We Want YOU...

...to volunteer at our first-ever Salt City Run for the Rocks! (that is, if you're not already participating!). An event of this magnitude requires several dedicated and trustworthy volunteers to help us out along the course and at the finish line.

If you haven't done so already, let me encourage you to fill our our super duper easy volunteer form online at www.runfortherocks.com. I'll be following up with our volunteers and letting them know where their location is come race day. That said, if you have any questions, feel free to let me know at aconkling@hutchrec.com or give me a call at Hutch Rec, (620) 663-6179. I'd love to have you join our volunteer team!

- Amy, AKA Mama on the Run

Cross-training with a Triathlon

I admit it...I would be a run-only type of gal if I could. But I can't. And I shouldn't. So I don't (grudgingly). Study after study has shown the benefits of cross training and not running every day. But if you're like me, nothing - and I mean nothing! - beats the feeling after nice, long run!

As I enter my eighth month of pregnancy, I'm having to scale back the running (more like run-walking these days) and do more cross-training. It kills me...but I know it's good for my body and good for the babe as we enter the last two months of "marathon training."

One of the best ways runners can cross-train is with swimming and biking. I find this personally to be true - and also professionally as I just finished coordinating my largest special event of the year for Hutch Rec, the Salty Dog Triathlon (held last weekend!). I hear story after story of those run-only types who decide to take the plunge (literally) and add swimming and biking to their exercise routines. They start competing in triathlons (several of them do our Salty Dog) and have fallen in LOVE with the variation it brings to their workouts!

So, runners, I'd encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and test drive swimming and biking on your cross-training or easy days. You just might find a new event to train for!

5K gets me on my way...

My family and I were planning on attending a parade together as part of a small town community festival last weekend when I learned there would also be an early morning 5K.  Even though I know I'm a distance runner and certainly not a 5K runner... I decided to register 20 minutes before the race and then just finish the rest of my long run after the race.  I told myself it would be fun! AND a good practice for race day conditions even if there were less than 200 runners and it was just part of my morning run.  There would still be an anxious starting line, a gun start, cheering people and a finish line.  As I was lining up at the start I noticed the high school cross country runners who I certainly wouldn't see again after the first few blocks (because I would be eating their dust - not the other way around!), I saw the serious runners with hands poised to push the start button on their watches and heart rate monitors (okay so I did this too) and I saw the walkers with strollers too - and I smiled and decided to just enjoy the run!  Don't you love running in a new place?  I do - its the best. As it turns out, I finished respectably, 2nd in my age division, and ran about 7 minute miles!  Yep - that's me smiling at my ability to surprise myself; smiling because I'm done (not really, I still had 6 more miles to go for my training run, but hey - who's counting) and smiling because I was just happy - runners high I guess.  I know that my half marathon and marathon goal times are much closer 9 minute miles, but in that moment I was still happy.  Running a race for me isn't about knowing where I'll finish or dreading having the high school cross country team beat me; its all about just doing the best I can do on that day in that race in that moment.  This 5K certainly put me on my way to believing that on race day I'll smile no matter what. I hope you will too!

Oh, Baby!

Ever since hubs and I found out we were expecting #2, we just knew we wanted a BOB Duallie stroller to put both of our sweet babes in. My parents graciously blessed us with a BOB Ironman stroller with our daughter and LOVED it. I drooled over it for months and was pleased as punch when low and behold I received the stroller a few months before she arrived two years ago.

Fast forward two years, and we've been searching for a BOB Duallie that we love. We opted for the Revolution model (I think with two babes on board the swivel/lock wheel option will work better), but we couldn't swallow the hefty $650 price tag for a brand new one. I stalked eBay and Craig's List for months.....until last week.

On a whim I checked Wichita-area Craig's List and JACKPOT! A few days and e-mails/phone calls later, and we're the proud new owners of a bright orange BOB Duallie stroller. We got it for almost half the price and it's a 2009 model. I'm telling you, the BOB joggers are the mecca of all jogging strollers....and they re-sell like Hondas or Toyotas in the car world.

I just had to share with you runners my steal of a deal! And that while the miles at 7 months pregnant are getting more and more difficult, I look forward to the day when I can wheel my two babes around. Talk about a resistance workout!

It's all in due time, I suppose.

In the meantime, I'll be running "long" runs with you all, wishing I was in your shoes and pulling those double-digit weekend runs. Happy running!

- Amy, AKA Mama on the Run

Training right along with you...

The one and only downside to being a race director... not being able to run in the race you are planning!  I'm hoping on race day that I'll be so busy and so excited watching all of you run the race and cross the finish line that I won't have time to feel like I'm missing out.  I'll be a part of the race day fervor I'm sure. 

