LIVESTRONG Donation Raffle Prize Drawing

Howdy, everyone!

Just a quick note to say training is going right on progress, and now it's time to kick the donation meter up a notch. Time for a contest! I've put together a pretty fabulous gift package for which you can be entered to win. All of the items in the package come from the LIVESTRONG store, and I've already purchased them. So, by entering the raffle you're actually doubly supporting the foundation. Here's a list of the items as well as their descriptions at the LIVESTRONG store:

LIVESTRONG Bag


Wristbands (10-either 10 adult or half and half adult and youth)


Cycling Cap


Hairbands

And anything you want up to $25.00 from the The Support Supernatural Cafe Press Store which benefits A Dog's Life Charity.



How To Enter

Entering is easy. Just click on the donation meter at the right of this blog. (ETA: That link doesn't appear to be working. Go here to donate. ) For every five dollars you donate to the charity, I will enter your name into the drawing for the prize. If you donate five dollars, you're entered once. If you donate $50.00, you're entered 10 times. The prize package is worth $93.00 retail. I pay shipping to wherever you are. Or,if you're going to be in Chicago and don't mind waiting, I'll hand deliver it to you.

Contest ends on May 30. Good luck, and thanks for supporting the cause.

Until the next bend in the road, watch for plot holes.

Tracy

Book Review- Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

I have a book rec. I know! A book. I wish I could say I read it. LOL. I didn't. I downloaded it from Audible, but now that I've listened to it, I fully intend to buy it so I can underline and love it to bits.

STOP!

Before you say, "Oh, it's a book about running," and scroll past, I beg to differ. Obviously, I bought it because it's about running, but it's sooo much more than that. This book has something for everyone:

-Amazing characters who not only happen to be real people, but who are the kind of people we all wish we had the inner strength and peace to be. (Ignore that glaring generalization in favor of glowing melodrama, k?) These are the dudes and dudettes who walk the walk, and they do it while overcoming the same trials and tribulations that all of us face. Where other people make excuses, they make tracks. I dare you to read this and not love or find a piece of yourself in at least one of the characters.

-Conspiracy theory. Your running shoes are causing your injuries, not preventing them. And the running shoe manufacturers know it.

-Drama. Set a foot race in Copper Canyon, Mexico, the heart of drug runner territory. This isn't just a hostile backdrop, but a part of the story that will break your heart.

-Cultural study. The Tarahumara, a Mexican tribe known for their triumph as ultramarathoners are not only some of the most amazing runners on the planet but also the most amazing people. Of the Tarahumara, one observer in the book noted that the difference between the Tarahumara runners and the people they run against is that "Man's capacity to love is directly proportional to his capacity to love running." While the book is criticized as focusing only on the Tarahumara as runners and ignoring the fact that they're so poverty stricken that they truly have nothing, I think that's even more inspirational in that, people who 'have nothing' as one reviewer noted, still have something that they not only excel at but that they love and use to bind together as a community.

-Inspiration. Some of the world's top runners should not be the world's top runners. They do everything wrong. Wrong shoes. Wrong form. Wrong training plan. The difference? They love running. One quote that stands out (and I'm paraphrasing because I can't go back and find direct quotes on the audio file) is this. "Running is man's superpower, and we all have it." And even if you never intend to run a race or a step out your front door, the graphic re-telling of some of the world's toughest ultra marathons (50 miles and over) will help you get through the day with that nagging pain in your knee or your foot or your... ass(speaking personally here, LOL.)

-History. The title isn't just a catchphrase. It's a statement of fact. If you don't believe running is your privilege and your superpower rather than your punishment by the time you finish reading, you'll at least believe that there's an athlete in you just waiting to be resurrected.

-Story. So, you don't care about running, history, conspiracy theories, little known cultures and the human spirit, it's still a gripping, moving story. I have to admit, I got so caught up in the rest that I completely missed who wound up winning the race at the end, because more than anything, this book reminds you, it's about the race, not the finish.

I don't have my own personal star rating, but on Amazon it has over 4 stars and over 459 reviews, so there ya go. Would I steer you wrong? (Okay, ignore the fact that I once recced the Cal Leandros books on here. I had no idea how bad that was going to get. This is just one book, a'ight? And it's looong.)

So there. Read it. Then strap on your Vibram Five Fingers and go for a... walk.

Until the next bend in the road, watch out for plot holes.

Tracy

Run Thru The Vines-10k Official Race Report

I've been kinda training in a vacuum for awhile, it seems. Getting in my miles, following the plan, and loving all the support and feedback from my friends (hugs for all) but there was still the little niggling doubt in my head as to whether I could run a race or would just crumble under the pressure-- whether I could apply the training to anything but more training. So, I took the plunge and entered a race, and yesterday I even ran it. (Believe me, I was always well aware that there was no real penalty for just not showing up. LOL.) And you know what? I liked it! Hey, Tracy!

It's still a little surreal in my head, not because there was anything special about how the run went, but because I'm not even sure I know who that person was who showed up on that racecourse. Not me, I'm sure. Some other crazy bubbly chick who stole my clothes... and my bib... and my hair. This is her story, not mine, despite use of the first person narration.

It started out kinda rough. I'm not gonna lie. A week ago hubby said he probably wasn't going to go to the race with me. The night before, he decided that he was, so suddenly I was on his schedule of how things should be. I mean, I don't mind, usually, but him saying I should be asleep is not gonna make me magically fall asleep, and since I work nights, sometimes the sleep just does not come. But anyway, I tried the whole oatmeal thing for breakfast, but only choked down half a bowl and a banana--half the oatmeal, that is. I don't make a habit of eating bowls. I had my coffee with protein powder (chocolate, yum) mixed up some Gatorade in my water bottle, listened to hubby's, no doubt well intended but grating, speech on how I shouldn't expect too much, blah, blah, and then we headed out.

I made a point to pee right before we left, and I still needed the porta potties as soon as we got there.

The race was the Run Thru The Vines 5k/10k at the Mesina Hof Winery and Resort, and it wasn't that hard to find, but a few more signs might've helped. We thought we got there a little on the late side, because the parking lot was full and we were parking on the grass, but by the time the race started, people were parked practically up to the line. Because they'd changed the liability waiver since the online signup, we all had to go through the registration line. They handed out the waivers in the line, but no pens, and I got to listen to the older gentleman behind me talk about how these student run events never got any better, not exactly a great plug for the Texas A&M Roadrunner's club, but I had nothing to compare it to. I think it went off all right, though. Made it through the line in about 5 minutes.

