Runnography

nerves

ashley — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 22:37:39 +0000

dear runnographers, I’m a mere week and a half away from my half marathon and I have many nerves. I really hope I make it under 2 hours. I’m trying to rest up, eat well and get lots of fluids in my system.

What are your prerace tips and rituals?

Also, I thought I’d share some of my 2011 resolutions:

1. Run more races (including the Great Urban Race – it’s a sort of an “Amazing Race” adventure, if you will).

2. Become a certified Zumba instructor and teach classes at a gym – because Zumba makes me happy!

3. Learn the piano – wish I would have done this a long time ago.

4. Finish paying off student loans – Taking a Dave Ramsey 13-week course (very excited!!).

5. Take the GRE and apply to graduate school.

6. Take Spanish classes to work towards becoming fluent.

7. Work more on my photography; start a blog with my fellow photography best friend Shelby.

8. Start my food blog I’ve been dying to start for forever. It’s in the works and I’m excited!

9. Watch more movies – because I only watch bits and pieces of movies. Some are quite educational and moving actually.

10. Keep up with my professional writing by freelancing more.

Off to finish work then run a nice 45 minutes. Keep clicking while you’re kicking.

wanted: songs

ashley — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 22:47:47 +0000

hello darlings.

my half marathon is less than a month away and i’m looking for those pump me up songs that will keep my endurance strong and my mentality optimistic. any suggestions?

keep kicking while you’re kicking.

the car that gets you there

ashley — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 05:10:57 +0000

so, i’ve recently had some car issues, a.k.a. my brakes were about to fall off. so i took it in today and also had to get a slew of other things done. my poor little honda civic. end of the story is i had to spend $350. gah. not ideal around the holidays.

and not ideal for getting me around today when i wanted to do my run at freestone. i opted for a run at tumbleweed park again near my house. i ran a few miles and was excited for tumbleweed’s big open park so i could do some sprints. reminds me of my track days.

Keep clicking while you’re kicking.

heart attack?

ashley — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:18:50 +0000

that’s basically what i thought i was having on my run the other day. every 5 minutes i would get really heavy heart palpitations. it was so weird. I would have to slow my pace down to get my heart rate back to normal. luckily i was running near a hospital! so, in the end, i only ran a little over 3 miles.

yesterday i was consumed with laundry, writing, christmas shopping and crafts. i attempted to get home before it got dark so i could get a good run in, but i got off too late. and traffic is my enemy.

today, i’m getting my brakes (they’ve been pretty squeaky for awhile – i’m lucky) fixed in gilbert and i’m so excited to run at freestone park and along a few canals. there just aren’t any good places to run in chandler. if you hear of any, let me know.

i thought i’d share a funny email i got today. it was from the pf. chang’s rock ‘n’ roll marathon crew telling me about “VIP porta potty’s” that are available during the half and full marathon in january. haha. hopefully i won’t have to go to the bathroom, but if i do, i really don’t care about attendants, running water and flushing toilets. but, i’m sure a lot of people do care, so more power to them. can’t wait to run it though.

keep clicking while you’re kicking.

No Turkey Trot

ashley — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 22:44:27 +0000

My run on Saturday started out pretty well. It was absolutely gorgeous outside and there was a dog festival called “Woofstock” going on at the park I was at (Tumbleweed Park in Chandler). Around 2.15 miles though, I started a cough that I just couldn’t finish. Dry heaving and an obnoxious amount of spitting ensued, forcing me to walk about half of a mile. I jammed up my tunes and calmed myself down and ended up jogging the rest. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but hey, at least I got to do something.

Since, I’ve ran a few more times this week in short distances, but I still don’t feel comfortable taking on the Turkey Trot 10k (6.2 miles). Distance wise I know I can do it, but I want to get 100% better for the half in January and not stress my body anymore than it already has been. So, I guess I’ll just eat, eat and eat on Thanksgiving. What a shame. Nah, I’ll probably head out for a run in the morning before breakfast at my mom’s. I have 3 Thanksgiving eat times to attend! I’m pretty excited. I made vanilla chai cupcakes too! Deeelish!

Have a great Thanksgiving. Keep clicking while you’re kicking.

SICK!

ashley — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 20:54:26 +0000

Dear fellow runnographers, I need your assistance. I’ve been sick for the past week and a half and it’s not a good sick. I usually get small symptoms and I’m back on my feet, but my cough is getting my boss worried that I may have walking pneumonia. LUCKILY, I just recieved my insurance card yesterday in the mail! After 2 years without medical or dental insurance, I finally have a breath of fresh air (But also a major need to see the doctor!). Any recommendations? I’m on the prowl.

