[thehappyrunner]

Happy and healthy ... Here we go again!

2011-12-11T20:49:00.001-06:00

Wow! It's been such a long time since I have posted. I've gone through a knee injury and run a 50k and a marathon since last writing. The 50k was run injured (6:15) and the marathon was done without much training (4:57). But I am now ready to run again. I'm feeling as close to 100% as a 41 year-old runner can! So here we are at day 1 of training for the Big D Marathon. The goal is a 3:45 race (that's about an 8:35 pace). I have a long way to go but 4 months to get there. Race date is April 15, 2012.

Here I am before running today. I was only going to go 6 miles but I was nervous and cold! Six miles should not seem far to a distance runner. But today it seemed like an eternity. But you can't finish without taking the first step! So here we go on another marathon journey.

I'm not gonna lie ... I started getting tired after the first mile! It used to be my body that gave out first on long runs. And that was usually at about mile 18+. Today, it was the breathing. I just don't have any endurance at all right now. I walked a little during miles 3 and 5. And I got an unexpected break during 5 as well. Hello train! I heard it and ran as fast as I could to the tracks but was about 15 seconds too late so I had to wait for it to pass.

At 5.25 I looked at my watch and realized that if I ran really, really fast, I could make 6 miles in under 60 minutes. That's a pretty respectable time for an out of shape runner so I ran hard. And I mean as fast as I could go. I was huffing and puffing and I stopped my watch at exactly 6 miles and could not have gotten any closer to 60 minutes if I tried! I'll take a 10 minute pace for my first training run but it was an ugly run!

As you can see from this graph, my pace was pretty consistent except the couple of walking breaks. And my splits actually weren't that bad. It's a good starting place and it feels so good to be running again!

Tomorrow is my rest day so I'll see ya Tuesday!

Do you think it's possible to sleeprun?!

2011-05-23T08:59:00.000-05:00

This Monday long run thing is killer! And this week it got longer. Ten miles this morning and I had to be done before 6:45 so I could get the kids up for school. I think I was half asleep for most of the run. :) Here I am at a little after 5am. That's early even for me.

The sun came up not too long after I started so I got to run my regular long run route instead of circling the neighborhood a couple of times so that was nice. Here's the weird dome house that I run by. Looked kind of cool this morning as the sun came up.

It was a good run. But pretty difficult after running 16 yesterday. Average pace was 9:22. I'm happy with that. Tomorrow is a rest day then the rest of the week I'm going to concentrate on some speed work because I'm running a 10K race next Monday and I would like to at least place in my age group.

A Sunday Sixteen!

2011-05-22T20:33:00.007-05:00

Today was good training for El Scorcho. I didn't leave the house until 7:30am and it was already 76° outside. Luckily it was overcast and breezy but very humid. I ran my long route which takes me way out in the country. And it seemed even more country today because they have dug up some of the roads and now they are gravel. I must have run at least 3 miles on gravel which is a lot more tricky than paved roads.

A lot of this run is farmland. My view to the left and right ... fields of some crop! Obviously I'm no farmer!

Then I ran past a cool cemetery. It was established in 1874. And this was also my half-way point. So I stopped for my 5-Hour Energy. I haven't had any of that in awhile. I only drink it on runs that are longer than 15 miles and this was my first since White Rock in December. It's good stuff. Notice my splits at the end of this post after I got my energy boost.

At about mile 10 I ran past a horse breeding farm. The sign makes me smile ... first because it has my name on it (Well, almost ... if I spelled Robyn with an "i" it would be my name.) And the part about "breeding for pleasure" is just funny!

It was here that I met my new horse friend. He was so sweet!!

And we got to know each other a little too well. :P That 3rd picture is just awful ... I didn't even know it was possible to have that many chins! But he kissed me right on the lips!!

Moving on, I ran through Venus and past my favorite barn of all times. Love the Texas flag on it.

Then past some really pretty flowers and more fields. This number 15 marker was at about mile 13. At about that time I was soooo hot and really wishing it marked my 15 mile mark!

Mile 15 was through the town of Britton (love the old bank!) and across the railroad tracks.

And that's about it. Here is a very sweaty, very exhausted, very happy runner after 16 miles in the heat.

I was very happy with my splits today. But they're not quite accurate because I stopped several times to take pictures and my watch auto-pauses. I need to fix that but that would require finding the owner's manual. I'll fix it before El Scorcho. :)

I didn't even realize anyone actually read this blog but me but I have had 4 of you ask me why I don't update it anymore so here ya go. I'll try to post more frequently again. Not promising every day but definitely a couple of times per week. But to prove that I actually have been running, this will get you up to date on my last several weeks.

Whew! That was a lot of information!! Good job if you made it this far! Tomorrow is a 10-mile run. That's difficult on a school day because I have to be finished before 6:45 so I can get the kids up. Looks like it will be an EARLY morning!

I can run on water!

2011-04-21T08:09:00.000-05:00

My Garmin whacked out this morning when locating satellites. I guess because it was so overcast. Anyway, I looked down at my watch when I knew I was at about the half mile point just to see how I was running and it said I had already gone .75 miles and my pace was 5:20!!! I was rockin!!! LOL! So I walked ... slowly ... for about a quarter of a mile just til it got back up to a normal pace for me. Then when I got home I had to laugh because it put my starting point in the water in the lake by my house. Funny!

The run this morning was just ok. I was feeling pretty sluggish but still felt like running more than the 4 miles I was supposed to. With all of the adjustments I had to do for the messed up starting point, I think I ended up going a little over 5.25 miles. Average pace was 9:05. The weather was a nice and cool 59° but I was sweating like crazy because of the humidity.

Tomorrow is an easy 4. Then a rest day Saturday. Then my back-to-back long runs on Sunday and Monday.

Don't Drink and Run!

2011-04-20T08:12:00.000-05:00

Maybe I should clarify here. Drinking fluids that hydrate you (water, Gatorade, etc.) while running is definitely a good thing. However, drinking rum and tequila-based drinks the night before running is a very bad thing! Ugh! Especially for someone that doesn't drink much. But this tasty key lime pie martini was just too tempting (yes that's graham cracker crust on the rim!). Luckily we got home at a half-decent hour so I got some sleep.

But 5:30am still rolled around pretty quickly and I did not want to get up and run! But once I was dressed in my running gear, everything felt good. The run actually went well although I was sweating like crazy!! I totally blame the humidity and not the alcohol leaving my body!

Today was just a quick 4 miles. Splits were good: 9:34, 8:57, 8:45, 8:39 (8:59 average). The rest day yesterday helped and I wasn't feeling sore anymore. My training plan calls for 4 miles tomorrow but I may bump that up to 6 if I'm feeling good. :)

El Scorcho = Insano!

2011-04-19T10:10:00.002-05:00

I've officially lost my mind! I signed up to run a 50k race (yes I said FIFTY) in the heat of the summer ... at midnight. LOL! Thank you to Ben and Erin for talking me into this one. :)

Fifty kilometers is just over 31 miles. No problemo! Ha!!! Just gotta start training NOW. And training is a little different than training for a marathon. Instead of 6 days a week training, I only need to do 5. But the runs are longer and the biggest difference is back-to-back long runs. I did that this week and I can tell it will be difficult. The reason behind back-to-back long runs is to make you physically and mentally tougher. I know the last 6 miles of a marathon are killer so I can only imagine what miles 26-31 will be like in this race. Really all a mind game because your body is shot by that point. Sounds fun, right?!

I just need to whip myself into shape and that shouldn't take that long with the amount of running I'll be doing especially since it's getting hot outside. Average weeks will be 40-50 miles. Not too bad. The longest run I'll do is 24 miles followed by a 10 mile run the next day. That should be interesting. I'll try to keep you posted on most of the training runs. To be in top race shape, I need to lose about 10 pounds and about 4-5% body fat. Totally do-able in 3 months. Right now my goal time is about 5 and a half hours.

So here is my training so far. My long runs aren't very long just yet but will ramp up quickly. Sunday I ran a medium-paced 12 miles. And it felt good. I ran one of my favorite routes and took a detour through this really cool cemetery then out past my donkey friend. He usually won't come over to see me but he was in a good mood that day!

Splits were surprisingly good with little effort. I was extremely happy with my pace and the negative split.

Then came Monday. Monday has been my rest day for over 3 years! So to get up and run on a Monday was just too weird! But it actually felt pretty good. Here's a happy runner after a very early Monday morning 8 miles.

And, unbelievably, the run felt good, my pace was good and I had another negative split with enough energy left to push it the last mile. Who knew?! :)

So today is Tuesday which is now my rest day. And you know how I feel today? SORE!!!! OMG! So glad it's my rest day!!! Tomorrow's 4 miles will be interesting. See ya then.

Out 'n' Back to the Windy City!

2011-04-07T07:50:00.001-05:00

Actually that should say out 'n' back THROUGH the windy city. Yep ... more wind today but either it is dying down a little or I'm getting used to it. I looked and it said winds out of the south at 18-20 mph. I ran out to the ballpark and had to take a picture of the Chicago sign since Chicago is supposedly "The Windy City."

It was a good 6 mile run. Another nice negative split. Split times were 9:38, 9:27, 9:09, 8:59, 8:50, 8:39 (9:07 average). The last mile was pretty tough but I felt good again today. :)

Tomorrow is Fartlek Friday. Always a good time!!

Blown Away!

2011-04-06T19:31:00.001-05:00

OMG! This wind is terrible! And it's been this way for days. It's a constant 20 mph wind with gusts of 40+ mph. Let's just say that it makes for an interesting run. When the wind is at my back, it's great. But then I turn the corner and man ... feels like I'm running in place! Look how hard the flags were blowing this morning!

But it was actually a pretty good run today. Just went 4 and my splits were 9:30, 9:04, 9:03, 8:40 (9:04 average). I always love a good negative split. And I felt good the whole way and that made for one happy runner when I got home. :D

Tomorrow I'm going to go either 4 or 6. I haven't decided yet. I guess that depends on how early I get up. I need to figure out my next race and set up a training plan so I'm not just running whatever I feel like. Tomorrow is supposed to be another windy one and I'm ready! Glad my hat has some good velcro on it!

A Nice Spring Run!

2011-04-03T12:22:00.001-05:00

I love this time of year. The bluebonnets are so pretty and the weather is nice. So today after a very windy 7 miles, I stopped and took a picture in the bluebonnets.

It was a really good run. Just a quick out and back with the wind at my back the first half and a pretty difficult second half because it was really gusting out there. But it felt good! And it really felt like a new beginning for me. It's Springtime and my head was clear and I can just feel a change. I'm ready to get back into my regular morning running again now that everything is settling down.

Average pace today was 9:45 with a slower second half. Usually that would irritate me because I like to have a negative split but with the wind blowing as hard as it was, I'll take it!

Tomorrow is my off day then Tuesday starts my new morning groove!! :D

A steady 10.

2011-03-20T11:11:00.011-05:00

So this was my first long(ish) run in 3 weeks. Hard for me to say 10 is a long run when it really isn't. But I wanted to ease back into the long runs and decided not to go too far today so I didn't hurt myself. And I was sufficiently tired by the end of the run today. LOL! I'll bump it up to about 15 next weekend.

My legs felt good but I could tell that these new shoes are making me work harder and that is a good thing. Trying to decide if I am going to run Big D on April 10th. I ran the half last year and if I run it this year, I'll do the half again. With taking these last 2 weeks off, there is no way I could run a respectable full less than a month from now.

Not too bad of a pace today. I like to keep my long runs between 9:15 and 10:00 and I had a 9:47 average today. On the higher end but I'll take it. But for only 10 it could be so much better.

Tomorrow is my rest day then I'm back in training mode Tuesday. Tuesdays are my fast days and I can't wait!

Getting there!

2011-03-19T08:00:00.008-05:00

Another quick 4 this morning. Splits were 9:07, 8:58, 8:51, 8:29 (8:51 average). This run felt really good. I could have pushed it harder but I wanted to be sure I would have enough left for a long run tomorrow.

I love the weather lately. So much better running in shorts and a tank than tights and gloves!! But nor sure if I'm ready for the really hot weather just yet. And my test shoes are still feeling good. :D

The Happy Runner is BACK!

2011-03-16T08:00:00.019-05:00

Wow ... this is the longest I have gone without running in years! Over two weeks!!! And I can't even blame this on an injury. However, I was doing something constructive which prevented my morning runs. (I have no excuse for not doing my weekend runs though.) And I do NOT run at night! I would rather get up at 3am than go on a run anytime after noon. It just doesn't work for me. But I'm putting those dormant 2 weeks out of my head and starting fresh! And something exciting happened during the non-running period ... I got chosen as a running shoe wear tester for Brooks. So cool! Because free shoes are good shoes! :) And here's how I got to be a wear tester ... Mom gave me this really awesome Brooks running hat for Christmas.

And after I got the hat I went to the Brooks website to see if they had any other Run Happy products and I saw a link to sign up to be a wear tester. I was bored so I filled out the form and they contacted me last week and said I would be receiving a pair of shoes to test. And they arrived yesterday. I think they're cool. They are called Pure Cadence. Since they aren't being sold yet, I can't look up much information on them. But at first glance, I would equate them to Nike Free. Gonna be interesting because I have been running in Nike LunarGlide+ for over a year and they offer a ton of cushion and support. But several of my running friends have been pushing me to go the Nike Free route because it will really strengthen my legs and eventually help me run faster. Here are my new shoes.

And I went on my first run in them this morning. It was just 4 miles but they felt really good! And I was pleasantly surprised with my pace. I thought I would have trouble getting back in stride after so much time off but with little effort I was almost at regular pace. Here's one happy runner after 4!! Feels sooo good to run again!

Splits were 9:31, 9:08, 8:44, 8:44 (9:02 average). Just nice to know I can still keep race pace even though it was only the last 2 miles.

6 at 6

2011-02-18T07:00:00.001-06:00

I ran a 6 mile fartlek run today (sort of). The first few miles I did the fast and slow thing. Then the last 2 I just ran at a quick pace. It was a pretty difficult run but felt good. Average pace was 9:03. It just feels nice to be getting out and runnung every day. I ran to the ballpark and back today.

Tomorrow is an easy 4 but it's gonna have to be really early since I have to be at work by 7:30.

A steady 4.

2011-02-17T07:00:00.001-06:00

Well I was right about paying for running so fast Tuesday. I woke up yesterday and said no way on running. My legs were killing me! So I rested and felt great this morning and went out for an easy 4.

Split times today were 9:56, 9:31, 9:27 and 8:54 (9:27 average). Not too bad for as windy as it was and I like the nice negative split. Tomorrow is a 6 mile fartlek run. Looking forward to that!

A Fun, Fast and Furious Four!