I think it was probably about the time that I strapped on my timing chip and pinned on my bib (number 95 and my hands were shaking SO much!) that this new chick came and possessed me. I was... giddy, excited, couldn't wait to get started. My cheeks hurt from smiling, I kid you not, and I could tell hubby about every pair of shoes that went by. Made my mouth dry. LOL. Those are Asics--they hurt my knees. Those are Vibrams-- I'd like to graduate to those someday, but I'm afraid how they'd hold up on road base and pea gravel and not sure I could stand having stuff between my toes-- look, another person with the UnderArmours (There were only two of us sporting the UnderArmours. I felt special.)

I could pick out the eventual winners of the race with no problem. There's just a different look and build, I guess, neither of which I will ever possess, LOL. I picked out three I thought would be the fastest, but I didn't know which race they were in, so I just stuck that in my head for later reference.

Somewhere between registering and waiting for the race start, I got the worst case of cotton mouth ever and had to race back to the car for my half-empty bottle of Gatorade. When I got back, they were saying five minutes to start. I didn't know if there were separate starts for the 5k and 10k, so it was frustrating that the sound system was total crap, but it seemed like everyone was heading toward the line at the same time, so I just kissed hubby and followed suit.

I'd spent the afternoon prior compiling a playlist for the race (and shampooing my carpet and burning audiobooks to CD, very productive day, lol) and as we approached the line, I realized I'd better start it playing, since there'd be no way to access it without unzipping my armband, and I didn't wanna mess with that during the race. Getting that done did a pretty decent job of distracting me until the start, and "Wayward Son," by Kansas was already half finished by the time the airhorn sounded.

I knew the race was supposed to be through the vineyard for part of it, but I didn't realize what a mess of congestion and bad footing that was going to be. It'd been a rainy spring, and there were huge ruts in the path which I couldn't always see due to the number of people running in front of me. Not to mention sticks and knotted pieces of grapevine, huge potholes and rocks. More than one person commented that they were trying to kill us. I said this was probably why they needed the new liability forms. I swear, I didn't intend to talk at all during the race, just knuckle in and go, but that other girl in my clothes was apparently a Chatty Cathy.

I probably expended a little more energy than necessary powering past a few people who insisted on running together despite the trail being pretty narrow and forcing me to run in the ruttiest part of the road. I picked a higher gear until we got out of the vineyard, at which time, everybody, and I mean everybody, split off from me onto the 5k course and left me pretty much running by myself on the 10k. There was one girl ahead of me that I ended up passing in the first mile and never saw again, and one group ahead of me that pretty much stayed there for the rest of the race, and one other lone runner that I leapfrogged for most of the race, and other than that, I never saw most of the 10k field until the turnaround. They were either way ahead of me or way behind me.

At this point, I tried to focus on my pace and heart rate, running the race I had planned. I knew my goal pace was between 10 and 11min/mile. I wanted to finish as close to an hour as possible, but I'd intended to start out closer to the 11min/mile pace and speed up. Imagine my surprise when I checked it a mile in and found out I was going at 9min/mile. Oops. My heart rate was already into my yellow zone, hard running, even though I was still breathing like a green zone run. I made a conscious effort to slow down to at least 10min/mile, but that didn't happen til after the turnaround. My heart rate stayed in the yellow, over 173 bpm for the whole race. Previously, I'd only ever done a 20 minute yellow run. If anyone had told me I could stay in my yellow for over an hour, I'd have called them a liar.

I wasn't even 2.5 miles into the race when the first runner came back the other way. This guy was booking it and had a guy on a bike pacing him. He ended up finishing the race in 37 minutes, I think. Within the next half to 3/4 of a mile, the actual winner of the race (turned out the first guy was just auditing it) and the two female leaders, also the two I had picked from the start, came cruising by going the other way. I think they finished in 42 and 44 minutes.

Me? I was just wondering when we'd get to the top of this friggin' hill. I swear, we started on a hill, turned a corner to another hill, leveled off before going up yet another hill. The course was supposed to be 'rolling.' From now on, I'll understand a rolling course to be uphill the entire race. But I will say I was glad to see the runners coming back in this direction, because I figured that meant we'd finally get to run down all these hills we'd been running up. I went up to the water station thinking we must be pretty close to the turnaround if I was seeing runners. Oh, how naive am I? So, I felt pretty good when I got my water. Despite my best intentions, I had to walk to drink it, because I was really thirsty, and I wanted to drink it, not wear it. At that point, a group of three runners cruised by me. I hadn't even known they were there. What's the point of looking behind you, anyway? I let them go. We weren't even halfway yet, and I had no idea if I could keep going at the pace I was going. I'd rather let them go and catch them at the end than keep spending all my energy leapfrogging them.

I got my first disappointment when I realized the race didn't actually have a turnaround, so to speak, but about a mile loop that just happened to cross back onto a stretch of road we'd already been down, so I was not as close to the turnaround as I thought, and it started to set in that I wasn't even halfway through this race yet. Luckily, I was able to distract myself with oooh, pretty horsies (very lovely countryside we were running through) and eeew, I think that used to be a turtle. (I'd totally have rescued it if I'd run by while it was... less flat.)

The water stop was set up at the point where the outgoing and incoming course loop back on each other, and as I approached it for the second time, I finally started seeing all the runners who were still behind me. I'd been running by myself the whole time after leaving the vineyard, and there was no way in heck I was getting anymore out of this race than an experience, so I put on my biggest smile and waved to everyone I went past. Might as well make it a pleasant experience. If they were walking, I gave 'em thumbs up and said, "looking good." One of the volunteers was running up the road behind a dog on a leash. I said, "No fair, I want a pull." He laughed. That was fun.

About 3/4 of a mile past the water stop for the second time, I stopped seeing other runners except for the five or six right in front of me, so I went back into serious business mode. I think it helped that Patty Smyth's "Warrior" came on my .mp3 player right then. From there on out, apart from saying something snarky to the volunteers whenever I saw one, I was pretty much white knuckling it. Every curve in the road led up to another hill, and we never seemed to get to run back down the other side, just turned off somewhere and kept going up. I knew to shorten my steps and float up them, so I never had to walk, but I really wanted a flat space or a downhill where I could open up a little and try to make up some time.

I never got that.

The little group of runners that had run past me at the first water stop must have sensed the finish line approaching, and they started to break up. Two of them disappeared into the horizon and left one behind. The other lone runner I'd been chasing seemed to be putting some distance between us, but I didn't dare try to catch her going uphill, so I just kept plugging along. The straggler from the group that broke up started to walk, and I'm a little ashamed at how long it took me to catch her while running, but she was walking pretty fast.

Of course, when I got up to her, she started running again. Instead of running past her, I paced her. I had no idea where she started, with all the confusion going through the vineyard, so I wasn't going to put myself out by going around her. Besides, I was kinda lonely. :P I said, ,"You'd think just once we'd get to run down these hills, wouldn't you?" And she laughed, half-heartedly. She said she spent too much time standing at the start line. Her legs were like lead. I didn't wanna say I would be happy just to finish since it was my first race, so I just ran beside her for awhile. We made small talk, but I could tell she was toast. Finally she said something like, "I didn't realize how hard this would be. It seems like it should be easier." At that point, I was already lengthening my stride a little more, and I had no real idea how to respond to that, since everything I read about the subject said racing was supposed to hurt like hell, and I was pretty sure I was already dogging it by trying to have a little fun. I think I said, "You'd think..." and then she was gone. I don't know if she finished, but I think she did.

