Ms. Dee - now with MORE fun!

According to James, Ms. Dee has gotten more & more fun to race with. Here's his race report from the Little Big Adventure race on April 26, 2008! Doesn't this make you want to sign up to be on her Pink Nation training team for the Richmond Marathon?

“I raced with Ms. Dee. I had a lot of fun. We didn’t go that fast during the canoe and made two circles. We need more canoe training. We stayed dry, though. We finished going backwards. During the bike I crashed once but didn’t cry. We passed a lot of racers on the bike. It was very tiring. After the bike, we did a run. I ran up the first steep hill. I fell and Dee helped me. I ran very fast. I passed more racers during the run. After we finished, I climbed a tree with the help of a man with a rope. I had fun with Ms. Dee.”

One question remains – gummy POO?

http://www.2fastkids.com/2FastKids/Blog/Entries/2008/4/26_Little-Big_Adventure_Race_1_-_From_James.html

Boston Results!

13371		Just, Blair	51	M	Richmond	VA	USA
Checkpoints	5k	10k	15k	20k	Half	25k	30k	35k	40k
	0:24:52	0:49:26	1:14:16	1:39:44	1:45:14	2:06:29	2:34:42	3:03:13	3:31:28
Finish				Pace		Official Time	Overall	Gender	Division
			-	0:08:33		3:43:53	10328	7563	1224
18538		Rice, Maggie G.	45	F	Mechanicsville	VA	USA
Checkpoints	5k	10k	15k	20k	Half	25k	30k	35k	40k
	0:27:52	0:54:28	1:20:53	1:48:55	1:54:47	2:18:16	2:49:00	3:22:53	3:57:29
Finish				Pace		Official Time	Overall	Gender	Division
			-	0:09:39		4:12:42	16627	6172	2096
17439		Roberts, Shannon	35	F	Richmond	VA	USA
Checkpoints	5k	10k	15k	20k	Half	25k	30k	35k	40k
	0:27:53	0:56:13	1:23:54	1:51:59	1:57:59	2:21:18	2:51:46	3:25:35	3:56:51
Finish				Pace		Official Time	Overall	Gender	Division
			-	0:09:31		4:09:32	16173	5950	3556
20734		Wood, Judy F.	50	F	Mechanicsville	VA	USA
Checkpoints	5k	10k	15k	20k	Half	25k	30k	35k	40k
	0:27:54	0:56:42	1:26:08	1:58:41	2:05:13	2:31:27	3:08:39	3:46:57	4:23:34
Finish				Pace		Official Time	Overall	Gender	Division
			-	0:10:38		4:38:47	19087	7488	672

 

Patriot's Day!

It's here! It's finally here! It's Patriot's Day. Oh, yeah, and it's Boston Marathon day.
I know darn well that I do NOT have all the bib numbers of who is in Bean Town and running today, so automatic apologies to those I missed. Feel free to add a comment and tell me who is MIA.

Flip over to http://www.baa.org/2008/cf/Public/TrackingIndividual.cfm?mode=multiple and track our peeps every 5k. I'm so excited, I can't stand it! My productivity at work will be low.

13371 Just, Blair
17439 Roberts, Shannon
18538 Rice, Maggie
20734 Wood, Judy

4girlsrunning goes national!

WOO! Other than the slightly freaky thing that we apparently rank pretty high on Google for girls in low-rise jeans (shudder), we now have a 4girlsrunning.com tshirt! Here's Dee showing it off. Yes, that's our only shirt -- it's a true one of a kind, collector's item, absolutely priceless. If only we had a cool logo (hint hint)

The girls and the extended gang are all in Boston getting all psyched for the Boston Marathon on Monday. They have everything they need -- and too many t-shirts to wear - the 4girlsrunning.com shirt, Dee's "NO MA'AM" shirt, "small but mighty", and there's one more I can't remember.

They also have their Hostess Apple Pies referenced in the Atlanta marathon. I found them at the Valero scary mart in lovely downtown Sandston. This store is the motherlode of bad food -- not only did they have the Apple Pie (470 cals, 20 grams of fat, 1,000,000 grams of deliciousness in case you ever wondered), they had the Chocolate pudding flavor too. I've never seen that before in real life. After roaming the aisles trying to find a reasonably healthy snack for my boys after gym class, they had to settle for a flavored water and a quick drive home for popcorn. Those mini Pringle cans claim to be THREE servings. As if! Yes, "Everything Pops With Pringles", your stomach, your hips, your thighs, your HEART.

Oh - one last note. Bacon Salt. "Why have fries when you can have bacon fries". Enough said. Peace out!

