Boot Camp

If I blog it, I must do it!

NEXT BOOT CAMP CLASS STARTS APRIL 14th

• At allday BOOTCAMP we train you the way coaches train athletes. Each boot camp session lasts for one month, each class lasts one hour, three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday), and an optional Saturday class.
• Each person is challenged at a level that is just right for them. Groups are kept small, which allow trainers to give personal attention to everyone in the class. For classes with a small turnout the instructor will make sure that each member gets a great workout.
• Each day is a different workout, and over the course of a week workouts will include a combination of cardio training (long distance running, short hill workouts, sprinting on the track, running stairs, etc.) cross-training (agility), and strength training (push-ups, pull-ups, abdominal workouts). Each class ends and begins with stretching.
• Whether you sign up for the morning boot camp class, the after work boot camp class, or the evening boot camp classes, you will have access to all four sessions for the price of one:

5:00 AM - 11:00 AM - 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Midtown Boot Camp - Memorial Park Boot Camp
Sugar Land Boot Camp - Cinco Ranch / Katy Boot Camp
Kingwood / Humble Boot Camp - Dowtown Houston Boot Camp

I'm going to plan on attending the 5:30 pm Memorial Park Boot Camp.

(Thanks Running Knitter for the encouragement!!)

Funyuns

This post is for Kelly - one of my lurkers who sent me an e-mail saying he's been checking out my blog, but is bored with all the running talk. Maybe now he'll start leaving comments....

Although it appears that the amazingly wonderful Wassabi Funyuns are no long available (may they rest in peace - they lived far too short of a life), there is a new Funyun in town - Flamin' Hot ones.



And they are rather spicy hot - the wasabi ones were not hot, they just left a yummy wassabi taste wafting across the taste buds.

Jennifer brought me back a bag from her road trip to visit her daddy over Easter along with a big yummy strip of turkey jerky and some Ghirardelli chocolate. That makes a mighty fine meal for someone having rodeo withdrawals.....

And I'm going on a 4 hour road trip to go backpacking this weekend - me thinks there just might be some more Flamin Hot Funyuns in my near future....

On the road again....

Last Thursday and Friday I was bummed that I couldn't go running - Thursday I went out to dinner (sushi) and Friday went to the rodeo (going before work is so not an option!) Wednesday was Power In Motion, where we only did 1 1/2 miles, so I wanted to get in some more.

Then this weekend was a blur of all-day yardwork, Easter visit with mom, major housecleaning and some couch time.

So tonight was my first long run in 6 days. And man it sucks to wait that long between runs! I went oh-so-slow. But was finally feeling good, although hungry, at the end. I just did 4 1/2 miles, but hey - that's 4 1/2 more than I've done all week!

And looking forward to running tonight - probably in new shoes!

Rodeo Vittles

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is all about the food!

Sure, there is world-class rodeo action, big name musical acts, a carnival, beautiful livestock, amazing school artwork & quilts. But the food is the #1 draw for me.

Here's a recap of this year's schmorsborg (in 2 rodeo visits):

• foot long corn dog (I had a craving!)
• wurst-bob (5 different sausage samples on a stick)
• cookies & cream ice cream (during the rodeo)
• roasted corn (they were small, so the lady gave me 2!)
• kettle corn (Jennifer's, had 2 handfulls)
• fried chicken (supposedly the best ever, I had been looking forward to this for 2 weeks. VERY disappointed!)
• papa john pizza (during the rodeo - food offerings in the stadium are so disappointing!)
• cotton candy (purple)
• fried moon pie on a stick (just to say I had it - worse than it sounds. But it looked good!)
• five Miller Lites (in 1 visit)
• two diet cokes
• one iced tea (1/2 sweet, 1/2 unsweet)

Medal maddness

November is too long to wait for another medal!

Considering (considering) doing Angie's 1/2 Crazy 1/2 Marathon at the beginning of April - only 3 weeks away and I'm backpacking one of those weekends. After that I don't think there are any more 1/2s around these parts until the fall. (And all vacation time is going to the Alaska trip in July!)

The relay on Saturday was great, and now I want to cross both the start and the finish of a 1/2 marathon - -before November!

UPDATE: I've e-mailed one of my PIM coaches and he advises me against running this since I haven't been training for that long of a distance & there isn't enough time to prep. He's probably right. Dang it.
There is one up in Dallas May 4....but that would probably mean missing the goal PIM 5K in Houston on May 3.

Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon - Course

The Seabrook Lucky Trails race course is SUPER NICE!

It's a trail run - mostly crush granite and very well-worn grass and dirt trails, but a slight bit of street time, a boardwalk or two and some cross-country on grass by the bay - nice variety!

A fun mix of city, forest and even bay views to keep the run interesting!

It starts at a city park with a large pavilion and skateboard ramps, circles around it (~2/3 mile?) and then down the sides of a gully (~1/3 mile), down a trail next to Toddville road (~1 1/3 mile), then down through a wooded area (~1/3 mile) and across Toddville road through some dense trees (~1/3 mile), across a boardwalk and past a cemetery (~1/3 mile) and then around the really pretty Pine Gully Park on Galveston Bay (~1/2 mile).

Then you go back!

So for about 1/2 of the course, there are runners going in both directions (eventually, at some times).

Even though the trail is narrow at points, it really didn't get crowded.

I only did one loop (with Viv doing it when I finished).
True 1/2 marathoners did the entire loop twice.
And on Sunday, marathoners would do it 4 times.

Since the course is through interesting, changing vistas, it really wouldn't get boring.

There were trivia questions every mile to make it even more interesting! A sign had a question printed on it and then about 1/3 mile on down was the answer. Really cute idea!

There were three main water/Gatorade/etc stations that were EXTREMELY well stocked (even cold towels and vasoline!) with at least 2 additional places fluids were being handed out. So we never went more than about 3/4 mile without fluids!!

Spectator support was pretty non-existent. The volunteers at the aid stations were VERY supportive!

NEXT YEAR -- I'm definitely planning on doing the entire 1/2 marathon and would really like to do it both days......

Seabrook 1/2 Marathon Relay - mile by mile

Mile 1 -- Since the trails are so narrow, the start began on the street instead of trails. (I think this made my leg slightly longer -- according to my Garmin, I did 6.6 miles instead of 6.55!) We were on the street for about 3/4 of a mile before we hit the trails. There seemed to be a lot of walkers & I realized I was going too fast for me. I tried a couple of times to slow down, but that's so hard to do when feeling good!

Trivia -- Who is Casper the Friendly Ghost's Girlfriend? (Wendy)

Time - 12:08

Mile 2 was along trails that were mainly crushed granite, but it was much nicer (smoother, not as much movement) than the Memorial park trails. I went to the first water stop which also had gatorade, oranges, banana and even oreos! LOTS of volunteers. Aside from them, there were very few spectators. The trail was crowded, but not too bad. People did mainly stay to the right (except for the ones with headphones! I've decided I agree with the movement to ban them from races). Reall funny thing overheard -- A lady said to the lady she was walking with "Do you know how many calories Denna Kastor eats every day?" She, I and one other person all replied immediately "5000!" Obviously, we all watched Spirit of the Marathon. I pretty much knew the first runners would head back towards me somewhere on loop two, and it was until I was at my mile 1.7 .

Trivia -- What color is Spock's blood? (Green)

Time - 14:16

Mile 3 was super nice - through the woods and then on to the park on Galveston Bay. Since this is close to the loop around point, I met a lot of runners going the opposite direction. It seemed like the people around 9 min/mile were the friendliest. At this water stop, in addition to water & gatorade, they were giving out cold towels - that were awesome! Man, they felt so good - and stayed cold until well after the run. I almost didn't take one, thinking I didn't really need it but it was so nice and refreshing I'm glad I did. As I looped around and started passing those slower than me I advised them to get one too! We went through the grass along the water line, so I did continue walking instead of running after I finished my cup of gatorade for a while and took a few pics, I never stopped chugging along, though...

Trivia -- How many times did John Glenn orbit the earth? (Three)

Time 14:35

Mile 4 my knee really started "tweaking" bad - I know I was limping some. As I started down a side "bonus" trail I had some of my gatorade & was glad I carry water - even though there were pleanty of aid stations along the way. People were quite talkative along this little stretch. At the end of this bonus trail was yet another water stop, again fully stocked with water, gatorade, towels & I think fruit. I took a gatorade & walked while I drank it. The leader ran towards me (on his 2nd loop) at my mile 3.6, so I guess I was maintaining my slow pace at a constant speed! I was pleased to see I did the 4 miles in under an hour (54.71 min).