At that point there was only really one runner ahead of me that I might still be able to catch, and a little over a mile left in which to do it. She was still a good fifty feet ahead of me, though. We approached a turn, and there was a volunteer parked there on a bike directing us back toward the vineyard. Before I could see what was around the corner, I asked him, "Do we get to run downhill NOW?" He laughed and said, "No, but you do get some nice, smooth road for a change." (Okay, the road til then was pretty much crap, but so was the road I ran on every day, so I hadn't even really considered that some people might have had a problem with it.) I turned the corner... and looked UP. The longest hill yet was ahead of me. It wasn't as steep as the hills I run up on a regular basis on my daily runs, but it looked like it went on for the whole rest of the race. I could see the people lining it at the top, so I knew that was the vineyard and people were waiting to see us finish. So much for a finishing kick, I thought. I'd be lucky to make it without walking the last bit.

I might've made a face just then, because the volunteer laughed, gave me a thumbs up, and said, "But you look great out there. Good job. Almost finished."

Okay, so I know that's pretty much his job, but it meant a lot that hesaid that, because that last hill probably would've made me cry if he hadn't. Yes. I am a big GIRL. And proud of it. I took that little bit of encouragement, took a physical and mental assessment of myself, eyed up the remainder of the course, the one runner in front of me, tuned into the song on my .mp3 player, which was "I Need a Hero," by Bonnie Tyler and decided I had something left in me for a kick to the finish.

I tucked my chin, because I couldn't bear to look up that hill anymore and just focused on the few feet of road ahead of me, and started my kick, changed my breathing pattern from every three footfalls to every two and just started sucking wind. About halfway up the hill, I started to see the feet of the runner in front of me, and they kept getting closer. There was a little bit of hesitation as I tried to decide the best way to go around her, then I just pushed on by and kicked it in all the way to the top.

I got to the top still kicking, and turned into the vineyard, expecting the finish line to be right there where it was when we started. I was WRONG! There was just another volunteer directing me off into the vineyard... AGAIN. And up hill, AGAIN. At that point, I had no idea where the finish line was and how much farther I had to go. My miCoach said I'd already run over six miles, so it had to be somewhere nearby, but all I could think was that I was gonna have to run through the entire vineyard again and all I could see was grapevines. I think I almost did cry. LOL. But I rounded a corner at the top of the little rise, and there was another volunteer pointing me down between the row of vines. I realized the finish line was at the end of the row. I could see the clock was at 1:03, well under my goal time, so I found enough juice in me to sprint down the grass lane even though there was no one else running against me at that point.

I was so relieved to cross the line, "Bother" by Stone Sour playing on my Sansa, that I forgot to stop my miCoach right away, yet, ironically, it ended up recording a time of 1:02.40, exactly the same time as the chip recorded for the race. Almost makes me wonder if all the little wireless devices interfere with each other at all, but I'm sure if they did we'd know by now, right?

Anyway, that was the race. The 5kers had already eaten up all the bananas by the time I got there, but I did enjoy that cup of water while we waited for the results to post. I wasn't expecting to place. All the ladies I'd seen who I pegged to be in my age group were wearing marathon finisher shirts, so, yeah... way out of my league, but I wanted an official time to post on my blog, even though I knew I made my goal and then some. Plus, there were the door prizes.

I didn't really care about the door prizes. Sparkling grape juice. LOL. But since I so seldom win anything, and I had nothing else but a t-shirt to show for it, I stuck around. I didn't win a door prize, but half the people who did win them had already left. So, they re-drew, and I went home with a nice bottle of sparkling white grape juice.

All in all a good day.

The Short Story

I predicted I'd run in about 1h, 10minutes. I was hoping for as close to 1hour as possible.

My final time was 1hour 2minutes and 40 seconds, and I'm so thrilled with that. I can't help but wonder what my time would be like on a flatter, smoother course, which means, I guess, that I've now got the bug and will have to do a few more of these. Sadly, this is Central Texas, and there's pretty much nothing after the middle of May. And I took off work this weekend for this race. I doubt my bosses would appreciate me doing it again. So, I probably won't get anymore races 'til fall. That's okay, though. I now have official results. I know I can run a race. And I can adjust my training paces accordingly.

All in all, very rewarding experience.

Pictures:

I didn't get any pictures during the race, because hubby is not very good with the camera. So, we snapped a few after we got home, (and even then, he got a few of nothing but grass, LOL.) Erm, I look like a dork in all of them, but he would only take the pics if he got to pick which ones I posted. He loves to embarrass me. Haha. So, here's three. He didn't say I couldn't crop out the embarrassing bits. :P

This is my dork picture. I knew as soon as I saw it that hubby would pick this one. *cringes*


This is my sparkling grape juice, t-shirt, and race bib. Oh yeah, I'm in there, too. LOL.


And because it took me almost as long to do my hair as run the race, here's a pic of that, too. :P


And there you have it. First race in the books. Looking forward to many more. I've already plugged my results into every racing calculator known to man and reset my training paces accordingly. Looking forward to Chicago with a little bit more perspective and a little less enthusiasm, but just as much excitement.

Until the next bend in the road, watch out for plot holes.

Tracy

Of Wildflowers and Roadkill-- Spring Running Photo Journal

WARNING: Below are lovely pictures of spring wildflowers. There are ALSO two pictures of semi graphic roadkill. After all, it would not be accurate documentation if I did not include them. In one instance, it's the partially decayed head and upper body of a wild hog. In the second it's my bloody scraped knees after I took a spill on the pavement. I have kept the wild hog picture as a link only, but the bloody knee is visible. If that bothers you, scroll past it quickly. It's the last picture in the post.

So, today, my workout looked like this:



Point one: It's short.

Point two: It ended abruptly.

I'll admit, it was my own fault. Saturday I had an awesome 5 mile run and then spent three hours cutting my grass with a pushmower (which, by the way, I'm totally counting as cross training). Now, around here, a lot of us don't have actual lawns, just patches of wild vegetation we keep trimmed back to a respectable height. I was feeling more than a little guilty at mowing down all the lovely allium and Indian Paintbrush, but it had to be done. As much as I love the wildflowers, I'm averse to snakes and things that like to crawl amongst the wildflowers. Luckily, I noticed on my run this Sunday that a lot of my neighbors have acres of land that they let bloom, and it's really starting to be gorgeous.

