Secrets of the Sole Sisters: #runningday

Would you rather run alone or with others? For me, it depends on the day. I can assure you though that no matter what I am feeling, that when it comes to runs with Sister V, I would always much rather run with her than alone. The conversations, the camaraderie, that extra push, the laughs ... Those don't happen when you run alone. I am lucky enough to have forged a friendship that extends beyond girly gossip and your typical chick stuff. I have a friendship that is based on common interests, goals, competitiveness, positivity, sweat, insecurities, lifting each other up, holding each other back (if needed), laughter, fears ... It's as real as it gets and I am lucky.

When you run with someone, you get to know the REAL person that stands in front of you. The nitty-gritty... When you train with someone, you can't hide who you really are. When you are on an 18 mile run and you hurt, want to stop, have to poop, feel dehydrated, are running positive splits and just don't think you can make it... You CAN'T fake that or hide it. That is what I LOVE about my friendship with Sister V. It's REAL. We have learned so much about each other in the short time that we have known each other because when you train together, you are forced to get to know one another. I couldn't have asked for a better training partner. She is my sister!

(Love You Like A Sister)

Day 24 -- This was a post-work run and it was beautiful and sunny out. I wanted to run immediately after work, but had a mishap in scheduling due to Josie (my youngest) peeing her pants at the library. I had to run new shorts to her instead of heading to the park. After delivering new shorts, I headed home, changed clothes and got out the door. I was happy to be running before dark, so I couldn't complain about the minor hiccup in my plans. I got a solid five miles in, with all miles under an 8 minute pace. Aside from a semi turning into a parking lot in front of me, the run was awesome. I even got honked at a couple of times. I am sure it was the skirt!

I was super happy to have ran and gotten home before the sun set. I got to throw some chicken on the grill and play with the kids for awhile. It was nice. I am definitely going to try and do this more often. Night runs are fun and all, but going right after work was a nice treat.

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Aww: Ditto, and L.Y.L.A.S. right back atcha, Sister M! Let me say right now how lucky any of you out there would be to have such a partner in crime. Through the good and the bad of running, it is beyond awesome to know that you have a supportive companion who will have your back through both tough headwinds and gross roadkill downwinds, and will keep you laughing so hard that you actually get ab cramps while running. My half-sisters are a lot younger than me, and we grew up far away, so this sisterly bond forged through the miles is just a total gift to me, and I feel super lucky as well! You know you have a true friend when she not only doesn't complain when you've just GOT to stop at a port-a-john at mile 3.5 of a 6-mile run, but also is there waiting with a camera to catch your expression when you step out of it, too. But more about Day 25 later ...

Day 24 was super-unbelievably-CRAZY busy for me. But, I'm never too busy to get in one measly mile, right? Coach B and I got up early (for us), deputized the Sole Children to start some mega-weed pulling (my general mantra this year has been "yard work is for suckas," so things where getting pretty junglelike out there), and then we joined them. Four huge lawn bags full of weeds later, I was an achy puppy, BUT had to go food shopping for (drumroll please) Sole Child Nick's 13th birthday party! Woot! Got back, decorated for a luau like a dervish, marinated the chicken, made fruit salad, husked corn, untinned the baked beans, chilled the Malibu Blue Hawaiian, downed a sugar-free Red Bull, cut kebob ingredients, soaked skewers, blah blah blah blah blah blah ... And then I laced up my Virratas and zoomed out the door for one mile before everyone arrived. And, saw everyone in a car heading toward my house about a quarter mile in, lol. So I waved and thought, "Well, see you in six minutes!" It was a great little bash, and we are now blessed with not one, but two teens in the house. You may see a bump in my weekly mileage. (JUST KIDDING! CALM DOWN, KIDS -- LOVE YOU BOTH.)

That may very well be one of my most favorite pictures of Sole Child Nick.
And I swear, I only had ONE Blue Hawaiian, just don't ask about the size of the glass.

I woke up on Day 25 of the streak ready to rock it with M! We had thought about getting in a 10-mile run in, but ended up scaling it back to about 6. Which was fine by me, as I 'm still working out some calf crampy issues -- the foot feels GREAT though. We explored some new concrete-jungle paths, breathed in some toulene fumes from the refineries ringing the area, saw some really neat old gravestones in a (new to us) cemetery, and even visited Navarre Park (I even explored its port-a-john -- there was a lot of food at the birthday luau, what can I say).

Mmmmm: Fume-y. This scene makes me hum "My City Was Gone" for some reason.

M runs this city.

And, two slightly demented runner chicks.

