of March 28-30, 2008.

    Like the Phedippidations Worldwide Half Marathon, this a free, no stress, no hassle event that you do on your own or as part of a real race, your choice. It's a great chance to do something new, something challenging, something FUN!!!

    You choose the swim, bike and run/walk distances and you can even spread out the events over the 3 days. You can swim with a noodle, buoy, kickboard, anything goes. And any bike will do, even an exercise bike.

    And if you can't do one of the events, people have been known to substitute another activity or just do a duathlon (2 events) instead.

    Who's in?

    Should we create a team? I can submit everyone's names, events & distances, results (times, photos, video, blurb, write-up, whatever) to Stu based on what is posted here since there's no slick website like PWWHM has, yet. Any suggestions on a team name?

    Saturday, February 9, 2008

    Post your 2008 Races

    I just did some cleanup on our race plans - deleting the old races and adding races that I knew about.

    Post here your 2008 race plans!

    Running Your Own Race

    (Saw this today in an Insight of the Day entry from Josh Hinds. Thought I would share :-))

    Think back to a time in your life when you tried something new.

    When I was a teenager I volunteered to work the water station at a 10k race. It was called the "Heaven Can Wait" 10k run and ironically, it was sponsored by the local cemetery.

    My job was to pass out water to the runners. I remember being so excited to see all the different kinds of people who passed by and grabbed a cup of water. Some ran past, some walked past and a few wheeled past. I saw so many types of people doing it, I thought maybe I can do it too!

    So the next year I signed up for the race and gave it a shot. Back then I didn't do much to prepare except jog around my neighborhood. I never tracked how far I jogged, or timed myself, I just ran around. I had no time goals for the race, no specialized training, no game plan, nothing. Needless to say that I prepare differently when I run races today, but back then my only goal was to finish.

    On the day of the race, it was incredibly hot and humid. I remember struggling at about the 5th mile, thinking, "I must be crazy, why did I do this? What was I thinking? And at one point, I said, "I am never doing this again!"

    Have you ever felt that way about something? You eagerly undertake a goal and in the midst of it comes a moment of struggle, and you realize it is much harder than you imagined it would be?

    That first 10k race was quite an experience. I jogged, I walked, I jogged and I walked. At times, I didn't know if I could finish. Then came a defining moment.

    At one point near the end, a 70 year old man ran past me, very very fast, and I felt embarrassed that I was 50+ years younger than he and I couldn't even keep up with him. I felt defeated for a second. But then I realized something. He was running his race and I was running mine.

    He had different capacities, experience, training and goals for himself. I had mine. Remember my goal was merely to finish.

    How often in life do we compare ourselves to others and feel disappointed in ourselves when we really shouldn't? After a minute, it hit me that this was a lesson I could draw from. I learned something about myself in that moment. I turned my embarrassment into inspiration.

    I decided that I would not give up on running races, in fact, I would run even more races and I would learn how to train and prepare properly and one day I would be one of those 70 year olds who was still running. As I crossed the finish line, I was proud of my accomplishment.

    I am so glad I didn't give up on running. Today it is an incredible source of joy in my life. I have run several races since then, 5ks, 10ks and I run purely for fun. I have studied running books, made friendships with other runners and I can report that I love it now more than ever.

    In life we all have those moments where we compare ourselves to others. It's only natural. Don't allow those moments to disempower you. Turn them into motivation and let them inspire you. Use them to show you what is possible. Every struggle is rich with opportunity. You define your own race when you define your own goals.

    With the proper preparation, coaching and conditioning, you can improve your results to achieve anything you want in life.

    The impact of fitness and nutrition on my life has been remarkable. I can do things now that I could not even do in my 20's all because of coaching, proper nutrition and conditioning.

    You decide your race and you decide your own pace. Rarely in life will your destiny be determined by one little race.

    "Success is a peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable." - Coach John Wooden

    Life is a series of races. There are lessons in every race. There are life lessons to be learned every single day. If you don't win the race, but you get the lesson, and grow, you are truly a success.

    Live Your Dreams.

    Jill Koenig

    Monday, February 4, 2008

    Who'll come and run with me?

    I know I know - I'm on the slow road to recovery from an injury, I'm running the London marathon in 10 weeks, I've got enough on my plate. But I wouldn't be I, and me wouldn't be me, without picking the next challenge on the horizon. So - drumroll - my dear friends, I have signed up for the Chicago marathon. HEAR ME OUT before you say it was a disaster last year. It was. Not ALL the organisers fault, it has to be said, but still.. But listen to me. I ran it in 2006 (when it was freezing cold, literally). It was fantastic. Flat, fast (and very cold, but I already said that) and amazing crowd support. Bands, pizza in the Italian section (so much tastier than a Gu), cheering, singing, wonderful views and neighbourhoods, great and inspirational pacers and a fantastic atmosphere overall. A great expo where I met and talked to Hal Higdon and John Bingham and bought loads of wonderful running gear that I use to this day. What can I say - I had such a fantastic time there. Regarding the debacle last year - I think they're going to be working very very hard to make this marathon a success. I really do.
    So come on y'all - who wants to go for a run with me? I'm going to be staying with some friends in Chicago but will be expecting you to come out and play - who else will walk round the expo and be as interested in the running stuff, last minutes nerves and niggles etc. Who wants to come and carbo load with me on the Friday and Saturday night? And who wants to come and drink some beers and eat some fries (or deep dish pizza - your choice) with me on the Sunday night? And talk and get to know each other and natter into recorders to create podcasts and take photos for our blogs - come on! This could be SO much fun! So you know you want to - sign up here. And then post a message to let me know you'll be there. I just can't wait!

    Tuesday, January 29, 2008

    Courage in the Face of Defeat

    I just came across an incredible marathon story & video that I had to pass on. It's about Kayoko Fukushi, the fastest Japanese half marathoner in history, making her marathon debut last weekend. She made some costly newbie mistakes that led to a disastrous finish (fell 3 times during her final lap). Check it out:







    The full article talks about what happened. Not quite as tragic as Julie Moss' crawl to the Ironman finish back in 1982 but inspiring nevertheless.

    Thanks to Nancy for posting this on her blog.