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.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
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 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.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
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. ;)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
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!
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!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
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 ;)
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 ;)
Thursday, July 16, 2009
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!
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!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
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? :)
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? :)
Thursday, July 9, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
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?
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?
Thursday, July 2, 2009
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!!
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!!
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