Why I Run

1. Dodging garbage trucks that back up the road is a lot more fun on foot.
2. Laughing at the fenced dogs.
3. The adrenalin rush from the dogs that AREN'T fenced.
4. Feeling tough when I tell people "oh, I ran 8 miles yesterday".
5. Eating massive amounts of food after long Saturday runs.
6. Quality time with the other Runner Girls. Well, if I was faster I'd have MORE quality time, since a lot of my quality time is spent watching their blinky LED lights recede in the distance. But they always come back for me.
7. Getting to wear blinky LED lights. I love me some gadgets. And it's only $1.99!
8. Telling people that ask me how I lost 50 pounds "I don't know. I just woke up one day like this."
9. Earning the right to have a RunnerGirl bumpersticker.
10. Learning to listen to my body, and not my brain.

Why do YOU run?

What Not To Wear

Wow! I really thought that the era of animal appliques was over back in the 90's. Only small children under the age of 5 should be allowed to wear a denim jacket with appliqued puppies. (Dee - your Glamour Shots sweater and doorknocker earrings can be excused due to the fashion madness that was that decade. ).

So here I am at Cracker Barrel surrounded by chambray shirts with puppies, kitties and birdhouses. Next rack over - florals and insects. Oooh! A turquoise denim jacket with hot pink and black/white polka dot daisies in XXL. I am all for being visible when running or riding for safety reasons (see pink bike jacket post) but this is a crime and should result in one of a handful of punishments:

1. Immediate banishment to a Florida or Arizona retirement, excuse me - Active Adult -community complete with the required golf cart and terrycloth visor.


2. Execution. You pick the method, I'm not particular.


3. Intervention. Ever heard of "What Not To Wear"? This is it. The entire show in one hideous top.

The saddest thing is that I still have a few pieces like this in my closet. Yes, I had the fleece from Kohl's with the snowman on it, or the denim shirt from the craft show with the harvest apples and the crows on it. However, I have not ever owned or will ever own a "holiday sweater" for Halloween or Christmas with the scary buttons. Momentary insanity at the time, and I have appropriately purged my closet of these items.

Those of you still wearing them -- you'd better watch out! The golf carts are on their way, and the Scooter Store will be given your phone number.

P.S. What's even MORE frightening and telling. Just trying to Google or eBay to find images of these abominations comes up empty. See - they know that their target demographic doesn't have the Internet, so there's no images to be found.

There Is No "I" in Team

(WildRice) - I'm not sure where to begin. It has taken me long enough to figure out how to use this site and I am not sure I've gotten it right.

I just want to share with anyone who is willing to listen...read, I guess, the great experience I have had running with this group of girls. Shannon and I met a few years back at hill training for Boston and we did not start running together until Darryl a/k/a Chocolate Thunder talked her into coming to the gym to run. We hit it off immediately and found that our running is very comparable and we were a good push for each other. She has been a great challenge for me and is so inspiring. So I guess that is where our "team" began.

Then there came Dee...look how cute I am Dee. Everyone loves some Dee! Dee came aboard running with us when she and Shannon started coaching the Sports Backers Marathon Novice Training Team together. What a breath of fresh air she is and needless to say never a dull moment. Dee has an incredible story and/or journey and is so inspiring. She will be leaving Shannon and I in the dust before long...actually I think she already has on several runs. Yet another link to our "team".

Now comes Pam. All I can say is "wow". When I heard Pam's story and the way she and Dee connected and how Dee has helped her in so many ways all I could say was "wow". What a friendship and loyalty they have for each other. Pam has a great story and all of us are very proud of her and her accomplishments. She is so comical and is always a bright spot and our next team member. So that is how 4 Girls Running came to be. As most of you know we have continued to run together weekly on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings and it's never boring. You will hear shouts of encouragement and you will see each of us circling back to pick the other up. No one gets out of sight and no one gets left behind. We all have raced together and we have supported others in racing. The dedication and support from this group is incredible and undeniable. As time has gone by a few others have picked up running with us on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Some we may scare off, others are probably skeptical, but they aren't leaving. Being with this group can be addicting so if you can, come join us.

I have enjoyed my journey of the last year and years with the others and hopefully we will continue down this path together. All you have to do is ask and these girls, including me, will be there. We have run together, cried together, laughed together, partied together, dined together, etc. It's a tight group. Each of us have our goals and each of us support everyone else's goals and will do whatever we can to support and help them to meet those goals. I could not ask for a better bunch of girls/friends to spend my time with. So I guess what I am trying to say is there is no "I" in Team. You will not hear that from this bunch - - its all about each other.

Getting Urbanized

Well now. I knew all along I was way too suburbia, sheltered life, and not suited for a life on the streets. My amazing work crew (the ones who have to be so incredibly accurate at all times) have recently latched on to this fact, and have started on an education process for me.

