still here

Yes, I am still alive and running. Sort of.

I ran the Thursday after the race and last night. I've been fighting sickness and fevers all weekend so last night, I just ran to try and get the ick out. And it worked! I felt great this morning. Last night I only did about 3 miles which was fine.

This morning, I got up early for boot camp. Or, Tone Zone as our coach calls it. Trust me, it's BOOT CAMP. Dear God it hurts. And for someone who was so athletic in high school and college, I'm terribly uncoordinated. Who knew? She told me to keep doing it and I will improve (yeah, ok, whatever).

Tomorrow, I'm getting up and meeting the girls at 6am for an easy 3 or 4 miles.

Getting up everyday to work out at 6am? What is the world coming to? :)

My running buddies

So proud of all my running girls and especially proud that I'm a part of some skilled writers.

Click here to read about the different experiences our Janes had!

Finisher!

That's all folks! It's done! I've finished the Virginia Beach Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon. It was wonderful and hard and satisfying.

I don't really know what to talk about, believe it or not. I didn't reach my goal. I'm still kind of bummed about my time of 2:31 since my goal was 2:25 but I'm happy that I finished. I just felt so weak around 9.5 or 10 that I was thinking if I was going to get to the end, I had to take a break. And while I am a very teeny bit bummed still, I'm also just so happy with the way it went and how I got through my mental blocks I was having. I'm mostly proud of the 16 weeks of training and the wonderful friendships we've all made during this journey. The race was just another run that solidified my love of running, even if it wasn't my best run ever. I've had some AMAZING runs the last four months and I can't deny myself of remembering those.

As I was (power)walking, I was really hard on myself. But at the same time, I was totally okay with it because I'd worked hard all summer. There was no denying that and if I had to walk because I felt like I was going to fall on the ground and die- so be it. I decided I didn't want to die on the course and that's what I felt like a few times.

I did beat my time from back in 2005 when I didn't train hardly at all so that was a nice success. And, I looked back at my time from then and I was actually done in 2:37 instead of 2:36 like I thought at the beginning of the summer. Or for the last 4 years.

My biggest debate right now is if I am allowed to wear my shirt that says: "13.1 been there, run that." Because I didn't RUN the entire 13.1. I probably ran 12.5 or maybe even more. I guess I can. I mean, I did run almost 300 miles this summer. Right?

What's also really funny is that all the girls with Garmins all said that our distance was actually 13.22-13.25. What is UP with that?! I mean really. Shouldn't these people know the correct distance? No wonder that damn finish line just would never get there!

I'm sore today but I guess that's to be expected. And, I'm actually really looking forward to running on Thursday or this weekend. Last time I ran this race I said I'd never run again and now I can't wait to lace up the sneeks again. I'd say that's success.

Here are pics from the weekend. It was SO much fun!

Jules and I on our balcony! We'd just gotten our race shirts and had to try them on for size!

Climbing on what we thought was just a sandcastle.

Oops. It was actually art that we weren't supposed to be climbing on.

On Saturday the water was SOOOO cold so we decided to just jump in (something this anal mother NEVER EVER does) so we had Julie's hubby take a pic. So fun.

AH! Race time! Here I am at 11something. KT loves a butt pic, doesn't he?

Me and another Jane at the finish. I was SO glad she came up behind me. I needed her strength at that point.

Waiting for KT after walking through the shoot. I was fighting back major crocodile tears for him to take the pic. When he hugged me, I lost my cool.

Me and my precious (ha!) metal!Love this celebratory pic of the Janes.
Runnin' buddies!

These feet have all worked so hard this summer.

The best cheerleader and hubby ever!
Lying by the pool after the race with yummy drinks and great company! I had been waiting for this moment for 4 months. (dang, do I have cleavage?)


After the yummy drinks, things got a little rowdy. I'll leave it at that.. ;)
Such an awesome weekend! We stayed in the hotel with Jules and hubby and it was so much fun. I had oh-so-many belly laughs.

I feel like I've done NOTHING this week!

6 miles this whole week?! How crazy is that?

We've done in one week what we did in 1/4 of a week just a few short weeks ago!

Today was our last official run before the 1/2 marathon. We did 2 miles. Out GA and back. Susan was SO cute when we got to the end of GA and asked if we needed to go farther. I cracked up because there was no way I was going farther. And, I love that she's SO anal about her mileage. I don't know who else is...

Anyway, we did our 2 miles and it was awesome. I mean, not that you can really gauge a run when it's only 2 miles but it was 57 degrees.. how could it not be awesome.

What I loved the most was the end. See.. me, Susan and Maria SERIOUSLY run the exact.same.pace. and if you've ever run with anyone you know that's HARD to find. Everyone always says, "don't get caught up in chatting, run YOUR pace". Well, my pace is our pace. So at the end of the 2 miles, I said "Let's push it ladies" and we all did and we were STILL all right there together. Never once did any of us go out in front of the other.

Maybe they were just being nice to me but I know I was running FAST and they were right there with me.. so they may not have been running as fast as they could but they were still fast. Gosh, I'm redundant with my words tonight.

I just love the bonding I've done with both my running buddies and ALL the running girls this summer. This has truly been one of the best summers ever.

I can't wait until VaBeach!! I can't wait to see our shirts! And put on my tattoo!!!! YEAH!

So excited!

tapering with 4 miles

we ran 4 miles this morning.

it was 62 degrees!

The run felt good. I think? It was pretty quick compared to all the others.

We pushed it at the end. that was awesome.

No more runs in the mornings until the race! Well, we may do 2 miles at 6:30 on Thursday but 6:30 is SO late! heh.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

7 mile saturday

I haven't wanted to blog here since I was a big fat loser last weekend. I started running our long run, got to about 5 miles and couldn't go any further without gagging. I was so weak. My legs and whole body just felt ready to pass out. So, I called KT to come get me and turned out I had a virus that kept me down for 2.5 days.

I know that there was nothing I could do about it and that it's better to not run when you are sick but I still feel like a loser for not doing the 13 mile run that day. I'm going to beat myself up about it until I finish the half in one short week.

This week, I did 4 on Wednesday night all alone. Fine. it was hot. I ran too fast (10:30 mile!) I was still a little weak, whatever it was done.

Met the girls on Thursday morning for another 4 miler and I thought I might die during it. WTH?!

Saturday we went back to SL for a long run around the lake. I hate that lake. The run itself was fine but I just felt like it was hard. I hate running in a circle. Most people hate running out and back but I've realized that in a circle, I'm ALWAYS looking for the end. On an out and back AT LEAST I know where I am and when. Crazy, but true.

Anyway, I talked myself out of stopping the entire time and quite honestly, I still felt weak. Just blah. Not like the strong runner girl I felt like a few weeks ago. I think part of it is my attitude. I need to just get over myself and love running again. Get over the sickies, get over it all.

This week we taper which I'm happy about but totally nervous about. I'm definitely not very good at switching up my normal plan and short runs typically are hard because I think they should be easy when in fact, no run is ever guaranteed to be easy.

Lordy, running is such a wacked out mental game.

I'm going to focus on hydrating and eating healthfully this week. No beer!! Maybe..

thursday

Thursday, I woke up at 5:20 a.m.

I got dressed.

Popped in contacts.

Put on shoes and socks.

Ate a banana and a piece of bread.

Grabbed water, hat, flashlight, GU, cell phone, keys.

Walked out the door.

Quietly.

Realized I forgot to take my standard 3 ibuprophen.

Don't go back inside for fear of waking almost-2-year old.

Get to LR.

Meet girls.

Chat with girls.

Warm up.

But not enough.

Run.

It's hot.

Run.

Ew. Spider Web.

Run.

GU

Run.

My knee hurts.

Run.

This hill sucks.

Run.

I'm tired.

Take the turn to head back to the cars.

I'm tired.

Ask the girls if they might be done because I am done.

As in DONE.

We're at 5.5 miles.

I'm officially done.

They are, too.

We stop.

I'm drenched in sweat.

drenched.

Chat with the girls.

Always love chatting with the girls.

We leave to go home.

The End.

tuesday - 6-miler

Oh, lordy, gettin' up at 5:20 is starting to get old. Mama's tired.

I got up this a.m. and read my emails and saw a text from Susan saying she wasn't running. As soon as I read it, I thought, I should go back to bed but when else would I run?! There's not a lot of time to just run out and do 6 miles.