Trivia -- What country is Heniken from? (Netherlands)

Time - 14:12

Mile 5 I was beginning to feel tired. I had a Gu - I never did take any of that stuff during the Houston 1/2. Not sure if it helped to have it or not. I learned that in the future I'll take those things when I know a water station is nearby! Luckily on this trail, they are close & I only had about 1/2 a mile until there was a mini-stop that was just two guys with an igloo of water & gatorade. In another 1/3 mile or so we went back through the (1st, biggest) water station that we had gone through already. On this pass I noticed along with all the other offerings was a big ole jar of vaseline. Man - this marathon though of everything!

I knew it was inevitable -- I was looped by the first runner at mile 5.0. This was about the only time the trail got croweded, with us slowpokes finishing our first loop, the medimum fast group coming back out on their second loop and the speediest ones flashing past us on their way to the finish. Trivia -- Where is Harry's New York Bar located? (Paris)

Time - 14:19

Mile 6 - Although I was really tired, I was kind of wishing I had signed up for the full half (!!!!). Quite a shock from a back-of-the-packer that just got looped! But as my fun was coming to an end, I wanted to keep playing. There was still a long way to go, but I was in my little groove. My knee was really hurting and I was wishing I had remembered to put on the icy hot and take the asprin, both of which were in my race bag in the car.

Trivia -- Where is Mount Olympus? (Greece)

Time - 15:06

The last .55 mile (or .6 per my Garmin!) I was feeling really good. I noted, according to my Garmin, my 10K time would have been nicely under 1 1/2 hours, which pleased me. (1:24, I think).

I was surprised that I felt like I had some gas left, so was able to sprint it in a bit.

I saw Viv on the other side of the timing mat waiting for her chance to go and gave it all I had. We touched fingers ala ET and she was off.

I know I stopped my Garmin, but apparently I hit it again since when I looked later it was still ticking off - dang it! I remember it said my mileage was 6.6, but can't remember the time. My official time was 1:32:16, so I'll go with that.

As I stepped forward a bit, I got my medal - yea!! It is a LOT smaller than the "real" half marathon medal, but it's still pretty cool to get a medal for "just" running 6 1/2 miles (WOW -- a year ago I would have never imagined saying that!). Next year, I'm doing the full half!!

No more trivia.

Time: 8:20 (14:91 min/mile or 13.67 min/mile depending on mileage!)

Official time - 1:32:16. (14.07 min/mile @ 6.55 miles, 13.96 @6.6)

I then went to change shoes, get my running jacket and headed down to just before mile 6 to cheer on runners while watching for Viv. I really wanted to go eat, but that would just be wrong with my relay partner still out there! (I should have grabbed the slightly frozen recovery drink I had in my running bag, but didn't - duh.) So I had pleanty of time to stretch and hopefully my constant clapping gave some other runners a boost!

Viv came ripping through looking great. She said she was out of gas, but was going strong!

And she brought us in with a finish time nicely under 3 hours -- Whoopee!!

The after race food was hot off the grill -- hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and hot dogs (sadly, no beer). According to Viv she was offered a taco, but I think she hallucinated that part. There were also complimentary massages -- ahhh...

Medal Envy

Although I'm nicely proud and very happy to have received a medal for doing a 1/2 marathon relay (I wasn't really for sure we'd get one), I am green with bling envy.

Check out the medals you get for doing the 1/2 marathon and the full marathon - they rock!! After getting the awesome race packet and running the beautiful course, I had already decided I was going to do the complete 1/2 marathon next year. Now after seeing the great medal it's 100%!

AND -- if you take on the challenge of doing the 1/2 marathon on Saturday and either the full or half on Sunday, you get a 3rd medal!

It's all about the medals......

60 miles so far this year - woo-hoo!!

WOW - I'm impressed with me for hitting 60 miles so far this year!

60!

Espically since the entire month of February I just logged 2.3 miles. What the heck happened there? (Oh yeah- I had to work a lot. Plus, Feb is a short month.... Yeah, I know it's leap year. Those are my "reasons" and I'm sticking to them.)

I guess I should try to hit some mile targets to keep myself on track (plus, then I can justify buying rewards!). Twenty miles a month sounds like a pretty darn good goal for me, but since I can apparently hit that without even trying, I guess I'll bump it up some....

GOAL -- 100 miles by Tax Day, April 15.

40 miles in a month might be a bit too much, but between the yardwork being done in the backyard, getting a cedar gazebo, paying off the fancy refrigerator I bought and my trip to Alaska in July, I don't really have any reward money anyway.

