This morning was my first run with the Ann Arbor Team. It was great! We did a 4-mile course at Gallup Park, which is a large beautiful park that extends along the Huron River. There were maybe 10-15 runners there, plus the two coaches, Ethan and Annamarie. Everyone was really welcoming and friendly. I ran with another marathoner named Sam, who will also be doing the Nike in October. The run felt good -- just the right length to be a good workout without killing me. After the run, we had a clinic on stretching and injury prevention. I learned that you shouldn't stretch before running (stretching a cold muscle can injure it) but that you should always stretch after a run. I also learned that for any given stretch, you should not stretch to the point where it hurts (only to where you can feel that the muscle is being, well, stretched) and that you should hold at a comfortable place for 20 seconds rather than bouncing in and out of the stretch position as many people do.

Now that I'm settled in Michigan, I need to start being really diligent about my during-the-week runs, especially since the distances for the Team runs will be increasing from here. The weekly training schedule gives us Sundays and Tuesdays off for rest, meaning we're responsible for doing some distance on our own Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays (plus the Team runs on Saturdays). I'm looking forward to finding some more good locations near Andrew's place where I can do some of those runs!

I did my first Michigan run this morning! There is a forested area called Lillie Park just up the road from Andrew's condo and it has well-maintained paths for walkers and runners. I ran the Turtle Rock Pond loop (which is the 1.1-mile loop on the map linked above) four times and it took me about 40 minutes. It was cool and humid and I was absolutely drenched by the time I was finished.

I'm back!

I actually managed to do one run during the Minnesota leg of our road trip. It was two loops around this little forested trail near Andrew's parents' house -- based on how long it took me, I'm guessing it was about a 3- or 3.5-miler. Not a lot, but definitely better than going the whole week without running at all.

Today is a settling-in and unpacking day, and tomorrow morning I'll be starting back up with regular runs -- yay! I've been in contact with the Ann Arbor TNT folks and will be doing my first team run this Saturday. Everyone has been really friendly and welcoming, which is awesome!

As some of you know, I'll be spending the next couple of months in Michigan with Andrew -- actually, I'm leaving for the airport in about an hour! I'll be joining up with the Team there to begin my training, and will rejoin the Tucson Team once I return in August.

My runs might be pretty sporadic (or just not happen) over the next week or so, since Andrew and I will be leaving on Tuesday for a little road trip to visit his parents, attend his best friend's wedding, and celebrate our anniversary. After that, though, I'll be back to running and posting regularly!

Yesterday: ran 3.

Today: ran 3/walked 3. Amazing how hot it already is by 7:30 these days!

Coincidentally enough, I had odd bird-related events on each of these runs. Yesterday, I noticed a sound like a jackhammer that seemed to be coming from the sky as I ran along. Looking up, I realized that it was a woodpecker pecking away rather violently at a metal street sign. Yum, painted metal. I hope it didn't break its beak. Today, I was near the marshy part of the park, and not one but two roadrunners dashed across the road about 15 feet in front of me. As I passed them, one of them sort of pounced on the other one and they proceeded to get into a wrestling match right there at the side of the path! Oh, birds.

My day off must have been very refreshing, because today I ran 4 miles! Walked the remaining 2. Went very early (5:45-ish) and it was lovely and cool out. I am looking forward to the end of allergy season so that I can be slightly less sneezy during my runs.

Ran another 3 miles this morning. My legs were reminding me the whole time how ready we are for a rest day tomorrow!

Yesterday, did a 3-miler at Reid Park. I went too late in the morning (10am-ish) and it was way too hot (mid-90s). Note to self: when running in the desert in the summer, go early!

This morning I went earlier (6:30-ish) and had a much nicer time. Ran 3 miles and walked another 3. I'd been thinking of running all 6, but I could tell as soon as I started out that my calf muscles were a little fatigued from yesterday, and I didn't want to overdo it.

I don't think I'll be doing distances longer than that before formal TNT training starts, but I might up the run/walk ratio a little bit over the next week.

Team In Training

I'm excited to announce that on October 18, 2009, I'll be participating in the Nike Women's Marathon with Team In Training. This means that for the next several months, I'll be doing a whole lot of running! Whereas this blog formerly housed my farm-share vegetable adventures, for now I've decided to give it over to the marathon so that my supporters can follow along with my training if they wish. It will also be a good way for me to keep track of what I've done and where I'm going as my training progresses.

Formal TNT training begins later in May, and I may or may not start posting about my casual runs before then. In the meantime, head on over to my official Team In Training page and consider making a donation to help me meet my $3900 fundraising goal.

Thanks for visiting, and stay tuned!