2011-02-15T07:00:00.002-06:00

Today I ran my fastest since the marathon on December 5th. Tuesdays are my fast days so I wanted to see if I could still make my pace ... and I did!

Average pace today was 8:34 (splits were 8:32, 8:34, 8:36, 8:33). I'm supposed to run on Tuesdays at 8:45 and my race pace is 8:35 so I beat both. But I think my legs are gonna pay for it later!! :P

A Very Windy Out 'n' Back!

2011-02-13T11:11:00.018-06:00

Grrrr! Well it got cold again this week and I didn't run at all since last Sunday. But today's run felt really good. :) And I got to wear shorts! Spring is right around the corner. I just know it!! Be gone with you ice!

I ran a 10 mile out and back today. It was pretty slow. Average pace was 10:03 but oh man was it ever windy! Look at my splits and see if you can tell which half the wind was at my back and which half it was in my face!!

Now that the weather is getting nicer in the mornings, I hope to be back on track with training. Just gotta figure out if I want to do a half or a full in April. See ya soon!

I'm Back!

2011-02-06T11:11:00.004-06:00

Well the marathon in December didn't go as well as I had hoped but I did still get a PR so I have to be happy about that. I haven't trained much since then. Mostly laziness and the last couple of weeks have been soooo cold! But the snow and ice are just about gone and I went out for a nice "long" run today. I put that in quotes because right now the 9 miles I went felt like a long run. Ugh! Not to worry though ... I'll be back up to speed in no time! :)

Today's average pace was 9:22. I'm very happy with that. I figured with the lack of running I have been doing, it would be 10 or higher. Here are my splits.

I beat the cold front!

2010-11-25T06:45:00.000-06:00

I was all worried last night when I went to bed because there was supposed to be a cold front blowing in. In fact the high / low temps for today are 62° / 28°. But it is currently 72° and I am sweating my butt off! Just finished an ok 4 miles. Splits were 9:33, 9:21, 9:18, 8:42 (9:14 average). I was hoping for closer to 9:00 but at least it was a good negative split.

Now I'm hitting the shower and headed to Arkansas with the family. Hoping training goes well there. Not sure where I'm gonna run but I'll figure it out. Fartlek 6 tomorrow, 10 mile race pace on Saturday (oh my!!!) and then an easy 4 on Sunday. Taper is finally here!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today (and every day) I'm thankful for my family and my health. :D

A quick 6.

2010-11-24T16:44:00.001-06:00

I decided to switch tomorrow's run with today's for a couple of reasons. A.) It's gonna drop about 30-40 degrees tonight! And B.) We have to leave early tomorrow for Arkansas. So I did 6 today and I'll do 4 tomorrow.

I ran out to the waterpark and back this morning. It was a pretty uneventful run. I ran it a little slower than I would have liked but it was really windy! And it was weird because the kids are out of school so I got to run a little later (and in the light) and I actually saw 2 or 3 other runners. I NEVER see any runners out on weekday mornings. Maybe a lot of people were off work today or something.

Split times today were 9:23, 9:10, 9:11, 9:27, 9:00, 8:48 (9:10 average).

I'm a little nervous about the next few days of training because it's an important week (the week before the race!) and I'll be in an unfamiliar city. But I'll figure out a way to get my training runs in!! :)

I'm officially a Master!

2010-11-22T22:00:00.002-06:00

I turned 40 in July and not only did I enter a new age category (40-44) but I also graduated to being a "Master" which simply means a runner over age 40. And I am excited to say that I won my first race as a Master! :D

There is a huge Christmas lights display by our house every year at the lake and they have a race through the lights before they officially open. I didn't know about the race last year but was really excited to run it this year. I was a little nervous because I knew that it was on a Sunday night and I always do my long training runs on Sunday mornings. So I asked a few of my friends what I should do and they told me to train as usual and then run the race but not to worry about it too much because the race is not important but the training is. So that's what I was thinking as I went into the race. But as soon as the gun fired, I had different plans. I was feeling good so I just ran it as fast as I could. I knew I was making good time and there were only a few girls ahead of me. One lady passed me that I thought might be in my age group so that upset me a little but she ended up being way younger so all was good. This picture is me just about to cross the finish line. I think the smile is because the race was over. I was soooo out of breath!

And then when the results were posted, I looked in my age group and didn't see my name. I was pretty upset because I thought that maybe my timing chip didn't work because the fastest time in my age group was almost 3 minutes slower than I knew I had run it. And then I realized that maybe I needed to look in a different spot. And so I looked at overall winners and saw my name. I was almost crying. So excited! I've never won any kind of sporting event! My official time for the 5K was 21:55 but I think the course was a little short.

Needless to say, I was a happy runner! And it was a fun night. My family was there and I saw a bunch of my friends (there were lots of my students there in strollers walking through the lights).

And here's the award I won.

Now enough with this training break and back in marathon mode!

A good, cold 6. :)

2010-11-19T08:00:00.001-06:00

39° ... brrrrrr! Had to bundle up today! But it turned out to be a really good run and I needed that. Haven't had one in awhile. Hopefully they will all be good until the race which is only 16 days away!!! And my run today was almost race pace so that was good. Split times were 8:56, 8:38, 8:46, 8:36, 8:29, 8:11 (8:36 average). Very happy with that!

Almost crashed and burned today. It's dark when I run and I didn't see the scooter that some kid left on the sidewalk. Thought I was going down but somehow I caught myself. I have to admit ... I had bad thoughts about whatever kid left that scooter on the sidewalk but then I realized that my own kids have done it a million times! And now I'll make sure my kids pick up all of their crap before bedtime so they don't trip some poor, unsuspecting runner.

I stretched a little after my run but sitting on the concrete probably wasn't very smart. My butt got cold fast!!!

Just 4 easy miles tomorrow. But I may take it a little faster than usual to get ready for the 5K I'm running Sunday night.

A steady 4

2010-11-16T17:55:00.001-06:00

Tuesday is supposed to be my fast day. But I had trouble recovering from Sunday's 20 so I ran it pretty fast but didn't want to hurt myself. Average pace ended up being 9:05. Splits were 9:39, 8:58, 8:56, 8:48. Was supposed to be an 8:45 so I was a little disappointed.

The best part of the run was my new headphones. :) I had to break down and get new ones because running for 18 miles with only one earphone working was just bad on Sunday! Love the new ones ... they're the same kind that I had except this pair is black!

Hopefully this week will get better. Just not feeling very good.

A Sunday 20 ... and a donut!

2010-11-14T16:44:00.001-06:00

Well it's getting really close to the race and I'm getting nervous! My legs haven't been cooperating with me the last couple of weeks and it's really frustrating! The Sunday long runs have been going well which is good but it's taking me too long to recover from them and I am missing too many daily short runs. But this was my last really long run before the December 5th marathon and it felt good. And I don't consider it a real run until I cross the tracks.

Right before I crossed the tracks and took this picture, my headphones freaked out. Grrrr! I was at mile 2 and my left headphone would not work so I had to run the remaining 18 miles with music in only one ear. Very annoying. I decided to go the total country route. I saw a whole lot of this.

And I was feeling really good. I LOVE running out in the country and it was a perfect running day. Sunny and cool. :D

And I even ran past a longhorn cow. You KNOW you're out in the country when you see a longhorn. So I gave him the "gig 'em" sign and ran past him. :)

I planned my run well and at mile 10, I got to the only civilization on the whole run ... a donut shop. I needed a pitstop anyway so I stopped for a minute. So much nicer than the outdoor facilities I usually use. LOL! Look at that a sink and soap and everything.

And then as I was leaving, my hungry belly got the better of me. How can you see this and not eat anything?!

And I gave in! Needed some extra energy for the last 10 miles ya know!! I had $2 so I bought the biggest donut I could find! Couldn't be a pig and buy two!! :P

And right at the table I was standing by I saw this flyer. Weird ... the only literature in the whole place. Maybe it's a sign that I should run this race. I was going to last year but wasn't ready for it and ended up running the Big D half instead.

The energy from the donut was just what I needed and I ran the last half feeling really good. It was all country roads all the way home.

I'm so happy my last long training run is over. Sometimes I feel they do more harm than good. But I know my legs need to get ready for 26. Average pace was pretty slow: 9:34. But race pace is just a minute/mile faster. I know I can do that for 20. It's those last 6.2 I worry about!!

Next Sunday is just a 14 mile run. However ... like a dummy I signed up for a 5k that night. Just couldn't pass it up because it's a really cool run at night through a huge display of Christmas lights. Very neat!

18 big ones. :P

2010-11-07T20:00:00.001-06:00

I was really, really nervous today about my run since yesterday's run was sooo horrible! And somehow even with the time change and me not being able to sleep past about 5am, I still managed to leave the house much later than I had wanted. And I couldn't decide what to wear because it was only 43° when I left the house and only supposed to get into the 50's. So I decided on shorts and a light long sleeve shirt. At about mile 1.5 I knew this was a mistake because I was hot. So I changed my route a little and ran back by my house at mile 5 and quickly changed into a sleeveless shirt. So much better!

And now I know that if it's over 40° the day of the race, I'll be in a tank top! And since I had changed my route I had to figure out a new one. Normally I run the big square on really long runs but today it was all neighborhood running. I must have passed this pond 4 times today!

But sometimes neighborhood running is good. For example, this picture was taken at about mile 13 and I was completely out of water so I just stopped at a random house with no cars in the driveway and borrowed some water and filled my water bottles back up. :)

The run today really was pretty uneventful. Just a nice, medium paced run. The weather was nice and I felt pretty good which was a relief after my run yesterday. I like this little pond that I ran by with only about 2 miles to go.

And then I ran by the site of my kids' high school. It will open school year 2012-13. Funny to think that these fields will probably look a lot different after the school gets built.

I finished the 18 miles about a quarter of a mile from my house. I saw a lot of little fuzzy caterpillars on the road while I was running and I always think of my grandma when I see caterpillars because she would catch them and we would watch them change into butterflies. So I saw one on the road and I found a bottle and put him in it so I could take him home and have some fun with the kids.

I got home and just 2 of the kiddos were home so I told them to go gather some sticks and leaves so we could build a little habitat. And we made it in a jar and I got the caterpillar out of the bottle I had him in and he was crawling around on my hand and Austin says, "Hey Mom, aren't the fuzzy ones poisonous?" Well I know nothing about caterpillars and he said he heard it in school so who knows. I put him in the jar quickly after that comment!

And here he is in his new home. I'll keep ya posted on when he makes his cocoon and when our beautiful butterfly emerges. :)

Splits today were good. Very happy with the 9:14 overall pace. The last 2 miles were a little disappointing because I like to finish strong but there was a serious wind in my face those miles so I'm ok with it.

Tomorrow is my rest day and I need it. Legs are feeling a little sore tonight. I'll post my weekly stats tomorrow.

Best to Worst!

2010-11-06T08:00:00.016-05:00

So yesterday I had one of my best runs EVER! And today I totally had one of my worst! I just could not go! It was COLD when I left the house ... 37°. But check me out ... I was prepared. I look like a serial killer!

The run was only 4 miles and it was supposed to be at a 9:00 pace. I pulled in a 10:50 average pace. OMG! That's just plain embarrassing ... and almost 3 minutes/mile slower than yesterday. Maybe I pushed it too hard yesterday or my legs were just frozen. Not really sure. I just know it was PATHETIC! It just went downhill. Check out these splits: 10:33, 10:02, 11:01, 11:42! Seriously? 11:42? I think I could walk faster than that! Should have just stayed in bed. :( Not really even sure why I'm smiling here at the end of the run. Maybe just because it was over!

But tomorrow will be better. At least I hope it will or else it's gonna take me a loooooong time to run 18 miles!

I'm back!

2010-11-05T15:33:00.001-05:00

I haven't had a good run for several weeks. Very, very frustrating! So ... I put a lot of thought into the problem and decided I needed a little break. My legs hurt and my eye hurt. So I gave myself a couple of days to heal. And I was so torn about this decision but in the end it worked! I ran the fastest 6 miles I have EVER run this morning! Check this out. 48:12!!! That's an 8:02 average pace. Smokin fast!!!

And it was cold out there this morning. Low 40's. Had to break out the ear muffs - or whatever they are calling that headband thing these days. Can't wait til this weekend when the time changes and maybe I can run a little in the light. Haven't seen a sunrise in weeks!

A slow 4 tomorrow then a long 18 on Sunday. I'm ready. Bring it! Race is one month from today!

A Halloween Fourteen!

2010-10-31T15:33:00.055-05:00

Well I sat out Saturday's 4 mile run so I would have a good Sunday run. The biggest problem this week has been my eyes and not my legs. Weird. When I woke up on Saturday, my eyes were almost swollen shut. The cold air does not agree with me. And I wear glasses every day. Don't know what else to do. But no matter. I set out for my Sunday run and it went pretty well. No real problems other than my blisters hurt. Should have worn blister bandaids but decided against it since it was a short run.

At about mile 2.5 I found a friend. This sweet little puppy ran with me for awhile. I know the house she lives in so I didn't let her run too far because I didn't want her to get lost. But I have a soft spot for Rotties. My favorite dog ever was a Rottweiler named Sally. I call this little girl Silly - cause she's silly! :) But I don't think she's a full Rottweiler. She has some white markings on her chest. After I ran with her for a few minutes I stopped and played with her for awhile

This one makes me laugh because she knocked me over (look at my sideways glasses) and then she was biting my chin! LOL!

Then we played a little longer.

And here's my favorite picture of her. Sooooo cute!!

But I had to get back to running. So I did. The first half of the run went really well. Wind was at my back and life was good! At about mile 8 I came upon this car. It was off a road that doesn't get travelled much so I looked in to make sure no one was still in the car and it was empty. But I got a little sad because there was a baby seat in the back. Hope everyone was ok.

Then I got back to civilization and everyone had out their Halloween decorations. I had fun looking at those. I even got in the spirit and was running in orange and black. I think this was my favorite yard.

The last half of the run was tough for me. Straight into the wind and my blisters were really hurting. Took a short break at about mile 12.

And here are my splits. I hate it when I don't have a negative split but the wind was totally a factor today. Overall just an average run. Not great but not horrible. Hoping for a better run next Sunday. Going back up to 18.

Tomorrow is my rest day. Will post my weekly stats.

BRRRRR! My nose is froze!

2010-10-29T16:44:00.000-05:00

Oh wow! I've been running in shorts and a tank top for the last couple of weeks. Yesterday was a little cold and I had to break out the tights but today was just ridiculous. Below 40°! I guess Fall is officially here. And I guess that's good because I need to get used to running in the cold because who knows what the weather will be like for the race on December 5th.

