62 Days until the OKC Marathon

Week nine report:Rocky Mountain High 

Weight: 138

Miles ran this week: 20

Miles ran so far in my training: 188

Brad received a call on 2/14 that his uncle that lives in Boulder Colorado had passed on.  Since we had Monday off for Presidents day we decided to make the 8 hour journey.  I knew that this trip would make it hard to follow my training plan as written but I made the best of it.  Got a quick 3 miles in on Monday morning before we left for Boulder.

A few years ago I had purchased Running By the Book, by Corinne Baur and had gotten to know her through emails and facebook posts.  I posted to her FB page asking what the weather was like in Colorado?  Would I need to run inside on a hotel treadmill, or would I be able to run outside? She said "Outside, and would I like a running partner?"  "Yes!" I said so even though our trip was brought upon by sadness I was going to get to have a little bit of fun on Tuesday morning.

On Monday we left Kansas for Colorado and after an 8 hour drive we arrived in Boulder.  We had some time before the viewing so we dropped by the Boulder Running Company

The store was huge and I got two cute shirts on clearance.  I got up early for my run with Corinne on Tuesday morning.  Brad took our picture and we got into Corinne's car and headed for a trail.  

The trail was beautiful.  We ran two miles out and then turned around.  I wish we could have ran longer but Corinne had to get her kids to school and Brad and I needed to get ready for the funeral.  Corinne took a picture of me with the flat irons in the background.  My garmin picture shows what the elevation is like in Colorado.  I was about 1 minute per mile off pace.  

This will go down as a memorable run.

By the time we got my brother in-law to the airport it was almost 6:00.

 We were tired and knew that we did not want to make a long journey in the dark so we did just half of it and stopped at Goodland Kansas.  Drove the next day.  Worked a 10.5 hour day on Thursday due to parent teacher conferences and did not run again until Saturday.  Start to Finish was not meeting this week so I had planned a group run for Saturday morning.  We met at 7:30 at Health Strategies.

 This is a nice hilly route in the middle of Wichita that will allow you to run 22 miles. We all had different distances we were going to run before we each turned around.  Abi turned around at 2.5 miles, Jordan turned around at 4 miles, Joni turned around at 5 miles, and I turned around at 6.5 miles.  I was happy to have company for the first 5 of my 13 miles.  Those last 8 miles were lonely but I did see plenty of other runners out as this is a popular route in Wichita.  I am not going to lie those 13 miles were hard.  I actually had to walk at each mile after I had hit 10 miles.  I am having doubts about 26.2, but I really am seeing improvements.  For example 13 miles once made it impossible for me to walk up and down the stairs.  Stairs are no longer a problem for me at 13 miles.  The weather was excellent on Saturday for outdoor running and for air drying my workout clothes.

 I love seeing my workout clothes on the clothesline as it gives me a sense of accomplishment for all that I did the following week. 

Workouts for the week:

Monday: 4 mile run + 20 minutes on the elliptic trainer

Tuesday: 8 mile run,outside or DTYMCA

Wednesday: Extreme Ride

Thursday: 4 mile run + 20 minutes on the massive stair climber 

Friday: REST

Saturday: 17 mile run PLEASE SOME OF YOU DO PARTS OF THIS WITH ME

69 Days until the OKC Marathon

Week seven report: Thank-you Coach Long

Weight: 140 (up 2 pounds)

Miles ran this week: 30

Miles ran so far in my training: 168

Some of you have already read my blog for today.  I went to make a correction and I somehow deleted all of it.  More of my running history.

Our family moved again, this time to Knob Noster Missouri during the summer of 1978.  I was no longer picked on,  just sort of ignored.  It was a lonely first semester at KNHS.  I tried out for the track team and made varsity.  Our coach was Cecil Long.  He taught PE at the Elementary School and I would sometimes see him at Mass.  He was a kind and considerate man.  It was him that convinced me to run not only the 220, but the 440 yard dash.  With his coaching I did those events and was also on the 880 yard and mile relays.  Our mile relay was good enough to go to the 1979 Missouri State track meet.

