Rebekah Speaks

Day 114 – April 23, 2012 On a cold and rainy day, practice was cancelled, leaving me to run country roads by myself. . .and loved every minute of the good run! Total – 6 road miles Day 115 – April 24, 2012 The practice schedule was a little messed up today when we needed to borrow a track across town. We enjoyed a 3.5 mile warmup through a beautiful part of town: tree-lined streets, stately homes, and manicured yards. After that, I was needed to time both sprinters and distance people. So for me, it was a short but sweet run. Total – 3.5 road miles Day 116 – April 25, 2012 What a wonderful way to start the day: in Horton’s truck and heading to the mark the Promise Land course. Fun, good running, beautiful scenery, and contributing to the ultrarunning community. Good stuff. Total – 6 trail miles Day 117 – April 26, 2012 The kids ran hard yesterday at a track meet. So today, it was Runner’s Choice. I took a group up on the trails at Chandlers Mountain

Being a TrailMama is almost as hard as being a real mama. I know this for a fact. My beloved UltraGirl, previously blogged about as "UltraBaby," ran another race that I didn't get to see. Today it was the Promise Land 50K, a tough trail race with about 8,000 feet of climb and the same amount of quad-punishing descent. Being a (reasonably) responsible adult, my coaching calender told me there was a track meet I needed to attend. Though I long for the day to run a race with UltraGirl, it wasn't going to be this time-again. Three races in a row, she raced. I didn't. But I thought non-stop about her, just like any good Mama would do. Shivering Sarah Quigg with brother Zach (center) and finisher Dylan Perry When I saw her at the pre-race event last night, her face carried a peculiar look. To me, it said, "I'm worried about my knee. It hurts. My confidence is non-existent." I knew she had been having some problems the last couple of weeks. There w

Dear Mom and Dad, I just wanted to tell you how much I embrace the life you gave me. In July of last year, your plan for me was born, a thought planted in your hearts and nourished by your unfailing love. Oh, how exciting it was to grow cell by cell, day by day. Then one glorious day in late summer, I could feel it! Thump-thump. Thump-thump. My own little heart started beating, rhythmically pounding out the melody of life. I relished hearing my heart in concert with yours, Mother. Your heart beat was soothing to me. I easily fell asleep to its hypnotizing cadence. I felt safe and protected, warm in your womb's embrace. Mom, I heard you sing to me. Your sweet voice was music to my ears; a pleasant sound delightfully muffled by the water surrounding me. I smiled every time I heard you speak. Yes, I heard the idle chat of those around you, but there was no mistaking your voice. I could have picked it out of a chorus of thousands. I hung on your every word. I always wished I could

Day 107 – April 16, 2012 It sure was warm today; 85 and sunny. But what a great day to take the kids to the woods. I felt strong but was a little surprised at how wimpy some of the kids seemed. They usually aren’t that way but it must have been the heat. We ran a little more than I intended (oops), but was pleased with no soreness or fatigue from my weekend outing. Total – 6.7 trail miles Day 108 – April 17, 2012 This was a ridiculously easy practice. After some time with core exercises, we took a three-mile slow jaunt around campus. The kids are running a meet tomorrow so a down day was appropriate. I wanted to run extra but ran out of time. Total – 3 road miles Day 109 – April 18, 2012 85 and sunny Monday. 75 and overcast Tuesday. 55 and rainy today. Not sure I like the trend. Nevertheless, I managed to get in a great 6 miler, feeling smooth and efficient. Yahoo! Total – 6 road miles Day 110 - April 19, 2012 With a track meet this Saturday, I k

Day 101 – April 10, 2012 I was really excited for our Tuesday Adventure Run. Jack Mountain, a long, steep rocky trail underneath a power line, is the toughest climb in the area. I had gotten reacquainted with it last week and wanted to share the wealth. I ran the 6.3 mile course before practice to make sure we would have enough time. Then, we ran it as a group. Their eyes about popped out of their heads when they first saw the mile-long climb. But, they loved it and I could tell they felt pretty accomplished. I listened to the chatter and laughter throughout the run. That’s probably the best part; knowing they are embracing being out in the woods and doing things most would think crazy. Total – 12.6 trail miles Day 102 – April 11, 2012 After a couple of challenging practices, we did a light run around campus. Nothing special but a pleasant time in surprisingly cold, windy conditions. It was surprising to be running with temps in the 40’s after days in the 80s. To

Day 93 –April 2, 2012 Time for some tempo. The team and I ran 2.5 miles to our normal turn around point and after a brief rest, ran back as a tempo run. I told the kids that if they could say more than a syllable or two, they were running too slow. I was pleased to catch and pass a couple of the mid-distance guys that shared the practice with us. Feels so good to be able to run again. Total – 5 road miles Day 94 – April 3, 2012 One of my guys commented that he didn’t have a lot left at the end of his last 1600. We did what we could to work on running hard when tired. So, to get tired, we ran a 2.5 mile warmup with 5 150-yard steep hill repeats in the middle of it. When we arrived back at the track, it was 5 x 400 with a 200 active recovery in between each one, run at faster than 1600 race pace. Total volume for the day was not high but it was effective for our purposes. Total – 4.3 road, hill, and track miles Day 95 – April 4, 2012 Time to back off with a meet

(My words delivered on April Fool's Day at a baby shower for two first-time expectant women.)   10. Baby’s bottom is red, white thrush spots decorate the interior of her mouth, and her face looks like she had an encounter with barbed-wired from her too-long fingernails that you miserably failed to trim. Yes. You truly are the world’s worst mother—ever. 9. Your baby won’t sleep, the house is a mess, and your husband decides to enter into a sexual feeding frenzy. You really aren’t feeling that . Yes. You truly are the world’s worst mother—ever. 8 . Your baby is whimpering and you have the audacity to stay seated with your cup of java. Yes. You truly are the world’s worst mother—ever. 7 . Baby is a two weeks old. You put the little cherub in the crib and she is finally sleeping. Instead of doing the laundry—by hand, on a washboard, outside, in your frock and with a bandana wrapped around your head—you decide to nap as well. Shame on you. Yes. You truly are the wor

Day 86 – March 26, 2012 I ran with my team today plus a little more after the workout. After a warmup, we did 10 x 200 hard with a recovery 200 in between. I like this workout because the pain only lasts for so long. Total – 4.2 track and road miles Day 87 – March 27, 2012 After speaking to Dr, Horton’s running class, I took the girls fro a short run. We didn’t have much time due to so many great questions that they asked. Then, I went directly to practice where we ran up to the mountain so we could do hill repeats at out favorite spot. Not a lot of miles but a lot of bang for the buck. Total – 6 road and trail miles Day 88 – March 28, 2012 This was a fun day at practice. After two hard practices, the team was ready for a light day. We did a “follow-the-leader” workout. Guess who was the leader? We ran, stopped to do out one-leg balance exercises atop guard rails, ran more, stopped to do 8-counts, ran more, made our way through the indoor skate park, ran mor