It was a long and hard run but it was good. It was muggy. SO muggy.

We did the LB Greenway which was a little sketchy because it was dark and the leaves were all over the trail. We got to 3 miles, turned around and finished. We made pretty good time and I was glad it was over.

I really think I need to start eating more before weekday runs although this Thursday is our last 6-miler before we start to taper. I just felt sluggish and my stomach was rumbling throughout the run. We DID GU at around 3.25, so that helped a little.

I can't believe we are just 19 days away from race day. 3 months ago, I couldn't IMAGINE actually finishing the race and now I can't wait for it to be here. Now, I can run 6 miles before work and not even think twice about it (besides the 5:45 start time).. my how things change. I really really just hope I can adequately put into words what this summer has meant to me and how I have loved it so. Training for this 1/2 marathon is going up on the list of one of the best things I've EVER done.

Whoo hoo!

Still

I still have nothing much to say about the 12 mile run we did on Saturday. It was really hard. I was starving around mile 4 and luckily our coach was prepared for that. We stopped at 7 miles and were able to eat a banana for the rest of the 5 mile loop.

Everyone keeps asking "did you run the whole 12 miles without stopping?" I kind of hate that question. I also hate the "did you run today?" that people give me EVERY day.

But, back to the did you run the whole time without stopping. I like to just say "yes" because I mean, I ran 12 miles! We did stop at the 7 mile mark to eat a banana and have a potty break but we were stopped for maybe maybe 5 minutes. There was no way in hell I could have run another 5 miles without that banana. Then, as we were going up a beast of a hill around 10.5, I ran maybe 5 yards and then again on the beast of a hill at 11.5 another couple feet. So, I don't really consider those few seconds of walking time as WALKING time.

I have no clue why this matters really.

What does matter is that I didn't feel great during the run. I was TIRED. I never thought "there's no way I can go another second" but it was just hard. I guess it WAS 12 miles so feeling tired, is okay, right? I sure hope so.

On Saturday we are doing 13 miles. Fantastic.

T W E L V E miles.

yes, 12. TWELVE. as in one point one less than race day.

holy crap.

It was hard. I felt weak. but I finished it.

I even stepped it up at the end and pushed it the last 1/4 of a mile.

12 miles in 2:14.

I will try to give more detail tomorrow. For now, I'm sleeping.

we just kept runnin' and runnin'...

Thursday was funny. It was the run that lasted forever.

Not sure why but we were all very quiet on this run, which was fine. There were 5 of us that stuck together and a few times, I wanted to pipe up but I've been worried that I'm "that girl" that doesn't shut up so I'm trying to be more aware of what others want. How crazy is that?! :)

So we ran and we ran and we were not getting anywhere it felt like. We turned around at 3.5 and GUed and just kept running. Somewhere around the 4 mile mark (or so I thought) I looked at my watch and saw 51 minutes. How in the WORLD would we do TWO whole miles in 16 minutes? How SLOW are we here?!?!

Because I figured we'd just been running really really slow (not that it felt like it), I picked up my pace because I just didn't want to have a slower time than Tuesday knowing I was in the back of the pack then. A girl I don't run with often was with me so we chatted a little but honestly, we were pushing it pretty hard, so it was difficult to talk.

We hadn't even gotten to the hill at GA yet (which we've all decided is basically the end of the route) and we were at 1:07 which was my same time from Tuesday. The girl I was running with looked at her watch then (I hadn't mention my worry about our time back at 4 miles) and was totally astounded at what it said. I agreed and so we pushed it the last stretch.

So we finished and waited for the other girls and were DELIGHTED when Susan said that her Garmin said 6.55 instead of 6. Whew! We weren't crazy afterall!

This has been very amusing to me ever since yesterday because you know, I'm a little anal about my distances and to be off by .55 was just funny to me. At least it's done, right?

Next up: 12 miles tomorrow. WTF?!

6 is the new 5

Oy. 6 miles is the new "easy" run in the training plan on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I always said I was only going up to 10 miles in the training run but I've done 10 miles. And like our running buddy said "once you go to 10, you can't go back!" so, I'm going up to 13 now. That means I have to run 6 the next two weeks. Two weeks, easy peasy.

We are in the homestretch now! I'm already thinking about the wonderful days of just running 4 miles during the week and maybe throwing in a 5 miler for good measure on the weekends. After this race, I'm planning to do a 10k at the end of September and a 5k at the beginning of October but other than that, I don't have anything planned. I'm sure I could get roped into a few races but I know once the cold weather comes, I will be not as willing to run as now. I hate cold weather. Hate.it. I really don't want to mess the good thing I have going though so maybe I should schedule a few races, even if they are just 5ks between now and the spring when it gets warm again? Hm..

Anyway, the 6-mile run on Tuesday was fine. Nothing about it really stood out as hard. I ended up waiting in the back of the pack with a girl I encouraged to come run with us. So, I was a little slower than I would have liked. But I felt bad leaving her since I talked her into the insanity of getting up early!

There was a point at around 3.5 that I took the time to think about how I was feeling and I remember thinking that there was not ONE sore part of my body. My legs were moving and I felt AWESOME. It was a nice experience.

Around 4.5, we were to split off to the "little park" to get in another .5 miles before our 1 mile stretch of GA to the end and my friend just kept straight which meant that I had 1.5 miles by myself. I didn't mind doing it but then I started thinking about all the freaky stuff that DOES happen in the parks and I got a little nervous. So I sped up until I could see my normal running partners in the distance. I knew if I knew they were there and I could see them, I could scream loud enough that they could hear me, should so crazy dude approach me.

So in the last 1.5 I just ran and did a lot of thinking. I had wonderful thoughts about KT and Will and just how blessed I feel to have them in my life. I know that's getting kind of deep for the running blog, but everything just seems so clear when I'm alone and can think without any distractions. My life is really great and I feel so unbelievably not worthy of all the good stuff. But, I'll take it while it lasts.

At the end of the run, I kicked it up a notch because I snapped out of my deep thoughts and wanted to get done at a respectable time. I felt good afterwards. It was hot as all get out, but fine all around.

Tomorrow, I need to remember to bring GU since 6 miles isn't 5 miles. Or 4. This is the real deal, y'all.

3.5 weeks until race day! Holy Shit!!!!!!

"don't stop, get it get it"

Heh. At about mile 9.2 we saw one of the cheerleader runners and that's what she said to us: "don't stop, get it get it!" She was so right and I so needed to hear that at the time!

Yep, so I totally ran 10 miles today. Not 9.99 or 10.1, but 10 miles. I told Susan there was no.way. I could go anymore than 10. and we didn't!

I woke up this morning and was totally nervous. Freaking out about 10 miles. I ate a 1/2 bagel with peanut butter and banana to give me a little extra fuel with a glass of water. I was thirsty when I woke up so I really wanted a second glass of water but decided that might make my tummy upset once we started running. Good call.

It seemed to me like we started REALLY slow. I almost thought we were going too slow but once we turned the corner and were headed downhill and broke up the packs a little, we were good to go.

There was a little confusion around mile 3 about which direction to go. Honestly, making decisions like that WHEN we are running makes me crazy! The thing of it is, MOST of us know our ways around the parks by now and so what if we add a few miles on in places that our coach didn't technically tell us to? I know we all have to be safe and all that jazz, but by 8:00 in the morning, in the most visited park in the area, I doubt we have much to worry about. AND, most of the smaller groups that are running together have Garmins so it's not like we don't know our mileage and can adjust accordingly. Right? So, I just told them where we should go and we did. No biggie.

After that, we GUed at around 3.6(?) and then all the sudden we were at 7.25. I have no idea where the miles went but they did. It was awesome!! I highly recommend finding a friend that you can talk nonstop to on these long runs. It is great for taking your mind off of what you are doing (RUNNING 10 FREAKING MILES!).

I'm worried I was too bossy when we got to 7.25 miles and I hope Susan will tell me if I was. ;) We were at the nature center and she asked if we needed to go to the bathroom or get water? And I said "NO!".. Of course, I explained to her that she could go if she wanted but I felt like the only reason she wanted to go was because it was there. Maybe I'm totally wrong on that but going up that huge hill to the nature center, going potty and then running again just seemed like too much. We only had 3 miles left! What is 3 miles when you've gone 7?