The run today was pretty good. I ran out by the baseball field and I stopped for a minute to take my picture sitting on one of the baseballs. Maybe that will give the Rangers some good juju! I was hoping for an 8:45 average on this fartlek run and I came close. Average was an 8:52. Not too bad. I need to figure out how to stop running on my toes for the first part of the run until I get warmed up. That's really been slowing me down lately. But it feels good on my thighs.

Tomorrow's run is my easy Saturday 4 miles.

An ok 4 miles.

2010-10-28T07:48:00.002-05:00

Considering I didn't run at all yesterday, today was an awesome run! But actually it took me at least a half a mile to get a good stride going and still I wasn't feeling 100%. I would say I'm somewhere around 70% today. But that's ok. Nowhere to go but up! I just need to get my confidence back so I'm hoping for a good run tomorrow.

Today's run was a 9:00 steady pace run and I did keep the pace after that first mile. Splits were 9:27, 8:52, 8:57, 8:25 (8:55 average). But that last mile was really tough. And the wind today was pretty brutal as well.

Tomorrow is fartlek Friday ... 6 miles. Hoping for an 8:45 pace. :)

Another scratch for the happyrunner. :(

2010-10-27T20:30:00.000-05:00

My legs were not working today. And I mean to the extent that I was having trouble walking. I woke up at about 3:30am and took some Advil in hopes that I would feel better by 6am but it just didn't happen and I'm sure I could have done 4 easy, slow miles but it would have done more harm than good. So I went back to sleep. But I was running in spirit today and I'm even wearing last year's White Rock shirt as I type this. :)

Tomorrow is a 4 mile 9:00 pace run. I think I can handle that as long as I get a good sleep tonight. We'll see how I feel for hills though tomorrow afternoon. Supposed to do 10 hills this week. Ugh! And I just looked at the weather and it's only supposed to be about 42° when I run tomorrow morning. Time to bundle up!

That wasn't fun!

2010-10-26T07:30:00.001-05:00

Today starts week 13 of my training. Pretty cool because week 13 ends with my Sunday long run on Halloween. Seems appropriate. :) Today's run was just 4 miles but Tuesdays are my fast day. It was an 8:45 steady pace run. And because my legs are still tired from Sunday's 20 miles, I struggled today. But I did it!! And last week I couldn't so I know I'm getting stronger. Splits today were 8:42, 8:40, 8:41, 8:21 (8:36 average). Extremely happy with that because I wasn't so sure I could do it.

Sure was windy out there this morning which made the first 2 miles difficult but I was loving the last two!

Tomorrow is an easy 4 and I may do hills as well (supposed to do 10 hills this week!!).

Week 12 Summary

2010-10-25T16:44:00.000-05:00

Overall I would say this was not a good week of running for me. Just didn't feel good the whole week and didn't even do my Saturday run because I thought it would mess up my Sunday long run. However ... my Sunday run (20 miles) felt really good so that made up for the bad week! I think I just had a hard time recovering from back-to-back Sunday 18 mile runs. So we'll see how I do this coming week after yesterday's 20 miler!

Here are my stats for the week. Not too bad for not feeling very good. 38 total miles run this week but I missed Saturday's 4 and the hills I was supposed to do on Wednesday or Thursday. Next week will be better!

I spent one night going through some of my race stuff and made a shadowbox for last year's White Rock Marathon and a scrapbook page for the DRC half (my first-ever race). It's nice to have some of the junk out of the shoebox in my closet and up so I can see it and have some inspiration. :)

Tomorrow is my fast day. Supposed to be a 4 mile 8:45 pace run. Gonna really try to keep the pace this week!

Fa ... a long, long way to run!

2010-10-24T22:10:00.002-05:00

Got myself "primed" and ready to run (That's Gatorade Prime that I'm drinking.) I decided to run to Lillian, Texas. I had 20 miles to go and I looked on the map and Lillian looked to be about 10 miles from my house. So out the door I went into uncharted territory.

And I ran and ran and ran! I sort of knew which way I was going. This was a sign I needed to see.

And I saw a whole lot of farm animals. I loved this field because it had cows AND donkeys all mixed together. But apparently they didn't see people very often because as soon as I started running toward them, they ran the other way.

And then I finally made it to a stop light. I was sure I was in Lillian! I knew that on my map I wasn't quite there but I figured I was at least inside the Lillian city limits. I mean, this was a town out in the middle of nowhere. It HAD to be Lillian. Look at all of these thriving businesses on the bustling corner!! :P

So I asked an old man coming out of the donut store if I was in Lillian. He kind of paused as if to think where in the world he was. And he said, "Well, no, you're just about in Mansfield." And he pointed at the sign by the side of the road. Are you kidding me??? I ran 10 miles just to get to the other side of Mansfield??!!

Ah well. I couldn't get to Lillian because the road there was too busy so I turned around and saw the sights of the outskirts of Mansfield. This was actually quite entertaining and I had to take a picture of this yard. How often do you see a goat and a dog in the backyard together? Such a nice mobile home park. :)

And then I finally got back to a place I knew. Hmmm ... left to Mansfield and right to Midlothian. I choose ... neither! I went straight. And that took me to The Big Square ... my favorite run! That picture of me is in the square. It's starting to get hot and my face was dripping wet!

Then I ran down through the cemetery (that gravel is tough to run on) and out to the lake.

And then I stopped for a minute and drank the last bit of water. And I noticed when I was drinking it that my hand was shaking really bad. I knew it was time to get home. Luckily I only had about a mile left to run. So off I went.

And as soon as I got home I downed this full thing of Gatorade then ate and ate and ate! My watch estimated 2,000 calories burned!

Here are the stats for the run. I felt it was a good run. Very happy with the pace and no problems with any aches or pains. :)

Tomorrow is my rest day and I'll post my stats for the week.

No running today. :(

2010-10-23T05:55:00.002-05:00

I woke up and my legs just hurt and I only had 4 miles to go so I just scrapped the run. Wanna be ready for 20 tomorrow. :)

A moonlit run.

2010-10-22T15:33:00.005-05:00

Finally a halfway decent run! My legs felt almost normal and nothing hurt. But I was still feeling sluggish. Today was supposed to be a fartlek run and every time I went to speed up, I just didn't feel like I was going very fast (and my watch confirmed that). Usually during my fartlek sprints, I am going about 7:45 and today that was well over 8. Average pace for the 6 miles today was 8:51. I am happy with that and glad that my legs are feeling better because I want to be ready for 20 on Sunday!

Today's run was pretty cool because the whole run was lit by a full moon. And yes in happyland, there are two moons!! :P (Actually that lower light is a street light but it looks cool here. Like a second moon with 2 satellites orbiting it!)

And I'm still trying to figure out the flash in my new phone. When it's totally dark outside, it overexposes the pictures. But I sure was feeling happy after finally having a good run. And I liked my new shirt. Very comfy but I won't be able to wear it much longer since it's getting cold. Guess that's why it was on clearance.

And I laughed when I looked at my feet this morning. I took the toenail polish off of my toes to discover this. So awful! I mean so bad that I'm embarrassed to even go get a pedicure. I currently have all toenails but not for long. Look at that black one! And there's one almost as bad on the other foot. And my big toe isn't great. Maybe with Halloween so close I'll just paint them all black and no one will ever know. But I can't cover up that blister. But the good news is that my new shoes fit much better than the pair I had for 2 weeks and I don't think I'll be losing any more.

Have I ever posted this cartoon? Cracks me up! ... "Toenail Status Form!!!" How can you NOT laugh at that?!

Tomorrow is an easy 4 miles. Looking forward to that but hoping it doesn't rain on me.

Better. :)

2010-10-21T07:40:00.002-05:00

Today was definitely a better run than the last 2 days but still not great. I was able to keep the 9:00 pace (split times were 8:58, 8:54, 8:55, 8:44). But it was a struggle the whole run. And my lower left leg kept wanting to give out on me. I almost crashed and burned a couple of times. :P So I'm not going to run hills this afternoon. And I'll take tomorrow's run slow again if I need to so that I'm ready for Sunday's 20 mile run.

Tomorrow is a 6 mile fartlek run.

Even slower.

2010-10-20T17:55:00.007-05:00

And I thought I ran slow yesterday! Today I really just couldn't go. I almost just scrapped the run but I decided just to take it nice and slow from the start. About an hour before the run I took a Naproxen and that helped a little. I think my body is just adjusting to two 18-mile Sunday runs in a row. And this Sunday is 20 miles so I'm just going to take it as slow as I need to for the rest of the week to gear up for that.

Today's splits were 9:45, 9:27, 9:27, 9:30 (9:32 average). I'm hoping for a little faster pace tomorrow but we'll see what happens. Today's goal was 85% effort and I definitely gave that even though I was slow.

Tomorrow is a 4 mile 9:00 pace run. Hoping I can keep that pace. Then in the afternoon I am going to run hills. I'm supposed to do 9 hills this week.

A Really Rough Run! :(

2010-10-19T11:11:00.001-05:00

WOW! Today was not a good run. My legs were like lead. They just would not go and I couldn't keep the pace. I guess I was just tired from Sunday's 18 mile run. And I think it was mostly that my thighs were tired because I kept catching myself running on my toes (which makes my calves work instead of my thighs). Ah well ... every day can't be a good run and tomorrow will be better. I was supposed to run the 4 miles today at an 8:45 pace. I came close the first 2 miles (8:51 pace both laps). But then after mile 2, I stopped for a minute and stretched my legs to see if that would help and apparently it did more harm than good. The last 2 miles were 9:27 and 9:47. Overall pace was a 9:14. Not horrible but definitely not what I've been running on my Tuesday fast runs. Form was horrible today and I count it a victory that I even finished running. I know I looked like an arthritic old lady hobbling along that last mile. :P I can even see the look of defeat in my half-smile after the run was over.

Tomorrow is a 4 mile run and is supposed to be my hill day. 9 hills this week!

Week 11 Summary

2010-10-18T10:10:00.000-05:00

This was a pretty rough week. My Sunday 18 mile run was awesome last week but I must have pushed a little too hard because my right thigh was giving me fits all week and I even missed my Thursday run and hills because of it. The first training I have missed so far. But better to take a day off and heal than hurt myself and not be able to run for a week or more! Especially this close to the race.

Total mileage for the week was 36 miles. It would have been 6 more miles if I hadn't missed my 4 miler and hills on Thursday. Here are the stats.

Tomorrow is a fast 4 miles.

Another 18 miler. :)

2010-10-17T12:00:00.000-05:00

I am loving the distance I'm getting to run on Sundays. Next week is 20! Today's run went well. But I took it easy since my right thigh is still recovering from last week's 18 miler. :) Today's overall average pace was 9:23 compared to last week's 9:01. But I'm still very happy with the run. I'm supposed to keep these long runs between a 9:15 and a 10:30 pace so I was still running it pretty fast even considering I was taking it easy. My slowest mile was a 9:45 and the fastest was an 8:51 so I kept it at a pretty steady pace.

I didn't take any pictures during the run. And I'm a little mad at myself for one missed photo op. I was running by some condos I never run by and I saw a man in full-out Scottish attire. Kilt and all. I wonder if he had bagpipes in his truck. Anyway, I should have asked him if I could take his picture because I am sure he wouldn't have minded. But I was in the zone at that point (mile 15).

When I got home, I saw my daughter just getting home from a friend's house and these are the only pictures I took on the whole run and it was already over. Isn't she beautiful?

And she was soooo excited because she had lost a tooth while spending the night with a friend. This second picture I missed most of us and the sun was in her eyes but notice the blood on her shirt and the tooth in her hand. Guess the Tooth Fairy will be visiting our house tonight! :)

Tomorrow is my rest day so I'll post stats from the week.

That was better!

2010-10-16T06:55:00.001-05:00

My leg was feeling much better today. Hardly noticed any pain at all. And I stretched really well before the run. So today was just a really uneventful but pretty fast 4 miles. Splits were 8:53, 8:43, 8:50, 8:26 (8:43 average).

Today's picture looks just like yesterday's. Guess I need to get a little more creative. But notice the safety glasses. I have been forgetting them and my eyes are starting to get windburn so today I remembered.

Tomorrow is another 18 mile slow run. Looking forward to it! :D

Slow and Easy :)

2010-10-15T22:10:00.000-05:00

Trying to recover! Still can't believe I missed a run yesterday. And I almost didn't go out this morning. But I decided that instead of doing my 6 mile fartlek run, I would just go the 6 miles very slow and easy. My right thigh is still giving me a bit of a pain so I tried using my left leg a lot more today. Obviously when you run, you use both legs, but my right leg is always my dominant one and the one I push off with harder so today I switched that and just ran slow. It was a good run. But it was totally just done to log mileage. Splits were 9:08, 9:05, 9:18, 9:13, 8:58, 8:45 (9:05 average). My new shoes sure felt good though. And my toes thank me for them!

Here I am at the end of the run. Whoa that flash sure is bright when it's still dark outside!

Tomorrow is a slow 4. I think I can handle that. :)

What, WHAT??!! No running today!!!!

2010-10-14T19:27:00.002-05:00

OMG! I did NOT run today. :( The first run I've missed in a little over 10 weeks of training. And I really almost went. But my right thigh is just not feeling right so I decided that one day rest would be better than a week+ if I don't let it heal. So today I missed a 5 mile run plus 8 hills i was supposed to do this afternoon. I feel bad and I feel like I should make up those miles but I need to let it go. We'll see. I may run a little extra tomorrow if I'm feeling ok.

So, what did I do today if I didn't run? Well ... I took back my awesome new pair of shoes and exchanged them for a different pair of equally awesome running shoes. I decided they were just a little small in the toe box. So I got some new ones a half a size bigger and a different color. Still Nike LunarGlide+ 2. I changed colors because I have more pink stuff than orange. Here's a picture of the new shoes.

And I also played around with my new phone which included downloading some new apps. And one of them is a photo app called Hipstamatic. It's like a digital darkroom for your phone. And it's soooo cool!!! I played around with it while taking some pictures of the shoes.

And here are some dorky ones I took of myself. It's not often you see me on this blog with makeup on and no running hat. :)

Tomorrow's run is the regular 6 mile fartlek run I do every Friday. I'm gonna try to just do that and forget the run and hills I missed today!!! I just have to keep telling myself it's ok! I don't wanna wear myself out because I have 18 miles again this Sunday. Heal that leg, runner!!

The Flash!

2010-10-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm definitely not talking about myself when I said "the flash!" I ran sooo slow this morning! My legs just wouldn't go. But that's ok. It was just a short 4 mile 85% effort run. Supposed to be my warm-up and cool-down for hills but those aren't gonna happen until tomorrow. Splits today were 9:39, 9:04, 8:57, 8:45 (9:06 average). My right thigh is still recovering so I didn't push it at all today.