So, today, I vowed to take along my clunky camera, knowing full well it would screw with my planned workout (three green yellow intervals between two blue runs). I've been saying for weeks that I need to take pictures of the things I see while running (because who isn't amused to find used condoms in the middle of the road, ya know?) and today just seemed like a beautiful day. Plus, I had a feeling some people didn't believe me about the wild hog carcass I'd been skirting for the last week. For today, then, I decided to be runner/photojournalist. I should've known better than to attempt multi-tasking. I am, after all, a natural blonde.

It all started pretty well. I encountered most of the flower patches while I was running in my blue zone. I didn't feel guilty about pausing my workout to snap off a few pics.



















By the time I encountered the wild hog carcass, I was supposed to be running in the green zone, so I just snapped off two quick shots, and moved out.

The wild hog carcass that has been moving back and forth across this road for the last week.

At this point, I have to say, I'm a little peeved with my miCoach, because for the whole next section of the run, it was reporting paces of 8-9 minutes in the yellow and no more than 10:30 in the green, but the uploaded data shows almost nothing sub-9:00. This is a glitch I've encountered before with the miCoach, but I guess it's the heart rate that matters... as long as you're not running a race.

Anyway, I finished up my second yellow interval, and I was feeling pretty crappy, to be honest. Not to mention, I missed some really nice pics of crape myrtle trees in full bloom because I didn't want to mess up my workout. I guess it was inevitable that, as I was plodding along, trying to get my heart rate to come back down, I tripped on some road patch going down a hill, and fell... Of course, there were witnesses. The truck that was approaching me slowed to a stop, but when I got right back up and waved, he kept going. I don't know what I'd have done if he'd actually offered to help me out. Probably sprinted into the woods and died of embarrassment. Ugh.

Needless to say, I stopped my workout there. I still had more than a mile to go before I was home. I thought I'd be limping the whole way. But I dusted myself off, decided my camera seemed to still be working, except maybe the flash, which I hated anyway, and decided to make the most of the long, slow, walk home by squeezing off a few more pics.

This is one of my favorite stretches of road.












Turned out, after about half a mile of walking, it seemed like all the damage was pretty much superficial, and I felt up to running again, so I did another mile at about 12:00min/mile, just a twinge in my left ankle. As soon as I got home, I took this picture of the damage to my knee.






All in all, not a terrible run. I didn't die, of embarrassment or otherwise, and I don't think I did any permanent damage that will interfere with my upcoming race or training. The workout I had plan is pretty much a total loss, but I still covered the distance, and that's what counts. Tomorrow as a planned off day, anyway, so here's to hoping I don't stiffen up too much, or I might have to go work out the kinks.

I guess the moral of the story is, sometimes you run around roadkill, and sometimes you are the roadkill, but the road's still a pretty awesome place.

Until the next bend in the road, watch out for giant plot holes... and roadkill.

Tracy

Creative Crosstraining-Trikke

It's been awhile. I know. What started as a little tickle in the back of my throat morphed into full-blown flu/Plague and sidelined me for over a week. I tried to run through it, but the day after I ran 8 miles on a scratchy throat, the scratch turned into raw and swollen, irritated by coughing fits that turned into gagging fits that... well, you get the picture. I just thought I'd share. It appears that misery does, indeed, love company. And yet, only one here is my dog.

Anyway, right before I got too sick to do anything but sleep, I took my Trikke T67 out for the first time in about six months and planned this blog post.

I don't know how many of you have a Trikke or how many of you saw the infomercial and thought you might like to have one, but I've had mine for a little over a year, and this is my overall assessment of it as a form of exercise.

First, I should point out that my model is the T67, which has the hard-molded rubber tires like on rollerblades. It's also the smallest "adult-sized" model. It's supposed to be appropriate for older children and small adults. I'm not even sure I was under the weight cut-off on it when I bought it. It was just the only model I could afford. Honestly, if it's serious fitness you're worried about, it would be cheaper and more effective to buy a bike. That being said, I love my Trikke. It's totally addictive and a ton of fun. I'll admit, it took me awhile to 'find the sweet spot' as the lingo goes so that I could actually make the Trikke go. I spent a lot of the first few days just coasting downhill, slamming on the brakes and then kicking back up. By downhill, I'm talking just the couple degrees of incline of my barn aisle, since that was the only place anywhere around me that had a surface smooth enough to Trikke on. Eventually, though, I learned to control my speed on the downhill by slaloming, and didn't need to use the brake anymore, and then learned to carry the downhill momentum around to get me started on the uphill. Believe me, once you find the technique, it's too much fun to stop.

But is it a good workout?

That depends. Is it a good cardio workout? No. Not really. And that's not entirely the fault of the design. Like I said, I have a small model with hard tires. It will not work on the roads behind my house. Only on clean blacktop and concrete. This limits me to just the fifty or so feet of barn aisle in my horse barn or driving someplace else. Basically, if you can't rollerblade there, you can't Trikke there, at least not on my Trikke. But the larger models with the pneumatic tires are supposed to be more tolerant of different surfaces. I think if you had a larger model and could go down a safe stretch of road for miles at a time, you could get a decent cardio workout on the Trikke. At least as good as your average elliptical machine.

That being said, you can raise your heart rate just like you would doing any other activity, by using your legs more. I find that if I incorporate a lot of squats into my Trikking I can get my heart rate up into at least slow, easy run zone. It just takes a little practice.

Now, just because I wouldn't rate the Trikke very high for cardiovascular exercise doesn't mean I don't think Trikking qualifies as working out. I guess whether or not you think it works as crosstraining for running depends on your definition of crosstraining. I actually had this discussion with someone on the LJ runners community just a week or so ago. I have always considered crosstraining to be anything that gets a similar cardiovascular challenge to my chosen activity while incorporating other muscle groups to do so. I never considered strength training to be crosstraining. I considered strength training to be strength training. Apparently, I'm the only one on the planet who defines it as such. So, if you consider any form of exercise that's not your chosen activity to be crosstraining, then the Trikke definitely qualifies, not so much as a cardiovascular test, but as, what I like to refer to as, Pilates on wheels.

That's right. Trikking is like Pilates on wheels.

How so? Well, let me explain. The first few days I had my Trikke, as I mentioned, I couldn't make it go at all. Still after the first day, I had serious PAIN all along the sides of my ribcage, into my obliques, my lower abs and back. I won't say my core hurt, because I'll instantly lose all the credibility I ever had with the gymrat crowd. LOL. But here's what I noticed-- when I do a lot of Trikking, I hurt in places I never hurt before. I don't hurt in my biceps or triceps, but along the outside of my arm, along the bone, and my glutes don't really hurt, but there's a definite tightness at the base of my spine around my tailbone. So, yeah, I think it definitely hits all those postural muscles that you normally only hit by doing Advanced Pilates. And that's not to mention the hip flexors. Holy cow, if you want that V-cut, I definitely recommend the Trikke.

