Gimme a T....

The old saying goes that it takes a village to raise a child. What about to raise a runner?

My first "team" sport experience was in 12th grade when I joined the cross county team. I continued the team spirit when I went to college and ran 4 years of cross county and 3 years of track. Not only did I make big strides (no pun intended) in my running, but I enjoyed sharing the pain, suffering, laughter and joy with others.

Team 1999

When I left college, I lost my team. I was alone in the running world to fend for myself. No planned week of workouts. No one calling out splits. No where to be at 4pm. I didn't even have to run if I didn't want to. What a strange concept.

I moved to Colorado and found my running again (great to find it at 5300 ft above sea level). I met my husband, found love and another sport...duathlon. Not a team sport. But something other then running, and at that time, I needed something different. I spent about 5 years working at this sport and then other another sport..swimming. Still, I was doing this primarily on my own. No team.

2010. I wanted to run a marathon. I choose to just go to one sport and I still thought I could do it on my own. For 12 weeks, I trained on my own (sometimes with Jeff) and laid mile upon mile. Alone. Cursing...alone. Being proud..alone. Just me and an iPod. I saw my friends with a team. I told myself I could do this on my own. I didn't need a team. In a sense I was too proud to admit that I did want to belong and have a team again. I was determined to do this on my own.

And I did. I ran my first marathon in a respectable time.

But I still longed for a team. A group to be accountable to. To look forward to seeing. To look forward to suffering. To support and encourage each other. I had to take a strong look at what I wanted. I thought about the group I coached and saw their gains and heard what they had to say about being part of a group. I thought back to college. I weighed the pros and cons.

I wrote an email expressing my sincere interest in being on a team. I admitted that I needed and wanted a group of women to run hard and fast with. My biggest gains came with I had that support system. I wanted to not only challenge myself physically, by challenge others in a safe, inviting, and fun atmosphere. I needed a team again. As much as I wanted to deny it, it was the truth. I could not and can not do everything by myself.

Moving into 2011. I am part of a team. A great group of ladies who laugh, curse, and say inappropriate things. But we run hard and have fun. We are ALL making gains and progress. Is it because of each other? I like to think it is.

Team 2010

Rock on~

JK

Testing 1...2....3...

Wikipedia defines a test as: something that may be administered orally, on paper, on a computer, or in a confined area that requires a test taker to physically perform a set of skills. The basic component of a test itself is called an item, which is sometimes colloquially referred to as a "question."

In my case, I (the test taker) took a physical test in which the skill was to race a 5K. The confined area could be defined as the ColderBoulder Course at the CU Campus.

And the "question": Where is my fitness as of December 2010?

Since the end of October/beginning of November, I have been working on building a base and preparing myself and my body what I have planned for it in 2011. The ColderBoulder presented a great "test" to see where I am and where I need to go. Last year I ran a similar test down at Chatfield. Different course this year, same objective.

Going into the 5K, I had some good pre-test results from my workouts. I knew what was possible-or at least had an idea. But again, I kept reminding myself this is December and I don't want to be a Winter Winner. That needs to wait until spring/summer. Jeff and Heather warmed up with me-Jeff being the comic that he is-kept making us laugh and keeping the mood light. The Open Wave started at 10.10. It was suppose to be warm, but sadly, it was cold. I don't know why I was surprised. We do live in Colorado and it is December.

The "confined area" started off down hill, had some sharp turns, a tough 2nd mile, and then a few more turns and flat 3rd mile. The race started and I ran on how I felt. I didn't wear my Garmin so I didn't have a number telling me I was ahead or behind where I thought I should be. I am finding that this practice allows me to race better with fewer numbers to worry about and less over analyzing. The first mile passes and I am feel good. The 2nd mile is the tough one. Some s-curve and uphills took me through this mile. I knew I needed to work this mile-this one is usually my down fall. I keep running and pushing to catch the girl in front on me. The goal is just to get up to Broadway and then focus on the last mile. I finally reach it and know I only have about 7 min left of racing. I settle in to being uncomfortable and keep pushing closer and closer to the finish. I tell myself not to look at my watch-what good will it do? I know where the finish is and I know roughly where I am in relation to the finish-so I just need to run there.

Hard.

Nearing the finish, I let a girl I passed, pass me back. Dumb move. Right hand turn into the fieldhouse and there is the finish line....and the clock. I cross the line and get my answer.

Answer: I am in a good place for December 2010.

Rock On

JK