Now about the flash. I got a new phone and the camera has a flash in it!!! So now I can finally take pictures in the dark. Here's one from this morning. Ugh ... could my face be any sweatier? Maybe I liked the camera with no flash better! :P

Tomorrow's run is a 5 mile 9:00 pace run. Then in the afternoon I'm going to do 8 hills.

1, 2, 3, 4!

2010-10-12T08:30:00.001-05:00

I wasn't sure how today's run would go. My right thigh was a little sore after Sunday's 18 miles. And it didn't seem to get much better yesterday. Just the small amount of running I do with the kids at work yesterday hurt as little. But this morning I felt pretty good and decided to take it slow. But once I got out there, I felt good and was able to keep the 8:45 pace. Split times were 8:47, 8:39, 8:38, 8:16 (8:35 average).

And when I got home, I saw the bag of candy corn I bought yesterday while I was costume shopping with the kids. What could be better than some condensed corn-shaped sugar? YUM!

Tomorrow is supposed to be my hill day but I keep pushing the hills back to Thursday so we'll just see what happens. I know I'll do 4 easy miles in the morning and then maybe hills (8 of them this week!) in the afternoon, maybe not. You just never know with me and hills!

Week 10 Summary

2010-10-11T07:27:00.003-05:00

What does a runner do on her rest day? Well, today I woke up at 4am to the sound of heavy rain so I laid there for a while and listened and was thankful I didn't have to run in it. Then I got up, plowed some fields in FarmVille, did some laundry, colored my hair, took a shower, got ready for work and then went and got the kids donuts since they don't have school today. I may have gotten one or two (or THREE!) for myself, too! Hey ... I ran 44 miles this week and that was 4,500 calories burned! You don't want me gettin all skinny, do ya?! :P Donuts are sooo good! The breakfast of champions. And I'm pretty sure there are some much-needed carbs in them, too.

And on to the stats! Overall average pace for the week was 8.47 minutes/mile. I can live with that! My race pace is 8:35 but 8:45 will get me to Boston. It's just a matter of going that fast for 3 hours and 50 minutes!!

It was another good week for running. I just felt great all week. I'm a little sore today after 18 yesterday but it's just minor. A little pain in my right thigh. I'll do some stretching today and I'll be good as new for tomorrow. I just have a fast (8:45 pace) 4 miles to do tomorrow and the rain is supposed to be gone.

10 (+8) on 10/10/10!

2010-10-10T16:44:00.002-05:00

Today was a good run. I woke up early but waited for the sun to come up before I headed out. I had 18 miles to go so I didn't want to start too late so I left right at 8:00am and figured it would take me a little under 3 hours to finish. Well ... I should have left a little earlier. The temperature went way up while I was running and I was struggling with the heat the last 2 miles. But other than that, everything went really well with the run. Here are some things I did right (and I need to remember these for the race):

Took some Naproxin about an hour before I ran.
Put on blister Band-aids.
Wore the right socks.
Ate a good breakfast before leaving.
Drank some Gatorade Prime about 15 minutes before I left.
Drank some 5-Hour Energy about half-way through the run.
Ran at a comfortable pace.

I'm starting to feel pretty confident that I can run White Rock at Boston qualifying pace. I was only off by about 16 seconds/mile today and I wasn't trying to run it fast. I am really only worried about 2 things now: the hills at the end of the race (last year they were at miles 18-21 and it looks like the proposed new course has them moved to miles 20-23) which makes my second worry even greater - miles 20-26. Those are simply killer miles and add in that half of them are uphill and I'm a little nervous. Here's the proposed new course map. It's starting and ending in Fair Park this year so that's totally different. (Last year it was at the AA Center). The hills start right after you get around the lake.

Here are today's splits (very happy with them!). Can't complain about a 9:01 pace on a long training run.

It was actually a pretty uneventful run. I started out through the neighborhoods that I run every morning. There's this one car that I pass every morning and about a year ago, I started touching the drivers' side mirror for a good run and now it's just tradition to touch it as I pass it. I have no idea whose car it is. But I know on the rare mornings that it isn't there, I don't like it!

I cross the railroad tracks at about mile 3 and that's the part of my Sunday runs that I like because it's out in the country. That RR Crossing stands for "Running Robyn Crossing." LOL!

And then I headed out into "The Big Square" but since today's run was so much further than the usual 9 mile run I do out that way, I had to find a new course. So I ran out past a lot of cows and the back under the highway. I remember passing a pretty cool cemetery that I had never seen before and then I looked at my iPhone to make sure I wasn't too lost. And all was fine. But I was in Venus! Not much out there. I loved the barn with the Texas flag on it.

And then I headed back to civilization. Well sort of ... there was a highway but then more country roads. This picture was taken at mile 9 (my midway point). Don't jump Robyn!! Just a few more miles to go! :P

Then I headed back to The Big Square and ran it twice. I'm wondering ... at what point does the city decide to stop repairing the road and just re-pave it?! This road cracks me up! It's almost worse than the gravel road I had to run at miles 4-5.

Then I headed back home. That last mile really was pretty awful. I started getting the cold sweat goosebumps and probably should have slowed down a little but by that point I just wanted to get home and get a big ol' drink of Gatorade. The bottle said it was 4 servings. Yeah right ... I drank that thing in about 1 minute.

Tomorrow is my rest day and the kids are out of school so maybe I'll sleep in. Or maybe I'll dye my hair. Ahhh ... old age! I moved up an age category so my Boston qualifying time went down but now I gotta deal with all the effects of being a 40-year-old. :)

Not a great run.

2010-10-09T07:27:00.000-05:00

I have felt sluggish for the last couple of Saturdays. Not sure what it is but I never feel like getting out the door and my legs just feel stiff. Maybe it's the Thursday hills catching up to me. Not really sure but I do know that this morning I really did not want to go out and run. Here I am staring at my shoes. Sat there for at least 2 or 3 minutes psyching myself up to go.

And the run itself didn't feel good either. I thought I would feel better after the first mile or so but I never did. Splits weren't that bad: 9:15, 8:42, 8:51, 8:30 (8:50 average) but I was struggling the whole time. When I thought I was probably running at about an 8:30, I would look at my watch and it was at a 9:00. Grrr.

Tomorrow will be better! And I get to run 18 miles! Finally a really long run! So excited. :D :D :D

A Fast and Fun Friday Fartlek in Fifty!

2010-10-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

I'm starting to like my Friday fartlek runs. Mainly because I am confident now that when I'm in a race and I'm running a little behind pace on a particular mile, I will be able to kick it up a notch and get back on pace and not wreck myself for the remainder of the race.

I left the house today WAY late so when I got home I had to run upstairs and get the kids up so they didn't miss their buses. I almost forgot to take a picture!

Split times today were 8:38, 8:30, 8:33, 8:24, 8:13, 8:01 (8:23 average). Not too shabby and faster than race pace so I'm always happy when that happens. Here's a fun graph. I just love looking at graphs for fartlek runs. All that fast and slow makes for a cool graph. :)

Tomorrow's run is the usual easy Saturday 4 miles. See ya then!

An early 4 and afternoon hills.

2010-10-07T19:27:00.004-05:00

My 4 miles this morning were pretty uneventful. Was a 9:00 pace run. Splits were 9:10, 8:43, 8:35, 8:10 (8:40 average). Was cold and dark ... only 43°. Wore gloves the whole run.

This afternoon I had to do the hills that I didn't do yesterday. I went to Cedar Hill because that's the closest place with hills. The neighborhood I run in is SO nice! Really expensive houses. Here are some of the sights. That second picture is a driveway. I would love to see the mansion at the end of that drive!

And here I am at the end of 7 hills (2 miles). UGH! I hate hills! But look at the elevation chart. So fun!

Stats for the hills: 2 miles, elevation gain 323 feet, elevation loss 323 feet, average pace 9:39. I'm pretty happy with that. I was actually feeling pretty confident after this hill run. Only problem was that I forgot to bring any water and it was hot (85°). And then I got a cramp in my left side. Not good cause there was no water!!! So when I got done running, I climbed in the back of the car to see if any of my slobby kids had left any water in there and guess what ... I was in luck! I love my daughter!!! Who knows how old this water was but I really didn't care. It was my oasis!

Ahhhh! A happy and hydrated runner!

And I've always wondered what those towers are in Cedar Hill. I can see them from my house. So I Googled them and it looks like they are radio towers for lots of stations in the D/FW area. Here is a list of what they are.

Tomorrow is Fartlek Friday - 6 miles of fast and slow running.

Safety First When Running!

2010-10-06T17:55:00.001-05:00

I know, I know, I know ... I really should bring my mace with me on my early morning runs. But this is not what I'm talking about. Today we are talkin' SAFETY GLASSES! LOL! Who knew running caused such weird side effects. I mean, I'm prepared for blisters, shin splints, ITB issues. But the problem that got me this time last year was chapping under my eyes. I mean so bad that it was cracking and bleeding! Wouldn't be a problem if I could run in the daytime and wear my sunglasses. But I only run when it's light on Sundays which leaves 5 days that my eyes are unprotected. So last year I went out and bought these safety goggles to keep the cold and wind from getting on my eyes. I know they're dorky but I like 'em! And no one sees me anyway because it's dark. So go ahead and laugh but it's much better than bleeding eyes!!

Today was my hill day and I was gonna run the 2 mile warm-up and 2 mile cool-down this morning and do the 7 hills after work. The morning 4 went well. Split times were 9:16, 8:38, 8:41, 8:15 (8:42 average). However, the hills just never happened. I didn't get off work til after 4 and the kids were already home and then I had to take one to swim practice and it just never happened. But here's proof that I had good intentions. Had my stuff all packed for after work and waiting for me in the car.

So ... tomorrow is just supposed to be a 4 mile, 9:00 pace run. I'll do that in the morning and make up the 7 hills in the afternoon.

Even faster!

2010-10-05T08:00:00.003-05:00

Tuesdays are my fast days. I'm supposed to run at an 8:45 pace. But last week I ran way faster than that and ended up running the 6 miles in 49:53. And I remember last Wednesday I was pretty slow because of the Tuesday run and said I wouldn't run it quite as fast this week. Well ... that didn't happen. I started running and it just felt good and so I kept on going. And when I got finished and looked at my watch I couldn't believe it.

Holy cow!!! Thirty-six seconds faster than last week! I wonder if I can get that under 49. :P Not gonna test that for awhile though cause the next few Tuesday runs are only 4 miles since my Sunday long runs are longer. But here you see the face of a very happy runner this morning! :D Oh and look at those long sleeves again. Only 50° out this morning! Gonna have to get something to cover my ears soon. Brrrrr!

And here's my favorite part ... the stats. Just look at those splits! Very, very happy about today's run!

Tomorrow is my hill day. Probably gonna have to split it up into 2 runs again (4 miles in the morning and 7 hills in the afternoon). So is this what 2-a-days are like? LOL!

Week 9 Summary

2010-10-04T08:15:00.001-05:00

This was just an awesome week for me for running. Everything clicked and I felt really good. I can tell I am getting faster. And longer distances are coming much easier. This week's long run was only 12 miles but I'm really looking forward to next Sunday when I get to go 18! Here are my weekly stats.

Total mileage: 37.38 miles. Total running time: 5 hours, 28 minutes, 44 seconds. And my overall average pace for the week was 8:49. I'm extremely happy with this week!

Two months and one day til the Dallas White Rock Marathon! I'm ready for you!!! :)

Mama got a brand new pair of shoes!

2010-10-03T11:11:00.000-05:00

I woke up early and it was still dark and super cold so I decided to wait until the sun came up to head out on my 12 mile run. I didn't end up leaving until just after 8am. It was still only 54°! I had a hard time deciding what to wear but I ended up in shorts and a sleeveless shirt because I figured I would warm up fast. But I had no trouble deciding what to wear on my feet cause I finally got some new running shoes yesterday! And I'm in love!! Actually they are the same type I have had for about 4 months but this is the new version. They are a little lighter and the toe box is a little narrower. But everything else feels the same. Here I am before my run in my new kicks!!

I was feeling good from the beginning of the run. About 2.5 miles into the run, I saw my friend Paula out running and she waved me over and I stopped to talk for a second. 45 minutes later I was on my way to finish my run!! :P (Yeah we get a little chatty!) Here's a picture of me and Paula. This is the first one I took and I missed most of our heads but I like it better than the other picture.

And the rest of the run was nice. It was breezy and cool. The first half was mostly into the wind which made for an excellent last half! I am extremely happy with my splits. Although my Sunday runs are supposed to be between a 9:15 and 10:30 pace. Clearly I did not follow that today. But I was feeling good and didn't feel out of breath at all and was just running at a comfortable pace. I may need to adjust my training plan a little cause I think I can do more than my original goal. Anyway, I'll have to think on that. But here are today's splits. 8:58 average on a long run!!!! :D :D :D

Here's one more picture of my new shoes. For anyone looking for some awesome running shoes, these are the Nike LunarGlide+ 2 Women's Running Shoe. I've seen them at most sporting goods stores and they run right at about $100. My last pair lasted me 4 months so they are comfortable and durable. Highly recommended!!!

And that's all for now. Tomorrow is my rest day so I'll post the weekly stats.

An uneventful 4.

2010-10-02T07:30:00.002-05:00

Nothing spectacular today. Just my regular Saturday 9:00 pace run. Started slow, finished fast. Didn't even get a good picture today. Nothing really to take a picture of when it's dark at the beginning and end of the run.

Had a nice negative split so I was happy about that because I had a slow start.

The only complaint I had today is that my shoes have had it. When I run, it feels like I am pounding the pavement ... literally. So, I'll have to go get some new ones very soon I suppose.

Tomorrow's run is a slow and easy 12.

Just another Fartlek Friday.

2010-10-01T14:22:00.000-05:00

Nothing spectacular to report today. Ran my regular Friday 6 mile fartlek run. Lots of fast and slow running. Got started too late. Couldn't believe the sun was already up when I got home. The kids were almost late for school! I was a good 15 minutes behind schedule today. Oops! Just one big complaint today. I wore a different kind of bra than I usually do and that caused my earphones to be all messed up. I know that doesn't make any sense but let me explain. I usually wear a racing back bra and today I wore a regular one. And I wind my iPod cord around my bra strap so it doesn't pull on the earphones. But since the bra strap wasn't right in the back, it made one iPod cord longer than the other and it drove me crazy the whole run. I couldn't think about anything else. I won't do that again! You can see the difference in cord length in this picture.

Other than that, it was a good run. Split times were good: 8:58, 8:34, 8:46, 8:38, 8:36, 8:11 (8:37 average). I was happy that the hill running yesterday didn't effect today's run. We'll see if I'm still feeling good tomorrow. :)

Tomorrow's run is an easy 4 miles. Gonna try to keep it at about a 9:00 pace.

