Half-marathon training: Week 1

I have officially kicked off my training in earnest for the Disney Princess Half-marathon in February 2013.  I am following the run-walk method by Jeff Galloway. Although I am two weeks behind from his training program, it is not impossible to catch up with the pace.  I feel that I am not really a beginning runner anymore but I don't think I am a strong enough runner yet to set a time goal so I have combined the beginner/time goal programs.  At this point, my goal is simply to finish the race by the recommended time of 3:30!  Funny thing is, they ask you what your estimated time to finish would be when you sign up.  You cannot put a time  longer than 3:30 so I put 3:29!!!  This is my magic number!

Rundown of Week 1:  

• Tuesday :  Warm up: 10 minutes; Run: 30 minutes; Pace: 15 min/mi; Miles:  2.1
• Thursday:  Warm up: 10 minutes; Run: 30 minutes; Pace: 17 min/mi,; Miles:  1.94
• Distractions:  caught up with neighbors running, stopped and talked so pace is longer
• The pace doesn't seem to add up with how long and how far I ran, but I got these numbers from my ipods summary after I ran.  
• Saturday:  Warm up:  10 minutes:  Run 1:10 minutes; Pace 17 min/mi; Miles:  4.1
• Breakfast:  Post wheat cereal with non fat milk
• Location:  along Lake Washington Rd.
• Weather:  perfect; cool breeze from the north, temperature at 67 degrees!
• Injuries:  none
• Physical discomfort:  left pinky toes rubbing against 4th toe at around mile 3.  Remedy:  put vaseline between toes in the next long run.
• After run intervention:  ate a piece of cookie while icing both knees for 10 minutes.
• Advice for others:  do not go to a dinner/dance in the evening after a long run!  While only the legs were a bit tired in the morning, adding the hips and hands to dance the night away a few hours later was utter torture.  At least, I got a full body work out!

T minus 123 days!

This is the Jeff Galloway timer that I use and is set to beep every 30 seconds of walk/run interval.  

Half marathon, half crazy!

Well, I have done the unthinkable and registered for the 2013 Disney's Princess Half Marathon to be held on February 24, 2013!  Me, with only a handful of 5Ks (3.1 miles) under my belt is daring to run 13.1 miles! That's the distance from my house to the Melbourne Square Mall and back! So of course, you'd ask - have I lost my mind?  Well, hear me out on this.  As serendipity would have it, last week I read that one of my favorite financial consultants, Jean Chatzky, has run a handful of half marathons and lived to tell about it.  She is probably a real runner than I am, but I thought, if she can do it, so can I.  Then while flipping through channels the other day, I flipped on the Sex and The City movie just as "Carrie" and "Charlotte" were discussing why "Charlotte" had not run since she got pregnant.   Her fear of losing the pregnancy stopped her from running and eventually got back to it and still carried her baby to term.  Even fictional characters are running, then why can't I.  

But most of all, I found out that little Clare, the 2 year old daughter of one of my co-teachers, just had her first dose of chemotherapy yesterday. She is fighting the biggest battle of all, leukemia.  I don't know the pain that she is going through and I can only imagine the pain that her parents are going through.  The beneficiary of the run is the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  I am going to endure the pain of running for over 2 hours to help raise awareness of this disease and fund research for a cure.

So am I crazy?  Of course I am, because I'm not Jean Chatzky or "Charlotte".  I'm Joy who, while running 5Ks, is cursing my way through the course thinking why did I ever sign up for this?  What could possibly possess me to embark on such a seemingly insurmountable goal?   Well, maybe I just want to say in the end that I did it - check it off the proverbial bucket list.  Simple as that.  There is plenty of time to train. Honestly, I am truly terrified at the thought of running for 13.1 miles but I know I can do it and expect to live to tell about it!  I hope you follow me as I share my successes and failures through every run as I prepare for that big day.  

Let the 127-day countdown till the half marathon begin!

Newly redesigned blog

Welcome to my newly redesigned blog!  Thank you to Kim at www.733design.com for her creative genius in coming up with the new design.  I hope to see you here often.

Turtle Krawl 5K

     After a long hiatus from running, my husband and I ran the Turtle Krawl 5K in Indialantic on September 15.  There were close to 2000 runners and the course was great.  What I was not prepared for was the heat, and oh, running for 5K!  Not training before running is not a good idea.  Halfway through the course, I could feel my thighs starting to tighten and feel heavy. Nevertheless, buoyed by the excitement and the similar look of exhaustion from my fellow runners, I pushed on and finished the course in 45:34 minutes.  As one of my friends said, it's not how fast or slow you run, but that you do!

These are my running essentials:

1. My running shoes with #465 D-tag.

2.  #465 - My runner number.

3.  My shirt. 

4. ipod - loaded with running music including my power song, Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger".