OH -- If I make my 100 mile goal by April 15, I can go see Jimmy Buffett guilt-free on 4/21. (In other words, I'm buying myself my goal gift before I even began working on the goal!)

PIM e-mail -- Hot shower vs ice bath

Here's an e-mail I sent out to the people I suckered into joining my running group/training:

Hi Happy Little Runners~

Hope your all sticking to your training schedules and are starting to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment after completing your workout. I rarely enjoy the beginning of a run, but the feeling after makes it worth it all.
"Why do I like to run?"
"Because it feels so good when I stop!"

Some of y'all seemed to be MIA on Wednesday....You missed a good discussion on stretching. A handout is on the PIM website.

One thing that was mentioned was taking a hot shower and then stretching on the unusual occasion when you're not able to stretch right after a run. I'm assuming she said hot to warm up your muscles. But hot showers/baths are BAD after a run.

The best thing after a long, hard run is an ICE BATH.
Luckily, y'all aren't doing the mileage yet to get you to this point. I decided to do one after the Houston 1/2 marathon & I could tell that it really, really helped. (Plus, I had a beer and burger along with me in the tub.)

Something about cold preventing the lactic acid from building up, which is what makes your legs feel heavy later. I had read a lot about it on the Houston Fit discussion board & finally decided to give it a shot & I am glad I did.
A couple of hours after my long run on Sunday (6.2miles) I took a hot bubble bath. When I went to run Tuesday (rained out on Monday) my legs felt horrible. Of course, I also have run 26 miles this month so far and only ran 2.3 the entire month of February so that probably contributed quite a bit. But the pain was weird. It wasn't until after I was looking up if any one advocates a hot shower after a run (no one does that I could find) that I connected the heavy leg feeling and the hot bath.

Proceeded with care....
And have FUN!

Wahoo!
Anna

Bonus e-mail!
I forgot to suggest in my last e-mail to keep a log of your time & distance running. (Distance may be difficult for you now, but you can guesstimate.)
I've been discouraged at some of my times lately, but looked back at what I was doing in July when I started & then I realized how far I have come. It's been a big boost!

I use the training log on RunnersWorld.com, which is free & I like a lot. There is a route section whereyou get a street map and you can plot the points you run & it calculates the mileage. It was pretty easy to learn to use.
Also, it's sometimes surprising to see how many total miles are run. I just hit 60 for the year!

Wahoo (again)!
Anna

PS - Another way to track progress is to blog. My friend Viv, who I met in PIM last Fall & am running the Seabrook 1/2 marathon relay with on Saturday has been blogging about her training (and 60 pound weight loss!). After reading her blog for a couple of months http://imnotfittorun.blogspot.com/ I started doing my own http://anna-omaly.blogspot.com/ which helps me stay motivated.

The BEST race packet EVER!!!

Woo-Hoo!!

I just picked up my race packet for the Seabrook (1/2) Marathon (relay) that's this Saturday and it's DA BOMB!!!

First off, the shirt isn't a cheesy cotton shirt, but a TECH SHIRT. The color is "steel" - I thought that was funny. The multi-color logo for the marathon is where the pocket would be on the front and the insurance company logo on the back is large, but the color blends so it's not obnixious like some. The shirt is way too big (unisex sizing), but after getting my microscopic unwearable Houston Fit shirt, I'd rather err on the large side.

We also got a TECH HAT (!!!!!) in hunter green with the multi-color logo on the front (the wording in black blends in with the dark green, but it's still super nice, and a GREAT surprise!) AND we got TECH SOCKS -- New Balance Elite performance running socks.

Plus, a Miller Lite (cotton) SUN VISOR, a fancy glittery City of Seabrook KOOZIE, and a City of Seabrook LAPEL PIN.

There was also a sample & a buy-one-get-one free coupon for Detour BAR, a sample of UDDER BALM and a coupon for a free GO KART ride at a place really close to my house (which is odd, since I'm about 50 miles from Seabrook).

And.....I did confirm that even us lowly 1/2 marathon relay-ers will get a finisher's medal!!

Pooped, pleased penguin

So today Nathalie and I went down to Seabrook so I could run the route of the Seabrook (1/2) Marathon (relay). It was tough, but I did it. It took a LONG time and I took a nice rest break in the middle to look at the waves crashing and the sailboats in the bay and the pretty, pretty sky.

