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July 17, 2009 - If I'm not ready now, I guess I never will be! Actually, I feel pretty good about the distance. I'm not sure how fast my time will be, but I'm happy to meet the goal of doing a 10k two years in a row! My plan today is to stay hydrated - I brought a water bottle to work with me - and to eat a granola bar, probably around 5:30 or 6pm, since I noticed yesterday how hungry I got during Live at 5! Remember, you can sign up at Hummer Park tonight, so if you'd been debating about joining in the 5k or 10k, you haven't missed your chance! See you at the finish line!

July 4, 2009 - Happy Independence Day! We're now two weeks from race day. Yikes! Where did the time go?! I've kept a great regular schedule the past couple weeks, though I do admit to taking it easy i nthe extreme heat we went through. Over the past week, I did three miles of hilly laps Sunday, four miles Tuesday as Shawnee North, a three mile + levee run Wednesday, and four miles on the treadmill Friday. I'm hoping to get a long run in Sunday.

June 16, 2009 - Recognizing a challenge is the first step in overcoming it, so you'll be happy to know that, after writing my last entry about finding time to squeeze in workouts, I had a day where I was short on time, but made it a point to get in 20 minutes of intervals on the treadmill. The rain is presenting another challenge - a lot of my usual trails are muddy or it's raining when I have time to go for a run. I'm becoming well acquainted with the treadmill! I took advantage of a nice day Sunday to finally add some more distance. I put in my first six-mile run of the summer! It felt great, which made me happy. Now, I just need to stick with it!

June 9, 2009 - I'm not sure what it is, but it seems this summer is so much busier than last! My biggest challenge in ramping my workouts back up seems to be fitting them in!

I am doing pretty well keeping up with regular runs. Last week, I did 3 miles on treadmill Tuesday, 3.5 miles on levee/neighborhood Thursday, 3 miles at Shawnee North Friday, 4 miles on Soldier Trail Saturday, 3.7 miles on treadmill today (Tuesday). Unfortunately, no 5 or 6 mile run, but at least  I was moving. Even Monday, when I couldn't squeeze in a full run, I took 15 minutes to do some squats and lunges, ab work and free weights on the upper body. And I try to remind myself that the various house cleaning and yard chores I did Sunday count for something!

We're still six weeks out, so I can get the distance back - we're talking about heading to Lake Shawnee for a long run this weekend. Meantime, what do you do when you're short on time but need to exercise?

May 26, 2009 -  I'm getting the longer distances back to regularity - so far! Saturday, I did four miles on the Soldier Trail, a concrete, relatively flat surface. I followed that up Sunday with five miles around my father-in-law's house, which was on mostly gravel roads with lots of hills! My schedule was a bit mixed up Monday, so no formal workout, although we did clear brush for a little while last night. Today was two miles of laps with the kids around our back wooded area - grassy trail but, again, up and down hills.

The weekend runs reminded of a couple considerations this time of year. First, it's heating up outside, try not to overdo it while you acclimate your body to the warmer conditions. Second, wear sunscreen! I admit, I like the bronzed look my shoulders and arms get from all the time on the trails, but I've been reading several articles lately about how active outdoor exercisers have a higher risk of skin cancer. The ears and nose are a couple of the more common spots. You'll find a lot of new formulas on the market now for sporty lifestyles.

Slather up! It doesn't pay to put your health at risk while doing something to make you feel better.

May 21, 2009 - I can't believe the calendar! We're less than two months away from the start of the Sunflower State Games.

The reality of this is hitting me full in the face as I ponder running my second 10k. Regular blog readers will recall that I ran my first 10k in last year's Sunflower State Games. I had lofty goals in the immediate aftermath. I vowed I'd stick with the increased distance and maybe get in a half-marathon.

I still would like to do a half-marathon before the end of the year, but, right now, I need to ponder making it through the 10k distance again! I have kept up with regular workouts - just not as regular as last summer! And five miles still doesn't seem overwhelming to me anymore - I've just been remiss about making sure I go at least that far at least twice a week!

With that in mind, I'm ready to spend the next two months ramping back up for the SSG 10k. It's Friday, July 17th. Like I did last year, I'll share my training experiences and rekindle some advice I've received from my running friends. I'd love to hear from all of you, too. First, your encouragement last year really helped me out. But more than that, set your own fitness goal! Maybe you'd like to work up to walking four laps around the local school track - awesome! If you'd like to set the Sunflower State Games as your goal, check out the list of events at www.sunflowergames.com.

As I write this, you have 49 days, 22 hour, 20 minutes and counting to get moving!

  Crossing the 10k finish line last year!