And that's just by doing your basic Trikking. There are a ton of ways you can change up your position to hit other muscles groups. I already mentioned incorporating squats in order to elevate your heart rate. Besides elevating your heart rate, you get all the benefits of a bodyweight squat, and the longer you go, the more it burns, and you can get a really exquisite burn going while still having fun.

Then, there are two or three different positions I like to rotate between. First, I do a toes-out Pilates First Position type stance, which is exactly how it sounds. My feet turn out on the foot pads, calves get close together, heels come off the footpads and dip down into the well between them for a good lengthening strength move. Glutes tuck in and everything comes into alignment from lower abs to the top of your head. This really targets the inner thighs, hip flexors, calves (though more of a calf stretch than strengthener) and glutes. It's a little hard to get any kind of speed up in this position, especially uphill, but it's still pretty stable once you get the hang of it.

By contrast, the 'toes-in' position is a lot less stable. Again, it's exactly what it sounds like. Toes to the inside of the foot pad, heels off the outsides. I wouldn't attempt this if you have knee issues as there is definitely some torque to the knee joint. Also, it tends to throw your body weight forward so that you're more likely to try to muscle your way through the movement instead of feeling the edge of the cambering wheel, and the foot pads will lift off the ground, increasing the potential for tip over. I wouldn't do this stance at all except it really works the calves and the glutes. I'm not recommending this one, just saying I use it.

You can also change the muscle recruitment by stepping up to the front of the foot pads so far that the toes of your feet actually end up on the forks of the Trikke. I find this really tightens up the movement so that the power comes almost exclusively from the abs, back, and skeletal muscles. As an added benefit, it's a very stable position. I've yet to have a foot pad come off the ground using this stance, and it's very good for building and maintaining speed. I think this is my favorite stance for having fun while still getting a good muscle workout.

Anyway, those are just a few examples of how you can customize your Trikking to get what you want out of the workout. The most important thing, though, is that Trikking is fun, so you tend to go for very long periods of time without realizing how much of a workout you're actually getting. The other weekend I did over an hour and a half, and when I got off my legs were rubber.

Overall, I give the Trikke a moderate rating for effectiveness as training equipment. I don't think the Trikke will be phased out of my exercise program any time soon, and I don't have that much time for working out, so I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't find it beneficial. However, I wouldn't do it more than once a week, since the muscles adapt very quickly, and it starts to require an exorbitant amount of time to get the same results. But nothing replaces the fun factor for workout motivation. I'd definitely recommend people who can afford it and have a decent place to ride one go ahead and buy the Trikke if they think it looks like fun. I'd just recommend the T8 or larger, with the pneumatic tires instead of the hard rubber. Ultimately, I would love a T12, but you know what they say about wishes and horses.

I did a quick video of me on the Trikke. Do not be laughing at the ridic that is me. I tried to incorporate all the different things I talked about, but it's hard to film oneself with any effectiveness. First is just regular trikking, then toes out, toes in, forward on the forks, and squatting.

Disclaimer: Trikke recommends the use of a helmet and pads. Do as I say, not as I do.

And there you have it. 'Til the next bend in the road. Watch out for plot holes.

-Tracy

Its been a long long time!

I have returned! Okays, so really a trip to Salt Lake to go snowboarding isn't in the same ranks as charging the battlefield or something. But lemme tell ya, I def. got some battle wounds. The mountains were gorgeous, the snow perfect, and my body repayed me by hurting EVERYWHERE lol. Was it fun? OMG yes. and I even got video that I will upload once I can find the USB cord for the camera.

Needless to say, I haven't run like I should be lately. *ducks head in shame* Partner is showing me up =)

Adidas miCoach Pacer Review

Adidas miCoach Pacer (The Archangel miCoach)-- Official Review

Howdy!

I’m baaaaaa-aaaack. At this time I’ve had my Adidas miCoach Pacer for a hair over two weeks and have used it, according to the history I get from the official page, for 6hours, 28 minutes, and 15 seconds, and a total of 31.34 miles. Is that enough time to make a thorough assessment? I don’t know. It is enough for me to find out just how well it does what I need it to do and that, yes, there are a few bugs in it. First things first, since the coach has a voice, it seems like it also needs a name. The most obvious name for a miCoach seems to be Michael, and because I’m a huge Supernatural fan, I’ve come to think of mine as the Archangel miCoach. I’m sure I’m the only one to find that amusing, but anyway, there you have it.

Now for the review.

Shall I start with the pros or the cons? I think I’ll start with the cons, because I don’t want to add on a negative note when, overall, I’m thrilled with my purchase and would definitely recommend it to others. However, it’s not perfect.

Let’s start with basic accuracy. The stride sensor as a tool for measuring distance and pace is reported to be about 97% accurate out of the box. I found that to be true. I took it out straight out of the box and hit all my known distance markers at about the exact same time that the Archangel miCoach said I did. Con: It doesn’t tell you when you reach a marker. You have to ask it by pressing the button, which can be a hassle if you’ve got on layers or gloves. The only actual coaching it gives you automatically is “Speed up,” “Slow Down,” or “Maintain.” Of course, it gives you way more information than that by pushing the button, and giving minimal instruction reduces the amount of time your music is interrupted, but again, layers and gloves... pushing the button isn’t always the best option.

The first real accuracy glitch reared its ugly head the first day I used it. Time. I started my Mio wrist heart rate monitor at the same time I started the miCoach workout, at least within four or five seconds, anyway, and by the end of the workout, there was a 20 second discrepancy between the two with the miCoach taking 20 seconds longer to hit the required workout time. I don’t know if maybe it loses time when it’s reporting or what the problem is. That’s not a huge deal, but I’m not entirely sure how it calculates pace, so it’s likely that the faulty time-keeping could also affect the reported pace. For training, not a huge deal, since it’s designed to be used as a heart rate zone trainer more than a distance/speed specific trainer. But if you’re really anal about these things, you’ll definitely notice the discrepancies.

Second accuracy glitch: I changed the stride sensor to a different pair of shoes on the third run, and for some reason, it took forever for the Pacer to detect it. Then, when I went out for a run, I noticed a huge discrepancy between the distance miCoach reported at my first marker and the distance I knew I had actually travelled. Okay, so, by huge I mean, it should have reported about .23 miles, and it reported over .3 miles. Which is a lot of ground in just a quarter of a mile. Now, in the device’s defense, I was taking the route past my neighbor with the biting dogs that day, and I might have done a great deal more zigging and zagging than I realize. In which case, it was probably right. In either case, it’s extremely easy to re-calibrate it if you think it’s inaccurate. After you upload your workout data using the miCoach manager, you click on the Edit icon next to the distance reported, and type in the actual distance you travelled, which you figure out by using one of the online satellite based mileage sites like MapMyRun.com. That’s about as accurate as you can get without going to a track and running laps.

