Welcome to Week 1

Hello Ladies!

It is so beautiful out there today. I hope you're outside taking advantage of the sun. It is supposed to rain Wednesday & Thursday so after today there may not be any other chances to enjoy some nice weather for a few days - assuming the weather forecasters are right :-)

I've been a little sick so I'm not supposed to run this week (doctor's orders!). It's killing me to not be out there today. I'm sure I'll be back on the road by the end of the week though. I better be!

So, let me know how things are going this week okay? I've talked to some of you already, but if this is truly your first week of starting the program, I'd love to hear how it's going. Send me a comment when you have a chance.

Have fun & good luck to everyone!

P.S. Has anyone had any luck with the $5 coupons for the race registration?

$5 discount off FRW registration

Make sure you read to the end of this post for my latest giveaway!!

Freihofer's update: I was just looking at the Freihofer's website and it says if you go to Subway, they have $5 discount coupons off the registration fee - no purchase necessary. I'm going to stop at our local Subway today and see if they have any. If they do, I'll ask them to give me a bunch. It might be a good idea if you guys check it out, too, just in case the Subway I go to doesn't have them for some reason. Let me know what happens.

UPDATE: 3/25 3:40 pm - Our Subway doesn't have the coupons yet, but they said they know they're on the way. I'll keep checking back & keep you posted :-)

There was some discussion last night about picking up your race packets. You CAN pick up your packet the day of the race, but you can't register the day of the race. The very last day to register is May 29 and you have to do that in person. I believe it will then cost $35.

If we register before April 30, the cost is $25 minus the $5 coupon so it will only be $20. Not so bad for a great race. I've paid MUCH more for others! Of course, all the details are on their website.

Okay, here's the giveaway:

The first 3 people to register for the race will win a prize. Just email me and let me know after you've registered.

On Your Mark, Get Set.....

The time is getting closer to begin our training program. Isn't it exciting? I'm hearing how you guys are buying sneakers, calendars, and some of you have even started walking and/or running programs on your own. WOW! This is really exciting!!

We're meeting at Panera tomorrow night. Hopefully, you've had a chance to read over the training program by now. I look forward to getting the group together and talking about whatever it is you guys want to talk about. It's really just an opportunity to ask questions before the "official" training begins next week. Don't worry if you can't make it to Panera tomorrow, you can still be in the group. It's not mandatory that you come. It's just a chance to get together. Email me if you want to be part of the group, but you can't make it tomorrow night, okay?

Do you have any ideas for places that we could meet together to run? Bring them to the table tomorrow night! I think a great place for us to start is the Averill Park High School track. Tracks are much more "friendly" to our bodies than the pavement. It should be okay for the first few weeks of April and then I'm pretty sure there will be track meets there so we'll have to find somewhere else. Some possibilities are the Corning Preserve, the Crossings or we could invade someone's neighborhood if you live in a development :-)

Well, I think that's it until tomorrow night. If you have any specific questions you know ahead of time, email me. I'm certainly not an authority, but I can tell you what works for me. If I don't know the answer to something, I will research it and find out!

See you all tomorrow night at 6:00.

Priscilla's Scrapbook

I just want to encourage anyone that is going to participate in our running group to send Priscilla a photo and one or two favorite quotes/verses. If you didn't know, she's documenting our training program by making a scrapbook. To view what she has so far, go to Facebook, Cindy's Running Group and then go to the wall posts. The pages are at the bottom of the wall. You'll see everything there. It's pretty cool.

Thank you, Priscilla for doing this!

Just a reminder that our meeting at Panera (EG) is next week - Tuesday @ 6:00. I know Kathy, Diane and Evelyn will be there. Would everyone else let me know if you're plan on coming?

I can't wait to get started!

I Think It's Fixed???

I'm not sure what I did, but somehow I think I managed to fix this thing. From now on, you should be able to leave comments - at least on the posts from this point on. Maybe still not on the previous posts. To be honest, I'm not sure what I did to break this and/or fix it, but I know I did something :-)

Anyway, I think it's "all better now." Why don't you test it out and leave me a comment?

Thanks - enjoy this BEAUTIFUL weather!

Broken blog

I'm not sure what happened here, but I'll try to get this thing fixed by Sunday night.
Sorry!

Jelly Belly

I've been attempting to firm up my stomach muscles a little by doing some situps. I don't know if I've done them enough to notice a difference (I haven't). Anyway, I thought, if I'm going to put in the time exercising, I might as well do it right and do the exercises that will be beneficial to my running. The article below is about exercising your abs specicially for running so I'm going to give it a try. I thought you might be interested, too?

Paste this link into your browser. It should work...

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-263--13030-3-1X2X3X4-5,00.html

Let me know if you decide to try it and what you think...