4 miles and hills and marathon registration

2010-09-30T17:55:00.000-05:00

I ran my regular 4 miles this morning. Training plan called for 4 miles at a 9:00 pace. I felt good today so went a little faster than that. Splits were 8:49, 8:43, 8:22, 7:59 (8:28 average). Was such a better run than yesterday's 4. Just felt good. The sun was just coming up as I got home so here you have a sunrise picture and a happy me showing how many miles I had just run.

Serenity now!

And then this afternoon I had to run the hills that I didn't run yesterday. So I drove over to Cedar Hill after work and found a good hill and ran it 6 times. I won't lie ... it was rough! My legs were tired from the morning run and it was hot out and I just did not want to run it! I had to laugh cause of the street name at the bottom of the hill. (Have you seen the "Serenity now" Seinfeld episode?) And look at that fake smile on my face. I took this picture after I had run down the hill but hadn't started any uphill running yet. You can see the hill in the background.

But the view from the top of the hill was so pretty. :)

Overall, I ran 1.38 miles and my average pace was 10:15. This was a better pace than last week on the hills but I don't think the hill was as steep. And I need to work on my form. I'm getting better going up the hills but running too much on my toes going down. Lots more work to be done on the hills!

And then when I got home I realized that today was the last day to register for the White Rock Marathon befor a $25 price increase. So I hopped on the DWRM website and checked out how many spots were still available and then I registered.

So I'm officially all signed up to run it on December 5th!! So excited! :D

Tomorrow is a 6 mile fartlek run. Hope my legs feel better than they do right now!

I found it! :D

2010-09-29T17:55:00.004-05:00

Not a great run this morning. :( My legs just would not go. I guess the fast run yesterday did me in. I suppose I will take my Tuesday run a little slower next week. And I'm also a slacker today because I did my 4 miles but no hills. Was supposed to do 6 hills and just couldn't get over to them to run them. And I don't wanna run stairs tonight. So as to not be a complete loser, I'm gonna run my regular run tomorrow morning and do the hills in the afternoon.

I knew I had a crappy run this morning and this is me after the run waiting for my data to be transferred from my watch. I'm smiling but I'm not really too happy cause I know what the splits are gonna look like and I just wasn't feeling good. And I was right. Split times were 9:31, 9:16, 9:06, 8:39 (9:08 average). Not terrible but definitely should have been under 9:00 for an 85% effort run.

However, all was not lost today. I have been looking for the necklace my mom gave me for Christmas last year for over a month now. I remember putting it somewhere so I wouldn't lose it but never could remember where that was. I dug all through my purse and car several times and no luck. Well, today I was at work and found it!!! It was in my locker. Now I remember taking it off during a class because it was getting in my way when I was jumping. And I am SO happy I found it!!! :D :D :D

Tomorrow's run is a 4 mile 9:00 pace run. And then I'm gonna make up the 6 hills I didn't do today. Resting my legs tonight and hoping for 2 great runs tomorrow!

6 miles in under 50 minutes!

2010-09-28T15:33:00.000-05:00

Today was my fast run. Was supposed to run it at an 8:45 pace. But I felt good and just ran it as fast as I comfortably could. It ended up being an 8:19 pace! Splits were 8:34, 8:26, 8:33, 8:23, 8:13, 7:42. I'm feeling ready for the speed intervals that are coming up in a few weeks!

Once again, I didn't look at my watch much today so when I finished and saw the time (49:53), I couldn't believe it. Here is a happy runner right after the run. Trying to show the watch in the picture. :)

And you just couldn't believe how cool it was outside this morning. Only 53 degrees!! If you look close enough, you'll see the gloves I wore the first couple of miles.

And when I got back inside I had to laugh at how bundled up I was. I may have gone overboard with the tights and long sleeves but I have gotten used to running when it was about 80 degrees so this was a big change for me.

Tomorrow is my hill day. I think I may have to split it up into a morning run and hills in the afternoon again but that seemed to work ok last week.

Week 8 Summary

2010-09-27T16:44:00.000-05:00

This week's mileage total was 41.25. That's up 4.25 miles from last week. :) And most runs felt good. I had a little trouble recovering from the hills on Wednesday and my Friday run really showed that. So hopefully these next 5 weeks of hill training on Wednesdays will help me with that.

My mileage total will go down next week because my long run is only 12 miles. But that's ok because it goes up to 18 miles the following week. And weather for this coming week looks perfect. I'm kinda glad I didn't have to run this morning though. Don't know if I'm ready for 55° just yet!

Here's a concern that I just discovered and there's nothing I can do about it so I guess I just shouldn't worry about it. As most of you know, my goal for the 2010 White Rock Marathon on December 5th is to run it in less than 3:50:59 and that will qualify me for the 2011 Boston Marathon. But I was poking around the Boston Marathon website to see when registration begins and found the following FAQ:

Q: What is the first day I can qualify for the 2011 Boston Marathon?

A: The qualifying window for the 2011 Boston Marathon began on September 20, 2009. Registration for the 2011 Boston Marathon will open on October 18, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. and is expected to fill quickly. Registration for the 2010 Boston Marathon opened on September 9, 2009 and closed on November 13, 2009.

So I can't register until I qualify and I just have to hope that the race isn't sold out by December 5th. Looks like last year it took just over 2 months to fill so if that's the case this year, I should be ok since registration doesn't start until October 18th.

And that's all for now. Tomorrow is a 6 mile 8:45 pace run.

Running in a fog.

2010-09-26T13:00:00.002-05:00

I woke up really early today because I wanted to miss the heat for my 16 mile run. But I looked outside and it was really foggy and dark. I also looked at the weather and it wasn't gonna be that hot today so I decided to wait until it was light outside to start my run. I left the house at about 8am and this is what it looked like on my street.

I could tell right away that it was gonna be a good run. It was nice and cool and breezy. I was feeling good and was determined to run my best even though this was supposed to be a slow and easy long training run. I wasn't gonna push it but I wasn't gonna be lazy either. And no rest breaks! The fog lifted at about mile 2. And at mile 3 I passed a couple that was biking. As the lady rode by me, she said something to me and pointed in the direction they had just come from. My iPod was on and I couldn't hear her and my lipreading skills suck so Lord only knows what she said. I just smiled and nodded and said thank you. :P I think it must have been something about the dark sky over the other way. Who knows. But when I got a little further down the road, I saw this.

Looked pretty ominous but never produced any real rain. Just a few sprinkles which felt nice. At mile 8 (my half-way point), I drank a 5-Hour Energy. I'm testing out some things to see what works for the race.

I've taken this before and it gave me a little boost. But today, it was different. It did give me a boost but it also helped me focus. Instead of a million things going on in my mind, all I saw was the road. Gave me some clarity and was actually really cool! The second half of my run went extremely well and I had a nice negative split. I happened to glance at my watch when I was at 13.1 (half marathon) and I ran that in 2:05. Not too shabby for not racing it! And when I stopped at mile 16, I had to take a picture of my watch because I was so happy with the run.

I've been looking for a Corona bottle for 3 weeks now for my mom. I looked again today for 16 miles! Saw a million beer bottles and even a Dos Equis, but no Corona. But as luck would have it, I found one right at mile 16 after I was done running. So here ya go Mom. This one's for you! (Even though I know you won't look at this for a week since you're in Vegas!)

I think one of the main reasons today's run was so good is because the weather was cool. The heat just zaps me! The temperature today actually went down a little during my run. That hasn't happened in a while. And I know it was even cooler during parts of the run when it felt like it was gonna storm. These are the start and end temperatures.

And I'll save the best for last (for me anyway) ... the stats!!! My training plan calls for my long Sunday runs to be between a 9:15 - 10:30 pace. Check it out ... my average was a 9:15 and I really wasn't trying or thinking about pace. Very, very, VERY happy!! And I really love that I had enough left at the end to run the last 3 miles fairly fast. :D :D :D

Overall, this one of the best long runs I have ever had. Just felt incredibly good the whole run. The only complaint I had at all is that I got hungry at about mile 12. Should have packed a little snack or eaten a bigger breakfast. But other than that, nothing! No blisters, no leg pain, no lightheadedness (is that a word?), no chaffing, no issues at all! Today was a huge confidence boost cause I actually believed today that I could run 26.2 miles at or below an 8:45 pace!

Tomorrow is my rest day so I'll post my weekly stats.

Missed it by "that" much!

2010-09-25T08:30:00.001-05:00

Whew! Just missed a big storm today! Got back to the house at about 6:40am and by the time I got out of the shower, it was POURING! I did get to watch some pretty cool lightning though. And as much as I was sweating, you would have thought I ran in the rain!

Today was my easy 4 mile run. Last night I said I wanted to run it at about a 9:00 pace. That was not gonna happen today! I woke up and felt like an arthritic 80-year-old! My bones and muscles in my legs hurt so bad. It was all I could do to just go on the run. So I took it slow until I warmed up then salvaged the run the second half and felt pretty good about it. Split times were 9:57, 9:28, 9:19, 8:39 (9:21 average). And that first mile wasn't quite as bad as it seems. I had some iPod technical issues (it came unplugged) and I had to stop for a few seconds and figure all that out and the autopause on my watch did not autopause!!

Tomorrow is my long run ... 16 miles! I'm a little nervous because I haven't run that far in months and months!! The good news - weatherman says high of 78°, low of 55°!!! OMG! Doesn't look like I'll have to contend with any heat so I'm excited about that! So there'll be no excuses for not having an awesome run. :D

Turtle and Rabbit Run

2010-09-24T20:47:00.004-05:00

My run this morning was totally by the light of the moon. And it was still a full moon. It was pretty bright and gave enough light to take a picture.

I had an ok run today. Felt a little sluggish. I think the hills I ran on Wednesday had something to do with that. Gotta get my legs used to hills! Today was a fartlek run which is basically fast and slow running. I kept singing a Little Gym warm-up song while I was running (it's called Mr. Turtle and Mrs. Rabbit where we move slow then fast). "Slow and steady wins the race" ... yeah right! Gotta go fast and steady to get less than 3:50:59!

As always, split times don't mean a whole lot on a fartlek run but the overall average pace is a good indication of how the run went. Today my splits were 9:06, 8:49, 8:48, 8:54, 8:57, 8:07 (8:47 average). That last mile saved the average for sure! I've been feeling stronger at the end of my runs for the last couple of weeks and love it when I can finish with a fast mile. The pace chart is fun to look at for fartlek runs. Fast and slow ... fast and slow ...fast and slow ... over and over and over!

Tomorrow is an easy 4 miles. Think I'll run it at about a 9:00 pace. I'm pretty sore right now though so we'll see how that goes. :)

Short and sweet!

2010-09-23T07:50:00.001-05:00

Had a 4 mile run this morning. Was supposed to be a 9:00 pace run but I was feeling good so I just ran and didn't look at my watch much. Split times were 8:44, 8:36, 8:31, 8:10 (8:31 average). Nice! Guess the hill running hasn't hit me yet. :P

Felt like stretching after my run which I don't do as often as I should. (Like almost never!)

And now I can proceed with my day. And it's gonna be a great one!!! Feel like I should break into some affirmations here! I'm good enough, and fast enough, and dog gonnit ... I'm gonna run that race in less than 3:50:59! :)

Fartlek Friday tomorrow ... 6 miles.

Hills!

2010-09-22T16:00:00.001-05:00

Today's run called for a 2 mile warm-up, 5 hills and a 2 mile cool-down. Well, I did everything but not exactly like it should have been done. The plan was to wake up really early and drive to the next town over where there are some hills and run there. But that would require like 30 minutes in the car. So ... when the alarm clock went off, I said no way! So I got up at regular time and just ran 4 miles (my warm-up and cool down). We'll talk about the hills in a minute. For now, the morning run was nice. There was a really cool full moon.

And the light from the moon made a really spooky shadow of me on the road. :P

The run itself was pretty uneventful. Was a little slow. My muscles were tight after the fast run yesterday. Splits were 9:39, 9:21, 9:21, 9:04. Coulda been better.

After the run, I got the kids ready for school then got myself ready and went to work. I decided to run my hills after work because it was just easier to get over to Cedar Hill then.

And then I found my hill. Just look at that nervous smile on my face. I did NOT want to run it 5 times!!

When I was at the top of the hill the 5th time, I wish I had my camera so I could take a picture from the top so I ran back down and got the camera from my car and ran back up for a 6th time. The things I'll do for a picture. LOL! Pretty cool view! I'm thinking about moving in that mansion you can see on the right side of the picture. Just not sure it's quite big enough!!! :D

The good news... I couldn't resist buying a milkshake on my way to the hill so when I was done, there was a little left. Not really on my diet but hey, I was running hills for the first time!

Those 6 hill repeats weren't that far (about a mile and a quarter total) but I sure was sweaty! I figured out why once I turned on the car and looked at the temperature.

Overall, I was happy with the hills. Just wish there was a hill closer to me. I can see this is going to be a challenge for the next 5 weeks until I start speed intervals on Wednesdays. The graphs are fun to look at for hills. Look how my speed goes way down as the hills go up! Average pace was 10:23. That needs to get better. But I'll take it cause today I was more working on short strides up the hill and not overstriding down the hill. It's actually almost as hard going down the hill!!

Tomorrow is a 4 mile 9:00 pace run.

Faster than race pace, baby!!!

2010-09-21T08:45:00.004-05:00

What a great run!!! I was a little nervous because Tuesdays are my fast day and this week they moved up to 6 miles from my usual 4. The run is supposed to be an 8:45 pace which is 10 seconds slower than race pace. But today I just felt good and I went for it. Didn't look at my watch much and just ran. That last mile I knew I was under 8 but didn't check my time til I was done. Needless to say, I am extremely happy with today's run! Look at these stats.

I'm in love!

I bought some Nike compression shorts yesterday and I don't know how I've ever run without them! No chance at all of chaffing and they just feel good!!! Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend them for all of my running friends!

Here's me feelin good after today's fast run, wearing my new shorts!

Tomorrow is my hill day. 2 mile warm-up, 5 hills, 2 mile cool-down, 85% effort. Not gonna make last week's mistake so today I'm gonna go figure out where there's a good hill or two cause I don't wanna end up running stairs again.

Week 7 Summary

2010-09-20T08:00:00.001-05:00

This was a good running week. Love that I am logging more miles per week. I actually feel like I am marathon training now instead of getting ready for 5 or 10k! This week's mileage total was 37 miles. It's the same total as last week but the Sunday run was 2 miles longer. I lost 2 miles on my Wednesday run because I started hill training so the distance wasn't as long. Here's the chart of this week's runs.

The only disappointment I had this week was that I wasn't prepared for the hills and ended up running stairs instead. Although that was a great workout, it's not the same as running hills. I will be better prepared this Wednesday!

