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So, it's pretty clear that I'm a runner.  I love it, the sweat, the soreness, the athleticism, the (sometimes) comraderie.  This last part wasn't obvious to me until I started to run with my good friend Audge.  Problem is, she lives about 2,000 miles away, so we only get run together a few times a year.
For some reason, finding friends to run with has been... challenging.  My husband runs, and we do run together, but he prefers a slower pace.  Also, it's fun to run with a girlfriend.
Ahh.  Interesting choice of words.
Maybe you've heard of Meetup.  Theoretically, it's a place where you can find people with like interests to do things with, but it is NOT a dating site.  I do have other friends who run, but the one who lives closest is a nurse with odd working hours. (She works 9 to 5, who does that?  Sheesh!)  Ok, by that, I mean she goes out at 5 or 6am, which is akin to hell for me.
Anyhoo-

I had been told by well meaning folk that this would be a good place to find a running group, or any kind of group that might interest me.  I also love to knit and to read (which qualifies me as a dork, but I've accepted this).  So, I gave it a try.

I typed in Women's Running.  On page one, here is what I found:

In the words of Austin Powers "that's not my bag, Baby!"

Yep, that says Boulder's biggest LBGT- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender- Party.  Huh?  Those silhouettes look like strippers.  How is this a running group?  This was the first listing.

Next came Not Just a Walk in the Park.  Ok, this could work.  I clicked on it.  Ooh- their next meeting is... September 9.  'Kay.  Seems this group may have given up, as it started in August and each event had about 1 attendee, aaaand it looks like she organized the "group".  Sorry, Mary.

As I went down the list, I found Bake for Hope (hosting bake sales to benefit breast cancer research, last met in May; wonder why it didn't work?); Denver Single Women's Group (next meeting is tonight- at the Denver Center for Cosmetic Surgery. What's the subtext here...?  Plus, the aforementioned husband might not dig this idea); and Denver Golf Gals (ok, there's still about 6 inches of snow on the ground.).  I might be missing something, but where is the running aspect of any of these groups?

A little further down, I noticed Bodies Built By God.  Not sure what to say about this one, but with 90+ religious wars raging around the world at any given time, I'm thinking God doesn't give a crap about the cellulite on my thighs...  This is apparently a private group, but here is, in part, their statement:

If you thirst for worship and could use a little exercise at the same time, or maybe you are curious about Jesus but have never been involved with church or community, then we would love to invite you to come join Bodies Built By God. All fitness levels are welcome so please give us a call or email to reserve your spot in one of our classes. We would love to have you be part of our community where God works your body and your soul at the same time.

Wow.  Does this mean God is leading the class?  I wonder what he looks like in a leotard?

I'm going to Hell, no doubt about it.

Next I tried Knitting.  1. Practice Chinese in Denver.  2. Tots at 5280- "focused on developing new friendships for toddlers between the ages of 1-3 ".  Do toddlers really have that much trouble finding friends?  Do toddlers even care about finding friends??

Ok, I am ON A ROLL!!  What if I wanted to to join a book club near me?  This is kind of fun... I typed in: "reading."

Really?

I think I'll run alone.

It IS a Marathon!

So, when I embarked on this, I was full of sass. I've been running quite a bit and I was now going to train, officially, for a half-marathon.

Over the past 14 weeks, I've learned a lot about life in general through my many hours of training. Do I need to say I've learned a lot about myself? I'd be extremely obtuse if I hadn't. Hours alone on the road force one to reflect and just be. I've now run the gamut (pun intended) in weather from 98 degrees and dusty with an ozone warning to 25 degrees and sleeting. Colorado weather can be tricky like that. Here is a partial list of other tidbits that hit me along the way:

• "It's not a sprint, it's a marathon." No kidding. I think I've finally realized that the only thing that IS a sprint is, well, a sprint. And I'm talking about the sprint itself, not the many hours of training that enables those who are truly sprinters to be able to do it. Anything that you take on (raising a family, having a career, training for a race) will take a lot of time and learning to be successful. If you tear out the door at full tilt, you're going to burn out sooner rather than later, and you might even hurt yourself in the process. When you build a house without a good foundation, it will eventually collapse in a spectacular way.

• Fuel up. I have always just eaten when I felt like it, or maybe not eaten when I was too busy. Although my nutrition is generally pretty good(fruit and cheese are my favorite foods!), letting myself forget to eat set me up to become grumpy and listless. Try doing an 8 miler when you haven't eaten all day but quaffed coffee instead. You go out ok, but then the burning starts in your legs. Pretty soon, they feel like concrete blocks.