Spring Is On the Way

I posted a link to a 5K race that Larry & are going to be doing called Sean's Run. I know some of you have already started your running programs - that's so great! In case anyone is feeling like you just can't wait for the Freihofer's, you are welcome to join us on Sunday, April 26 @1 :00 in Chatham for Sean's Run. There is also a kids' run (at 12:30) that I am going to encourage my kids to do. Thanks to Jeff Risley for telling us about this race!

How is the sneaker shopping going? I need an update..I really enjoy reading your comments so feel free to chime in anytime :-)

Have a great weekend!

Back to Business

Hello, Ladies.

Sorry for my absence. I've had two sick kids to deal with the last few days. One was home from school yesterday. Before they decided to get sick, I decided to rip apart Jacob's room and paint. So, in the middle of my urge to redecorate, I was doing my best to take care of the kids AND get Jake's room painted. Good thing moms can multi-task :-)

Anyway, it looks like the meeting at Panera will be Tuesday, March 24. Let's say 6:00?

I hope you all went out and got a planner/calendar. Some of you told me that you did, you get gold stars! I really think you'll find those to be very useful.

The next item on my list is sort of an obvious one and that's running shoes. It is the only piece of "equipment" that you really need to run. This one is really important!! I would recommend buying something new (shopping trip!) and make sure those shoes are only for running. Resist the urge to wear them to walk the dog or go to the store. I know it's hard when they're so darned cute, but do yourself a favor and only wear them for running!

There are many places to buy running shoes. Before I did my half marathon training last summer, I usually bought my shoes at JC Penney's, Kohl's or Dick's. I would go and try a bunch on and whichever ones were comfortable and reasonably priced were the ones I bought. Pretty simple.

When I was training last year, obviously I was running A LOT of miles and I started getting aches and pains in my feet, knees, hips, etc. that I never had before so I went to a place called Fleet Feet. It is a really cool store. They analyze how you run, take various foot measurements (they even videotape your feet while you run on a treadmill) and then they recommend shoes based on all of this information. It turned out I wasn't even buying the correct shoe size! I needed one full size larger than what I had been buying! Amazingly, after buying the shoes they recommended, my aches and pains disappeared and I finished my training (and race) injury free!

Is this necessary for everyone to do? Absolutely not. It's only another option. I honestly don't think the average beginner runner needs this. Maybe you have some kind of foot issues and you think you need the extra guidance, then by all means go for it. You won't be sorry and you'll have shoes that you'll be very happy with. Expect to pay a little more than a department store, but it will be worth it.

With that said, keep in mind that I ran for many years just buying sneakers on sale in department stores that I was perfectly happy with. In fact, one of the brands I wore faithfully was Adidas (usually from Penney's). I always loved the way those fit! (FYI - Nike's tend to be narrow and run small). Also, keep in mind that what works for me may not necessarily work for you since our feet are all different shapes and sizes and we all run differently, too. Take your time and choose your new shoes carefully.

The bottom line is: don't wear a pair of old sneakers you wore to cut the grass last summer. Treat yourself to something new that is going to be comfortable and make sure they are running shoes, not walking shoes, not cross trainers. And, don't be afraid to jog around the store a little bit - no one's watching :-)

If you need any help buying sneakers or need more information, let me know. That's why I'm here!

Panera Meeting

Let's meet at Panera in EG. Let me know which date works better for you:

Tuesday, March 24 or Wednesday, March 25 ???

We'll go with whichever day works out best for most people.

Leave a comment and let me know.

Dear Contestants...

I'm very sorry that I chose a judge who is not only indecisive, but very busy, too. In light of this, I have taken matters into my own hands and randomly chose a winner of the giveaway. (I tossed numbers 1-3 into a hat and chose).

So... without further adue, the winner is #3, which happens to be....

Kathy

Thank you for taking the time to send me a comment. I loved them all and I love hearing from you.

I was thinking we could get together sometime mid March and talk about how this whole thing is going to work and some possible places you might like to run. Would it be convenient for us to meet out somewhere (like Panera?) or at the church, my house? It doesn't matter to me. I'll do whatever you guys want.

Next, when can we meet? Is there any day or time of day that works better?

I want to hear your thoughts on this and then I'll schedule something. I was thinking the week of March 16. The only night I can't meet is Tuesday.

The official start date of our program is Sunday, March 29. You should do the first 2 training sessions on your own that week and then our first date to train together is April 3. I don't know about you, but I'm getting excited!

Let me know what you think about our meeting date...

Sorry for the delay

Okay, we had 3 comments and I cut & pasted all of them into a Word doc. Then, I paintakingly removed anything that could possibly give away anyone's identity and then I sent them to my impartial judge.

As of now, March 1 at midnight, my judge cannot make a decision. They were all great. I was promised an answer in the morning...so I'll let you know.

Sorry for the delay :-)