So, all this while I haven’t been able to run. Today I AM attempting a 4-miler just to see how it goes and I’m praying for success. I don’t want to make myself worse, but I do have a 10K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving I need to kinda of feel prepared for.

I thought I’d catch you up a little:

1. On a run right before I got sick, I took these pictures of my rather vibrant outfit. I was definitely reppin’ my Nike brand, but couldn’t help but laugh at my choice of pairing.

My pink Nike Free shoes.

Green Nike sweatshirt

Bright blue running shorts, with a turquoise running top.

You’re pretty jealous, right people? Wish I could have seen the faces of the cars driving by me.

2. I purchased a new website totally dedicated to food! BE excited!! More news soon to come!!

3. I also purchased a Groupon.com for paragliding and intend to take some photos during that adventure to share with you. Paraglideography?

4. My old roommate Bittina and I shared this amazing potato and kale soup she made, while drinking wine, eating cheese and watching Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice (Anyone else love those shows?).

Potato and kale soup

I’m off to finish up some work and attempt my runnography sesh. I’m making a yummy dinner tonight of pan grilled tofu and my version of healthy “fried” rice.

I’ll leave you with this – it does come out Thursday night at midnight after all. You bet your bottoms I’ll be there!

Keep clicking while you’re kicking.

Clearing my head

ashley — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 16:16:53 +0000

You know when things happen to you and you seek out activities and comforts to clear your head? Well, running is that for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love my comfort food, but I tend to lose my appetite during stressful situations. For some reason, I went running at 3 a.m. last night. I just couldn’t sleep. It was a little scary seeing as my new workout room has see-through windows, but I was all locked in and safe. We have an awesome surround sound system in the gym so I cranked up some jams and ran a good 4-miles. It didn’t really help clear my head though and I contemplated running another few miles, but was finally getting tired.

Thank goodness my warm shower made me feel better. Needless to say, I’m extremely tired today! Tea, tea, tea! I’ve been on a “no coffee or energy drink” mission lately. Today is my 4th day without one! I’m going strong. As for the running, I felt great and I’m working up my mileage every week for the half marathon – and hopefully my head will be cleared the next time I run. I tend to have an overactive mind/imagination that gets the better of me. Hey – I’m creative, right?

So, if not running, what the thing that clears your head?

Keep clicking while you’re kicking.

been gone…

ashley — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 20:19:35 +0000

…a long time. I know this people. I apologize profusely. I feel like I’m always in transition periods in my life and things get too hectic – I move across country to Birmingham, Alabama. I move back home to Arizona. I start a new job at The Arizona Republic. I still write for Nike Women. I waitress on the weekend. I could go on.

As I get more intense into my training for the P.F. Chang’s Rock N’ Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix in January, I will be posting more regularly. I will also be posting recipes and my adventures with food.

Keep clicking while you’re kicking.

Shrooms

ashley — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:32:08 +0000

I decided to go along my Skyline Park route again today since I had such a great run yesterday! It was nice again this morning with a cool breeze – always a plus. I started out stretching and decided to work in some abs because I seriously heart the way sore abs feel.

After my ab workout, I did a few lunges, stretched a little more, turned on Lady Gaga and headed out! I came across the cutest bunch of little mushrooms! They were scattered along the grass everywhere. I just love nature, don’t you?

I ran about the same length as I did yesterday and I felt really great. I stretched my hamstrings out for at least 5 minutes though because I was still a little stiff. I’m getting back to feeling better though. I think just a few more stretching sessions and maybe a Bikram yoga class will put me in shape. I’ll be busy the next few weeks though, I’m moving Aug. 1 to a new apartment and I start a new job with The Arizona Republic Aug. 2 and a serving job with my old company, The Good Egg on Aug. 7. Don’t worry, I’ll find my time to run and blog. Keep clicking while you’re kicking!

Canals and sunsets

ashley — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:22:16 +0000

Welcome to an Arizona sunset. It’s a beautiful thing to behold, isn’t it?

I needed to start finding some running routes near the southeast Valley and decided on a old route at Skyline High School where I used to run to compete with my high school cross country team. It was an absolutely gorgeous evening. The sunset was perfect, there was a wind, and I believe the temperature was actually below 100 degrees! I ran a little over two miles before I decided I was ravished and needed some fuel! I drank plenty of water during the day, but didn’t eat enough. I was also feeling extremely tight. I stretched for at lesat 10 minutes before my run, but my legs felt heavy and tight still – so odd.

I had so much fun on this run though. I heart running on canals and grass trails and sadly there weren’t very many of those options in Alabama. It’s so refreshing running on grass – and it’s better on my shins!

Just look at that picture! Amazing end to a great run. If this doesn’t persuade you to come run with me, I don’t know what will. Keep clicking while you’re kicking.