The best part of Day 25, though, was finishing and getting to play with M's Sole Children! These are two great girls, and their friend, too. I think we were happy to have an excuse to use the swing set and also play with sidewalk chalk while drinking our post-run java.

Hey there, happy campers!

Look out, girls! Mom's gonna get you both in one swing!

Whee! Thanks, Lu, for showing me how to do this!

Love You Like A Sister

Chalk outlines, courtesy of Lu and Mia.

Fun, fun, fun summer morning. It was like being a kid again, but with coffee. And then, we went off to our grown-up jobs, but kept a smile in our hearts for the rest of the day. :-)

I hope that you all find that kind of joy doing what you love, too.

P.S. We are LESS THAN A WEEK from the One Run For Boston cross-country relay! I got a call from the Reynoldsburg Police Department that they want to support us, and are giving us a motorcycle escort during our 7.5 mile relay leg! How cool is that? We can't wait to document it and bring you the sights and sounds of this inspiring event.

Taking off for National Running Day.

Hey there everyone! We hope you all had a great National Running Day -- we sure did at the I RUN event at Fossil Park. A great group of runners turned out for what ended up being a 4.4 mile race/fun run/walk.

Pleased to report that your Sole Sisters did well on the day, with V taking 2nd in age group and M just steps behind, with a 31:35 and 31:40 respectively, finishing 15th and 16th overall.

The course was through Fossil Park, then Sylvan Prairie Park, two trails that we were unfamiliar with before the race. We'll be back! Both areas were nicely maintained, wide enough to accommodate a crowd, well-marked, and even had a few rises to make it challenging and keep it from being pancake-flat. Speaking of food ...

Here's the dish on the Donut Dash we have planned for National Donut Day! If you didn't know, National Donut Day falls on the first Friday of June, and this holiday dates to 1938. What is now known as Donut Day started as a fund-raiser to benefit the Salvation Army in Chicago. The fund-raiser aimed to both aid those in need during the Great Depression and honor the memory of the "Doughnut Dollies," who were female volunteers of the Salvation Army who traveled to France in 1918 to support U.S. soldiers stationed there. These "Lassies" were sent to France after a Salvation Army mission trip concluded that soldiers were in need of several amenities, such as writing supplies, stamps, and baked goods. About 250 such Salvation Army volunteers went to France and patriotically served pastries to U.S. doughboys on the front lines.

We too wish to honor that service and also just celebrate the fact that doughnuts are so darn good! So, we are holding our own Donut Dash to mark the holiday. Here's the skinny:
We're going to run a 5k, and every half mile, we have to eat one glazed doughnut. M suggested perhaps we have milk at each half-mile mark as well to wash it down, but that idea was quickly vetoed by me, as I am somewhat-lactose sensitive (ever try to drink a glass of milk before a run? Oh, no thank you). One of the neat things about National Donut Day is that many doughnut establishments give out free doughnuts to celebrate! Here's a list of places where you can score some free fritters: FREE DOUGHNUTS!!

Glazed doughnuts seem like the best choice for us, especially over heavy Bavarian cream-filled longjohns or sugary raspberry-filled jelly doughnuts. Even though we're running during this 5k, we're still going to come out on the bad end calorically speaking. A single glazed doughnut runs about 200 calories. If we successfully consume one every half mile, that's six over the course of the 5K. That puts us at 1,200 calories in doughnuts. I think I just developed a twitch as I typed that number. Our height and weight differences put M and I at different calories burned during a 5K, but you could average it out to about 325 or so calories for the 3 miles. Oh, dear. This is turning into less like a 5K and more like a competitive eating event. Perhaps I can persuade Joey "Jaws" Chestnut or Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas to come and make this a relay event so I only have to consume one sugary treat (which, on any other day, is the max doughnuts I ever eat. And that's maybe once every three months or so). Anyhow, we will definitely be testing our intestinal fortitude in every conceivable sense of the word.

We're also happy to report that the streak does live on! Day 11 and still going strong. I managed to just squeak out a mile and call it a rest day. This was my first streak day done on the treadmill, and I still don't like running on the treadmill. But, Sole Child Nick was watching "Identity Thief" so I got to watch it with him in the living room, while running.

And a Sole Sister shoutout to Allan Detrich, who continues to both streak AND knock down his mile time! In one week, he has whittled his mile time by an entire minute. Fan-freaking-tastic, Allan! Debbie in Delaware is still streaking AND cross training, Sara in Cincinnati is racking up her streaking time, and so is Jodi in Bowling Green. Who am I missing? Weigh in!

M got her streak day in with runner friend Tyler -- she clocked 2 miles in 21:42, with the second mile a scorcher at 6:58. Nice, sis!