I did the first 1/2 (3.01 miles) in 44:49, which is 14:53 min/miles. My HR was 143 ave, 208 max. I should have been pumping it out harder, but it was just really, really hard to get motivated. I walked quite a bit. I probably would have walked more, but Nathalie was behind me walking & that kept me motivated. I kept thinking of her coming out to cheer for me at the Houston 1/2 marathon & wanted to make her proud of me. (I'm REALLY PROUD of her -- she's doing the Avon Breast Cancer walk - 40 (FORTY) miles in two consecutive days. Yikes that's a lot. Plus, she's raised ~$1700!! MAN!! -- If you'd like to donate to her walk, you can do so at http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR/Walk2008/Houston?px=3856907&pg=personal&fr_id=1420

The course (Seabrook trails) is a rather narrow path - I wonder how it will work in a marathon setting. Hopefully there will be lots of start times! It starts out at a little park with skateboarding ramps and basketball hoops. Then down a gully and to Toddville road, past houses. Then into a wooded area and finally over to Pine Gully Park, a really nice park on Galveston Bay (although the restroom was out of toilet paper, I was just happy to see a restroom at that point!). And then back the same route.

As I was waddling along, I came to a realization -- I'm going to get lapped next week. Fast fast people finish a 1/2 marathon in right over an hour. I'll finish my 1/2 of the 1/2 in an hour an a half (or more). So some people will be done before Viv ever even starts (We haven't discussed it, but I think I should go first....Not even sure how this whole relay thing will work) I think this is the first time they're doing a relay for the 1/2. Since it's all on one trail, I bet people will be coming back before I'm even 2 miles in. What a depressing thought. That won't stop me though -- I'll keep waddling along. I'm still going faster than all those people that don't even have the courage to start!!

And so because of this realization, I came home and ordered a shirt from John Bingham. On the back is this logo:

I doubt I'll get it this week, but it would be really nice to wear it next weekend.

The return trip of the trail went better, time wise was about the same. I ran around extra at the end to make it be 3.1 (5K) since I thought that's the distance I did the on the out (it was 3.01 - duh). Time for this was 44:47, 14:24 min/miles.

SO....my 1/2 marathon relay time will be about 1 1/2 hours. But I can make it, and that's the important thing. No matter when we finish, we'll get medals & it's all about the medals!!

(Now I'm wondering if we do both get a medal -- surely we do! We're only paying $30 each, so maybe we'll just get a tech shirt?? I'm in it for the medals!!)

Well that sucked

I attempted a run this morning. But my knee and body in general said No-No-NO!

The Buffalo Bayou Regatta was going on this morning, so I planned to run along Allen Parkway and see all the pretty boats. First of all, I never saw any boats (must have started VERY late) and my knee was tweaking BAD. So I did a little slow walk instead and went home.

How sad.

Tomorrow I'm going to go down to Seabrook to run the trails that will be the route for next week's 1/2 relay. Hopefully I'll feel better after knowing my approximate time.

Whoa.....

One week until the 1/2 marathon relay

YIKES!!!

Starting to remember why I like this.....

I came home from work and immediately changed into my running gear, picked up a few twig-lets in the yard as I procrastinated, but then headed out for a "long" run.
I put long in quotes since 5 miles used to seem like no big deal, now it seems like a pilgrimage. And this time a trip to KFC would be my mecca.

The trip to KFC, combined with my Fear Of Viv and disappointment in myself were what got me going.

The initial mile was hell, as always. Had to take walk breaks. Did it in 12:51, though - my best mile time (HR 153 ave 169 max). Part of that is me not knowing how to pace & part is because I was cutting through Lazybrook where I had to run in the street.

The second mile I was along White Oak and kind of getting into a rythem, but still hating running. I did it in 14:36, so obviously walked more. HR 156 ave, and 168 max. Must have been way off on that pacing still!

Mile 3 was a little better feeling. I was realizing what my 5K time would be & not pleased but not too saddened either. But at the same time I was thinking if I had to run all this same distance again (like I'll have to in a week) I'm not sure if I'd make it. But I was still along White Oak all alone - in a marathon situation there will (hopefully) be spectators and all the excitement & energy of the day. I did this mile in 13:48, HR 156 ave, 168 max.