Miscellaneous perks from organizers or vendors

Canvas goody bag filled with advertising supplement for future runs, a granola bar, a shirt and a D-tag

Another bag from Absolutely Natural

Drinks from Starbucks and Nathan's

Carb reload courtesy of Publix and other vendors. Running almost becomes worth it with all of these freebies at the end of the run.

Was able to snag this most plump chocolate chip cupcake.  Everybody was eyeing it as I walked to the car!

The results - 45:54 at a pace of 14:47 per mile.

My running hubby, I mean buddy.

My classroom

July 2001 changed the course of my life when 

I took on the job as a high school teacher. 

Through the years, there have been surprises, frustrations, and sense of accomplishments.

 I have taught Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Integrated Science, Science Research and even Math!

I was born to a family of teachers.

My grandfather was a school Superintendent.

My grandmother, a teacher.

My mother was a teacher who moved up to become a Principal.

My aunt was a teacher who traveled for two hours to and and from work everyday for 35 years!

My husband's father was a teacher and,

I married one!

 I am proud to be a teacher. 

Proud to have followed in the footsteps of my mother whom

I loved and worked hard to emulate.

I love my profession.
As an educator, I hope that I have made a difference in the lives of the

hundreds of students 

who have passed through my classroom doors.

So now, I welcome you to my classroom - Room 16-104

where, for 36 weeks a year, 

I work to ignite student's interest in learning about Science- 

in learning to love Science!

Room 16-104

24 desk chairs

The clock on my wall -  47 minutes is how long we get to teach about science.

My attendance folder - The courses I teach this year.

My cluttered desk 

Can't miss showing off my Seminole pride!

A gift from a special friend, Shirley.  The words and prayers have guided me through the years.

A gift from my husband when I first started teaching!  Yes, we are first class.

Things on the walls!

Periodic Table of Elements - What elements do you know?

                 Won't hurt to remind them..                                       Setting high expectations!

My credentials 

Naturally simple, vol. 11

Often we do not notice the simple beauty of

things that surround us.

I share the simple things around me...

This monarch caterpillar...who simply munches on the leaves of milkweed and in a few days will metamorphose into a beautiful Monarch butterfly.

This peace lily plant that adorns our pool...that simply blooms with the most beautiful white flower.

This lighthouse...that simply holds pillar candles.

These chopped wood...that would supply us with heat in the winder, so simply functional.

Unopened beer bottles...that simply quench the thirst during these hot summer months.

Bucket list - not mine

Do you have a bucket list?  I do.  My list includes a visit to the Great Wall of China and a visit with the Pope, among others.  My husband has a list, too. Unbeknownst to me, one item on  his list is to go skydiving!  Let's go back to me for a second...I don't have this on my list and will not have it in, ever.  Planes are a necessary mode of transportation for me and nothing more.  I will only get on one but never jump off any! Okay, let's get back to my husband.  This blog post, is in fact, about him.  So as I have said, he wanted to check off skydiving from his list.  So he and a couple of our friends who are also celebrating the half century mark decided to jump together.

The trio (from left, Noel, Ralph, Brad) with their wives before they went up the on the plane.

On August 18, 2012, three middle-aged men set out to go sky diving at Skydive Sebastian.  I was silently praying for bad weather so they would cancel the dive because I was anxious.  However, God instead blessed them with the clear blue skies!  Even the wind blew just enough to sway the flags on the poles.  They were assigned an instructor to tandem dive with and since they wanted to capture every moment of the dive, each was assigned his own cameraman.  They paid an extra $100 for this but it was so worth it.  Each second of each diver's jump and free fall from 15000 feet was captured for eternity!

Final check, or goodbye??? before jumping off the plane!

Ralph with his tandem buddy jumps off the plane just above the clouds in Sebastian, Florida

Thumbs up!

Shaking hands with the cameraman at 15000 feet!!  So breathtaking!

The skydive only took about 5 minutes but the memories of the experience will last them a lifetime.  Each had his own story to tell of how it felt being up in the clouds, jumping off the plane, free falling for 40 seconds and then slowly descending with a chute back down to earth.  For all of us who marveled at the sight of what looked like ants falling from the sky, it was an equally thrilling experience.  I, and the other wives, definitely breathed a sigh of relief after we saw the three colored chutes open and slowly camendown from the sky.

The cameraman's feet in the foreground as they separate for chute deployment. 

Landing!

Will they be doing it again?  My husband is quick to say no but the other two said they probably would.  In that case, I wish them all the best on their next dive!

After the dive with Ralph's instructor.

I have to say this was such a big leap for my husband as he is not a risk taker at all.  I am proud that he went through with it and came down (pun intended) and landed with both feet.  For those who would like to go and share the experience, I say, go for it.  It may not be for me, but it definitely could be for you!