But in the mean time - I've made a commitment to train along with you.  I've been out running no doubt, but honestly I've been a bit reluctant to share how things are going sometimes (and really busy too!).  I've realized though that I'm probably not alone... training rarely ever goes perfectly or exactly how you plan right?  Today's run was a great one; one that I wished I could run every time my feet hit the pavement. The morning was still a bit cool from the night and I was up at 5:45 as planned.  I ate two slices of toast and started hydrating. I got dressed, remembered everything I needed; gum, lip balm, iPhone, head-phones, heart rate monitor and water (yes - I do in fact NEED these things!) and set out.  As I set off I left happy (maybe that's important...). I realized I had in fact gotten up really early, the morning wasn't sweltering, I wasn't melting (well okay - I was a little), I wouldn't run out of water, I had plenty of energy... I made it the 13 miles I planned and a ran just over what I hope will be race pace.  It felt great.  Good enough to be brave enough to tell you about the morning runs that didn't go great...

I always plan to be up to 5:30 to avoid the heat and have time to eat a good breakfast and get ready for work.  More times than I want to admit - 5:30 gets snoozed or ignored and it becomes 6:30 or even 7:00.  I start late, it gets hot, I forgot to eat something or forgot to grab a drink before heading out because I was so tired, hurried and worried about the "late" hour...  those kinds of mornings never make for great runs for me.  On those days, I don't really want to check my watch each mile to gauge my pace - but I do... On those days, I don't really want to go the distance I planned because that means running faster than I think I can - but I try and it doesn't always go well... On those days, I run out of water, or forget it entirely, and then get a bit dehydrated and a bit grumpy for the rest of the day - but I still keep putting one foot in front of the other.  And I bet you do too.

Training for me isn't ever perfect. But, I'm trying to remember that though many of us are following our own plans and have our own goals; our experiences are probably being shared, even if only in spirit.  So I'm training with you now and I'll be running with you on race day - even if it is only in spirit.

A ride with USATF course certifier Clark Ensz

As I set off last Wednesday on my bicycle to meet Clark Ensz, I was truly grateful for the overcast sky and the only cool morning weather we have had in weeks. It was a bit humid, but still cool and I was ready to see the course from the luxury of my bicycle! I admit... even after running the course, walking the course and using iMapMyRUN (my favorite app!) to GPS measure the course; I still embarked on this journey not knowing for sure if my calculations were accurate and if the starting line would be where I anticipated. That’s right - I said the starting line. This method of measurement from the finish line was new to me too. Clark educated me on this subject and explained that when measuring a course for certification; it is generally easier to measure from the finish as most races have a definite location they want to finish and a slightly more flexible starting line. Okay, I had already learned something - the process of measuring a course for certification was interesting, fun AND educational!

Clark and I began by choosing the North 30 yard line in Gowan's Stadium for the finish line to give runners roughly 3/4 of a lap inside the stadium to soak up all the cheers and encouragement from the anxiously waiting crowds at the finish. We them took a journey along the sidewalks around Hutchinson Community College, the Kansas Cosmosphere and Hutchinson High School before crossing 17th Street then Plum Street to enter the State Fair Grounds. Clark and I then enjoyed a tour of the State Fair Grounds before exiting to the Hyde Park and Old Farm Estates Neighborhoods. After stopping and marking mile after mile I only half kidded Clark that I thought his bike should have a sign indicating to honking impatient traffic that "this vehicle makes frequent stops." Clark only smiled and said he really didn't pay much attention any more to heckling and honking after years and years of measuring courses. He told me his favorite experience actually included a police escort! Can you imagine that?!? After we entered Rice Park, we cruised along the JPM Sunflower trail to Carey Park. Once we had about half of a mile left, I started getting really nervous... Would the Starting Line be where I had guessed/planed/hoped? We had to find a way to get off the trail and onto a low traffic road so that runners would have at least half a mile of road to get spaced out before entering the wide trail. As it turned out - all my worry was for nothing. Clark calmly suggested a place to enter the road and confidently told me that he was fairly certain the Start would end up in the Salt City Splash parking lot... just as we had discussed. Sure enough, just as we planned, the starting line is in the perfect spot! Plenty of staging area, very close to parking and park restrooms! Yea! Mission Accomplished. I can officially say now that our certification is pending (all part of the process!).

Want to view the course map?  You can get a good look on our webiste at www.runfortherocks.com or at MapMyFitness.com http://www.mapmyfitness.com/routes/view/40156036

We're Still Here - Promise!

Hello, everyone!

Sorry for the delay in blogging. We're still here. In fact, we're swamped with race details and work right now...so it's a good thing! :)

All of our printed marketing materials are complete. If you'd like race posters, registration brochures, or sponsorship brochures, feel free to e-mail Amy at aconkling@hutchrec.com and she can get you the materials you need! We appreciate your support of this event and are even more appreciative of you spreading the word. Also...make sure to friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and then share the love with your social networking friends!

Can't wait for more details to unfold and tell you about our exciting updates. More to come soon! For now, hang in there with the heat and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

- Amy, AKA Mama on the Run