Third glitch. I was starting out on a custom workout that I had added to my site-designed Plan, a 10mile blue zone (easy) run. It all started out just fine, gave my workout description as I started, “10.0 miles, blue zone,” then instructed me to “Speed up to blue zone.” And as soon as I hit my target heart rate, it told me, “Maintain blue zone,” and then, “Workout complete.” Wow, 10 miles in less than 2 minutes. I’m awesome! But wait, nooooooooo. I have no idea what happened there. I was all set to stop and restart the workout when the device reminded me that it keeps on recording workout data until I stop working out, so I just decided to leave it on in, essentially “free” mode for the duration, and just checked it manually for distance and heart rate info. I still got the workout in and all the data recorded, but I didn’t get the handy little reminders when I went out of my target heart rate zone. As a result, I was only in the blue zone for 37% of the time. :/

Final glitch. I consider this one to be the most frustrating. Yesterday, I had an awesome run. It was supposed to be 30 minutes in the blue zone, and then 30 minutes in the green, with a 15 minute blue zone cool down. My green zone goes from about 150 supposed to be just above lactate threshhold, which for me, is about 166 bpm heart rate. I was cruising along quite comfortably at around 155 to 160 bpm. (Don’t ask me how that fits into Daniels’ pyramid. It’s quite possibly junk mileage, but it felt good, so whatever.) I didn’t pay too much attention to my blue zone pace. It’s usually between 12 and a half to 13 and a half minutes/mile. When I checked my pace during the green zone run, I consistently got reports of below 11 minutes/mile, and quite a stretch where it was below 10 minutes/mile. I was pretty pleased with myself.

However, when I uploaded the data and looked at the graph, which you can view second by second just by sliding the slider at the bottom, it did not show a single instance where my pace was less than 10 minutes/mile, and only a few where it was less than 11 minutes/mile. I don’t know why it would have reported one thing during the run and then reported another on upload, but I know what I heard when I was running, and it didn’t add up.

The last thing isn’t really a discrepancy or a glitch, more of a ‘huh’ sort of thing, and that has to do with how miCoach determines overall pace. If I plug in the distance and the time it took me to complete it to almost any other site, I get a different pace than what the miCoach reports. I’m guessing miCoach does some sort of a median reading instead of an average, using the second by second or minute by minute pace recordings. I haven’t quite figured that out yet.

One thing I’m kind of on the line about is their website. It is awesome that you can see the graphs and share them on Facebook, etc, but often you get an error when trying to create a viewable page to share, and it will tell you to go out for a run and come back again later. I’d let that bother me if it didn’t happen on just about every site, on occasion. It’s just frustrating when, for instance, I want visual aids to write a product review, like now, and I can’t get the visuals I want. Of course, there are ways around it. On the Print, screen, you can select, instead of a printer, Save to One Note 2007, and the image will save to a file. And you can upload the file. Or you can just print it out and then scan it back in again. But hey, I’m not getting paid for this. LOL. That’s an awful lot of trouble.

ETA: And wouldn't you know, as I was typing up this post, the technical errors worked themselves out, so go here to see the graph of my last workout.

Now for the stuff I love about the Archangel miCoach.

First thing: the Assessment workout. Okay, I actually hate that workout. LOL. But I love the concept and it is an excellent assessment. It’s not a VO2 max test, exactly. In fact, you’re instructed to only go up to a level 9 perceived exertion during the test, but let me tell you, level 9 seems to go on forever. The test is only 12 minutes long and starts with 2 minutes walking, then 2 minutes at a perceived exertion of 4 on a 10point scale and then two minutes each at five six, and I think, seven. Only 30 seconds at level 8 and 45 seconds at level 9 before walking again. The device measures your heart rate at these perceived exertion levels and uses that information to customize your target heart rate zones. (Base zones are determined by age and resting heart rate when you register with the system.)

This is great. I loved looking at the graph from this workout. There were instances when I got up to a sub 6minute/mile pace. Of course, it was only briefly, but good to know that I could hit that in my old age. LOL. However (and there’s always one of those) the accuracy of the test is based entirely on your ability to assess your own level of exertion. I’m fairly certain that I was definitely at a level 10 exertion when I was doing the Level 9 sprint. Once you get to a certain level, it’s pretty hard to split hairs, and if I’d designed the test, I’d have gone from a 4 to a 6 to an 8 rather than bothering with 5 and 7. Again, hard to split hair. I suppose those levels are included for the purpose of wearing you out sufficiently to get your heart rate up in the final levels for accurate measurement, but I can’t honestly say what level of exertion I was working at past level 4 until I got to level 9.

So, what happens if you do exaggerate your abilities on the test by going at, say, a level 10 exertion instead of a level 9? Well, here’s what happens: the miCoach changes your training zones, and if you have given it the impression that you can work out at a higher heart rate level, it will raise the cutoffs. Not a huge deal for blue zone running, especially if you’re like me and have a hard time going slow enough to stay in the zone. But what’s likely to happen, as I soon found out, is that on the first day of interval training when you’re supposed to run five minutes green zone, then five minutes yellow, then five minutes green, and five minutes yellow... well, it’s almost impossible to even get into the yellow, because you’ve already worn yourself out working above Lactate threshhold in the green, and then, if you manage to hit yellow, good luck maintaining it for five minutes. And in that instance, green zone doesn’t exactly count as a recovery, so the intervals don’t work the way they’re supposed to.

You’re wondering how I’ve listed all this as a good thing. Well, not only does it keep you honest, but it’s super easy to fix. You just go into your Settings on the website, and manually adjust your target zones. I set mine so that I only had to hit about 170 bpm to get into the yellow instead of the 174. That doesn’t sound like a huge difference, but I also set the top end of the blue zone at 149 insted of 153, so my green zone runs can now happen at a much more comfortable pace of 155 to 160 instead of at lactate threshhold. Save the threshhold run for yellow runs. I love how easy it is to customize.

I think I’m pretty much addicted to the website. Graphs and charts are just so much fun to look at and analyze. I don’t even miss the networking of the Nike+ site, but I’ve heard Adidas is going to add that feature, too, so don’t let that stop you from going on over there.

What else do I love? I love that the coach tells me to “Maintain blue zone” when I’m getting close to the upper limit so I can make adjustments before I’m out of the zone and, hopefully, avoid being chastised by the “Slow down to Blue zone,” instruction.

I love getting my pace any time I want it without having to do the calculations in my head. I don’t love, but I’m greatly amused when I have to run in place for several strides to wait fo traffic (or lady with donkey) and can actually see that on the graph as a point where my pace was essentially zero. Huh. As far as I can tell, those blips don’t affect my overall workout pace by much, but like I said, I can’t really figure out how they calculate that to begin with.

