we all need speed

following the attached websites recommendations.... we should be running 15-20% of our runs at "tempo" aka "comfortably hard"

~Han~

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-263-265-6141-0,00.html

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-263-265-12224-0,00.html

sweet oasis

"Running is ultimately a personal experience. It is a revival of the spirit, a private oasis for the thirsty mind. Yet, its healing power only increases in the presence of others. Run together and the oasis grows cooler and more satisfying." 

these last few days have been so great running with shalene.  she is such a great motivator!  we have been doing our early morning runs and even if i am tempted to sleep in or put if off until later... she is so determined that all my lazy excuses dissipate! 

keep up the good work everyone!  

oh... and try out yoga.. it is such a good relaxer b4 bedtime 

~han~

Perfect Partners

Wow... 18 baby! Me (Christa) and Bee ran our 18 miles Sunday in the am.... It was a great run.. my amazing partner went out the night before and planted baby gatorades at various locations, as well as carried goo for some energy boastin ;) While running we both were pumped up and energized.. which is great for waking up at 6:30 in the morning :) at mile 9 we were both laughing and smiling, and talking to not only each other while running but greeting everyone on the same path with a "good morning" Now I know were defiantly runners if we can run that far, laugh, smile, talk, and still have energy :) We got to mile 14 and all of a sudden my ipod froze and broke. Bee did not realize this until mile 14.5 and when she did she AMAZINGLY AND GRACIOUSLY gave me her ipod and ran without one for the remainder miles... wow what a running partner I have... i dont know if I could have done the same... she is just so amazing and I am so happy I got to run this with her....Great job!  :) 

I am so proud of all of us 18 milers and all of the other runners as well. Looking back in January I would have never thought I could come this far... and I know I could have not done it without the support and fun help from my family. I am so happy we have partners, friends, and family who will constantly push each other to our limit... I am SOOOOOOO proud of us all... after all... not many can say: I ran 18 today and am ready for my 20 miles in a week or so :) WOOOHOOOO!!!!

~Christa

saturday morning with the cutest running partner... PREPARATION IS KEY!

total miles: 18.6

start time: 6:50 a.m

pre-run meal:  Maggiano's Dinner Slurge- whole wheat  pasta w/chicken and pinenuts 

   and Chicken w/spinach manicotti 

power foods: 2 (8 oz) poweraids, 2 goo gels, 1 (16 oz) bottle of Dasani water 

bed time: 10:30 p.m. friday night

Great run with Shalene today!  It seems like we had all the right ingredients going into the run... and the result was amazing... not to sore...not to tired...just feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment for a great run.  Seems like if you put all the right preparation into the run... it turns out beautifully.  We ran out and back from Jesse's and Amber's soon to be home along Lakeshore Drive.  It was such a gorgeous run along the water by all the beautiful homes in the Grosse Pointe area.  I'm thinking this will be a repeat run for me!  Keep it up guys! 

trial and errors

"You find out by trial and error what the optimal level of training is. If I found I was training too hard, I would drop it back for a day or two. I didn't run for five days before the sub-four-minute mile." 

hey does anyone want to work out the "bumps" in our running schedule?? i want to "re-vamp" it... let's put it in excel and see what we can do about changing it up so we are getting the "optimal" training.....off to school!

~Han

cross training

well well... this picture says it all... me and gabe have been biking around ann arbor the last 2 days... and let me let you... BIKING IS HARD! i know i know for all you athletes out there i thought i could just "ride off into the sunset" with no issues... but my heart rate was soaring and i had to beg gabe to wait for me at least 5x in the last 2 days. (it may be that i haven't let up on my running schedule too!) after today's run which will be 4 miles (sprinting) i will have run 27 miles this week.  me and shalene are going to do our 18 on saturday morning (very very early) we were thinking of heading down to gross pointe to run by the water... i'll work on plotting out the course... if we have any takers... let us know if you want to join!? 

wishing you all happy "no injury" runs!

~Hannah~

First Place Ribbon Baby!

Today me (Christa) and Shay were up and ready o run our 14. We had only gotten 4.5 hrs of sleep and were so exhausted from the bachelorette party the day before....  We ran great together side by side... We even got the pleasure of having it spinkle ran on our heads for the second half of our run!!! haha anyway we got the blue 1st place ribbon in our book!!!! 

~Christa

Ready to Run

Today me and Bee work up nice and early and started running (at a rapid pace i might add) we ran our 4 and are pushing on to tun our 18 miles on Sunday!!!! Hope everyone is staying stong!!!! Lets do it!!! GO GO GO Sunday and dont give up!!!!

~Christa

WHOOAA Baby!

Me and Cer were up at 6 am, out the door by 6:10. After running four miles in ~32 Minutes... We were exhausted, and worn out! It's not even that we ran INCREDIBLY fast, or that we were tired... It is just SOO humid out. It was literally like running under water! Anyways, WE PUSHED through, and it feels like more of an accomplishment... KEEP UP THE GOOD RUNNING! 

