Frannie's eSpace

Go Joy!

This is an inspiring tale:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122541525316986643.html

It's the story o Joy Johnson, an 81-year old lady who runs marathons! Her upcoming goal is to win the 80-90 year old division at this weekend's New York City Marathon.  Joy trains by running 50-55 miles a week. She does bleachers too, and attends running camps.

Imagine being able to do that at her age. The article describes Joy as one of the "sunniest people." Man, this is inspiring to me. Maybe I'll be running marathons too, at that age.

Well, anyway, go Joy! Win your age division, and enjoy the Tiffany crystal prize!

Running in Austin TX

I've been in Austin for a couple of days and simply could not stand going another day without running! Even though it was 95 degrees this evening and the sun was still high, I headed out. Wow! The heat was brutal, but thank goodness the terrain was flat. 40 minutes later driving back to the hotel, I noticed that I wasn't even sweaty... not one drop! And my hair was dry as a bone. Definitely an odd sensation for this Georgia girl.

Wogging and junning

My friend described her new activity as "wogging." It's a mixture of walking and jogging.

I had to laugh at this clever new word! It got me thinking that maybe what I do more often than not is "junning" - a mixture of jogging and running.

Happy Feet

Thanks to my brother-in-law John, I have happy feet! No callouses and no blisters! He put me on to Aquaphor to rub onto my feet before going for a run. Incredible! I had been using a cheap substitute, but not any more. My feet have never looked better, and my running is so much less painful!

Now, does anyone have an ointment or cream to make me run faster?

Another Peachtree in the bank

You may have heard that the Peachtree Road Race was brutal this year, due to the last half mile being uphill. The only good thing about it was that at least it was in the shade, since we were running South instead of East.

My time was no worse this year, however. I did the race in a little over 48 minutes. And I liked the grayish-blue t-shirt: it'll go good with jeans.

The best part of the race, however, was seeing Allison. I can always count on seeing her at least once a year! We vow to do better, but once a year is better than no times a year!

The ING Half Marathon

I ran last Sunday's ING Half Marathon in just under 1 hour 44 minutes, which beats last year's time by about 3 minutes. I guess it does pay to train!

A couple of comments about my performance:
1) Downhills are my downfall! After the downhill in mile 10, my left knee hurt for the next two miles. It was very uncomfortable.
2) I love Thor-Lo socks! On a whim, I bought a pair the day before the race; they made the difference: my feet didn't hurt at all! It was so stupid of me not to have tried them before then because a lot of people on Charles' side of the family wear them exclusively. I should have paid more attention. Oh well, better late than never.

Next year's ING is on Sunday April 5.

More Running Tips

I just finished a 1-hour 50 minute run and my only regret is to not have started earlier this morning before it was so sunny! It got hot!

Here are a few more tips for a long run:
1) Take 3 or 4 Advil before the run.
2) Take a tablespoon of Kyo-Green mixed with a little apple juice before the run. It'll give you energy.
3) If you're faced with a steep hill, lower your center of gravity and pump your arms like crazy. That'll get you up to the top fast!

(You can read my other tips here: Tips for a Long Run.)

Tips for a Long Run

I ran for an hour and 45 minutes yesterday in prep for the ING Half Marathon two weeks from now. It wasn't that bad! However, I'm not used to running that long, in fact my usual regime is about 4 miles 3 times during the week, with a long run or two on the weekend.

If you're in my boat, here are some tips to "get through" a Long Run:
1) Music! If I didn't have my Shuffle with lots of peppy songs, I wouldn't even attempt to run.
2) Propel! I place a bottle of Propel in a strategic spot of the run. That sacred bottle is a life saver! In fact, next week, I'm going to put out two bottles.
3) Out and Back! I make sure the majority of the course is an out and back. That way, there's less chance to skip a leg of of the course or cut it short.
4) No clock watching! I avoid looking at my watch (which is tucked away in my Amphipod) until I'm sure it's been at least an hour. It's too depressing otherwise!

Yep... Like most other things in life, most of a long run is mental!

The disadvantages of smooth feet

Like a lot of other people, I got several nice bottles of lotion for Christmas, including a jar of "body butter" (from the Dead Sea, no less!). My immediate reaction was: I'm gonna get my runners' feet in shape once and for all... no more callouses, no more scratchy surfaces, no more dead skin! It took a few weeks, but I achieved the elusive "smooth feet". (Must have been the body butter!) However, in the process, I've gotten terrible blisters and have spent lots of money on mole skin, blister bandaids and cushion-y pads. Yesterday's run was brutal.

Best I can tell, the blisters are from the smooth feet. I'd heard before that callouses protect runners' feet from pain and blisters, but it simply seems too outrageous that an athlete can't also have smooth feet. Somebody, please, say it ain't so!

The advantages of getting older

Now that I'm in a new and older age group in running, I'm placing in the top 3 of my age division more and more often! For example, last Saturday I ran a 10K and I actually came in first in the 45-49 year old women's group. Yippee!  Admittedly, it wasn't a huge race, but you can see for yourself: http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?pubID=3&rsID=50051

When I was younger, I never would have hit the top three, much less the top spot! Who says there ain't perks in getting older?