I love that it keeps recording information even after the programmed workout is completed, so if I feel like I want to add some mileage to the end of a run, I can without stopping to load a new workout. I also love that, if I don’t want my added mileage at a slow pace to reflect poorly on my workout pace on the graph, I CAN add a custom workout and get a separate graph for the easy run if I don’t mind taking the time to switch between workouts while I’m running.

I love how easy it is to share my graphs via Facebook. However, I’m pretty sure if I did it everyday, my friends would all just block me.

I also love that I feel motivated to get out there and run even on the worst days, because I feel like the Archangel miCoach is waiting for me, and I don’t want to stand him up. Also, it feels a lot like cheating to delete a workout off the calendar.

Things I’m on the fence about. Well, as much as I love the workouts and the graphs, they’re not very tree-friendly if you want to print them out. I tried to printout just a workout list which looked like maybe a page on the screen, but when it came out of my printer, every line on the screen was acccompanied by a huge explanation, and it would’ve taken over 20 pages to print out the Plan, so I cancelled it. I don’t have any other devices like this where you can upload the data and then use them as you wish, so it’s quite possible they’re all clunky in the hard copy area. I won’t hold that against it.

I know a lot of races don’t allow listening devices, and some of those that do allow listening devices specifically forbid verbal coaching. So, I’m not sure you could use the Pacer in a race, even if you just put it on “free” so that you could get heart rate, distance, and pace readings on demand. It’s definitely a device that’s primarily designed for training. Which means, of course, that if you’re like me, and you decided to forego buying the Garmin in favor of trying this out instead, then you might actually still need to go and purchase the Garmin before race day. Which, really isn’t a worse option for me, since I’d have had to purch the iPod nano if I had decided to go with the Nike+ instead, and I think the miCoach is just way more functional than Nike+ as a trainer.

If you read my initial reaction post, I said that one of the primary reasons I decided to purchase this device over the Garmin or Nike+ was because not many people had them. It’s new and shiny. So of course, I knew that it was likely to have bugs in it when I got it, especially since most of the reviews I found were from people who only used it once or twice. I don’t mind spending my money to guinea pig myself out, in this case, because overall, as I said at the top of the page, I really love this gizmo. I will qualify that by saying, however, that I don’t really have anything to compare it to. Overall, it does exactly what I need it to do, keeps me honest, slows me down when I need to slow down, and speeds me up when I need to speed up. And if there are a few bugs in the actual data, I just have to remind myself that running has evolved where it is today by just putting on a pair of shoes and doing it. The rest is just icing, and the real data is how you feel as time goes by.

Definitely a purchase I’d recommend to other runners who have maybe a goal race or a goal distance in mind but don’t have a solid plan or way to assess progress. If you’ve already got a Garmin, I wouldn’t bother with the miCoach, and if you can only afford one or the other, go with the Garmin, primarily because I don’t know if miCoach is race legal.

And that, as they say, is that. I don’t have a star rating system, but if I did, I guess this would get a 4 out of 5 with high marks for functionality and ease of use, and a few lower ones for questionable accuracy and technical glitches. The only thing it doesn't do that I currently need is repel dogs. :/

Til the next bend in the road. Watch out for plot holes.

-Tracy

Do You Wanna Make Me Cry?

Okay, so you wouldn't actually make me cry. I've been plotting to cut this hair off for awhile now. I'm 35, and it's been growing for over ten years now with no one cutting it except for me. I figure it's due to start coming in gray, and now that I'm running so much, it's becoming a real time drain. If it isn't coming loose during a workout and getting in my way, then washing the sweat out afterward drastically cuts into my writing, eating and sleeping time. I figure it's going to get cut before summer comes along. If I can do it and raise money for a cause, then that's a bonus.

The question is how far would I go for a cause, and how much do you want to see come off?

Would anyone even pay to see me cut it off?

I'd love if y'all would just check out the pics, and then take the poll in the sidebar. No actual money is involved. It's all very hypothetical. If people are actually interested in teh end result, then I may offer just such an incentive. Otherwise, I'll probably just cut it off and you won't have to hear about it ever again. LOL.

Again, none of this money would go to me. It all goes directly to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

So, yeah... pics, then poll. It's easy. Thanks so much for playing.

Til the next bend in the road. Watch out for plot holes.

-Tracy

Doing What We Can, and then Doing More

Long run day, today. 10 miles. My time wasn't awesome, and my miCoach said I was only in my target zone 37% of the time, but that's another story for another day. The point is, it was a long run, and it was hard, and more than enough time for me to wonder why I'm doing this. Why does the girl who couldn't run a mile when she was young(er) and able(er) want to do it now?

The short of it? Because I can.

So? There are lots of things I can do, right? I can ride horses. I can write (sorta). I can sing (depending on who you ask). But nobody cares about that stuff but me.

A mentor of mine who was also a salesman and no doubt quoted a long line of salesman when he told me this, once said to me, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Then, of course, he went about telling me how to convince people I care. He called it 'the dancing bear act.' He was good at it. I rode along with him on sales calls, and he was convincing. I believed he cared. Thing was, I went to the same sales school he did, so I knew that once he got those people eating out of his hands, he misrepresented, lied, and misled them to get their money.

It's no wonder I failed at sales. The point is, I can do what he told me to do, and people would think I care. I can hold hands. I can hug. I can squeeze shoulders and elbows. I can shake my head sadly. But I don't. I'm not big on touching. I don't want you to touch me, and I won't touch you. That doesn't mean I don't care. It means that those things coming from me would not be genuine. But I did get his message.

Actions speak louder than words.

And when we're talking about cancer, something that often renders us helpless, hopeless, unable, and incapable on so many levels, all that's left to focus on is what we can do, each of us, individually, to heed Kim Manners' direction to "Action!"

I can run. I'm not good at it. I have days like today when every direction seems to be uphill and into the wind and I get passed by a lady leading a donkey. (I later passed her... twice.) But I can make the distance. So, I will.

Not just for Kim.

For Danny, too.

You wouldn't know Danny. A lot of people wouldn't, never got the chance. I met him when I was at a very low place in my life. I'd left grad school less than a year before that, spent the next months jobless, and then, pursuing the sales job that I knew was never right for me. I lost my car. Lived in apartment with no electricity, sold my plasma twice a week to buy groceries, and barely managed that. A dark, dark, place, though, admittedly, not the darkest.

Now, this could be a story about my hubby, because I met him at that time, too, but it's not, just another Danny.

This Danny I met when I was at the lowest my self worth had ever been. I'd just lost the sales job, first and only job I was 'let go' from. Not that I didn't see it coming. I sucked at sales. I just couldn't take people's money knowing how hard it was to live without it. Backward, whatever. I just couldn't do it. And what does a girl with a college degree and three semesters of grad school do for a living? She goes to a temp agency, and when they tell her all they have is manufacturing positions, she says, "Yes, please," and "Thank you."

