A Gift Guide for Fast Girls

A gift guide for the Runner Girl on your list.
See more of my Gifts for Fast Girls list at ThisNext.

Since I am done with my Christmas shopping, I thought I'd help out anyone looking to buy for a Runner Girl this season.  Enjoy!

See more of my Gifts for Fast Girls list at ThisNext.

Relaaaaaaaaaaaaax.

Today I am doing NOTHING.  No run, no swim, no bike, no Alter-G.  Nothing.

Hang out with me for more than a few hours and you will realize that is not an easy thing for me to do.  I have fond memories of my family pushing me out the door for a run because I am too hyper.   My Soldiers in Iraq would very nicely ask me if I needed to go for a run on days when I would get stressed out.  I need to run.  I LOVE RUNNING!  When I can't run, I love swimming, biking, surfing, snowboarding, hiking. . . you name it.  I love being outside breathing fresh air.  I have a hard time sitting still, which is why I don't go to movie theaters.  I just need to move!

But today my training schedule says "DAY OFF."  I already called my coach to whine and she wouldn't budge.  She told me all of the things that I already know: that my body needs a break and that I have a long time and plenty of hard training before Rotterdam in April.  She promised me I wouldn't lose my fitness and that it was totally necessary.  She knows what she's talking about and I need to listen if I want to keep running well.

Rest is an important part of any training plan.  It's just hard to make a conscious choice to be lazy, especially after I've put in all this work! But I'd rather take some down time now than be forced to take some later on.  Therefore, despite the fact that it completely goes against my nature, I am going to sit on the couch with my feet up and watch some lame reality TV that I am embarrassed to admit I actually enjoy.

Finish Pic!

Can you tell I was excited?  

Calway earns berth in 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials

http://www.armymwr.com/news/news.aspx?nid=326

Calway earns berth in 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials
By Tim Hipps, FMWRC Public Affairs Thursday, December 9, 2010
U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program runner Capt. Kelly Calway of Fort Carson, Colo., seen here finishing second among women at the 2010 Army Ten-Miler, earned a berth in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Marathon with a fifth-place finish at the California International Marathon on Dec. 5 in Sacramento. (U.S. Army photo by Tim Hipps, FMWRC Public Affairs, cleared for public release, not for commercial use, attribution requested).  ALEXANDRIA, Va. – U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program runner Capt. Kelly Calway earned a berth in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials with a fifth-place finish at the California International Marathon on Dec. 5 in Sacramento. Calway’s time of 2 hours, 42 minutes, 19 seconds met the “B” qualification standard for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Marathon, scheduled for Jan. 14, 2012, in Houston, the first U.S. city scheduled to play host to both the men’s and women’s Olympic Trials for Marathon. Calway, 26, of Fort Carson, Colo., began training with Army WCAP distance runners in August with her sights set on competing at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. “It’s everything I dreamed of and more,” she said of joining WCAP. “It’s awesome. It gives me time to train, get coached, and do everything right.” Calway, a former cross country and 1,500-meter runner on the track for North Carolina State University, finished second among women at the 2010 Army Ten-Miler with a personal-best time of 57:20 on Oct. 24. That was nearly three minutes faster than her Army Ten-Miler time of the previous year – just after returning from a six-month deployment in Iraq. “Every time I’m out here running, especially with Army on my chest, I’m running for way more than myself,” Calway said. “I’m running for all those Soldiers overseas and all of the wounded guys who are coming home. To be out here representing the Army is awesome.” Her mission now is to concentrate on marathon training. “I love the marathon,” Calway said. “It’s an evil, evil race. You really have to reach down into your guts and find what you’re out there for.” At the California International Marathon, Calway reached down and knocked 17 minutes off her previous best time for 26.2 miles – a 2:59 clocking at Boston in 2009. At the Pentagon, she dedicated her Army Ten-Miler runner-up finish to Marine Corps 1st Lt. James Byler, who was wounded a week earlier by an improvised explosive device in Iraq. With her husband, Capt. Chris Calway, still deployed in Afghanistan, and three- year-old daughter Hazel to care for, Kelly feels fortunate to find time to run. “Juggling being a Soldier in the Army, a mom, a wife and all that, it’s hard to get my training in,” she said. “But I’m able to do everything that I need to do and do everything right. I’m able to eat right, sleep right, get my training in, and rest when I need to. Go Army!”