And I got nowhere on my P90X goal so I will keep that goal for this week. Gonna P90X 4 times this week. I need to write it down on my calendar so it actually gets done!

Tomorrow is my short, fast run! It's at 8:45 pace which is almost race pace. But this week instead of just 4 miles, it's 6. I'm a little scared!!! But I know I can do it. :)

14 miles and a nice ass! :P

2010-09-19T17:55:00.077-05:00

I love my Sunday runs! And they are finally starting to get longer. Today was a 14 mile slow and easy run. And during my Sunday runs, I just like looking around at all of the cool things that I don't notice every day. Like this house. I love it!! Just so small town and friendly with all of the plants and the flag and cross.

I ran by my sweet donkey friend at about mile 8. He is so cute. But today he was way across the field. But when I clicked my mouth a couple of times, he came running to see me. :D

And he let me pet him today. I think I should give him a name but for now I just call him Donkey. Such a nice ass!! :P

At mile 10 I realized I was completely out of water so I did what I had to do ... stopped at a random house and borrowed some water from their spigot.

And then there was a mile or so of just country stuff. I thought this fence and flowers looked pretty.

About mile 12 I realized it was really, really hot and I was glad the run was close to being over. My face was bright red and I was starting to get goosebumps from the sweat. Was getting a little lightheaded too so I slowed it down some the last 2 miles.

Mile 14 ended at the lake so I stopped for a minute to cool down before I walked the quarter mile to my house.

It was a good run but the heat got me the last couple of miles. I guess I still need to get up early for these long runs until it starts to cool down a little. It was in the 90's by the time I finished my run. I like to keep Sunday runs between a 9:30 and 10:00 pace. Average pace today was 9:43 so that was good.

Tomorrow is my rest day so I'll post my weekly summary.

The Margarita Mistake

2010-09-18T16:44:00.000-05:00

Oh my!. This happy runner remembered this morning why she doesn't drink while training. :P Went out last night and I always order water when I go anywhere but a lady at the bar was drinking a strawberry margarita and it just looked sooo good. So I ordered one. I was expecting just a little one in a mug like she was drinking. But somehow I got the giant one in a big schooner glass. Ah well ... whatcha gonna do? I just had the one but I haven't had anything to drink in months so that was enough to leave me feeling not at my all-time best this morning. I really, really didn't want to get up and run before work. But it was only 4 miles so I dragged my butt outta bed at about 5:30 and ran it. But I was slow and just off. Tomorrow's long run will be better. Gonna go 14. Looking forward to finally getting a little distance in!

And I think I figured out what I'm gonna wear for the marathon. My inner thighs have been chaffing so bad. But I wore these tights this morning and it was awesome. Problem is they are cotton so I need to go find some dri-fit tights cause sweaty cotton tights are pretty nasty!!

Today's split times were 9:48, 9:27, 9:31, 8:48 (9:24 average). Pretty pathetic but I'm proud of myself for not blowing off the run. :)

Another Fartlek Friday in the Books!

2010-09-17T10:10:00.000-05:00

Wow my legs were sore this morning! Guess the stair running on Wednesday finally caught up with me. But I still had a good run after the initial mile or so. Friday is always a 6 mile fartlek run and I started way late today. The sun was almost all the way up when I got home. Had to hurry the kids out of bed today!

Split times really mean nothing on a fartlek run. My average pace for the 6 miles today was 9:16. That's 30 seconds off of last week's pace. Hmmm... may have to work on that. But I'm still happy with today's run. It felt good and I didn't walk any of it even after the sprints.

Here I am after 6. The weather has been great lately and I don't know that I'm looking forward to the cold that I know is coming in a month or so. :(

Tomorrow is an easy 4 before work.

That was fast!

2010-09-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

Well that was a fun 5 miles! I was a little nervous after running all those stairs last night because my calves were pretty sore this morning. The run today was supposed to be a 9:00 pace run. I usually go a little slower than goal pace the first mile but today I was just feeling good from the first step. Split times were 8:53, 8:35, 8:45, 8:40, 8:33 (8:41 average). That second mile I looked down at my watch about half way through it and was at an 8:22 pace and actually had to purposely slow down. That was a good feeling!

Tomorrow's run is the same as every Friday ... a 6 mile fartlek run. See ya then!

A Million Stairs!

2010-09-15T21:00:00.002-05:00

Well I said this morning that I felt guilty for not doing the 4 hills I was supposed to do. So tonight while my son was having swim practice, I ran the stairs for 15 minutes. I figure that musta been about a mile up and down those stairs. It was hard! And I got tired of counting to 32 (the number of stairs). And I thought running outside made me sweaty ... try running up and down stairs at a warm and humid natatorium! I looked pretty bad because I don't wear makeup when I run and all that sweat was making my mascara run. LOL! But it was actually kinda fun. Hope I'm not too sore tomorrow morning for my 5 mile pace run though.

Next week I'll plan the hill training better. But for now I feel good about the stairs. :D

Hill training minus the hills! :P

2010-09-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Well today was supposed to be my first day of hill training. Problem is there are NO hills anywhere close to me so I'm gonna have to drive somewhere to do the hills. Will plan it out better next week. But for today, instead of being a complete loser, I just ran. Workout was supposed to be a 2 mile warm-up, 4 hills and a 2 mile cool-down. So I just ran 4 miles. I may go find a hill if I have time after work today because I don't feel like I am done with the workout. I feel guilty!! If nothing else, I'll run stairs tonight while my son has swim practice. :)

The run itself today was nice. I didn't look at my watch at all just to see how I would run without timing myself and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a good natural negative split: 9:38, 8:56, 8:39, 8:27 (8:55 average).

Saw my friend Paula on her way to work somewhere during mile 2. That was fun. And here I am at the end of the run. It was another sweaty one.

Tomorrow is a 5 mile 9:00 pace run. See ya then!

A dark 4

2010-09-14T08:30:00.001-05:00

I can't believe how dark it is when I run. Looking forward to when the time changes and maybe I'll see a little sun. Or by that time it will cool down and I can do some afternoon runs. But for now, it's total darkness except on Sundays. But the sad thing to me is that I see so many school buses out before 6am. They're out picking up the high school kids so they have to get up way early.

I had an average run this morning. Goal was 4 miles at an 8:45 pace and my split times were 8:47, 8:38, 8:48, 8:26 (8:40 average). So I accomplished my goal. But it just didn't feel great. Not bad either. Just ok. Good news is that the blister on my left foot is a ton better today! The short run on Sunday followed by a rest day yesterday did a world of good! Wearing a blister Band-aid both days helped, too!

Was really, really humid out this morning and the sweat on my shirt was proof. Told ya I've been sweating like a man lately. It was funny because after I run, I wake up the kids for school. And I always carry my daughter downstairs. Well today I was so sweaty she asked if she could put on her robe so I didn't get her all wet. LOL!

And that's all for now. I'm not sure how tomorrow's run in gonna work. I'm supposed to start the first of 7 weeks of Wednesday hill training. Tomorrow calls for a 2 mile warm-up, 4 hills and a 2 mile cool-down. Well ... there are no hills close by. And I don't have a treadmill. I may go up to the school and run the stadium steps or get up early and go to where I know there is a hill. Not really sure just yet. But I KNOW I need this hill training because the hills are what killed me in the marathon last year. And I have a mental block on them. Just thinking about those 2 hills at mile 18-21 scares me to death!! So I gotta get over that. :)

Week 6 Summary

2010-09-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

37 miles this week. Up by 2 from last week. I feel good that the mileage is going up and it will again this coming week. And I need the longer runs. Week 6 was a pretty good week. But lots of rain! I'm happy that I didn't weenie out and miss any runs because of it though. And the weekend was a challenge to fit in my runs because of training I had to do for work. Here are my weekly totals. All but 1 run felt pretty good.

The last 2 weeks my goal has been to eat better. Well, I haven't been overly successful at that so I'm going a different direction this week. I'm gonna add back in some regular P90X workouts. I've been doing them sporadically but I'm going to commit to at least 4 this week. I should be doing 6 but we're gonna start at baby steps.

Tomorrow is a 4 mile 8:45 pace tempo run. That's a killer!!! But I'm ready for it!!!

More Shoe Issues!

2010-09-12T17:55:00.001-05:00

Well last time my shoe issues were because I had worn a pair of running shoes that I knew I shouldn't. But it was something totally different this time. I had training all weekend for work so yesterday morning I ran my long run because training didn't start until 11 o'clock so I swapped my Saturday and Sunday runs. I ran my 12 miles and then put on my favorite pair of boots and I thought all was great. Well ... 12 hours in heels is a bad thing for someone not used to wearing them ... especially after running 12 miles! And pair that with walking up and down the stairs at the hotel about 20 times (34 stairs in all) and I had some tired feet. My feet hurt so bad this morning that I almost turned around at the end of the street and came home! Here are the culprits!

After I got about half a mile into the run, the pain was tolerable and about a mile into it, I was feeling pretty good and I was able to salvage the run. It was an easy 4 miles and I wanted to keep it at around a 9:00 pace. Split times were 9:42, 9:17, 9:03, 8:31 (9:08 average). A little slow but that first mile killed the average. I was happy with the negative split though and the last mile especially.

The sun was coming up just as I was getting home and it looked pretty over my rooftop. (That's my house on the right.)

And it was another REALLY sweaty run. My sweat rag could almost be wrung out when I got home. Not sure what's going on. Guess it's just all of this humidity lately.

And then I had to quickly get ready for my meeting. And the boots with heels were out! I decided on some nice, flatter shoes. Just a little bit of a heel. And my feet thanked me!

Tomorrow is my rest day. Hoping I can heal this annoying blister on my left foot. And I will also post my weekly summary tomorrow.

A Saturday Dozen

2010-09-11T21:48:00.001-05:00

I had to swap my Saturday and Sunday runs this weekend to accommodate my work training schedule. So today was my long run and tomorrow will just be an easy 4 miles.

Shame on me for not even realizing that today was 9/11. But some of the first things I ran by this morning were several flags flying half-staff. So for several miles I reflected on what that meant to me and my family and just took some time to remember. Here are some of the flags I saw. It was really windy today and they looked so pretty. :)

And then I ran by the lake and the sun was shining on it just perfectly! Just a gorgeous day!

Stopped for a second to say hi to one of my favorite cows. She was right by the fence but left while I was getting my camera out. So you just get to see the fence. She almost let me touch her today!

And then I ran by the site that will be the high school that my kids will go to. My oldest will start next year and will be in the first graduating class that goes all 4 years at the school. I have heard rumors that the school will be called Lakeview High School but no confirmation yet.

And the whole run I was looking for a Corona bottle for Mom but I never saw one. However, I did find a really cool tea can. This one is for my daughter. She loves peace signs!

It was a pretty uneventful 12 miles. My goal was to run it at about a 9:30 pace. Just slow and easy. But not too slow. My average today was 9:25 with mile 1 being the slowest mile (9:43) and mile 12 the fastest (8:47). I'm always happy when I can finish strong and today I felt really good.

Hoping for a good 4 miles tomorrow. It's gonna be tough though because I had a VERY long day of training for work today and I have to do it all over again tomorrow. And I have to be at the meeting at 8am across town. Gonna be an early morning.

Fast Friday Run!

2010-09-10T14:22:00.000-05:00

So glad to run in my regular shoes again! They were nice and dry this morning and my feet thanked me for wearing them! Today was a fartlek run but at about mile 4.5 I was tired of all of the fast and slow and just ran the rest at a good pace. (The last mile I ran really fast because I realized how late it was and I needed to get home in time to get the kiddos ready for school.) Split times were 8:57, 8:49, 9:01, 8:53, 8:37, 8:14 (8:45 average). And the run felt really good. Nice because yesterday was a struggle.

My 6 mile route sometimes takes me by the baseball field. Here I am in Chicago this morning! :P

I don't know what it is lately but I've been sweating like a man! Like completely soaking wet when I get home (and not from the rain). Guess that's a good thing but it's just gross. I sat down at the computer after running today to look at my split times and had to towel off several times. And, yes, I'm aware that my running clothes didn't match so well today. Didn't care. You should have seen the rest of it ... purple and orange shirts, blue shorts, blue and purple shoes and white socks with a red stripe on them. It was dark and no one could see!

This weekend's runs are gonna be swapped because I have work training all weekend and it's the only way I'll be able to fit in my long run. So tomorrow I'm doing my 12 mile run and Sunday will be a short 4. That will be really strange since I ALWAYS do my long runs on Sunday. And I'm gonna have to leave the house pretty early tomorrow in order to make it to my meeting on time. And I have to wear business attire all weekend. Ugh!! What's that?! Those of you that know me know that I work in shorts, a t-shirt and bare feet. So I guess I'll break out the heels and hope they don't hurt my poor, blistered, ugly running feet!

A Dry Run

2010-09-09T07:27:00.002-05:00

Well it was finally a dry day. But I kinda missed the rain (not the torrential rain yesterday but the nice, drizzly rain). It was just hot and humid and windy today. And it wasn't a good run. I felt terrible! Not sure what was going on this morning but in the 5 miles I ran, I had to stop 3 times! Once was because my left thigh gave out again and I almost had a fall because of that. And the other two times I was just beat! The wind was at my face the first 3 miles and it was just tough to keep the 9:00 pace I was supposed to be running but I was trying and I had to stop because I was feeling lightheaded. I think it's probably because I didn't eat anything before I left and I didn't eat a lot last night. Not gonna make that mistake again. Split times were 8:54, 8:53, 9:05, 9:09, 8:54 (8:59 average). The 4th mile was a complete struggle and during the last mile, I kept having to correct my posture. I was stooping forward which I do when I'm getting tired. (Actually it must be because of my massive boobs pulling my chest to the ground. LOL!!) Anyway, when I run with good posture, I go a lot faster.

After I cooled down, I sat on my front porch for a few minutes and watched the wind whip the trees around. It still looks pretty stormy out there and I wonder if we're gonna get another one today.

Another problem I had this morning was that my regular shoes were still really wet from the rain yesterday. I guess when I was running through 4-6 inch puddles, it makes them a little wet. So I decided to run in my spare pair of shoes. These are a pair that I bought and only wore for like a month because I just never liked them. They still have a lot of life left in them so I figured I would be ok for just 5 miles. I was wrong. I hate these shoes and they gave me a new blister on my left foot and aggravated the one already there. Thumbs down on Brooks Ravenna running shoes.

So I'm just gonna blame today's bad run on the shoes and forget about it. Tomorrow is a 6 mile fartlek run in my good shoes ... after a little snack. And it's gonna be a good one! :)

A Wet 'n' Wild Run!