Mile 4 was coming back up through Timbergrove, so there was some breaking to cross TC Jester and Ella. It was nice to be back in the 'hood. When I've run this route before, I usually cross through Timbergrove in the beginning and then Lazybrook on the return, but I think I like this way better. The Lazybrook route is faster up to White Oak, but the Timbergrove part is more enjoyable (we have sidewalks on both sides of the street & larger front yards). This mile was in 15:40, my slowest mile and the heart rate was only averaging 144 with a max of 163. I didn't realize I had slowed THAT much! But I was wiped.

I was doing some block circling trying to hit the 5th mile, but just did .91. This part of a mile was at a 14:43 pace with a HR ave 147, max 159. I was pretty spent at this point. Even the Fear Of Viv couldn't get me to run more -- I was wanting that KFC and to just stop this craziness. I did start imaginign the disappointment of Shane - Viv's husband who will probably be at the 1/2 relay with her & will be hoping for a good time for her, which I will screw up with my waddling.

So on my 4.91 trek I did it in a total of 1:10:21, which is an average 14:19min/mile. HR ave 151 with max of 169.

Wonder how much more I can improve in seven days for the Seabrook 1/2 marathon relay??

As I finished my less-than-five-mile long run, I did have a sense of accomplishment. Although I was really tired, I felt good, slightly proud and semi-strong. Then I remembered this is why I liked running.

That evening my body really felt good. Tired, but pleasantly so. Some coach, probably PIM in the past, said that after a workout you should be pleasantly pooped, but spent. That's the feeling I had. And the mental feeling was good. I know I'm still slacking from where I want to be, but heck I just did 5 miles! That's good!

Maybe this is that so-called Runner's High, which I used to hear of but since I started running have decided it was a myth.

Back in my first PIM season, I asked my coach Amy Benedict (still the best PIM coach ever) "When does this get to be fun?" and she replied with out hesitation "When you get to stop and eat."

On the first day of Houston Fit the guy doing the intro seminar posed the question "Why do we run?" and followed it up with the answer "Because it feels SO GOOD when we stop!"

The running still sucks some, but the feeling after is really great!

E-mail to my PIM group...

WOW!!
Wednesday was freaking crazy!!

That was about twice as many people as in the fall. My group last time had about 12 people, now it's more than 30.

Things this week should be a little calmer. Also,time change is Saturday night/Sunday morning, so it will be light later.

With the rain last night, most people probably didn't run (I didn't). So today's rest day was by default taken yesterday - meaning run today!

The training schedules are on the PIM website:http://www.powerinmotion.org/under the "training" tab.

Here's an explaination of how to read it --
5x(3R/1W) means to run for 3 minutes, walk for one minute and do this five times (total of 20 minutes)

You don't NEED it, but you can get a watch with TWO interval timers at Academy for $39.99. Then you can set one timer to beep after 3 minutes, then it beeps after a minute, and repeats until you turn it off.

A 15% off night at a running store will happen at some point this PIM season, but they're not sure yet when. We always get 10% off at Luke's Locker, just let them know you're in PIM.

I plan to run along Buffalo Bayou tomorrow morning and down in Seabrook on Sunday morning if anyone wants to come along. Let me know if you'd like to meet somewhere on Monday or Tuesday to run!

Have a great weekend & some great runs.

Wahoo!
Anna

PS -- remember to GO SLOW -- your running should be at a conversational pace. If you're unable to talk without panting like a dog in the summertime, you're going to fast.
Resting is very important too, take your rest days and your rest breaks -- that's when the body repairs and heals.

If you go too fast in the beginning, you run the risk of burning out -- we're in this for the long haul, so take it slow and enjoy it!

Marathon hopeful, 101-year-old , training hard
Wed Mar 5, 11:47 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters)

Already Britain's oldest employee, 101-year-old Buster Martin now aims to become the world's oldest marathon runner by completing the London Marathon and celebrating with a pint of beer and a cigarette.

Sprightly and bearded, he completed a half marathon at the weekend in five hours 13 minutes. The former Army physical training instructor works three days a week for a London plumbing firm and says he has trained for the April 13th race in his spare time.

"I've said I'll attempt it," he told Reuters by telephone from his workplace at Pimlico Plumbers. "I haven't said I'll complete it. If I do make it, all the better. I hadn't thought of doing it before but someone asked me and the money goes to charity so why not?"

His sponsorship money will go to the Rhys Daniels Trust, which provides temporary accommodation for families of patients in specialist children's hospitals.