Ps. Anyone have any good ideas for a 18 mile route!?! SUNDAY! 

♡Bee and Cer

"Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it."
--Lou Holtz

sweating it out

  

so here's the story... it is just TOO HOT to run! i mean with temperatures in the 90's it's just too hot! i should have gone to bed earlier these last few days...but i wanted to hang out with gabe... so it just didn't happen.  i didn't give up on getting my exercise entirely...taebo amped helped me ramp up my heart rate so it is not all lost! i'm feeling the "heat" of not running! but i suppose no-one said summer training was easy! keep it up! stay hydrated!

~Han~

shorter n' faster: my new resolution

this is my new resolution...on the tuesday and thrusday runs i am going to run 4 miles at a faster than race pace instead of 6 miles.  reason 1:  on tuesday my legs are really heavy from sunday's run so i think less miles more intense is the way to go.  reason 2: i think our training schedule is too intense for a first time marathon, i've been looking at other beginner schedules are ours BY FAR has more milage than any one of them.  reason 3:  i think speed work is important! i haven't been doing it and i notice my long runs are taking me longer than i should.  reason 4:  it will give you the opportunity to cross train....if you want to do taebo or "lift" you still can after a 32 min run.  

that's all guys...i ran to matt's playlist the other day.  it was really encouraging upbeat music...check it out if you haven't already!

~Hannah~

SHELBY run!

The alarms were going off at 6 am this morning, and me and Christa were lying in bed debating whether we should run or not... After about 2 minutes... We were both out of bed and getting ready... 6.5 miles total, and in the end we were both SOO happy that we did it. Sometimes you have to push yourself, even when you may not be too thrilled at the moment. =) I am so glad that we have each other's support... It makes it that much better! 

PS. Matt... I downloaded the playlist, and it's a good one

"Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character."
-- T. Alan Armstrong

another one down... and still feelin good

so here is a lil picture of the loop me and shalene ran on sunday.  yeah, we pretty much did a tour of sterling heights don't you think!!?? we had the most amazing pre-run meal ever at Luciano's! (bread, pesto pasta with chicken parm) we hit the sac early so we would have no excuses for our big endeavor the next morning at 7:00 a.m.  it was a nice lil surprise to run into matt bunk at the very beginning of the run!  the loops was a grand total of 17.5 miles!!! we ran most of the way together and it was so nice to have the encouragement and company of another runner!  we were 15 minutes late for our church service...so we may have to set out a lil bit earlier for the next one! keep it up out there! can you believe the milage we are putting on the road... pretty sweet if you ask me...

~Hannah~

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement." 
- Steve Prefontaine

A New Playlist

Hey Guys.  I've heard a few people saying they are getting bored with their music playlists lately, so I decided to grab an hour of music from my playlist and put it up for you guys to download.  It is exactly one hour, which means most of you can probably run about 7.5 miles during it.  I have posted it for one week so you have until about midnight next Sunday to download it.  Hope you guys enjoy.  I have added an image of the playlist incase you're curious before you download. Just click on it to make it bigger. But then again, why don't you just trust me.  :) Click the link below to start downloading.

THIS IS THE LINK

--Matt

16 MILES completed today....me and Bethany took of nice and early from our driveway....to a waiting Aunt Laurie in Saint Claire Shores....(Thanks Aunt Laurie for the pics, water, and encouragement after the run!!! luv u) 

We did very well we crossed the finish 16.3 mark in 2:15.42 as of the Garmin watch putting us in a respectable 8.28.875 MINUTE miles..!! It was so nice have Bethany there pushing on with me. We stopped and grabbed one Gaterade at Moravian and Utica(about 10.8 miles) into the run and shorly after(milde 13) encountered some cramping :(( but we pushed on and finished strong!! 

Everyone keep up the work 18 next week then back the restful week! luv you all.....-Jesse

The BIG HOUSE BIG HEART RUN

hey guys... this race is super super fun!  I hope that you all sign up for it... if you are thinking... well it is kinda expensive.... well you can run for a charity so at one family party we could raise the money for the race....7$ of the race money goes to the children's hospital in ann arbor and any money you raise above the entry fee can go to whatever charity you choose! pretty sweet huh?  if your 2nd excuse is that it is a measly 5k... you can make it a 10k (no extra fee).... let me know who is  in! 

i'd love to see you all out!   check out the website!!! 

www.bighousebigheart.com

~Han

No Pain No Gain..No Guts No Glory!

Wow... Up at 6- ready to go! I ran 16 around Standford University in California! I know people always say no pain no gain and u might laugh and giggle...but today It really came true for me...I suffered through some sever pains like my hug blister gushing blood as I ran... but NO i would not let it take my glory from me...I pushed on and stopped at mile 10 to drink a gatorade for a min then pushed on for the rest of the 6 miles. My mom let me use her new GPS watch and it really helped with my accuracy... No guts no glory is another "famous" saying...and I experienced it too!!! haha anyway I push through and got my glory baby!!!!! I am happy to say that underneath all the salt that covered my body and all the sweat and pain I went through I can say...BRING IT ON!!! 