2010-09-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I said that I liked running in the rain. But today was a little ridiculous! Apparently Tropical Storm Hermine blew into town overnight and no one bothered to tell me about it. :P I could hear the wind whipping all night and the rain was coming down. But the alarm clock went off at 5 o'clock this morning and I said effit! The rain had settled down a little and I had 6 miles that needed to be run. It was supposed to be a 6 mile 85% effort run but somehow I had in my head it was a 9:00 pace run. I got confused with all the wind and rain. Anyway, the first 3 miles were pretty good. It was rainy but I was keeping the pace. Guess I didn't realize it was so easy because of the tremendous wind at my back. The 3 miles home were not fun! Wind right in my face and the rain had picked back up. And it was blowing so hard that the rain stung my legs when it hit me. My split times were 9:01, 9:01, 8:52, 9:22, 9:32, 8:52 (9:07 average and DEFINITELY an 85%+ effort!). That 5th mile was a total killer!

It was raining hard enough that I didn't even wear my iPod or water belt today. When I got thirsty I just opened my mouth and looked up! Seriously!! Anyway, I made it home and was completely soaked! I had left a towel on the porch and it was still dark outside so I just left my clothes on the porch and wrapped up in my towel and headed to the shower. This was definitely a memorable run!

Tomorrow is a 5 mile 9:00 pace run. The forecast is scattered thunderstorms so it may be another wet one. Just hoping for a lot less wind!

Another Rainy Run

2010-09-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

I went outside to run my 4 miles and had absolutely no idea it was raining. Guess I should check those things before I get outside. So I did some minor rain adjustments (iPod in a ziplock bag, etc.) and ran in the rain. I actually enjoy running in the rain this time of year because it just feels good. When it's cold ... not so much! Tuesday is always a fast run (4 mile 8:45 pace). I had a hard time with the pace the first mile but felt ok the last 3. Wasn't a great run but not terrible either. And I enjoyed the lightning show. Here I am in the rain after my run.

It rained most of the day so just for fun I took another picture from my front porch after it got light outside.

And I was laughing when I took off my running shoes because I was worried that I had messed up my newly pedicured toes. LOL! My friend asked me yesterday to go get a pedicure with her and I actually have all of my toenails right now so I went! (Sidenote: I LOVE my Nike LunarGlide running shoes. Very minimal foot problems.) Since I posted an ugly foot picture a few weeks ago, I'll post a pretty toe picture. This was at the pedicure place. That's "The Keys To My Karma" red polish on there. :) The lady doing my pedicure seemed very confused when I asked her not to sand off my callouses. I NEED those!!!

Today's splits were 8:48, 8:38, 8:40, 8:20 (8:36 average). Not too bad for a so-so run in the rain. Hoping tomorrow's 6 mile 85% effort tempo run feels a little better.

Week 5 Summary

2010-09-06T08:00:00.002-05:00

35 miles again this week. It was a pretty good week. Most runs felt good. Still have the issue with the blister on my left foot. It feels better today so I'm hoping the rest day today will do the trick. My goal last week was to eat better this week. That didn't exactly happen all week so that's gonna be my goal again this week. Here is a chart of the runs I did this week.

Next week the long run increases to 12 miles. I'm ready to start getting some distance in. Seems like all I do is short runs. Of course I'll be complaining when my Sunday runs go to 20! :)

Stats update. When I started training 5 weeks ago, I was at 133.0 lbs, 23.0% body fat. Race goals are 125.0 / 19.0%. I weigh myself every Monday morning and here's where I am right now: 129.6 / 21.5%. Very happy about that!! I haven't seen this side of 130 in months!

Tomorrow's run in a 4 mile 8:45 pace run. I had a really hard time with that run last week so I'm hoping I do better tomorrow.

Happy Labor Day!

Beer Run!

2010-09-05T13:11:00.002-05:00

I joked last week on my Sunday long run about all of the beer bottles and cans that I saw so this week I thought I would actually take a picture of them all. So that was my goal. The country part of the run starts after the railroad tracks and that's where the beer bottles are. But today there was actually a train that I had to stop for.

And right after the tracks, I got out my camera and had to stop about every 20 steps to take a picture. Unbelievable how many there were out there! I started out taking a picture of every one I saw but that was really ridiculous so then I just took a picture of ones that were not duplicates. Here is a sampling of what I saw.

This went on for well over a mile and at some point I must have accidentally called my dad because when I was stopped at one beer can taking a picture, my phone rang and it was my dad and he said I had just called. Sure enough I looked at my phone and I had dialed him. Oops!! So I stopped for a few minutes and talked to Dad. It was a nice talk right there on the side of the road. LOL!

And right after that call, I started looking for more beer. Funny thing is that I don't even like beer. Gimme the hard stuff. LOL! Ok just make me a daiquiri and I'll be happy. :)

Oh my ... I got to a pretty remote place and it looks like this is where the parties happen! Several spots with lots of bottles!

And then just more bottles and cans. After I saw the Tecate bottle, I decided to stop taking pictures or I would never finish my run!

Oh but wait! These lonely Budweiser bottles looked like they had been there forever so they got the last beer pic.

And then I saw it ... the hill I always want to run up every time I pass it. And today just seemed like the day!! It was dry and the weather was cool so up I went. I felt like Rocky when I got to the top. Just look at that big dumb smile!! And I could see for miles from the top of the hill. It was pretty cool. But then I realized I had to go back down the hill and it is steep. But I made it without falling.

Then I took the path down the gravel road. It leads to one of my favorite places.

Then I ran by my donkey friend but he was way out in the field but I took his picture anyway. Besides, I love the Deere crossing sign.

And I needed to run 10 miles but I had taken my normal 9 mile route so I had to add in an extra mile so I decided to run down by the lake. It was such a beautiful day! Jealous of the people out on boats today.

And then I was finally done! Split times were 9:53, 9:36, 9:37, 10:14, 9:16, 9:29, 9:50, 9:37, 9:15, 9:07 (9:35 average). I was trying to stay between 9:30 and 10:00. But these split times are the actual time I was moving. I stopped SO many times for pictures today. Look at my start and end times below. Took me 2 hours and 3 minutes to run 10 miles. LOL!!! But it sure was a fun run!

Tomorrow is my rest day and it's also Labor Day and I don't work so I can actually sleep in!!! We'll see if that happens. I'll count it a victory if I stay in bed after 7 o'clock. :)

A chilly 4 in 62°!

2010-09-04T17:47:00.000-05:00

Brrrr! Fall is upon us! I couldn't believe it when I went outside this morning. I wore a short sleeve shirt instead of a tank top and I was still chilly. I was wishing I had gloves for the first half mile or so but then I warmed up. It's been a hot last month!! And I'm not used to this yet.

There was absolutely nothing to take a picture of this morning since it was pitch black outside. The sun had just started to peek through while I was cooling down and I thought it looked neat how it made the street glow. This is the best I could do for a picture today. Sorry. Tomorrow will be better because it will be light outside.

It was a pretty uneventful run today. The first mile was pretty rough. My legs were hurting again. I was trying to keep it between a 9:00 and 9:30 pace and I kept looking and I was falling behind on that first mile so I had to run the last quarter mile of it pretty quick to get up to 9:30. Not the greatest run today. Just wasn't feeling it. Split times were 9:30, 9:05, 9:08, 8:43 (9:06 average).

Tomorrow is my long, slow run. Gonna do 10 miles.

Psycho Sprinting!

2010-09-03T07:30:00.001-05:00

Today was my fartlek day but I have deemed it "psycho sprinting!" It's like schizophrenic running. LOL! One minute you're cruising along really slow and then all of a sudden, you're going full-out! Then you cool down and do it all over again. Very random but kinda fun! Today I think I finally realized what this weekly training run is for. It's a mental thing. I hadn't gotten to that point yet on one of these runs but today I ran it hard. And I think the purpose is to get me mentally tougher. I was beat today by mile 4 and while I was doing the slow part of the run, I was thinking how tired I was but then I had to psych myself into another sprint. And I felt really good when it was over. :) The reward? ... An ice cold blue Gatorade!!! YUM!

Split times are wacky because I was going fast and slow but they average out well. Today's were: 8:59, 8:45, 8:59, 9:05, 8:53, 8:22 (8:51 average). I had to stop for a minute at the beginning of the 4th mile. My left thigh was giving out on me and I thought I was gonna fall. Guess I just had a cramp or something. Rubbed it out and was good as new. Other than that, no real pains except the blister on my left foot. Ugh! Go away!!!

Tomorrow is a steady, easy 4 miles. I love Saturdays!

No rain delay for this runner!

2010-09-02T07:00:00.002-05:00

The dog woke me up at 4 o'clock and I never really went back to sleep. She was scared because of the lightning. And when my alarm clock went off at 5 o'clock, it was POURING rain outside! But I knew I would run anyway. Haven't really run in the rain in a long time. But by the time I got dressed and out the door, it had slowed down considerably and my run was just in a light rain. But the light show was awesome! The lightning was beautiful ... especially over the golf course. I couldn't get out my camera because it would have gotten too wet. But the lightning looked a lot like this picture.

And I also figured out how to do a screen capture on my iPhone so here's the weather this morning. The temperature and the rain made for a perfect run! And I felt sooo good this morning!!! Was the best run I have had in a couple of weeks. No pain. No problem with the pace. Just a nice, fast run. My training schedule called for a 5 mile steady 9:00 pace run. But that was feeling slow to me so I pushed it a little faster after the first mile. Split times today were 9:03, 8:36, 8:51, 8:41, 8:15 (8:41 average). I am very, very happy with today's run!

And here I am when it was over. I was smart and had set a towel on the porch because I was completely soaked when I got home! Hope my shoes dry by the morning! Tomorrow's run is a 6 mile fartlek run.

And in honor of the rain today and because I had such a good run, I think I'll play a song. :)

Easy Breezy 6 Miles

2010-09-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Well it was definitely breezy but not sure on the easy part! But we'll get to the run in a minute. I'm tired of the dark outside pictures on my early morning runs so here I am bright and early getting ready to head outside. I get up every day at 5am but it's amazing how long it takes me to get out the door. Gotta check my computer, eat a little something, brush my teeth, get on running clothes, shoes, hat, iPod, watch, water belt, sweat rag, etc. Then when I get outside, I have to set my music, have my watch locate satellites and stretch a little. Who knew just getting ready to run could take so long? Maybe I'll just start sleeping in my running clothes! :P

Today's run was better than yesterday but still not great. Legs are still sore but definitely felt better than yesterday. The run today was a 6 mile 85% effort tempo run. My goal was a 9:00 pace and I was a little slower than that for the first 4 miles so I pushed it up a little the last 2 miles. Split times were 9:11, 9:05, 9:07, 9:13, 8:58, 8:28 (9:00 average). I'm happy with the run but wish I felt a little better.

The funny part about today's run was that when I got to the point where I'm usually at 5 miles, I was off by a quarter of a mile so I was trying to think if I ran a different way (which I did) but I couldn't even remember the route I had taken. I really had no idea which way I had run until I got home and looked at the GPS route on the computer. LOL!

Tomorrow is a 5 mile 9:00 steady pace run. And it's gonna be a good one!! :D

Ugh!

2010-08-31T06:45:00.004-05:00

Today's run was a 4 mile 8:45 pace run. And it was just difficult from the first step. My legs were sore. Not really sure why since yesterday was a rest day. And after I got warmed up a little and my legs stopped hurting, then I could feel the blisters on my feet. But that annoyance was soon overtaken by my inability to breathe. I was just having a hard time keeping the pace. I even stopped for a minute at mile 2 to catch my breath. (Taking a picture was an excellent excuse for a quick break.) It was pretty warm (81°) and humid so maybe that was a factor. No matter - it wasn't the best run of all times but tomorrow will be better. :)

Split times today were 8:44, 8:41, 8:40, 8:37 so I did keep the pace but it was extremely difficult. And I usually try to run the last mile quite a bit faster and I just didn't have it in me today.

Tomorrow is a 6 mile 85% effort tempo run. Think I'm gonna try to run it at about a 9:00 pace.

Week 4 Summary

2010-08-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

Mondays are my rest day so I guess I will just post a recap of the previous week on Mondays so I can see how I did that week.

I was right on target all week. Didn't miss any runs and felt pretty good all week. Wow ... that's a lotta early mornings! It was weird when my alarm clock didn't go off at 5 o'clock this morning. I was already awake but didn't have to get up and out the door. :)

Week 4 total miles: 35.34

My goal for next week is to eat a little better. I did ok last week but had a couple of major foul-ups. Those brats and chips probably were not classified as healthy but they sure were good!!!!

Tomorrow is a 4 mile 8:45 pace tempo run. See ya then!

A Sunshiny Sunday Run!

2010-08-29T13:11:00.001-05:00

Left the house today right at 6:30am. I was a little worried because the sun was starting to come up and it was already 79°. Different from yesterday when it was only 66°. So I was preparing for a hot 10 miles. But it didn't turn out too bad and was still 79° when I got home and there was a nice breeze the whole run. I caught a few pretty glimpses of the sunrise that were picture-worthy.

I was having a good run so I thought I would take a picture of my happy face but had to laugh because it took me 3 pictures before I got a good one. And looking at all of them together made me smile. Here's a fun happyrunner triptic for ya! :D

I got out to "The Big Square" and was feeling really, really good. And something happened that very rarely happens ... I looked at my watch and could have sworn I was just approaching mile 4 and it said I was at FIVE!! That was pretty awesome! Half-way done with my run and I didn't even realize it. Then I ran by my horse friend. I sometimes feel sorry for him because he's all alone. But today the dogs were out with him and I counted at least 7 of them so I guess the horse doesn't get too lonely.

And then I suppose I got a little delirious. I ran by SO MANY beer cans and bottles today and I saw this giant Bud Light can and had to take a picture. Maybe next Sunday I'll do a "beer run" and see how many different brands I can take a picture of. That sounds like fun. :P

I guess that's it for today. I really felt good today. The only issue I had at all was the blister on my left foot. It was killing me even with a blister bandaid on. :( Hopefully it will heal with my rest day tomorrow. Average pace for the 10 miles today was 9:23. Slowest lap was mile 2 (9:41) and fastest was the last mile (8:44). Love it when I have enough left in me to kick it up a little the last mile. :D

An Early Saturday Stroll/Sprint!

2010-08-28T06:37:00.000-05:00

I was feeling really good this morning so I figured I would do my 4 mile easy run at about 9:00 pace. Ran the first mile at 9:03 and knew that I needed to run it a little faster because it was feeling too easy. My split times ended up being: 9:03, 8:49, 8:43, 8:07 (8:40 average). And I felt really good after the run. :) I started and ended the run in the dark today because I had to be at work by 7:45 so it was an early run. And I thought my watch glowing in the dark looked pretty neat.