So, I got her past there without stopping. We just kept on moving. We decided that it might be nice to run out far enough so that we wouldn't have to run the massive hill up past the park, the nature center, the golf course, etc.. that we could end at the bottom of the huge hill if we were at 10 and then walk the rest of the way to the car. We said "take a leisurely stroll to the car", which is exactly what we did!

We ran the greenway out to 8.5 miles, turned around but STILL had to go up the huge hill to the nature center. But it was okay. At the bottom of the hill we were at 9.97. and then finally, we were at 10. And we stopped. Stopped. Stopped.

I tried to refill our water bottles (but the water was ICKY) while I waited and then we took our leisurely stroll up the hill.

Our 10 mile time was 1:52:26 which is faster than any of our previous long runs!! Yeah!

It felt great. I loved it but I'm exhausted tonight. My feet hurt, my shins are bugging me a little.

During the run, my back was hurting as were the balls of my feet. I hope it's not my new socks I bought! My legs were tired but other than that, my breathing was fine most of the time (minus the few hills we had on the course) and it was an all around good run. Tough, but good.

Glad it's over. Mama's going to bed.

catching up again

why do i not feel like blogging about running? I think i've hit a wall. a training wall. I am still running but i'm not all fired up about it like i was a few weeks ago. i'm still having great runs, don't get me wrong..just not excited like i was. apparently, this is completely normal and we'll start feeling better about it soon.

one thing that might make me feel better? this pretty young thing. on sale for only $129!! i might talk kt into an early birthday present. $129?! can't beat it!!

so wednesday we did drills, sprints and hill repeats. it was hard. we actually ended up doing 8 hill repeats. basically, you just run up a hill as fast as you can 8 times. it's hard and makes you really tired. we logged 2.39 miles.

on thursday (11 hours later) i got up and met my crazy girls for a 5 mile run. it was an out 2.5 and back. i looked down and realized we were making good time again but then remembered we were only doing 5, not 5.2 like tuesday. so our time wasn't as great but it was better than it had been the rest of the summer.

the good news is i don't feel like these 5 milers are a struggle anymore. it's just getting up and going to do them that's the struggle. it's not really the running that i'm tired about.

tomorrow my plan calls for 9 miles but i might just do 9.5 or 10 since my loyal partner has 10 on her plan. i can't promise anything but i think going into it thinking i'm going to do 10 will make it happen.

maybe if i get that garmin tonight, i'll never want to stop?! oh, here's hoping!

Nightmare

Well, it's begun. I'm freaking out about the race. Like, FREAKING OUT. As if my 171 miles already logged this summer is going to do NOTHING FOR ME when it comes to race time.

Last night I had a nightmare and woke up in a panic, went back to sleep and continued to dream about it. Here's a list of everything that went wrong in my dream.

First dream:

• I showed up wearing a cotton shirt. Not only a cotton shirt but the 1/2 marathon shirt from 2005. I was THAT girl all the sudden.
• I lost the group and was in the corral alone. All alone, just like in 2005.
• Jules had insisted on eating at Panera on the night before the run.

Second dream:

• I walked up to the registration desk on the day of the race (!!) and my stomach was grumbling.
• So I grabbed a banana. A peeled banana with finger marks in it. Blech.
• I didn't have my water belt
• Or GU
• I was wearing a string bikini to run in? Didn't have a sports bra.
• Susan had INSISTED that she should wear her number on her butt? And backwards? All I could respond was, "well then how are we going to search for your pictures after the race, Susan??"

Oh, what a terrible terrible dream. And I have another month of this!!

catching up

Saturday, August 1, 2009

We set out on Saturday for our group run. We drove about 30 minutes to Salem Lake and got running pretty much as soon as we got there. We started out FAST.

So, I got all annoyed and pissed off because I could feel that we were running to fast and I was mad at myself for allowing it. Basically, I was just discouraged the entire time and had a crappy attitude about it. I shouldn't have let my mind be negative about the run!

My problem is that when I'm in a new place, running a shorter distance, or when I'm on a trail, I think that the run should be quick? Like, that it's no big deal to run 7 miles when I've been running 8 and 9 for several weeks? But 7 miles is a big deal and I needed to treat it as a big deal.

I didn't dislike the trail or certainly the company.. it was just that I was having a bad day. My knee was hurting, my back was aching a little.. blech.

At the end, there's a monster hill that like Susan has said, "You really need a ladder to get up that hill". I walked most of it because really, it was STRAIGHT UP. On the down part of it, we had to walk because if we ran too fast, we would have rolled right down it!

So whatever it was done. I was glad it was done and was ready for it to be done at mile 2. That's never a good thing.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

This run, I feel better about writing about. I definitely feel like a runner again and have restored my confidence after the crappy run on Saturday. Yesterday, we got an email from our coach that said something about blah, blah, blah, need to work on pace..blah, blah, blah, on a 5-mile run this week, do 1 mile warm up, 1/2 mile at race pace, 1 mile normal (easy) pace, 1/2 mile race pace and finish the run, blah, blah, blah.

So, I made sure my running partners knew what to do because I was a little worried about running hard knowing how 5 miles has been treating me lately. Well, we did the 1 mile run through GA and when we got to the "little park" (I'm sure there's an offiicial name for it, but that's what I call it) we kicked it up and RAN. Susan's Garmin said that our best pace was what? 8:45 and I am pretty sure it was while we were in the little park. We were kicking arse.

Then, we slowed it down and kicked it up again after almost a mile. (I didn't want to hit a hill at a hard pace, so I convinced the girls to start earlier than after a mile.) That was not as hard of a run as we did in the little park but we still had a good pace.

After that was done we were ON the big hill in MP so we slowed a bit.. Then, I don't know what happened to me. I just got the feeling of LET'S GO! SO I did. I really didn't want to kick ass on those hard runs and STILL come in at the normal time at the end. I wanted to improve SOMETHING with all that tiredness I was feeling and we still had 2 miles left to do.

So I just went with it. The second hill in MP was hard but I slowed a bit at the top to get my breathing right again. It never quite got all the way back down but once we hit GA, I was ready to step it up again.

After the big hill for GA, I looked at my watch and saw that we were at 52 minutes. I totally wanted to set a goal at that point to beat 55 minutes. So I looked at Debbie (who I never run with because she's speedy all the time) and said, "think we can finish before 55 minutes? This is the best time I've ever had this summer and I'm ready to kick ass." So we did. We ran hard and finished in 54:48. And, we did 5.19 miles according to Garmin. That means my pace was 10:34!!

WHOO HOO! I've been SO ready for a 10 minute mile all summer and while it wasn't 10 minutes, it was close, right?!

Maybe I can do this 1/2 marathon??

YAY! We have our MOJO BACK ladies!!!!!

Now that I'm 4 hours post-run my knee is hurting and my muscles are sore.. I need to be better about stretching afterwards. I think I might start bringing a towel to lay on the ground so I can stretch. There's something about those public parking lots that totally gross me out.. hehe.

I'm going to ice that knee tonight and keep taking the Glucosamine to see if I feel better. Knee pain sucks.

5 miles might be the death of me.

Whoo hoo! Not.

5 miles in the morning is much harder than 4. I'm just sayin'. Yes, it's not too much more mileage but it makes me a lot more tired afterwards.

So, I'm tired. 'Cause we did 5 miles this morning. At 5:30.

It was DARK outside so M and I wore headlamps to look out for debris on our usual route. I was actually looking for scary people who wanted to kill us but I hid behind the "debris" story.

It was a good run in terms of feeling okay, good conversation, wasn't too muggy and the route was out and back. I even felt like we were booking it on the last leg but looking at our time, we must not have.

---

I also did 2 miles yesterday in the rain with a couple of the girls. Short runs always seem REALLY hard.

That's all. I am not really in the blogging about running mood today.

oh, that hurt.

5 miles this morning at 5:45. First of all, it's really dark at 5:45 now. Talk about being scared of injury when you are running and not knowing where you are stepping! I was so worried about turning an ankle until the sun came up.

My legs were oh so tired today. They felt like they weighed a zillion pounds. I think only having one rest day after the long run is what was so hard.