Martin, who had 17 children and returned to work at the age of 99 saying he was bored after two years of retirement, would beat the previous record for world's oldest marathon runner by eight years.

"If I finish, I'll do what I always do and have a pint and a fag," he said. "People ask what is my secret but I haven't got one. They say fags and booze are bad for you -- but I'm still here, aren't I?"

(Reporting by Peter Apps, editing by Paul Casciato)

PIM started again!

Yeah!
Power In Motion (PIM) started again last night. It was SO good to see my gang from last season & all the new folks I suckered in to joining up.

The "new" folks (along with their group):
Natahalie - A
Doreen - A
Yvette - A
Heather - A
Tina - A/B
Wanda - B
Mary Ellen - C
Melissa - C
Mel - C
Randi - D
Sandy - E+
Scott - E+
(Rebecca maybe?)

The PIM group was HUGE!! I guess about 200 people.

Our Carbo/Dawn group had 60 - last season there were about 30. I am, once again, a carbo. I wanted to be a dawn, but just not fast enough. Before we started, Coaches Manny and Trish saw me and both pointed and said "You don't belong here - you need to be an Enduro" But I'm not fast enough and and this point can't do 3 miles solid. I ran pretty hard to try and make the Dawn group, but fell short and was really feeling bad. Then I looked at the others in my group and saw Mary, who was with the group last year. Everyone else has moved on to the Enduro (and up) groups, so there was comfort having someone else "left behind" with me.
As I continued to look around, someone else looked familiar -- I was really shocked to see my Houston Fit 1/2 marathon coach in my "slow" group! And she was with a lady who was also in my HF group that's run the Rocky Raccoon 25K. Maybe my little slug-group isn't so bad after all!

Wahoo!
Anna

E-mail to my future PIMsters

Hi Future PIMsters,

Woo-Hoo!! I'm so excited that PIM is starting up
again! It is such a fun group and a great environment
to learn to run or build on current knowledge.

SIGN UP:
Be sure and SIGN UP for PIM on-line - it's $39 in
advance on-line, but $50 if you wait and sign up in
person tomorrow.
The address to sign up is:
http://www.harra.org/clubportal/EventDetailPublic2.cfm?clubID=955&EventID=55211

THIS WEEK:
Come ready to run!

On Wednesday we divide up into our groups:
- those that don't run at all (Aerobics & Batons)
- those that can run 1 mile (Carbos & Dawns)
- those that can run 3+ miles (Enduro, Fitness, Gu &
Hydrations).

The Aerobic & Baton groups (which are divided by last
name) will go into their first workout - run for a
minute, walk for two minutes seven time (21 minutes
total).
The other groups will run to determine grouping.

SHOES:
If you need a new pair of shoes (I do!) wait and we
may have a night at Luke's Locker when we all get 15%
off. Anytime you go to Luke's, let them know your
with PIM for a 10% discount.

Definately go and get professionally fit for shoes -
the staff at running stores are trained to determine
which shoe is right for you. Te right shoe is
CRITICAL. Shoes I've gotten at Luke's have been
decently priced - all right around $100.
If you don't run much now and your shoes are more than
about 1 1/2-2 years old +, it's probably time for new
ones. (Mine are 6 months, have about 200 miles on
them & I can tell it's time. You're supposed to get
about 350 miles from shoes. I'm noticing a difference
& am looking forward to new ones.)

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

Wahoo!
Anna

Waddling on

I ran.
When I wanted to walk, I imagined Viv with a whip behind me.

2.9 miles, 39:44 (13:43 pace).

I felt okay when I was done. Not sure if I would have been able to do that all over again, but I better be able to in a week and a half!

The Fear of Viv

OK -- I'm finally running again. Less than 2 weeks to the 1/2 relay with Viv and she's kicking ass running fast while I'm being a lard ass.

I started out running Sunday for the first time in...a really long time. I quickly realized that I was even more out of shape than I had already thought - which is pretty sad. I ended up walking most, but I did do 5 miles in 1:20, 16/miles. Sad, but the way I felt I thought it would be even worse.
Viv rocked the Rodeo 10K in less than that time.

For the month of February I only logged a massive 2 miles. TWO! How sad is that???

I've got to get it in gear fast!
I can't let Viv down this bad!
I needed a swift kick in the backside & the FEAR OF VIV is going to do it!

(Luckily PIM starts Wednesday -- that'll help!)