It was too dark to take any pictures while out on my run so here I am just getting home. My porch light is my beacon in the night. LOL! It guides me home.

And I could not believe the weather this morning. 66°!!! OMG! I guess Fall is on the way. I even had to break out a short sleeve shirt this morning instead of a tank top. It was definitely welcome relief.

Hoping for another cool morning tomorrow. Definitely gonna try to get out of the house before 6:30am or so because I left too late last Sunday for my long run and the heat killed me. I just have a slow and easy 10 miles. Gonna try to keep it at about a 9:30-10:00 pace. And then Monday is a rest day. :)

Fartlek Friday 6 Miles

2010-08-27T07:30:00.001-05:00

It was just about a perfect morning to run. Clear and only 72°. I almost felt chilly there for a few minutes! :) Every Friday is a 6 mile fartlek run but I did this one a little differently than I have done others. Instead of running full-out then walking, I ran probably 95% then recovered with a slow run. There was no walking today. Split times are just an average because the running is not a steady pace at all but today they were 9:10, 8:56, 9:00, 9:05, 8:45, 8:32 (8:55 average). To show the difference between fartlek and steady running, just look at these graphs. The first is from today where the speed was anything but steady and the second is yesterday's 5 mile pace run. (The pace falls off the chart there at the end because I finished my run and walked a little to cool down but forgot to turn off my watch.)

I've decided there is not a whole lot to take a picture of in the dark but I still like to. So here's me under a light at the baseball field. And a picture of the baseball field office. I think the lights look pretty.

And this is me just getting home as the sun was coming up (I left a little later today than I should have.)

And another gorgeous Texas sunrise! I love that I get to see them every day. :D This was taken behind my house.

Tomorrow is a steady, easy 4. Looking forward to that!

Gimme Five!

2010-08-26T06:45:00.001-05:00

Today's run felt good! It was a 5 mile 9:00 steady pace run. My split times were 8:57, 8:45, 8:53, 8:48, 8:35 and that last mile felt really good! Still having a blister issue on my left foot but other than that, no problems!

The moon was peeking out from behind the clouds and looked really cool when I started my run and about midway through the run I could see it really well. It's still pretty much a full moon.

And the sun was just coming up when I got home. Hoping for another nice, cool day like yesterday. High 80's are such a relief from the 100+ days we have been having.

Tomorrow is fartlek Friday! 6 miles. See ya then!

A Cold and Blustery Day!

2010-08-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Ok ... maybe not exactly cold but much cooler than it has been! We got some rain yesterday and this morning the first thing I did was check the weather. Look at this! No 100°+ weather anywhere in sight! And check out the 73° I got to run in this morning! And it was also windy and misty. Made for a very different run than I have been having.

It seems my alarm clock is going off earlier and earlier. I usually head out the door by 6:00. But today I was ready and out by 5:30 because I had to run a bit further than the last couple of days.

Not much to take a picture of today. It was dark and wet. But I saw this flag at the baseball field and thought it looked cool all lit up and blowing in the wind.

The run today was an 85% effort tempo run. My left shin hurt a bit the first couple of miles but I was trying to keep it under 9:30 and I was successful at that. Split times were 9:25, 9:17, 9:31, 9:29, 9:10, 8:52 (9:17 average). Not too bad with all of the wind this morning. And I was lucky because it started raining right after I got home. I didn't even realize it was supposed to rain and I was not prepared for it if I had gotten stuck in it. Guess I need to reload some ziplock baggies for my iPod, etc.

Tomorrow's run is a 5 mile 9:00 steady pace run. Hope my leg is feeling better. Gonna do some serious stretching today.

A Moonlit 4 Miles

2010-08-24T07:00:00.003-05:00

I see the moon, and the moon sees me.

The moon sees the somebody I'd like to see.
God bless the moon, and God bless me.

God bless the somebody I'd like to see!

What a beautiful full moon this morning. The sky was clear and it was postcard perfect. I ran a 4 mile 8:45 pace run this morning and got to look at this beautiful moon for 3.5 of it and then the sun came up and I saw this perfect sunrise. :)

And it was a really good run. I was worried after yesterday because my legs hurt so bad but I felt great today! Split times were 8:37, 8:37, 8:35, 8:25. And here you have a very happy runner. It just feels so awesome to have a good run! :D

Tomorrow is a 6 mile 85% effort tempo run. Gonna have to get up a little earlier in order to get finished and get the kids ready for school and me ready for work.

A Painful 4!

2010-08-23T06:30:00.001-05:00

Monday is usually a rest day but I needed to make up for the run I missed on Saturday. Perhaps that was a mistake. Now I know why I rest after my Sunday long run. My blisters and calves and shins were all killing me! Was just supposed to be a steady, easy run. I usually do my Saturday runs at 9:00 pace. Today's splits were 9:40, 9:28, 9:34, 9:57. Not great and it just did not feel like a good run. Tomorrow will be better. :)

Here's me the last mile. I look like I'm in a cave cause that's the only light I could find. My camera doesn't have a flash and I started and ended the run in the dark. School started today so in order to get the kids ready, I'll be doing lots of early mornings!

Tomorrow's run is a 4 mile tempo run at 8:45 pace. Hope I can keep that pace!!

A Sunday Run in the Country

2010-08-22T09:00:00.003-05:00

Ahhh ... back in Texas! I'm not gonna lie - it was HOT this morning and I shoulda left earlier than I did but it was nice to be able to breathe again. Guess my lungs like the thick, humid air here. :P Today's run was a slow, easy 8 miles. I left the house right as the sun was coming up.

It looked really pretty through the trees.

And I was already really, REALLY sweaty by mile 3!

So I stopped for a few minutes and talked to my cow friends. They always come over and see me when I run by and sometimes I get a little closer to them than I should and today was one of those days. But they're so cute! (What? ... You're not supposed to jump the fence and go see the cows?!)

And then I ran another couple of miles and needed another quick break so I stopped and looked at the hay. I think it looks cool when it's all in a row like this.

And about this time I decided it was entirely too hot to be running and just wanted to stay by the hay all day but that didn't seem like a good plan so I wiped off the sweat and got to it.

Had to take a picture of the #15 sign. Not really sure what it's for but I think it's neat. And I noticed they plowed all of the dead corn behind it.

Ran by the big dirt hill (doesn't look big in this picture but it is!). One of these days I'm gonna run up to the top of that hill! Just cause I want to. :)

Then I ran by the cross at the side of the road but noticed that there are now 2 crosses. So I stopped and looked. They are for 2 different people but the dates on both are the same: 7/19/09. So I guess the family must have put up the second cross this summer because this is the first time I've noticed it. I'm guessing probably on 7/19. So sad.

And that's it. Wasn't the best run. Took too many breaks but it was way hot! School starts for the kids tomorrow so I will be getting up way early for runs so I won't have to deal with the heat as much. Today's average pace was 9:52. But my watch automatically pauses if I stop so I was a little slower than that.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day but I need to make up the 4 miles I missed yesterday so I'm gonna do that.

Colorado Running

2010-08-21T17:55:00.010-05:00

Sunday: A Day of Rest!

We arrived in Breckenridge, Colorado at about 4am Sunday morning so there was about zero chance I was gonna do my long run at 6am! I thought about running in the afternoon but that thought quickly faded when I realized how difficult it was for me to just breathe at the high altitude. (The elevation where I normally run is about 550 feet and Breckenridge is about 9600 feet!) I was literally gasping for air just walking around town. So I swapped my Sunday long run with my Monday rest day.

Monday: What Goes Down Must Come Up!

Sir Isaac Newton probably wouldn't like this logic but it was definitely the case for me. I scoped out my running trail and was very excited to get out and run in Breckenridge. The sun had just come up and I got on my running gear (shorts and a tank top of course) and headed out. And then it hit me ... BRRRRR! OMG it was COLD! WTF? It's August!!! Well, I'm used to it being low 80's when the sun comes up. Not so in Colorado. It was low 40's! But no worries. How can you complain when you get to run on this beautiful paved trail next to a little stream? Just look at the mountains. I was pretty much in awe and warmed up fairly quickly (except my fingers which were so numb I couldn't even feel them).

So what did I mean when I said, "What goes down must come up?" Well, the first 4 miles of the run were so easy. The last 4, not so much! Why? Well, I did an 8 mile out and back and the whole first half was downhill. And that means the second half was ALL uphill! Beginning elevation was 9,611 feet and mile 4 elevation was 9,255 feet. Check out this elevation chart (my watch died at 6.87 miles but you can fill in the missing part).

And there ya have it ... my first Colorado run. I was beat when I was done. The hills, the lack of oxygen. Ugh! Split times were 9:57, 9:50, 9:46, 9:32, 10:40, 10:56, 10:48ish, ? (not sure on the last mile because my watch was dead - I'm guessing somewhere around 11:00). But look what was waiting for me when I got back. This is the view from the hotel. So pretty!

Tuesday: The Worst Run of All Times!

This was supposed to be a 4 mile 8:45 pace run. Umm... didn't quite keep the pace. In fact, this was probably the worst run I have had in years. Colorado killed me. I could barely even run at all much less keep the pace. I felt it was a great victory that I even finished. Really, really, REALLY wanted to quit at mile 2. Had to take several walking breaks. The altitude got me and both of my legs just hurt! I started doubting that I even could run an 8:45 pace. Here's me faking a smile while taking a running break. At least I was smart and wore a jacket the second day so I could keep my hands warm. :)

Split times were: 9:17, 10:44, 11:36, 11:39 ... OMG! Just 3 minutes off pace. LOL!!! Last 2 miles were uphill but still. That's just pathetic. I had to laugh when I saw this painted on the running trail cause slooooow was definitely the word of the day.

But at least the scenery was still beautiful. This was taken at the stream on yet another walking break.

Wednesday: A New Appreciation For Treadmills!
I have always said how much I HATE treadmills. Well ... I'm gonna eat those words for the last 3 days of our Colorado trip. Outside running just did me wrong! Maybe if I was there longer and could get used to the elevation and had proper running gear. But I threw in the towel. But here's a real smile cause I was having a good run. :)

And the view wasn't too bad from the weight room. :)

Split times: 10:00, 10:00, 10:00, 9:31, 8:57 (9:38 average). Was supposed to be an 85% effort steady run and I felt it was. I ran it slower than my 85% run last week in Texas but I was still having trouble breathing.

Thursday: 5 Mile Steady Run

Started the morning with my first training injury. I was putting on my water belt and pinched my finger really bad. Ouch!

After the appropriate first aid treatment (put finger in mouth and suck off the blood), I headed to the treadmill. Finally felt like I had a good run. It was supposed to be a 9:00 pace run and my split times were 9:05, 9:05, 8:57, 8:57, 8:57. Finally kept the pace but the last mile was extremely difficult!

And I was still trying to tell myself how awesome treadmills were. Just look ... you get to watch Sponge Bob while you run ... and you get a nice and neat workout summary when you're finished. :P

Frazier Friday!

My training schedule called for a 6 mile fartlek run. I just decided to run 6 miles at a slow pace because my breathing was pretty labored again. So I set the treadmill on 10:00 pace and started running. An episode of Frazier had just started so I unplugged my iPod and plugged my headphones into the TV. While I was watching that, I saw the sun coming up over the mountain. It was cool because it was an overcast day but there was a break in the clouds and where the sun was shining it looked like a fire on the mountain.

Then a second episode of Frazier came on so I watched it and when it was over, I was bored and stopped running. I was at 5.5 miles. Just couldn't do it anymore. I go back to my previous statements about my hatred of treadmills. But they saved me in Colorado! Here's me after 5.5. If you're keeping track ... yes ... I wore that same running shirt every single day. ROFL! What?! I washed it once. Didn't stink THAT bad!!

And that leads me to today (Saturday). I was supposed to run 4 easy miles this morning. However, we drove home yesterday and didn't get here til after 2am and didn't go to sleep til 3:30am. So when my alarm went off at 5:30 I snoozed it. I'm gonna swap Monday's rest day with the 4 I was supposed to do today. Then I'll be caught up and didn't miss any runs at all while on vacation. Tomorrow is a slow and easy 8. Back in Texas and back outside!! YAY!

4 in the books!

2010-08-14T06:35:00.004-05:00

Just an easy 4 miles this morning. It was a great way to start the day. Very relaxing. And now the rest of the day will be crazy! Gotta pack, go to work, come home, do last-minute stuff then drive to Colorado for our family vacation. Doesn't look like I will get my long run in tomorrow but I'll just use Sunday as a rest day then run on Monday when I usually rest. I doubt I'll be able to post while we're gone but look forward to some cool running pictures from Breckenridge when I get back! I'm looking forward to the scenery but not the change in elevation or the hills!

Not much to take a picture of this morning since I started and finished the run in the dark. So you get me ... standing under a street lamp since my phone doesn't have a flash!

Split times today were 9:17, 9:07, 9:09, 8:39 (9:03 average). I'm happy with that. Was trying to stay around 9:00. And I felt good today. No pain in my shin. Felt a little something in my left hamstring but nothing I'm concerned about. I'll just stretch it out. And I fixed the chaffing problem for now ... ran in tight shorts (kinda like bike shorts). That really helped. The chaffing was so bad that I could barely walk yesterday!! ROFL! Running is such a dignified sport. :P

Have a great week! See ya when we get back from vacation.

Fartlek Friday: to Chicago and back!

2010-08-13T08:00:00.001-05:00

Today's run was pretty difficult for me. My legs are just tired! And I'm not used to anything but steady speed running. However, my recovery times were better than last week's fartlek run and there was very little walking to lower my heart rate. But the worst part was the chaffing. OUCH! The last 2 miles were awful! Gonna have to see what I can do about that cause it just wasn't working for me! Split times are wacky on this type of running but overall average pace was 9:58. Fast runs were between 7:10 and 8:30.

Enough running talk ... on with the pictures! With fartlek runs, there is plenty of time to stop and smell the flowers ... so I did. :) This is by the water park.

The sun was coming up as I was passing the baseball fields. And I thought it looked so pretty in the baseball net.

And then I realized I was in Chicago. Musta taken a wrong turn somewhere!!

Whew! Made it back to Texas!!

All this confusion is making me thirsty! Oh look ... I found some water along the way! Wait a minute ... that's clear liquid but it's NOT water! Better stick with the water I brought with me!!

Ahhh ... my favorite part of the run. Love it out in the country. Today I noticed some really old farm equipment. So I took pictures of it. The old farmers think I'm crazy but they always wave at me. :)

And that's it for today. I have an easy 4 miles tomorrow. Then we're packing it up and headed to Colorado so I may miss my Sunday run if we get there really late Saturday. We'll see. But I'm looking forward to running in Colorado. Just not the hills!