Anyway, we just kept moving and getting it done. We did GA, the small part of GMP, out to Cotswold for a little bit just to gain another 1/2 mile, GMP back to GA and done. Ended at 5.18.

Around 2.5 I wasn't sure I'd finish ... thank goodness the girls kept me going.

cussin' and runnin'

I cussed a lot on today's 9-mile run. It was hard...kind of. There were parts where I wasn't sure my body could go another inch but I'd just push it and it would go. Running is a huge mental game and today, my mental game was not at it's peak. This is not to say it was a bad run. It wasn't. It was just that my body was tired from vacation and not sleeping much last night (worried my alarm wouldn't go off and guess what? It didn't!)

I met Maria and Susan at 6am and we headed out. The first mile was a killer and I swear my legs were doing really wonky things. I finally got into my groove and just whisked away the miles. We GUed at 3.5 and 6.5 which was perfect. I needed my GU.

The hardest part about this trail that we do out and back is the last freaking hill before you hit the apartments. It's pretty much straight up and deary, it's tough. We didn't walk AT ALL during the entire run but on the hills, we were going pretty slow.

Luckily, Susan told me when we were at 8 miles (my plan called for 8 today) but I decided what's another mile? And then, as soon as I made that decision for myself who do we hear behind us? Our coach!! Thank goodness I didn't stop. She was very complimentary saying that we looked like we'd just started -- yeah right. I slowed down a little during that last mile because I knew the big ass GA hill was coming up and I wanted to run it...not walk it.

At the end, I felt good but now, I'm really stiff. My hip flexors are KILLING me. I need to go take some ibuprophen, I think.

I loved being on vacation but I love being back in the swing of my routine even more. And a 9 mile run on the first day back was just what the doctor ordered!

5 miles coming up on Tuesday. I'm gonna try hard not to cuss.

I didn't run today...

...but he did... and he's got good form, huh?

Sometimes, we just need to stay close to family and not stress about the miles. That's what I'm doing this week. I'll be back to reality on Sunday. ;)

4.5 at the beach

Mr. son of the mother runner woke up at 6:00 so I thought I'd be out running by 6:30. Little did I know I'd walk into his room and find a pile of puke he'd SLEPT IN! Holy grossness.

SO after taking the time to get it cleaned up and Will and feel like a terrible mama for not knowing that my child puked in the night it was 8:00 before I got started.

It's nice running here because there are mile markers every 1/2 mile so I knew exactly how far I was going. I was going to walk down to 19.5, run to 17.5 turn around and go all the way to 20 and then walk back the rest of the way.

Well, after dealing with puke and ick, I was OVER the idea of going to run so I just started as soon as I hit the street which meant I didn't come back up and go to 20. I think our street to 19.5 is about .3 if I had to guess. I'll measure it later and then adjust my run later in the week if I fell short. But for now, I'm just saying I did 4.5.

I felt good during the run, overall. It was hot and sticky and I was bouncy which is just silly. I never run to music anymore so I think that having the music made me bounce. I'd much rather have a nice conversation with girls now than listen to Kanye or Britney when I run which is just so different than what I would have said last year!

Tomorrow, I think I'm going to drag my BIL out there with me to do my second 4.5 of the week and then do my 3 miles of cross training on Friday with my sis. We're going to leave all babies with their daddies and have sista time.

Only 2 more days at the beach...that sucks!

8.38 miles!

Yay!! What a fantastic run! Not much detail to give because I'm sitting in the beach house with my sis, BIL and hubby sipping on vino listening to the waves crash! Ah, this is the life!

If you want a wonderful recap of the run, go see Susan and Jules blogs about it! I only did 8.38 but stopped at a definite spot and walked the rest of the way. It was seriously a great run with great conversation and upbeat attitudes. But don't get me wrong... I was totally nervous before we started!

Ok, I'm done. Going to enjoy family and vino ;)

did I run today?

That's what it feels like... going through the motions to get it done. The son of this mother woke up puking and puking and puking last night so I didn't sleep much and doubted I would be getting up to run because of sleep deprivation. But, of course, I was there. I laid in bed wondering when I would get the run in... couldn't I just use those 3 miles from yesterday for today? No... I had to go no matter how exausted I was.

So the run was bleh. It was SO HOT and steamy. Jules said it right when she said she felt like she was in a sauna the whole time.

We did the same route as Tuesday and I think because I was just bone tired that, I really wasn't present during the run. The hills were hard and all three of us were breathing hard as we got up them.

I never walked but definitely went into a "just get it done" zone... very focused on one foot in front of the other.

Luckily, when I got home, Will was ready to crash (he got up not long after I left! Poor daddy!) so we snuggle on the couch and watched Nemo (!) and slept. I've never ever put him in front of the TV for THAT long but we both needed it.

So. 4.5 miles, time for a shower because my tag-teammate will be home soon!

longest 3 miles ever

oh good lord, that was crazy.

i met two runnin' girls for a quick 3-miler on the trails. No biggie, right? wrong.

the trail was 1.85 even though the sign says 2.2.. (what will i ever do when i run without someone who has a garmin?) so we had to make up 1.2 out of the trail and for some reason when you don't have a set route, it ALWAYS feels like it takes 100 times longer. maybe because you are just waiting and waiting for the mileage to flip by instead of just knowing where you are going to stop? does that make sense?

so anywho, it was hot and muggy and we finally finished after 36 minutes. 36! 12 minute miles! yikes. in our defense though, you do have to run trails slower so you don't bite it on a tree root AND there were a TON of hills in the woods, so it's slower anyway.

tomorrow morning, it's 4.5 miles at 5:45.. i expect that to be a much better run.

4.5

Getting ready to write this blog, I hopped over to other blogs and decided that Susan's blog sums up this run quite nicely (and I'm glad to read I wasn't the only one...). It was good, we did it but it was just blah. Nothing exciting, nothing bad about it... just a run. I'm not so sure if that's good or bad? I have to think we are just in the routine and the newness has worn off and 4.5 miles is really not that big of a deal for us anymore. Which if you think about it, is an awesome thing to say!

I look forward to running and can't wait to do it each day but it's not all that EXCITING anymore to do a 4 miles. Maybe we need a new route in the early morning? Or a new start time? We'll be bumping up to 5 miles in two weeks and I almost think it might be better to start a little earlier..not sure what our crazy girls think about that though...

We have a "run or XT" on our schedules on Wednesdays and I'm starting to feel bad that I rarely do them. So, I'm going to try to go tomorrow night. At least it will be a change of pace to go in the evening when it's blazing hot.

8ish miles

Quick update because surprise--I'm exhausted. Let me just say being a busy person with a busy baby can make a girl tired. I've been, literally, chasing Will all day. I think he is my cross-training.

Yesterday, we got together for our group run. It was nice to be together since we haven't gotten together for 2 weeks now. I miss seeing all the girls and Liz, even if she did seem a little cranky before we got going. ;) I'm pretty sure having hundreds (?) of women to deal with day in and day out gets pretty exhausting for her...

On my schedule was 7 miles but my Tues/Thursday running partner had 8 on her schedule. So I thought, there's no harm in going out 4 with her and then walking the last mile. I really didn't mind doing that and had every intention to do so.

The first 4 miles were fine..although we were in a icky pack at the beginning which I hate. I always run too fast when we do that. And I realized it was hot not long after we started. There was nice cloud coverage and we ran the greenway, so luckily the sun wasn't beating down on us but it was still humid.

Around 3.8 we GUed. I love GU. I told Susan stories and she told me some. It's really nice to have a whole hour + to chat with girlfriends. How often do most women and moms really spend time together just chatting? Probably not much and when running, what else is there to do? But talk about birthing babies, blogging, stupid ex-husbands of friends, pets, gatorade vs. water, the pretty scenery, etc. It's awesome.

Sorry, I lost my train of thought there..

Ok, so we turned around at 4 miles and head back the way we came. No problem but I did notice my breathing was a little hard so I knew we were going too fast. I tried to slow it down and then boom, boom, boom... hill, hill, hill. Ugh. The hills were long and a little tough on this run this time...definitely more difficult than they were last time we ran this same route.

At the next to last hill, I swear, my legs just STOPPED. It was the weirdest feeling. I was going and going and then, BAM! Nothing. So I walked up that hill and asked Garmin how far we'd been and my partner said "7.15". Whew. I knew I could just stop and walk the rest of the way if I wanted to. But, you know how this story ends.