Thanks for all of the support!!!!!

I did it!  I qualified for the trials with a time of 2:42 (a 17 minute PR)!  I am still feeling it, physically and mentally!  I am so excited, relieved, happy, and motivated to run harder and faster next time (Rotterdam Marathon April 10th 2011).   I guess that  means I have to update my blog header. 

The race went really well.  It was a lot hillier than I thought, but the hills kind of broke up the miles and made it go by quickly.  The first 10 miles clicked off like nothing, I ran a sub-60, and felt totally under control.  My half split was 1:18:16 (which is faster than Big Sur).  After mile 14, I started to feel a bit tired (at mile 16 I caught a second wind) and hung behind this awesome guy with a runner tattoo on his shoulder.  We ran together until mile 18 when he made a pit stop and never caught back up.  

I was planning on picking it up for the last 10k and I honestly tried, but I was suffering.  I was glad that I had a cushion to make my time, because my legs were heavy and exhausted and I fought hard against them to get to the finish line.  I did pass two women in the last 10k, one of which was in the last .2 (after Coach Lisa screamed "go get her!") and finished 5th overall.  I was so excited when I made it to the finish line and saw 2:42 on the clock!!!!  I gave my coach, Lisa, a huge sweaty hug right after I crossed the finish line.  

My coach cheering me on and giving me tips at mile 10.   She was out there several different times on the course helping me keep my head in the game.  

The BEST part of the whole thing is knowing how many people I have behind me cheering me on and pushing me to the finish line.  I know the greatest people in the WORLD and I am so grateful to have so much support.  I knew how many people were using the online tracking to virtually watch my race, from Afghanistan to Hawaii and everywhere in between, and I was not about to let you all down! 

Hazel and Grampie Bob were tracking online at breakfast in Manitou.  This was her reaction to the news!

My phone was blowing up with texts and calls after the race.  The first call I received after the race was from my middle sister, Kristen, who was balling.  Before I had even had a chance to process it, she was yelling into the phone, telling me how proud she was.  I love her!  

Next call was from my parents, who were also shouting!   My Father, who has done multiple combat tours and had 3 children, told me that the tracker stopped at mile 20 and that the time in between that and the end of the race was "the most nervous he's ever been in his life."   

My Dad had a reason to be nervous!  I look like I am dying in this picture! 

While on the massage table post-race, I got the call I most desired: my husband Chris.  He was able to use the virtual tracker despite the low-bandwidth in Afghanistan.  However, he was only able to track the race until mile 20 and then he had to go out on a patrol (if I had known that I would have been more nervous for him than myself).  He claims that he was so confident that I would make my time he didn't worry at all.   He was so excited to get back to base and call that he almost left his weapon behind!  

I certainly could not have done it on my own.  From my amazing Family to my Coach, from my Father-in-law who came out to babysit, to WCAP and ACEP,  all of the pre-race good luck wishes and post-race congratulations, and everyone who believed in me, I am so lucky to have such incredible people behind me every step of the way.  

THANK YOU!

If you were tracking the race, let me know where you were and what your reaction was by leaving me a comment below!      

Cali-Bound!

I am so ready to race and set a new PR at CIM!  I feel great and I am very excited to get it over with!

This past week has been taper-tastic!  I've had less than 10 miles to run each day and I've had tons of time to complete my Christmas shopping, decorate the house, bake cookies, and, best of all, send packages to my husband in Afghanistan.  I only had one workout, 400s, on Tuesday.  It went really well, but I am ready to run fast and for a long time, 26.2 miles, to be exact!

The weather looks great, temperatures between 40-60F and only a 20% chance of rain.  It doesn't matter what the weather is because I am going to GET IT DONE!

You can follow my race progress and virtually cheer me on at this link: http://www.flashresults.com/2011_Meets/CIM/

My race number is: 109