My Treadmill is My Most Prized Possession

January 2011

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Location:

Provo,UT,USA

Member Since:

Oct 04, 2008

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

8 Marathons completed; PR of 3:29.  Hoping to run Boston in next few years if I can ever register before the dang thing fills (have missed the last 2 years because of this).

Short-Term Running Goals:

Hoping to re-qualify for Boston sometime in 2011.  Hoping to hit marathon #10 in 2011.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Run 100 marathons in my lifetime and live to tell the tale.

Personal:

Married.  2 daughters.  Have a love/hate relationship with running.  Hate the first 3 miles of EVERY run without fail and grumble the whole time.  Feel okay during 3-6.  Love 6+ and LOVE how I feel when I am done (like I can take on the world and then some!). 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Total Distance
45.00
Total Distance
4.00

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Total Distance
8.00

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Total Distance
4.00

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8.00

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Total Distance
2.00

Cross training day.  Walking up to incline of 12.0. 

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Total Distance
17.00

Today I made a life-altering discovery and figured out one of the greatest mysteries of all time--why people in the South are the most obese of anyone in the country, perhaps even world.  In short, though fatty fried foods and lots of football watching from LazyBoy recliners might indeed be contributing factors, they are not the main casual connector between southern people and obesity.  Rather, the problem is that after consuming 5,000 calorie meals while sitting on the aforementioned LazyBoy, even if these ladies and gentleman wanted to exercise there is NOWHERE TO EXERCISE HERE!!!  So let me get on a soap box a little bit about my 17.0 mile journey today and you will get what I mean.  I live in East Tennessee--a beautiful, green scenic area with trees, water, lakes, beautiful homes, rivers that you cross every other street, etc.  So surely, I thought, there must be a plentiful amount of running trails.  As I am a young mom of 2 with husband who does surgery for a living, 99% of my runs on the treadmill, so today I thought I would get a little crazy since husband was at home and taking girls to Little Pony movie, and run outside.  I drove to a park right next to the lake that I have been eyeing having seen a few running people there before and having seen a picteresque looking trail heading towards the 8-10 mile round-trip lake.  I begin on the trail with fresh air in my lungs and good music in my ears and am just getting going only to experience the day's greatest disappointment when no less than 100 feet later the "trail" does a little loop around the park and heads back to the parking lot.  So much for the 8-10 mile round trip run on scenic trail.  My husband mentioned there were some trails a few miles away so I leave the parking lot and my car to run over to these new trails on the roads.  About 1/2 mile into it I figure out this might not have been the best idea.  Roads here in the South are very narrow with about a 6 inch shoulder and a guard rail on one side of the road or a muddy ditch on the other side.  The little bridges I keep hitting every 1/2 mile are even worse.  A 12 inch cement slab to run on and road on right so close that I can literally reach my hand out and touch the Semis flying by and deep lake water on my left so deep and frigid that I will surely fall to my death if I trip and get pitched into it.  However, nothing is stoppping me from running today and, besides, my only other option is the treadmill and my car is now behind me so I figure I will keep going, despite my fear of being run down by cars/semis/and or policemen who will inform me that it is illegal to run outside in the state of Tennessee.  2 miles later, getting a little concerned, I finally find---AAAAAH!  Sidewalks!  At least some of Knoxville believes in them.  I take these sidewalks towards the prominsed running trails for about 3 miles, and after 5 miles of complete disappointment in my first outside-Knoxville running experience I hit beautiful parks, kids playing, and finally see some kindred running spirits and even a few bikers (who I have never been so happy to see before).  Finally I have made it to the promised land!  I am running 50 feet parallel to the big lake and figure I will just run for 4-5 more miles, then head back.  I am smiling, I pick up the pace, life is good.  I am running in such a state of zen that I barely realize when the trail suddenly comes to an abrupt stop right in front of a big cluster of magnolia trees.  The lake, the greenery, and of course the road with no sidewalks and a 6 inch shoulder continues on, almost mocking me as it winds off into the distance for what promises to be an excellent sojourn around the lake that I will never get to experience on my running legs.  The total distance of the promised land: 1.2 miles.  So my IPOD and I take several round trips there and back, there and back, there and back.  I think I did 4 or 5 round trips total (I lost track after starting to worry about bathroom issues towards the end--yes, thats right, no porta potties or other facilities or even strategically placed groves of trees in this town.  I then ended my 17 mile run with a 2 mile sojourn back through the treacherous roads of semis, guard rails, and "Narrow Bridges" (as the signs warned).  I was actually honked at on my way back, even though I was running on slanted dirt at that point, about to tumble headlong into a ditch to try and avoid a head-on collision.  Apparently the white minivan did not appreciate my efforts.  The good news is that I finished the longest mileage I have done since Park City Marathon in August in 9:17s and the longest mileage I think I have ever done outside by myself (Luz-less and treadmill-less).  One long run down, 3 to go.  My nice husband, after hearing the travelogue, drove me around tonight and showed me a University Avenue like road that at least has a sidewalk and runs 3.5 miles in one direction for a 7 mile round trip.  There isn't a lake or rivers to cross (these are reserved for the heavy traffic and railroad tracks of course), but it is safe, outside, and scenic in that there are trees in front of people's houses.  So that is the answer to the age-old question: why are so many people in the South overweight?  Well, because even if you WANTED to head out your door to exercise in your beautiful surroundings, the only place to do it is on a 1 mile trail located in the middle of a town that you cannot safely run to, and even if you DO end up driving to the trail and using it, your total exercise will be, well, 2 miles.  Lastly, in closing, I passed several walkers and even a few joggers on the "trail" (though only 1 did I see more than once meaning the 2 miles really is the limit for most), and also passed 2 bikers--middle age mom and dad with baby on dad's bike.  The bikers looked to need some good quality exercise, not Biggest Loser types, but in need of some serious trimming up.  I was heading uphill RUNNING and they were about to BIKE down the same hill when the wife said "There is NO way I am going down that hill; then I will have to bike back up it."  Yeah.  That's kind of the point.  Anyway, I don't mean to offend any of the Southerners out there in the blogging world, but I would like to know why I live in a gorgeous place perfect for all kinds of physical activity but there are absolutely no accommodations made to encourage people to get up and go do something.  Makes me very happy that our move to Utah is on the calendar and will be here soon.  Signing off from what is surely the longest blog post of all time, Cath.

Comments(4)
Total Distance
2.00

2 miles of fast walking at 12.0 incline.  Took today as my cross-training day after I woke up like a Zombie after taking Unisom at 12:30 last night.  Can't believe how sore I was yesterday and today from that 17.0 miles on Saturday.  Must have been all the off-road running (trying to avoid being hit by the cars).  Soreness is more prevalent on right side from running on slants/ditches.

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Total Distance
45.00
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