I started to run.. walked.. ran..walked and then just ran. Ran to the finish. I was SO over the entire thing and just wanted to be done. And seeing my partner up in front of me made me keep going. I wanted to keep up with her!

So, all that to say I really don't know how far I ran. But I definitely ran/walked 8 miles. I would guess I ran a total of 7.75 miles total because I really didn't walk far when I did walk. It might be crazy that I've gone a mile over my schedule both of the past two weeks, but my schedule has been all messed up anyway. I did 3 to make up for the 8 the first week and this week, I totally didn't even run 1 minute on a scheduled day.. so it's not like I'm overacheiving or anything in terms of total miles.

I'm maybe stressing a little about my goal time for the race. I really need to think about it and decide how exactly I'm going to finish in my goal time. Because if I don't reach it, I might be disappointed. My ultimate goal is to finish it without walking but I really would like to finish in a time I have in my head... we'll see... guess I need to start listening to our coach about how to be a stronger runner, huh? :)

Today- 4 miles

If anyone has noticed, there's a big fat goose egg on the right side of this blog. I've run a total of ZERO miles this week, until today. It's hard to manage travel and exercise.

Anyway, I got back out there at 5:45 this morning with my girls and did 4 miles. We did an out and back on the same trail we did last Thursday for our long run.

It was humid but not too bad overall. A little overcast which made it darker than normal and probably cooler.

I chatted with the girls the entire time and while I did get tired around mile 2.5, it was fine and I just worked myself out of it.

Saturday is our long run which will be 7 miles for me. I hope I'm up to the task! I'm just so tired today that 7 miles feels impossible.

3 miles on the dreadmill

I can't take credit for the word "dreadmill" but that's what it is. Describes it perfectly.

Quick update because I'm out of town with my hubby and am ready to call it a night.

Because I did 8 miles on Thursday, I figured I could get away with just doing 3 today. 3 miles, easy peasy. Unless it's on the treadmill. I flipped on MTV's 16 and Pregnant and pounded it out. It was hard, I was sweating A TON but I finished. Felt good but hated the treadmill part, if that makes any sense.

I've been sick since Thursday. I thought it was the normal long run digestive issues that I sometimes get but it has lasted all the way until today! I've felt pukey ever since Thursday night. I'm better now but still a little icky. I think I must have some sort of bug and it has nothing to do with the run. Er, I hope. I was convinced on Friday night that I was dying from running... that I was having a delayed heart attack. (Yes, I'm a little dramatic.)

Lucky for me, and you, I didn't die and I hammered out the 3 miles today. Done.

I have to do 4 on Tuesday on the dreadmill. It sucks, but what are you gonna do? Maybe there will be another 16 and Pregnant marathon on?

Kicking some asphalt - 8 miles!

Hooray!! An awesome run!

That 10k has been messing with my head in terms of doing more long runs. I thought about the 7 miles ALL DAY yesterday and was trying to stay focused on what I needed to do: get through 7 miles, without walking. Sounds easy enough right? Right.

I got into bed at 8:30 and picked up a book that I've been hanging onto even though it isn't mine.. It's Julie's.. (sorry Jules)... and I happend to have been reading the part that I needed to get through today's run. It talked about all the limits we put on ourselves. Saying "I can't" or feeling a pain or not eating enough, drinking enough, etc. It even talked about GU in the 4 pages that I read last night. Talk about perfect! The author said very clearly that if you GU when you feel like you need to, it's too late.

So with all this in mind, I decided I wanted to be POSITIVE. I was going to go into this run with nothing but GREAT thoughts and KNOWING that I could do it. I CAN DO IT. I also knew that in order to get through the run, I might have to slow my pace more than the others and just focus on taking care of myself so that I could finish without walking (I honestly HATE to walk.)

We got going and it was the three of us that it usually is, Maria, Susan and I. We just kept running. We took a new route that wasn't hilly persay but had hill that were STRAIGHT UP and very short. So, totally doable.

Now, this mother runner is a little bit crazy about whole numbers and not stopping before a clear stopping place. We were running the greenway and were set to turn around at 3.5 miles. Well, you could SEE the road up ahead where the greenway crossed the street and I didn't feel like we should turn around mid-greenway (if that makes any sense AT ALL) and knowing Susan had to do 8 miles, I thought we could just keep going to the CLEAR turn around spot and that way she'd have less to do alone. Right?

At the turn around spot, we were at 3.66. We GUed not long after that and just kept moving. We were chatting and chatting and the time went quickly.

I hit a little bit of a wall around the 5 mile mark (I'm guessing it was 5 miles) but talked myself out of it by telling the girls about the book I had read last night. We just kept on moving.

Finally, I asked Susan what Garmin was saying and we were at 6.83!!!!! Yahoo!! Then we chatted even more until we'd realized we'd gone over our 7 mile mark...we were at 7.15 at this point. And remember? I like whole numbers and stopping at a stopping point and here we were, done with all the hard hills smack dab in the middle of the greenway. We CLEARLY coudn't stop at that point. Right? Right.

So Maria and I decided we felt great, let's go the extra mile with Susan. Susan might need us on that extra mile and WHO wants to do an entire MILE alone after already doing 7? No one! That's what we are all there for! To keep each other going! So we did it!

We ran around the parking lot, circled around and came back. I'll be very honest in saying that around the 7.8 mile mark I was TIRED. I told the girls that and they agreed, which helped. We moved and moved, got to our cars and were at 7.97... so you guessed it, we kept going to right at 8 miles. And luckily for this totally crazy obsessive person, we stopped RIGHT at the gate at the cemetary. So, it was a pretty visible stopping line.

I'm telling ya, it felt GREAT!! When we stopped, I wasn't out of breath at.all. and we all seemed perfectly fine. Love it!

We stretched, looked at our watches and realized how late it was! I was missing out on seeing my men before school and work, so we left quickly. I need my morning hug from my little man!

Now, as I sit here, my hips are a little sore and my legs are feeling the 8 miles. But, I did it! And the best part was spending lots of time with great friends and holding a great conversation for 1.5 hours!

So excited!!

feeling strong!

Woot! 4 miles at 5:45.. temp was a kind 65 degrees with zero humidity. Perfect running weather.

I felt good and strong again. Like, I CAN DO THIS. Thank goodness because I was starting to have serious doubts that I will ever be able to run a freaking 1/2 marathon. Serious doubts.

I'm still a little stressed about the long runs because of how hard Saturday was but I just HAVE to remember to keep them slow so I can keep my energy up.

Thursday, a few of us are doing out long run since the 4th is on Saturday and most of us will be doing other things that day. Jules and I have already talked about the route to get in 7 miles and I think it'll be good with few hills. I'm excited about trying a new course since the parks are getting pretty monotonous.. although, I did notice that the second LONG hill of the 4 mile loop was a lot easier this morning. So maybe we ARE getting stronger?!

In other news, I haven't lost ONE POUND since I started training and that's a little discouraging. I think last year I had breastfeeding to my advantage. This year, I got nothing. Oh well. I'm fit, that's all that should matter, right?

Wanna see the two pictures my awesome hubby got of me as I was running on Saturday? Heh. He's a great cheerleader and totally cute but not a great photographer. Maybe he just likes my bum?

Well that sucked.

Yep. There's just no other way to describe the 10k. I have vowed to never do that race again. It sucked all the confidence I had in my runs right the hell out of me. Just ask my lovely running partners, I cussed a lot during it and I still want to cuss when I think about it. It was hard. Ever since the race, I've been questioning whether I can REALLY do a half-marathon. Not a good feeling at all.

The problem is that it started at 8:00 so by then it was probably already 80 degrees. AND my goodness.. do they HAVE to include THAT many hills? Really? I'm kind of angry that people told me just how hilly and hard the course was before the race because I thought about the hills that were to come the ENTIRE run. So, I'd get moving and then the assvice of "save your energy for xx hill" that someone gave me would creep in and my body and mind would refuse to go another inch.

Grr..

I guess the good thing is that we finished and we survived. My time was 1:09 so an 11.10 mile. Again, not great, but whatever.

I felt like I had shin splints on Friday and iced them on Friday night but they were fine on Saturday. Shew! I think I dodged a bullet or something there. I didn't have any shin pain (er, none out of the ordinary) during the race.