 I once again lettered in track and begged my parents to get me a Letterman's jacket. I was also a school record holder in the mile relay. I was so proud of that jacket I actually wore it in May. In Missouri it was the custom to put the medals you had earned on your actual letter.  Coach Long told me to run during the summer and convinced me that running Cross Country in the fall would make me a better sprinter.  I ran all summer and in the fall I tried out for the cross country team.  Longer distances did not come as easy for me.  I needed good running shoes and knew that the Yellow Nike's with the Turquoise swoosh at $35.00 were a financial stretch for my parents.  I loved those shoes.

 I made the team and weekly I had to fight to keep my #5 position.  The top 5 girls ran varsity.  Often we would race boys JV because some of the towns did not have cross country.  My sister was on the team two and she was the #2 runner.  I was always a little bit jealous of her.

 Our team was good enough to attend the 1979 Missouri State Cross Country meet.  I don't remember what place we took.  What I do remember was that while my sister Michelle and I were at the state CC meet, our parents were in Belle Plaine Kansas buying our new home.  Yes, once again the Ruge family was moving. On my last day of school at KNHS I asked the three girls that were on the mile relay team with me to pose for a picture underneath our record.

 One of the girls (who I will not name) was being mean to me about it saying "Coach Long had to make a mistake because Ruge, you are not that good."  Coach Long actually trained me after cross country season until our family moved.  He assured me that I HAD earned that school record.  Coach Long is the reason at age 51 I am still a runner.  I think about him often.  I thought about him on Saturday as I ran my longest distance to date, 15 miles.  I loved that he ran with us when we worked out. I hope he knows the impact that he had on my life 

Here are my workouts for the week

Monday: 4 mile run, 

Tuesday: 4-7 mile run in Boulder Colorado (we are attending a family funeral) where I might be running with Corinne Baur who is the author of the book Running by The Book

Wednesday: REST/travel

Thursday: 4 mile run probably on a hotel treadmill and travel

Friday: REST

Saturday: 13 mile run.

Sunday: REST

77 Days until the OKC Marathon

Week six report: "Here, I guess you earned this?"

Weight: 138

Miles ran this week: 29

Miles ran so far in my training: 138

Largest middle measurement 38" 

In 1976 my family moved to Great Falls Montana.  Instead of attending East Jr. High School I asked my parents if I could attend the smaller St. Peter and Paul Elementary School.  I was teased and picked on at this new school too.  I was called "Luge Ruge" this all changed by springtime when it was discovered that I was a fast runner and I made the track team.

8th Grade Graduation 1977

For the fall of 1977 I had no choice but to attend East Jr. High.  I was picked on horribly, girls kicking me down stairs and being terrorized in the locker room.  Looks like the friends I had made at St. Peter and Paul forgot about me.  Things were so bad that my Mother had to make arrangements with the School Principal for me to be released from school 15 minutes early every day so that I could walk home and avoid the girls that were terrorizing me.  This too all changed when I made the track team.  One of our coaches was pretty/young/popular and LOVED the "mean girls" that picked on me.  She was one of my PE teachers too that turned a blind eye to the girls that picked on me.  It was the last day of school for me at East Jr. High and my family was preparing to move once again, this time to Knob Noster Missouri. I was getting my stuff out of my locker and she came up to me and threw an envelope my way saying "Here, I guess you earned this?"  Her tone was mean/rude and and I could tell that it made her somewhat sick to give my my chenille letter for lettering in track.  I will NEVER forget her cruelness towards me and I think about it often.  Especially when a student of mine might be driving me crazy.  I NEVER want to imprint that memory on a kid.  I was so proud of that letter (even though my brother Todd cut a corner of it off!)  It made me feel like a real runner.

