Inspiration for All!

WELL, no excuses for my absence.... when the fall schedule gets outta' control than you just havta' find a way whether its at 5 a.m. or midnight....
I miss my laps around the track with my buddy Michelle and my fun runs in Fort Abercrombie with the Wild Things...
My laps became lapse but hey, I'm not quitting and I think that's what this whole thing is about anyhow... I'm posting an inspirational link for all of us whoever think,"I just CAN'T..." Enjoy the inspiration and remember, there is still time to sign up for KMXT's RUN THE ROCK! Our marathon, half-marathon, 10K and 5K will take place October 9th. Sign-up on-line at www.kmxt.org at Orion's Mountain Sports, 58 Degrees North, The Kodiak Athletic Club or at KMXT 620 Egan Way in Kodiak!

Actual Running Occurs...

Ok, Something's happening here.
All day today I've had this nagging urge to run.
The last time I felt like that was....uh....was....
let's see....I actually can't recall the last time I felt like that.
I sometimes do get the occasional craving for exercise but that constant voice that says, "...wonder when I can get a run in?", now THAT voice I haven't heard in many years.

My two Run-The-Rock-track-buddies weren't available yesterday but the oldest Wild Thing was. He just finished his first season on the KHS JV X-Country team and I do believe he was jonesin' a bit for his after-school endorphins. I, on the other hand, wanted to sit in the car and wait for the 12-year-old Wild Thing's football practice to end. But with less than three weeks until KMXT's Run The Rock Race, "sitting one out" wasn't going to cut it.


With non-stop encouraging patter from Wild Thing #1
I managed to run two miles then walk 3/4 of a mile. After that, insanity kicked in:
I looked across the football field at Baranof to those flights of steep wooden steps leading from the playground up to Main Elementary and mistakenly asked, "Should we...?" The next thing I know I've run the steps three times, run behind the school to another flight of stairs, up, back down, thru some woods and back to the track. I'm not sure how far I ran altogether but I felt so very, very, very accomplished and ready to do it again.

Last night as I laid my head down on my pillow, I felt so happy. It was almost as if a big-ole-chunk of darkness had disappeared from my brain, making way for more light.

I can't wait to go again...

KMXT's Run the Rock Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10K and 5K race take place in Kodiak on October 9th! You can register on-line at www.kmxt.org or at the KMXT Studios at 620 Egan Way, at the Kodiak Athletic Club, 58 Degrees North or at Orion's.

Strength in Numbers! 20 Training Days Left!

WHOA!!!!
How in the world could we be down to 20 TRAINING DAYS LEFT until October 9th and KMXT's RUN THE ROCK?

For some of you running junkies that's no big deal, right?
For those of us just starting (or re-emerging) the time is getting a little too close, too soon.

But, no worries! I doubt that I can do worse than last year when I was the unofficial "Red Lantern Winner." For those not familiar with the Iditarod, the red lantern goes to the last musher and dog team to arrive in Nome. Speaking of the Iditarod, one of our participants this year will be running her dog with a snow-less "rig." April and her dog will be doing the 5K behind the lead runners. They'll make an interesting addition to our fun event.
And by the way, even though I tied for last place at last year's Run the Rock, I still had a great time! You can too, no matter what your race or your pace! Community running events are happy, feel-good experiences with excitement, camaraderie and yes, those feel-good endorphins. So maybe my pride took a little bruising last year but that feeling quickly faded when I realized that YES! I finished and so did all three of The Wild things! And boy-oh-boy I'll never again confuse a Kodiak mile with a Kansas mile~ they are two entirely different beasts. When my mind heard "5K" I translated that into 3.1 familiar miles...oops!

If you're new to jogging/running/walking, don't worry about your race time, just come to have fun.
For the advanced runners who will be "CONTENDUHS" you CAN worry about your time! We're offering 1st, 2nd and 3rd place medals for men and women in each of the Run the Rock events: Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10K and 5K~

The best part of getting ready for Run the Rock is gaining a training buddy or two! Michelle B. and I try our best to fit in trips around the track when we can. We may be joined this week by Melody Livingston , one of our newly-elected board members here at KMXT (the others include: re-elected Mike Friccero, Kathrynn Hollis-Buchanan and Jody Spivey).

Hey, I may not get a Run The Rock medal but I've made some new buddies and that makes me feel like a real winner!

23 Days 'til KMXT's Run the Rock!

A solid three weeks left to train for KMXT's Run the Rock on Saturday, Oct. 9th!

Ok, so my "training" hasn't exactly gone in a straight line so far. There are always challenges when trying to fit in exercise. It pretty much boils down to "how much do you want this?." After losing traction on my gym time for the last way-too-many weeks, I "wanted it" bad enough to shoot for a 5 a.m. workout this morning. I left the house at 5:20 a.m. and was immediately rewarded with THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SKY I've ever seen! As I walked up the path (in the dark!) I looked up and saw, as Carl Sagan might have said, "billions and billions" of stars sparkling over my head. I felt like dancing for joy as I marveled at the sight. It seemed to me like a good omen for my new workout plan so I shook off my desire to sit and drink coffee and got myself to the Kodiak Athletic Club. Another bonus this morning was getting to see a hero: Champion bodybuilder Valene Wilde!