Another reason I love my runnin' girls? I was a little ahead of my two partners at the very beginning of the race. I was running with someone I know but had NEVER run with before. Just before the 1mile mark, I hear "Emily! Emily!" and I turn around and my girls, pretty much at the same time, said "We are doing a 9-minute mile right now!!!" Obviously we all knew we'd NEVER survive 6.2 miles going 9-minute miles so we all slowed each other down. When we hit the 1 mile mark we were right at 10 minutes so that was perfect.

So, my time wasn't the best but I'm glad I had friends there to lean on and talk me out of some of the funk I had in my head.

Here's a couple pictures I stole from Jules' facebook page. I'm feeling WAY too lazy to download the ones on my camera! (I totally look preggers in all the pictures! I need to work on my posture.)

Me and Jules before the race:
Liz (our coach!), Maria, Jules and me. The three of us started this running thing last year when we trained for the July 4th 5k.
Me and KT before the race. He did the 2-miler in something crazy like 18 minutes?! He's seriously the best cheerleader ever. And I loved his green shirt because I could see him from way far away!

Me and Susan at the finish. We both picked up our speed at the finish but she TOOK OFF!! Go girl!
All the Janes at the end! We did it!

Hills

I used to say "I love hills!" and I really meant it. I am not a fan of flat running for long periods of time. I do like the change of pace (literally) that hills provide.

During this training program, I've sort of just hated hills all around. Well, last night, we met with some crazy ultrarunner to do hill repeats. We ran a 1-mile warm up and then went up a humoungous hill (I can't even explain how far the hill goes. Just trust me on this one.) 4 times after doing intervals of 10 seconds, 20, 30 and 40. It totalled 1.5 miles! ON A HILL! We did NOT get much rest time between the repeats. After the hard hills in 90 degrees, we went another mile or so to "cool down".

I haven't done that hard of a workout in a LONG time. I'd rather go run 6 miles on a Saturday morning than go up that crazy hill just one time. I know that it helps me in the long run but SHEESH!

Mama was TIRED when she got home. I sat on the couch and let hubby bring me dinner. And then went to bed at 9:15 just to get up at 5:45 to run again.

Yes, run again at 5:45.

This time we only did 2 miles since we are in preparation for the 10k on Saturday. And because we technically did our Thursday run on Wednesday since we got in about 3.7 miles. I just couldn't not run this morning. I love days when I've run in the morning.

So, we did a quick 2.2.. and there were several ladies who SAID they were going to just do 2 but they didn't, they just kept going! YOU GO GIRLS!!

I was hurting during the way back on the 2.2 run so I walked some but finally got in my groove at the end.

Tomorrow, it's rest day so that I can be ready for the 10k on Saturday. I have a goal time in my head but I'm not posting it here for fear of humiliation. ;)

Digging the 5:45 a.m. run

When the little man was growing in this mama runner's belly, I started doing crazy things like: waking up early, eating breakfast, not drinking so much wine, and not vegging on the couch for hours and hours. It was like Will completely changed me because I had to start thinking about someone else (gasp!) besides me! Doh!

I'm always amazed at how different my life is today compared to 2.5 years ago.

Now, I've made all these (positive) changes in my life because of Will and now also because of training for this 1/2 marathon. I seriously feel like my life is so good right now.

I have been voluntarily waking up at 5:26 to get dressed and out the door and to drive the 3 miles or so to the park to run with my running girls. It's awesome. I am so excited about this major change in my life. I can promise that 3 years ago, I wouldn't be caught ANYWHERE except in my bed at 5:30 a.m..

The fun thing about getting up though, is the great girls I'm running with. We are busy ladies with jobs, kids, family, friends, Facebook... and we all make the time to run.

With the weather as unpredictable as it is and the heat that we've been experiencing (high of 91 Thursday and 94 on Saturday), it's not only fun to get up and run with 6 other ladies and share the experience of running, it's also pretty much essential to get a good run in.

I'm also loving the feeling I get throughout the day of knowing that I'm done. I don't have to juggle being a wife, employee, mom and runner between the hours of 5 p.m. & 7 p.m.. All I have to be is wife and mom and those two things are really all I want to be after a long day at work.

So this morning was awesome. Tuesdays always seem better than Thursday. I think it has to do with the wonderful 2 days of rest we get between Saturday and Tuesday. Today just felt good and like I was in my groove. I love that feeling.

I invited a church friend and her running partner to join us and they did! I loved migrating groups!

We did our normal 4 mile loop and finished in the same amount of time we have been in the weeks prior. The hills are still a bitch but I just think they always will be.

Speaking of hills, tomorrow, I'm going to do "hill repeats" with the Janes group at the park that Liz encouraged us to do. We aren't meeting until 6 p.m. and apparently an expert is going to lead us in this. Tomorrow is an exception to the rule of being home in the evenings but I'm sure the boys will do just fine without me.

And then on Thursday (provided I survive hill repeats), I'll be hoping that I don't wake anyone as I sneak out the back door of our house at 5:45 a.m. to do another 4 miler with my crazy girls. Crazy girls that I am proud to call my friends. I really just can't wait to get back out there again!

6miles with a couple celebrities

Yeah, you read that right. We ran with two local celebrities on Saturday. Not like celebrities that you see on TV on Thursday night but running celebrities. The first was this guy. And the other was a dude who is running this race this weekend coming up. In case you are too busy to click, the first guy ran all the way across the Sahara Desert and the other guy is about to compete in a 100-mile ultramarathon. Awesome.

They were both totally nice and you never would have known you were with superstars. They were just like anyone else out there on a little morning run. I mean, besides EVERYONE knowing them, but whatever.

It was awesome and I'm thankful to our coach for arranging it.

But no matter how great they are, this is my blog, not theirs. And my 6 miles is not their 6 miles, so I'm done with that.

So, we didn't do the normal chit-chat at the beginning of this group run. Instead we warmed up and hit the pavement.

I'd gone to bed at 8:00 on Friday night because I wasn't feeling too good and was worried I wouldn't feel good on Saturday. So I showed up, a tad icky feeling and maybe a bit dizzy still and just went for it.

Luckily, my coach is totally correct in saying that the first mile or two might be the worst (it's different for everyone) but once you get those over, you get in your groove and you are good. She was right. I hated the first mile but after that, it was like "Whatever, I'm a runner!". We stopped for a good 5 minutes or so after 3 miles because we thought some peeps were lost and I forgot to stop my watch. So, I'm taking 5 minutes off the time I told Liz at the end of class.

Anyway, the hills in the parks are just plain stupid. Especially when it's HOT and HUMID and it's only 7 a.m.. I tried to walk a HUGE hill but 5 steps into the walk, I couldn't walk anymore, I had to run. I can't WALK! I need to RUN!

At 5 miles, we stopped to "GU" and then got going again. OMG. So tired. So so so so tired I was. I was running with a girl who had 7 miles to do (not my normal Tuesday and Thursday runnin' buddy) and she asked if I would go the extra mile with her. My response?

"Sorry, I can't. It's not you, it's me."

There was no way. I was SO tired and I think it was ALL because of the humidity. Because when I was done my 6 miles, I felt fine! Not winded, not tired really.

So, because of the way the run ended, I thought "good run! No big deal." I would NOT have said that at 5.5 miles but I guess that's why we get a runner's high? To forget how crappy we feel at small moments during the run?

This weekend I'm doing a 10k race here, provided I can get a sitter. Oh the drama.

Before that though, 4 miles Tuesday and Thursday with the Crazy girls at 5:45am. WOOT!

P.S. Got an awesome new Livestrong hat last week and wore it on Saturday. LOVE IT. Why have I been running sans hat this long? Really?

Keep on keepin' on..

Another 4 miler this morning.

Mama is tired. And sore? What's up with that?

It was HOT and HUMID this morning which made for a tough run, I think. I was tired the entire time. Never snapped out of the yucky fog I felt. Oh, and I was a bit dizzy too.. not good but we just kept moving.

Finished 15 seconds quicker than Tuesday.

Shouldn't have worn my Janes shirt with sleeves. Too much fabric on a HOT day! Will stow it away for the fall.

On a mission to buy a hat to run in. Mama's growing her hair out and thinking a hat might be the key to looking a little cuter when she runs. Because running is really just about being cute. Ahem.