It was the second job they sent me on. I worked there for a week before I met Danny. As a temp, I didn't have a regular shift, so as long as they needed help, I went. I was on my seventh day in a row of twelve hour shifts, on my feet, on concrete, doing my best to flounder through whatever task they gave me with almost no instruction. I was tired, and sore, and near tears, and just trying to do my best to not fail, because I couldn't fail again, and Danny came over to me, called me "Baby," like my hubby calls me "Darlin'" and showed me how to make it through the day. After that, he asked for me to be in his department all the time, and I got a regular shift. I also got hired on before my ninety-day trial was up.

I don't remember how many years I worked in that department. I was a cover operator, and Danny was the Cover Lineman. He was responsible for giving us our breaks and often didn't have time to take his own, because if he did, the line would get backed up so far he couldn't catch it up. Smoking wasn't allowed in the plant, but Danny often had a cigarette lit down under the strapper. No one ever said anything to him so long as he did his job. Just like no one ever said anything about all the infected cuts on his hands from the cardboard and strapping. People did say he was too skinny.

He said he knew.

Danny was always going to different doctors. They told him to eat more. He ate. He drank cans of Slim Fast like water because they're basically protein shakes and pretty high in calories. Never gained an ounce. They told him to stop smoking cigarettes. He said that wasn't going to happen. They told him had to stop smoking weed. He told them that wasn't the problem. They didn't believe him, I guess.

Danny was too skinny when I met him, working overtime for his wife and five kids, and he was too skinny when I got promoted to another position. I was happy to hear he moved to a warehouse position, even if it was at night so I didn't get to see him, because he got to drive a forklift instead of dragging heavy things around all day and wearing himself out.

He still didn't gain weight. He lost it.

One day I met him in the break room. He was choking down a bowl of Chunky Soup. Choking it down, hand shaking, and his Adam's apple working around every bite like it was dry sand. I asked him if he was still going to the doctor. He said they were still blaming it on the weed, but he had an appointment for a chest x-ray, at least.

He said he just wanted to stop feeling so... weak.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess what was on Danny's chest x-ray. Though, it apparently took more than a general practitioner.

I don't know exactly how it went from there. I hear they told him he had X-amount of time if they didn't treat the cancer, and possibly, Y-amount if they did the treatment, but the treatment wouldn't be easy on him in his condition. Of course, he got the treatment. He wanted to live.

He didn't.

I didn't go to his funeral. I didn't know what to say. What to do. I have a nervous tendency to laugh when I can't cry out loud. I didn't want to be the girl who laughed at his funeral. He would've understood, maybe laughed right along, but he wasn't alone. So, I didn't go.

I doubt there's anything I could've done for Danny to change that outcome. I tell myself he was already well down the path when I met him. But I never put out his cigarette either. I could have.

No, I probably couldn't have saved Danny. And no, I can't cure cancer. But a year ago, I would've told you I can't run. And now I can.

So, I do.

And maybe I do it for myself. On some level, it's a way to make up for all the things I planned to do with my life and didn't, couldn't, can't, whatever. But if by doing it I can show that I care, then that's why I'll keep on doing it, even when every direction is uphill and into the wind.

Because I can.

Until the next bend in the road. Watch out for giant plot holes.

--Tracy

Team Logo Prototypes

Howdy again!

This post has less to do with running and more to do with presentation, but I have other posts in the works, including my review of the Adidas miCoach Pacer, and a sort of dedication post to a friend of mine who passed away from lung cancer several years ago this month.

But right now, I have this.

As I have noted in the sidebar, we're running for Team LIVESTRONG in association with SupportSupernatural.com (click on siggie at end of post). The question of, 'why not one or the other' would not be off base at all. So, why don't I just ask it and answer it at the same time.

Team LIVESTRONG is a group of athletes running, biking, or swimming for a cause. Everyone knows about the Lance Armstrong Foundation and what it stands for, the work it's doing to support cancer patients and research in the field. I sometimes hesitate to call myself an athlete. Heck, I sometimes hesitate to call myself a runner, but I run, and I train, and there's a lot of motivation and support that comes from allying myself with other athletes. And it's a cause I can really get behind.

SupportSupernatural.com stands for everything we love about the show that brought Tracer and I together, and about the fandom we've been in for over five years. That's a huge part of our lives, and we want to give something positive back. We could very well start out own organization, but the ladies at SupportSupernatural.com are already doing a great job, and we're already competing against our bodies and our schedules to train for and run the race. Can't we all just get along? And while the official charity for SupportSupernatural.com is A Dog's Life, which we also highly approve of and support, there isn't anyone involved with the show who wasn't touched by the loss of Kim Manners last year. And judging by the number of people who reposted the cancer awareness meme on LiveJournal when it made the rounds last month, it's a cause we can all get behind.

In talking with Tom Whiteside, our contact with the Lance Armstrong Foundation, I asked him if it was okay that we wanted to bring our fandom along for the journey, and he said it was more than okay to promote as many causes as we wanted to. However, we really don't want to have to manage more than one fundraising site, so it would be best for us if we can tie our causes together.

Hence, we're running for cancer research, in general, and fundraising through Team LIVESTRONG in honor Kim Manners and with the help and support of SupportSupernatural.com.

I went to SupportSupernatural's Cafe Press store (linked on their site, and soon to be linked on this one) in search of something to wear that would show our fandom support. The problem is, we'll be running the race in a Team LIVESTRONG jersey/shirt, and Cafe Press doesn't have any shorts or pants suitable for running or that have the logos on them.

I mentioned to the ladies that we really loved this logo:

And I added the dilemma about not having it on anything wearable other than tops. I asked if they would allow use of the image for us to design our own transferable decals, and they agreed. Of course, we also supported A Dog's Life by purchasing several items from the store, and I plan to do so again before the race.

Second dilemma: Most of our running tights are dark-colored, and printers don't have white ink, so I wasn't sure we could use the logo without changing the color scheme a little. Once again, they were nice enough to agree.

So, I played around a little with the colors, keeping in mind that I think the LIVESTRONG jerseys are yellow. Here are the first prototypes. I don't know whether I should add more color or keep it basic. Tracer's on vacation, so she'll have input. Once I get a few final choices, I might even put up a poll. But anyway, here's what I got started (they're smaller than actual size in the interest of blog overflow):


Grey/blue


Grey/blue with straight edges


Yellow to match the LIVESTRONG colors


Possible text placement, not sure text is necessary

Again, these are not final designs, just prototypes.I don't want to change the original too much except to make it visible on different backgrounds. Thanks again to Heather and Lindsay at SupportSupernatural.com for the help and generosity in helping us get our fandom the positive recognition it deserves.

Until the next bend in the road. Watch out for plot holes.

--Tracy