Hard one

Wednesday's goal was 16 x 400 at 2 minute pace with 2 minutes rest. Yuck. It started as a dark, scary morning at the track. I really don't like running around the track in the dark. I don't know what I think is going to jump out and get me, but I just don't like it. I didn't really enjoy the run either. It was humid and rainy. I could hear the rain hitting the track more than I could feel it. This week I had to run 2 more 400s than last week. I had to play a lot of mind games with myself to keep myself positive and complete the run. The whole workout was intense and left me pretty exhausted. I went to bed really early last night and was asleep in less than 5 minutes. I didn't set the alarm, but somehow I woke up at 6:30 and got us out the door for a 30 minute run this morning.

Hot week

Monday's run got moved to today because I thought my legs needed an extra day to recover from the 15 mile run on Saturday. About 24 hours after the long run my right ankle got really sore and felt like it should have been swollen. I took some ibuprofen and it was better by Monday afternoon. My quads are still sore, so I'm not sure if I am doing something wrong with my training. Saturday's run was 2 miles and 20 minutes longer than I had ever run before. Maybe I didn't eat enough carbs post-run to help me adequately recover. I really didn't have much of an appetite Saturday. My average time per mile was a little faster than the goal of 10:45-11:10, so maybe that contributed as well.

This morning was very humid and foggy. It was very hard to breath during my run. Usually I can carry-on somewhat of a conversation with Craig, but this morning was difficult. The heat index is supposed to be pretty high this week, so I will definitely have to run early to survive this week.

15 miles

Before 15 miles kicked my butt!

Heritage Trail

This is the pavement where I stretched after my run. I was soaked! I left my mark on the pavement. Yes...that is my butt and back sweat print! GROSS!

We ran at the Heritage Trail again this week. We started before 7:30 this morning, but it still wasn't early enough. The run took 2:39, so around the end it was getting pretty warm. I used an energy gel diluted in my water. It was strawberry-banana flavored - it tasted pretty good and I think it worked pretty well.

The Heritage Trail runs behind Rose Hulman and next to their football field. The Colts are there practicing right now. There were a lot of people on the trail walking to the field. We saw the team on the field and I saw one player walk out of the port-a-potty!! There were two players riding their bikes on the trail before practice started. One of them was Jeff Saturday and the other was "a very big man" according to Craig!

Level up

Wow, Wednesday's run was not easy. I did 14 x 400 at 2 minute pace with 2 minutes rest in between. It was an early morning to get all this accomplished, but it was beautiful out. The storm we had really broke the heat and humidity. It has been a long time since my legs have felt that hollow and exhausted. It brought back memories of cross country practice where we had to do laps around the outside of the track and bleachers. Part of the lap included running through thick gravel, where you feel like you are working twice as hard and still not making any forward progress. That is what my legs felt like on the 13th lap.

I am starting to think that my training has been taken up a level. Wednesday was tough and all the long endurance runs from this point on will be distances that I have never ran before. I ordered my fuel belt on Tuesday, but I doubt it arrives before Saturday.

Tonight was a nice night for a short 30 minute run. I wish this weather could last the rest of the summer.

Storm

I didn't realize how bad the storm was that we had last night until I went out for my run this morning. I was woken up last night when hail was hitting our bedroom window, but I just went back to sleep. I told Craig to stay in bed this morning because I could see that there were some trees down behind us and lots of debris scattered everywhere. I knew that it probably wouldn't be much fun to ride his bike around all the sticks and debris.

I started running my usual route, but had to change direction about a block from our house. There was a tree down in the road, which I thought would be fun to climb through, but I decided that probably wasn't the safest idea.

The run went well. This was my 40 minute run that got pushed back a day. It ended up being much nicer this morning compared to yesterday. The temperature was much lower, but there was still some humidity in the air. Plus I probably got a little extra work-out jumping over sticks and dodging puddles.

Thursday through Saturday

Looks like I need to do some updating! This has been a busy week!
Thursday: Morning's 30 minute run went well. Craig rode with me and we have a pretty good route that works well with little traffic and nice shady roads. My bites around my ankle were still itchy and painful. I ALMOST used it as an excuse to stay in bed, but Craig helped push me out of bed.

Friday: I changed my hour long massage to a half hour appointment because my bites prevented me from getting my legs massaged. That meant Craig got the other half hour and experienced his first massage! Also, I have managed to get poison ivy on my right hand and forearm. She did an awesome job concentrating on my back and shoulders. She also took some time to stretch my legs.
We took a trip to Indy in search of a belt that holds water for my runs. However, we were disappointed to find that Dick's Sporting Goods only had one brand and I thought it was too bulky and the bottles were too big. I will have to keep looking around. I did find a cute visor, Under Armour, of course.