BUT WAIT....there's SO MUCH MORE!

Whenever I take the 12-year-old Wild Thing to football practice I know there's a chance I'll see my track buddy Michelle B. When I see Michelle I know its time to shake off the excuses and start doing laps around the Baranof Track. This time, I had a little surprise for Michelle, I told her our workout might have to be put off since my tire just exploded. Yep, that's right, I was sitting in my totally non-descript-mini-van-Mom-Taxi outside the track (watching the 14-year-old Wild Thing at KHS Cross Country practise) when out of the blue
THARSHEBLOWS: BBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMWWWWWHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF ffffffffffffftttttttttttttttt...!(How do you spell that horrible sound anyway?)
It sounded like the end of the world. I was hoping it was power lines sizzling overhead (sorry KEA!) but in my heart I knew the deal... especially with every member of the KHS Cross Country team staring in wonderment in my direction.
The tire was a goner and well, lets just say, that kinda thing is not my kinda thing.
But my buddy Michelle is a lady of action and she jumped back in the truck to run home and grab KMXT VOLUNTEER Willy B! who also happens to be her husband. Willy B jumped right in and under and all-around to get my spare from under the van and get to work. Michelle and I tried to offer him moral support but after awhile he started asking us when we were going to hit the track. After a few minutes of working thru our guilt we took to the track at last.
I still can't believe that inspite of the incident, we managed to jog 3/4's of a mile and walk a mile. Tonight we're doing two miles, hopefully without incident...
I'm so grateful for Michelle and Willy B and for sunshine and warm temps (rather than ice, sleet, sideways rain) and for being in a parking spot (rather than a main road) when my tire exploded!
Tonight Michelle and I plan to check out the lecture at the Alutiiq museum after our 2 miles. See you there?

Have you signed up? KMXT's Run the Rock Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10K or 5K

31 Days to KMXT's Run the Rock!

What a beautiful week in Kodiak!
The weather is fabulous this week and perfect for running, walking and hiking (and all those things Kodiakans do).

I've approached training for Run the Rock a little like a procrastinator approaches homework; finding lots of other important and productive things to do while avoiding THE thing that must be done. I loved the weight lifting and dancing I did this summer and I don't want those to stop but if I want to have a fun 5K on October 9 I've got to put in the laps (can I get a no, DUH!?).

Yesterday my track buddy Michelle and I zipped around the track for 45 minutes. I thought I'd start running yesterday but its been so many days since our last workout that we decided to walk for four days before we start in on the running/jogging/shuffling. With 4 weeks and 3 days to go until Run the Rock, I was very pleased to wake up this morning with the soreness that says, "Yes! I DID get a workout!"

A bonus to walking/running with my buddy Michelle is that she's always up to take in a lecture with me. Last night we learned all about the amazing seabird the Kittletz's Murrlett in a wonderful presentation at the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor's Center. Mind &
Body fitness!

Here's a link I found for how to move from 1 mile up to a 5K~ I'm going to give the plan a try.

Runner's World: How to work up to a 5K

Sign up for KMXT's Run the Rock races on-line at www.kmxt.org or in person at KMXT. Registration forms available at Orion's, 58 Degrees North & The Kodiak Athletic Club!

Revvin' Up for Run the Rock!

32 days 'til KMXT's Run the Rock!

Now...NOW... I'm getting jazzed to train.
This all started for me on the 1st Day of July.
At that point there were 100 days of training to go.
I'm not sure how...but somehow we're here at 4 weeks and 4 days left to go.
Ordinarily I'd be panicked because of all the training I've done running has been the smallest part. For a bunch of the summer I've been lifting weights at the Kodiak Athletic Club and loving it and I spent two glorious weeks taking summer dance camp classes at Kodiak's Little School of Dance. I got stronger and more flexible but alas,
running is a different animal that requires that "cardiovascular thang."

So WHY am I geeked? 4 good reasons:

(1)Having someone to lap the track with!My buddy Michelle B. (see pic from Ft. Abercrombie 5K) and I have been meeting up at the track during the 12 year old Wild Thing's football practice. (2) Watching the 14 year old Wild Thing turn into a real runner under the amazing guidance of Coach Dunbar and his wonderful crew of KHS X-Country coaches and runners. Observing his transformation has been amazing to me. (3) The recent sunshine & the fresh air and energizing feeling of the coming FALL! and , yes, (4) the quickly approaching date of KMXT's RUN THE ROCK on October 9th!

Have you registered???? Its not too late to sign up and definitely not to late to train for that 5k!
I'm going to run every day and post every day from here on out!

Talk to you soon!

~Diana