• Take a look around you. I never really appreciated the beauty of the area I live in until I started to do truly long runs. Of course, the mountains are gorgeous, but they aren't exactly right outside my door. I have a great view of the mountains, which is beautiful. But there is so much more natural beauty and wildlife in this area than I had ever noticed in the 7 years that I have lived here. I saw a coyote on an early Sunday morning. I saw a turkey vulture stalking its prey. I saw a hawk perched atop a fence, eyeing me curiously.

Soon, the race will have been run and the grueling training will be over. But the lessons learned will be staying with me no matter what my schedule looks like.

It's Not a Sprint, It's a (Half)Marathon, Part 2

Every summer, I go to visit my dad in Wisconsin.  He's retired and he spends summers in northern Wisconsin on a lake.  My family has been going up to that same area since the 1920s.  It's a lush, verdant wooded paradise on a small chain of lakes that very few people outside of our circle have heard of.  Plus, it is extremely hilly.

Perfect for training.

Usually, I try to get up there for at least 2 weeks in the summer with my daughter.  We swim, waterski, kayak, go boating.  We read tons of books and make crafts and sometimes we bake (if it rains).  We visit the iron mine, pick strawberries, eat fried cheese curds and we go everywhere we can by boat.

And I run.  Up hills, down hills, through woods.  On and on I run.  I run alone, with my Girl Audge, with my husband.  Every day.  In a word, it is heaven.

I never knew I'd want to have a running partner until I started running with Audge.  The first time we ran, years ago, I was sure she'd kick my butt.  She is young, fit, full of energy, and young.  And did I mention fit?  She has a Master's degree in exercise physiology, is a personal trainer, a yoga instructor, etc.  But the beautiful thing about running, especially with her, is that that doesn't necessarily matter.  We get together to run and we talk nonstop.  I've known her parents since before she was born, and she and her sister stood up in my wedding.  So you could say we have some history.

This year during one of our run/chatfests, we talked about how we both wanted to do a half marathon.  Problem is, she lives in New York, I live in Colorado.  We should plan to meet somewhere to do a race!  Yeah!

Yeah.  That would be so cool, but you know how it gets.... she teaches college courses... she works.... I work... I have a daughter and husband to take care of....  Fill in any number of reasons, all of them definitely valid.

Then I got her text.  I'm coming out to visit Catherine around the 10th of October, will you be around?  "Hell, yes!  Wait a second," I wrote," the 18th is the Denver Marathon, and they have a half marathon, if you feel like racing."  I anxiously awaited her reply.  Really?  I'll have to look into it...  What?!  I thought.  (Duh, Jen)  Quickly I typed "I was thinking about doing the half and I'd love to have a running partner!"

There ya go.  Now, I'm signed up to do this thing with Audrey AND Catherine.  This is awesome!  I better get training! 

Have you ever looked at one of those training logs?  I subscribe to Runner's World (love that mag) and there are times that I have no idea how to decipher what they've printed.  Plus, they have so many plans to choose from, it can be daunting.  I got lost somewhere between Yasso 800s, pace charts, tempo runs and fartleks.  Checking back issues helped.  But I again got lost amongst phrases like  ...at the end of the first mile, the even-paced runners were at only 78 percent of their VO2 max, an effort level more akin to a tempo run than a 5-K race--below their potential.  (Taken directly from the online archives)  Well I know I don't want to be below potential, but VO2 max is getting a little more scientific than I was looking for.  Can't I just go out and run a bunch, without killing myself?

Thankfully the answer was yes.   I just needed to find a program that spoke to me, also at the Runner's World website.  I entered a few answers to a few simple questions and voila! out comes my training schedule.  It started July 13 and goes for 14 weeks, culminating in my race on October 18.  Perfect.

The first week seemed like a joke.  Day 1, 2 miles.  Huh?  That's it?  Day 2, rest.  What?!!  I scanned down the list and saw the miles gradually increasing.  (It also has days with Speedwork and Tempo Run, but at the end of the program is a handy explanation of these terms.)  But, Good Lord, it only has me running at 11 minute miles!  How lame!  Ok, I did it my way last time and that didn't work out so good.  But jeez, I can start out a little faster, can't I?

Coming next, what IS a sprint anyway?  Lessons learned along the training route