That's all for now.

Rainy 4miles

So, I convinced my crazy girls (I stole this name from Jules!) to start at 5:45 instead of 6. What's 15 minutes right? Will gets up at 6:30 and we were getting home at 7 and I just HATE not having that little bit of time with him. Today, I got home at 6:45 and he'd just been up for 10 minutes. I know, I'm probably crazy but I can't help it. I love being with my boy in the morning.. Hm... when we increase to 5 and 6 miles, we might have to start EVEN earlier!!

I got up this morning and got dressed in Will's playroom just as I always do in the mornings. See... I set EVERYTHING out the night before in the back room so I can minimize the risk of waking someone or everyone. I ran out the door and I immediately felt a very light mist. Whatever. It never STARTS to rain in the morning, right? As I drive closer to the park, it's getting more and more rainy. By the time we were all out of our cars, it was RAINING and I was squealing like a little kid.

Someone said "Well, we could go back to bed?" Yeah, right. She was half joking but that would NEVER happen in my house. For one thing, Will would be up in another 45 minutes and two, I could never just fall asleep that quickly in the morning. So off we went.

We did our normal 4 mile route and I enjoyed chatting with my new running buddy. We did the 4 big ass hills and were done. At the end, I was soaked but it was nice to stand in the rain and cool off a bit before getting into the car.

You know what? Between the great conversation and the rain and the earliness of the whole thing, I never once even thought about the fact that we were running. I mean, I did... going up those BEAST hills but I never found myself going "Oh, I can't go anymore.." or "oh, my leg hurts". I just ran and chatted and enjoyed the morning out.

It's like...*gasp*... these morning jaunts are just really easy all the sudden? You know, what have you done today? "Oh, ran 4 miles in the rain at 5:45 a.m." NO big deal and NO skin off my back.

I got some new running shorts at Target yesterday that are making me happy. I was wearing just below the knee pants for every.run and now I have something cooler to wear. I am dying to buy more running tanks but that little Father's Day thing is really taking a hit on my allowance for the month.

I hope Target has those $9.99 tanks still in July. I like, LOVE them. They are lightweight and totally affordable.

6 miles

Sorry I haven't posted yet about our long run on Saturday.. KT and I left town on Saturday not long after our group run. We've been here way too much lately. We needed to pack it up and enjoy some family time in VA.

So, Saturday was fun. I was very nervous in the beginning about running 6 miles since I haven't done 6 in YEARS, years as in BW (Before Will). Coach Liz had it all worked out that we would run Greenway and Trails ... we ended up doing 2.5 on trails and the other 3.5 on the greenways.

The trails were great except the stopping and starting that you sometimes had to do to get around mud or go down a steep hill. And it's definitely a bit nerve-wracking thinking you are going to bust your butt at any minute on a root or rock. I loved getting muddy though and I LOVED how cool it was inside the woods.

At mile 4, Liz had GU set up for us since there were several ladies who'd never done it before, we just all stopped and did it together. Yum! It really does put a little pep in your step for those last miles.

After getting off the trails, it was hard running on the pavement. Naturally, your legs are a little wobbly because the ground is so much different. But I made it, didn't die, and have felt good ever since. No soreness or abnormal tiredness at all!

I finally finished my 6 miles in 1:13. Not too bad, I guess.

KT and I just signed up for the Freedom Run on June 27. I'm doing the 10k and he's doing the 2-miler. Now, I just need to find a babysitter... hm...

another 6am 4-miler

Holy crap, I'm tired. I think the excitement of "let's get up and RUN at 6a.m." has worn off. Oh well. I'm glad it's done and I can spend time with my boys tonight and not worry about that.

Did you know I have tremendous mommy-guilt? Yeah, I do. I worry about every minute I could be spending with Will that I'm not. I'm okay with some short things on the weekends without him but during the week, it's HARD. So, when I was running in the evenings, I would leave work early so that I could be home in time to cook dinner or greet them when they walked in the door at 5:30. Leaving early is okay, but not ideal, for obvious reasons.

I did feel bad this morning though because when I walked in, KT went straight to the shower. Evidently, Will was up right at 6:30 and so KT didn't have a chance to do anything this morning. He could have done more, but this is my running blog, not a place to complain, so I won't. Let's just say, we all need to work on time management with this new schedule.

So, I started out the run with another Jane and at the end of GA (about 1.2 into the run) my right shin was killing me and my legs were heavy and I just felt tired. But then, we got to NMP and I made the executive decision with myself that I was going to stop focusing on the pain and focus on the great convo my running partner and I were having. So I did.

And viola! I did it!

We did 4.04 miles and realized that only after visiting her blog and seeing that she has exact mileage. We finished in 45 minutes which isn't too bad.

After the run, we stretched a bit and waited for the other three girls, chatted a bit, encouraged one another and went on our way.

Coming up Saturday - a fun 6 miler! Yikes!

Total: 4.04 Miles

4-miler at 6am

Woot! That's all I have to say about the run with 5 other ladies this morning. Ok, maybe not ALL I have to say.

It was awesome, though.

I chatted with a new running friend the entire time and felt good. It was only 70ish degrees but it was warm. The worst part about running in the morning? The cobwebs. We did GA which is pretty wooded and my partner and I were battling the webs the entire way. I hope Jules and the others appreciated all that web taking down we did for them! At one point, there was even a spider on my nose! The things we do...

We finished the 4 miles in 44:48 so we did right at an 11 minute mile. That was probably faster than Liz wants us to do, though.

Anyway, I have to say that I'm feeling really good and really positive about this experience. Training smart is key to a successful race. I'm SO excited that I've met and bonded with so many new women in the city and that we will all share this experience together.

Total: 4.02 Miles

5 miles

Yesterday I met the group for our long run. Can I just say how much I'm loving this group of girls? So fun!

None of us did our homework for the week so Liz was a little mad at us and of course, I forgot this morning to take my resting heartrate. It's just hard when you hear "Mommy! Mooommmmyyy!!!" to remember that you need to do something besides drag out of bed to get the boy. Anyway, maybe tomorrow I'll remember.

After Coach Liz got over being mad at us, we took a group picture, warmed up and set out for our run. I had a 5-miler on my plan along with about 6 other ladies.

She's MAKING us go slow. Like, really slow. So, I did and boy was it hard! After the first mile though, I sort of got in the groove of the 12-minute mile and just went with it. I ended up running with a lady who has "run 1/2 marathon before turning 50" on her bucket list. She's really funny and a total grouch. She curses the entire time and is just funny. Luckily, she has a Garmin so I was able to know how fast we were going and how much farther we had to go.

We finished the 5 miles in 1 hour and 51 seconds and just kept going because we weren't at the end of the parking lot yet. I like running with her because she's anal like that just like me. So we totaled 5.2 miles in 1 hour, 4 minutes. Not too bad.

I admit that we started running harder at the end after getting up a few beast-like hills. But overall, we averaged the 12-minute pace and that's what we were supposed to do. Funny thing is, as much as I hate "going slow", I feel great. My legs haven't been hurting at all and I don't feel like I ran 5 miles yesterday. So maybe this running coach knows what she's talking about afterall? Glad I'm paying her the big bucks!

When I left there, I got a nice overwhelming feeling of happiness that I've met some great women so far and that we are ALL in this journey together. We are there to encourage one another and hold each other accountable. There's no doubt that this class is a great experience so far. I was even thinking.."gosh, I want to do a full marathon!"

I think that was the runner's high talking.

Total: 5 Miles

Thank GOD for my conscience on Facebook

I posted on facebook that I really did not want to run in the rain and boy did I get the motivation. Jules and another friend, Anna, had no sympathy for me and the things I worry about like falling down or getting struck by lightening. So, I checked the radar on weather.com and saw that I had about an hour window that I could get dressed, get to the park, run and get home before the rain started again and guess what? I did just that.

I decided that I did NOT want to do beast hills x4 so I came up with a new (to me) route that is 3.4 miles ... since I did about 2.5 yesterday, I figured it was okay to skimp my 3.5 run by .1. It was HOT out there and as soon as I stepped out of my car I was drenched with sweat.