My sister Michelle(on the right) and I 1978

Had decent workouts this last week.  Attempted to run more on Monday night due to incoming bad weather.  Big mistake, HUGE!  Got 5 of my planned 7.  Tuesday brought a snow day and 6 miles on the treadmill (made easier by watching Sons of Anarchy on Netflix).  Wednesday brought another snow day and Brad and I shoveled the driveway so I counted that as cross training.  Thursday I did 4 miles on the treadmill.  Today Start to Finish was cancelled and it is still icy and very cold outside.  Mandy, Kathy and I ran 14 miles inside at the Down Town YMCA.  It was not easy, but we got it done!..

Here are my workouts for the week

Monday: 4 mile run, 20 minutes elliptical.

Tuesday: 7 mile run pace.

Wednesday: Extreme Ride

Thursday: 4 mile run, 20 minutes stair climber.

Friday: REST

Saturday: 15 mile run.

Sunday: REST

84 Days until the OKC Marathon

Week six report: Feeling Great!

Weight: 138

Miles ran this week: 21

Miles ran so far in my training: 119

Largest middle measurement 38" 

Each week I have decided to share a little bit of my running history with all of you, so here goes........

Edison Elementary School, Minot North Dakota, 1974-75 was the school I attended for 6^th grade.  My family moved a lot and I was once again “the new kid.”  As always I was awkward and shy but this school really seemed to emphasis fitness.  They had an “Edison 250 Club” that you could join if you scored 250 points doing various calisthenics.  My younger sister Michelle made the club before I did, but I did eventually make it.  Behind the school there was a full 440 yard track.  And according to Google Maps, the track is still there! We would use that track in PE class while testing for the Presidential Fitness Challenge.  I would always just about make it until the baseball throw.  Interestingly enough my future husband never was awarded the PFC due to the baseball throw. Both of us wanted that Presidential Fitness Patch with a passion, but neither of us got it.  I loved that track and was so sad when my family moved.

During the 1975-76 school year I was a 7^th grader at Schroeder Junior High School, Grand Forks, North Dakota. Seventh graders were not allowed to participate in sports.  This was not a happy year for me as I was picked on.  Our family moved after this school year to Great Falls Montana, more about that next week.

My workouts this week were pretty good.  I really like the Fierce class I took on Monday and would like to do so again but my mileage increases next week.  Tuesdays run of 6 miles turned into 3 due to loudmouths on the treadmills and obnoxious teenagers and kids on the indoor track at the SYMCA.  Wednesdays Extreme Ride is Brads and my weekly fitness date.  Thursday’s 3 mile turned into 6 to make up for Tuesday.  I ran it “mindless” and used a clicker to count laps and did not time myself.  I Enjoyed 4 of those miles with Helaine.  Saturday’s 9 miler was moved inside due to Start 2 Finish cancelling the group run due to weather.  I had also felt a cold coming on.  I ran with Kathy and I have enjoyed getting to know her.  We lapped that track 54 times.  IT was good to see my girls Helaine and Annette.  Kathy and I stopped in our last mile and we talked a bit with some “fast young things” who were also training for OKC.  They told us it is a great marathon and the majority of the hills are at the beginning of the course. I felt good and could have run longer.  I am a little scared about next week’s 14 miler as I have NEVER ran that far. 

I have completed 6 weeks of training and now it is ALL about running.  Knowing how fatigued I am after 12 miles, I will now need to move our weekly grocery shopping trip to Friday nights.  Get to bed fairly early on Friday for my long run (which will now be over 12-20 miles in length, except for the 8 miler the Saturday before the race).  Saturday will bring my long run and I plan on attending Mass on Saturday night, which will allow me to sleep in on Sunday and recover. 

Here are my workouts for the week

Monday: 4 mile run, 20 minutes elliptical.

Tuesday: 7 mile run pace.

Wednesday: Extreme Ride

Thursday: 4 mile run, 20 minutes stair climber.

Friday: REST

Saturday: 14 mile run.

Sunday: REST