You know the concept of "word of the day", where a website, newspaper or calendar gives you a new, obsure word to learn? Well, they've started me on the "urban slang word of the day" program. Suffice it to say that this is a family blog, and I am absolutely NOT going to post these words or their definitions online, but gee whillikers, am I learning a lot.

The bad side of this is that now all of us runner girls are acting like a bunch of 12 year olds who have learned our first dirty word. We're whispering it at each other, using it inappropriately in sentences, practicing hand gestures, and generally being obnoxious. Apparently all we are managing to do is to water it down and take the fun out of the obscenity. Golly Aunt Bea, we didn't mean no harm!

Well, on to some running related stuff. First off, this post at 2fastkids.com accurately sums up the Monument Avenue 10k. It's absolutely priceless that Ms. Dee is "almost as fun as running with Dad". ALMOST as fun? She was ALMOST as fun? That cracks me up. Out of the mouths of babes, Dee.

"No Ma'am!" Lady Em cruised her way with only slight abuse from Ms. Dee (sensing a pattern here??) to a 56:57. I have to agree with Em -- that last photographer on the crane over the street right before the finish line was just cruel. Don't put something over the street 2 blocks before the finish line -- we ALL thought that was the finish line, and to find out that you have another block or two to go was just cruel and unusual punishment. Maggie was just this close to running her age, and the rest of the crew did really well too. My pole dancin' bff Shannon got me to a 1:07. Not what any of us were shooting for there, but it's perfectly respectable for my first 10k, and makes it easy to carve off major time in my next one. Right, girls?

Race Calendar for the girls:

• Boston Marathon, April 21
• Run Like A Girl 8k, May 4
• Susan G Komen Race for the Cure 5k, May 10
• Carytown 10K, May 18

And then we have to admit we are intrigued/fascinated/obsessed with the idea of this Ragner Relay Series today. Wowowowowowow!

Come run with us!!!

Check out my new name

PinkAsphaltMama. Get it? *P*ink *A*sphalt *M*ama. PAM! Ha ha ha ha ha. I heart pink, I heart asphalt (runnin' and ridin') and I am one ____ mama (insert awesome adjective here). LOL.... ANYWAY -- time is just a'tickin down to the Monument Ave 10K. The SPCA Dog Jog 5K was this past weekend, and although it wasn't a PR, it wasn't only a handful of seconds away from my PR. Hmmmm... that PR was set on New Year's Day after partying the night before with chocolate martinis at the Cavalier. Maybe that needs to be a new race strategy - go out partying & dancing and drinking beforehand. That takes the place of a pre-race warmup, since you don't get enough sleep to get all stiffened up. Of course, maybe it was that "back to the barn" mentality of knowing that the faster I ran the sooner we got back to the all-you-could-eat breakfast buffet back at the hotel. So many factors in that one!

So, here's the race strategy (drum roll please) - FOLLOW SHANNON! Yep! I am one of the few and the privileged to have my own personal pacer for the 10K. I feel like one of those greyhounds at the racetrack chasing that fuzzy rabbit tail around the track. But, what I'm learning is that at this stage of my race career, I start out fast and then just kinda keep slowin' down and slowin' down. I don't have a cruise control in my brain yet, so Shannon is my cruise control. As long as she doesn't start talking to me about legless people in wheelchairs or squished puppies in the road, I'll be good.

Just check out the inspirational email Emily & I got (WARNING: tissue alert! tissue alert!):

Pam and Emily -I noticed both of you had a little hesitation when we offered to race with you Saturday. Some comments were " don't want to slow you down". "you need to run your own races sometimes", etc... We offer because that is what we love. Shannon and I have raced and will race when we want, but we are in a different place and there are PLENTY of races on the calendar. We run with you and support you because we love you and it is a passion for us.I would get more out of Saturday finishing with one of my peeps on their PR than racing and beating my own PR. Please understand that we offer because we WANT to, not out of obligation and trust me, you both inspire us immensely.

So, I believe Shannon is running Pam and Emily, you got Speedy Dee-Va.
Let's rock it out girls! We love you!

*sniff* *sniff*

The good news (ha ha again) is that the forecast is for actual RAIN Saturday for the race. I'm kinda glad about it as it will keep all the lightweights at home and cut down on the crowd. Of course, with 30,000 peeps registered, keeping 10% of them away because of the rain would not make a big difference, but I'll hold on to every psychological advantage I can, thank you very much.

ShanDee did very well at Atlanta, though they said that it was the HILLIEST race they'd ever run. Thinking about the fact that Shannon has run the Marshall marathon in West-by-God-Virginia for goodness sake, that'd HAVE to be a hilly race! Here they are before the race at Shannon's parents house. Now, just gotta find them a Hostess Apple Pie to celebrate with, but I'll let THEM explain that one! Two thousand, seven hundred WHAT?????