Anyway, I went across the street from NMP to the short 1/2 mile semi-circle, went back into the NMP and did GA all the way to the end and back (2.4 miles) and then back to my 1/2 mile semi circle. Very easy run that only has 2 monster hills total. I tell ya. Hills are HARD and really slow me down for a few minutes until I can recover fully.

I get a little weirded out running GA sometimes because of the scarceness of the people out there. And, it's right next to a cemetery so I mean, how icky is that? There's a lot of older men out there and some die-hard runners and one biker that I see every.time.I.run no matter what time of day. He must be out there ALL the time. Today, I ran into a very nice walker who was also trying to figure out if it was RAINING or if the trees were just shaking off the water. She was adorable.

Anyway, it was a great run and I felt good doing it. I finished 3.4 in 37 minutes. A little slow, but whatever. I did it, right?

Coming up: 5 mile run with the group on Saturday morning. In one of my new running tanks from Target that were $7 each! Woot!

Total: 3.4 Miles

woods run

Yesterday, I ran in the woods at the college. The woods have all kinds of stories about them, so there was no way I was going in alone. I asked a running colleague to go with me and then as we were talking about it, someone overheard and joined us!

For anyone in the area, it's a great 2-mile loop that is shaded and just beautiful. There's a few hills and lots of roots that you have to watch out for.

We did the 2-mile loop in 19 minutes! I was HAULING because we had the most terrific storm coming and I was a bit freaked out by all the thunder. Actually, there were several storms that all hit one another and just sat over top of the city for a few hours that ended up dropping between 8 and 10 inches of rain on us! It was insane.

I'm pretty sure Coach Liz would not be happy with this quick 2 miler on an "easy" day but seriously? Training program vs. dying from a lightening strike... sorry Liz. :)

When we got out of the woods, we had about another .6 miles to go before we could get to our cars. We SPRINTED to the closest building because by this time there was lightening and thunder right above us, the wind started to pick up and the heavy rain started.

We ended up having to stay in the student center for a good 45 minutes before we could run again towards our cars and we really shouldn't have been out then either. If you ever want to see me freak out? Put me outside during a storm. Not pretty.

So I would say we did about a 2.6 mile sprint, er run, in I don't even know how long. But it felt good overall!

I am supposed to run 3.5 tonight but it's storming again. I might have to put that off to a morning run tomorrow.

I just know I was wet and totally freaked out by the events of the last 2 hours that I just got into my car without saying much to the girls and drove away. Crazyness.

Total: 2.6 Miles

3.7 in 38 at 5:30 (as in a.m.)

Uh huh. You read that title right. I ran at 5:30 this morning!!! For those of you reading that on Facebook AND here and thinking, "SO WHAT?! You are not the only person in the world running at 5:30!" I know that. But, you have to understand. I don't do things at 5:30. Or 6:00. 6:30 is even difficult for me. I love my sleep.

But, a friend from church told me she met a new running partner and did I want to meet them this morning to run? Since it's supposed to be 93 degrees this afternoon, I figured, why not?

I overslept. I woke up at 5:28 and pulled into her driveway at 5:32. I'm SO glad I had my stuff all ready to go next to the back door!

Anyway, we did a quick run. Or, a fast run in my book. Our coach keeps saying to keep it easy but this morning just felt good to go a good pace. We even walked a tiny bit so we must have been booking it.

Now, I'm exhausted but my run for the day is over! WOOT!

P.S. My left knee hurts. I iced it after the run for about 10 minutes (didn't have anymore time because Will woke up) and it's not as bad now, but it hurts to walk. Hm...

Total: 3.7 Miles

Long Saturday run: 5 miles

so the whole thing about training for an endurance run is that you work on your base during the week (typically) and then on the weekend (typically) you do your long run which is usually increased by a mile each week. Of course, this varies with each runner but this is how we are doing it. My "base" is 3 miles. I'm totally not sure how to define my base to peeps here but just trust me. Heh. I guess it means I can do 3 miles easy-peasy (ahem...riiiiight)

Today we set out for 5 miles which was our "long" run for the week. It was great! I finished 5 miles in just under 56 minutes so I did a little more than 11 minute miles which is probably faster than our coach wanted us to go but whatever. I'm pretty sure when we get up to 8, 9 and 10 mile runs, we'll HAVE to do 12 and 13 minute miles.

The run today was great. I ran hard the first 3 miles but after the last hill I was really out of breath so I slowed my roll. I didn't want to lose my stamina knowing I had 2 more miles to go. I was with the pack but I just held back and let them go. Our coach kept turning around making sure I was okay and I just kept giving her a thumbs up. I was fine... I just knew I couldn't go as fast as they were if I was going to finish strong. Note to self: start slow!!

Sure enough, at about 1/2 mile left, I felt great and pushed myself. What is most interesting to me about that is that in my past races, I've NEVER been able to PUSH at the end because I've been full steam ahead the entire race. Now, I've realized that if I take my time during the run, I really can push it at the end. Sweet!

The best thing about the long run? I'm resting for two whole days! Yay! I'll walk some tomorrow but I won't run again until Tuesday and then, it will be a 3.5. I've decided that I won't do the park twice again. That route just discourages me. So, I need to figure out a different 3.5. Maybe I'll go to a different park or something.

I seriously love running. It makes everything so much better. ;)

Total: 5 Miles

HOT 3.6

Ick. That's how I felt on Thursday when I finished my 3.6 mile run.

It was a terrible run. You know why? I psyched myself out of doing a good job because of the last sentence in my last blog post. You know, the one that says "I'm going to try to beat my time". So I went too fast and I got tired and I was HOT.

So I finished 2 minutes slower than the run before. SO annoying.

Tomorrow is my 5 mile long run with the group. It's EARLY (7:30!) so I'm excited that it won't be so hot and icky. I have no idea how I'll train all summer in this humid place but I guess I'll just have to grin and bear it.

...til tomorrow...

Total: 3.6 Miles

3.5ish

Yesterday, I set out to run the loop of the park twice so that I could get in my 3.5 miles for the day.

Let me tell ya. It was hot. And humid. and OMG those hills are crazy!

After finishing my first loop, I ran into a runnin' friend, Jules. We did the second loop together which helped me get up those hills for the second time.

I felt pretty good. The first loop was BY FAR easier than the second ... but I blame that on talking a lot during the second. And, did I say it was hot?

My body felt good though. I had no leg pain (my new shoes totally kick ass) and my breathing was okay. I didn't run as fast as I'd like to (11 minute mile) but for the 12th time, it was HOT.

Overall, a good run and I was happy to be done with my 3.5ish miles. Coming up: 2 more loops on Thursday for another 3.5ish. I'm going to see if I can beat my time from yesterday.

Total: 3.5 Miles

Training

I'm training for a 1/2 marathon..

our coach said we needed to keep a journal so here goes nothing.

It all began on May 15. My first official run of my training. It was actually pretty good, nothing to write home about. 3 miles in the park in the morning.

May 19 - Really hard and painful 3 (maybe) miles in the park and grease ally. Had to stop to walk several times because of leg pain. Ended up walking/running for 36 minutes. Never wanted to run ever again.

May 20 - 2 miles in the early morning. It was cold outside! Walked one and ran one since it was supposed to be my "easy" day.

May 21 - threw down 100 bones on a new pair of kicks and took them for a spin minutes later. Best run I've had in a LONG time. Fast 3 miles..best guess based on heartrate and stride, I was at about 9:45 mile.

May 23 (today) - Janes class at 8 in the morning. Our coach wanted us to really focus on slowing down our pace. She recommends that we run each mile 2 minutes SLOWER on the long runs (which will each take place on Saturdays). 2 minutes SLOWER is hard to do. It might be just as hard to adjust to as the faster run. Anyway, I did it. I did 4.2 miles in 50 minutes. I actually think I might have gone a little farther than 4.2 but who's counting.

I did like going slower today. I see what she means by taking it slow to get throught the run. I haven't run 4 miles in..um... years? A really long time. It felt great and I felt wonderful afterwards. I'm a bit sore this afternoon but I think (hope?) that's to be expected after a long run. It was a nice temperature this morning and there were a ton of runners out there. I love group runs and the comradarie of other runners. Even if you aren't running together, there's a nice sense of understanding among runners that I like.

Ok, so my journal is caught up. I'll now start journaling after every run. This blog is going to be oh.so.exciting.

Total: 15 Miles