Christa Sets the Pace at Stanford University

We hit the Stanford area running this morning.  Christa ran an AMAZING 16 miler -- WOW...  Made my 4.8 mile run seem mundane, although it was a GREAT run there!

Posted by Karen

Hotel Valencia in San Jose, CA

Christa and I are at Hotel Valencia, an incredible place in San Jose, CA.  We got here, and even our traveling all day didn't stop us from hitting the treadmill:  Christa to run 6 and me to run 5 miles~

Posted by Karen

rain...no excuses!

today i ran in the rain... the torrential rain i might add!  i got done with school at 4:00 and headed out for my 6 miler (still a lil sore from the long run on saturday).  when i turned around at the 3 mile mark i noticed that the sky was soooo dark and it was really getting windy.  with dust and lil pieces of dirt flying in my eyes i headed back to the dental school.  it started to drizzle with 2 miles left... and by the time i was 1.5 miles away from my finish... it POURED... but it really cooled me off and it made me feel like a "tough-it-out" runner... kinda cool actually... i hope it doesn't ruin my semi-new shoes! keep it up! 

~Hannah~

BUG OFF!!!!!

This is the second day in a row that a bug committed suicide by jumping into my eye while I was running!  

I wish the bugs would BUG OFF!

Maybe I need to start wearing sunglasses!!!

Today I got my Garmin from my kids, and I can't wait to use it!

Posted by Karen

Blisters, Bumps, Victory!!!!

So today me and Bethany ran 14.... yes! Wow what a run... We woke up at 6:00 am and started our run.... we ran the same route hannah ran, even though we had blisters and injuries we wanted the victory.... We were both so tried but when we saw hannah and my dad waiting at the finish line for us our feet lifted and the weights fell off!!!! We literally downed the gatorades they brought us :) I am so happy to say yeah!!! we did it!!! 14!!!! I am so happy to get to run with bethany today... she really pushes me and make me stronger... what a great partner and a great run.

xoxox Cer and Bee

here's that 16.1 miler on google maps

week 4...still going strong

so today was my 14 miler. i got up at 7:30 to eat some toast with peanut butter and a yogurt, mapped out a nice lil run with jesse on goggle maps that was 16.1 miles, and made a new playlist.  daddy told me that he would ride his bike along side of me and ride ahead to pick me up at 24 mile and vandyke once we were out of stoney creek so i would just be running 14.1 miles.  WHATA DEAL! so thats what i did!  not the fastest run of my life... i didn't have any gaterade so around mile 9 i got a really painful shoulder cramp!  i was a "super buzz kill" but i pressed on and finished... dad picked me up at the marathon gas station....i was so happy it was just 14 not 16 today...but hey anyone looking for a sweet 16.... from the budz home to stoney....around the loop and back... nice run! start early in this hot weather! 

Han

my personal record~ this was my longest run ever! yippee

LoVe My nEW AccEsSoriEs- ToDAy 4.. TOMoRrOw 14

So today I ran only 4 miles but I am excited to report they were all under 8 min miles :) Plus I got to run in my cute new live strong outfit with my new nimbus pink shoes :) Running with all my new "accessories" made it way funner...and I actually felt like a "runner" instead of running in my oversize cloth tees and shorts haha so THANK YOU ALL to those who contributed in my new items... tomorrow me and bethany will wake up at 6:00 and run our 14 so look out for us next!!!! (i will be running in my new shoes and my new running matching outfit from shay :) ) I am SOOO proud of all our family who is raking time out of their lives to run GOOD JOB!!!! 

Christa aka Cer

The 14 miler

CLICK TO VIEW DETAIL!!!

MY 14 mile run....it will be on Saturday keep an EYE open for me!!!! From my house to Amber's house the "scenic" route!! looking to post a 1hr. 55 minute total(about 7:55/mile)

we shall see! 

Jesse

Not Today!!

Even though Tae bo has nothing to do with running, me and Christa did a SUPER EXHAUSTING Tae Bo tabe WITH the amped bar because this is our "off" day for training... Wow... Billy really put us in our place tonight. hehe. We are ready to run BRIGHT AND EARLY tomorrow morning! 

♥Bee and Cer

PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AMBER! WE LOVE YOU! 

Early Run

I KNEW that if I didn't wake up at 6:30 this morning to run, then it probably wasn't going to happen. Today is Christa's 20th birthday!!!! It was an amazing run this morning, but it was a little chilly (it definitely woke me up). When I get home from school today, we are going to have a little birthday dinner for Christa with her favorite cake (Raspberry Cheesecake). YUM! Much Love! Bee