Saturday: We were up late last night visiting with family so this morning didn't start as early as it should have. This turned out to be a very bad thing because by the end of my run around 11:30 it was 85 degrees, with the sun out, and high humidity. We drove to Terre Haute and ran on the Heritage Trail. It is a wide, paved trail that runs behind Rose Hulman and next to Hawthorne Park. According to the information we found, the trail length is 5.8 miles. However, the part of the trail that doesn't cross major roads is slightly more than 3 miles. So we ran down and then did a little excursion through Hawthorne park and ran back. The trail was pretty heavily traveled by bikers, runners, and even a few rollerblading! The goal for today was 8 miles at 10:45 to 11:10 pace, but by the time we made it back to the car we were about 0.3 miles short. I decided that ok due to the heat and humidity! I'm still disappointed because this is the first time I haven't met my goal. My average pace was 10:43. I know for next time; get my lazy butt out of bed earlier!

Itchy running

I rearranged my running schedule a little this week. I moved my run at the track to Tuesday morning instead of Wednesday. Each day is getting warmer and warmer this week! I had the pleasure of running with the JV cheerleaders! The goal was 6x400 at 2 minute pace with 2 minutes rest. This is a slightly faster pace than the past 4 weeks. The run went well exept that I was itching! I worked in the yard on Sunday and apparently got some chigger bites on my ankles and knees. As I started running, they started itching and then by the third lap, they were hurting. I really irritated them and now they are huge and disgusting. My biggest concern is hoping they heal enough so that I can still get my massage scheduled for Friday!

Interesting Run

Tonight's goal was a 40 minute run. As I ran by the golf course, I saw the sprinklers turn on and get 2 golfer wet! Later on down the road there was a truck parked on the road that had its tail end bashed in. There was a huge neon pink sign that read, "This truck was hit by a drunk driver." On my way back to the house, a red mustang revved its engine at me 3 times as it went by. By the time I made it two more blocks the driver of the red mustang was getting out of his car and walking into the restaurant...it was a cop. How reassuring.

Goal: 13 miles

I set the alarm for 6, but I could here thunder...so my run didn't start until after 8:45. It was nice to sleep in a little! The humidity was about 90% and it was warm. The sun started coming out around 6.5 miles and I got pretty discouraged by the way I was feeling and I was only half way through my run! I kept trying to turn my negative thoughts into encouragement when I finally realized that 6.5 miles is only a 1/4 of the marathon! This actually was a good realization. I really need to keep the bigger picture in mind. The end goal is to survive 26.2 miles.

The 3 times I have ran 13 miles were races. I have run the Indy mini twice with 35,000 other people and another smaller race, running most of it with Eric, my brother-in-law. I felt unsure that I could do the 13 miles today...let alone a full marathon in 3 months. One of the ways that being a charity runner for the American Cancer Society has helped is that it helps me keep things in perspective. Someone that is dealing with fighting cancer has to endure treatments, the emotional toll, many unthinkable aspects. Comparatively, I KNOW when my pain is going to end, as soon as I get done with my run. It is great to know that my training to run the marathon has a greater purpose other than just personal goals.

I was grateful to have Craig ride with me for the first 10 miles. I was also thankful for the rain that cooled me off and broke the humidity a little. Next week I will have less mileage, with only 8 miles next Saturday. I hope to have a water belt and try out some energy gel in 2 weeks for a 15 mile run.

30 minute run

There was a huge difference in the weather today for my run. It was about 10 degrees cooler and much less humidity. I woke up and was out the door in about 5 minutes, so I don't even think I was really awake for the first 10 minutes of my run. Craig rode along, so we went on some side streets to avoid traffic.
My goal for this Saturday's long run is to get a course mapped out ahead of time. So far I have been able to get by with running with a general idea of how to get the miles in, but now that I'm up to 13 miles, I really will do much better with a plan.

Early morning

Today's running goal was 12x400 at 2:05 pace with 2 minute rest. It was an early morning and it was humid and misting, yuck, but the run went well. I had to leave the house around 5:30, but the sun didn't really come up until 6:30 because it was so cloudy. It was different running at the track in the dark! I had to use the backlight feature on my watch for the first time. I wasn't at the track alone. A lot of different people in community use the track. There were about 7 different people there while I was. Craig rode his bike to the track and cheered me on for about 2 laps before he took off again. I also used my ipod and Grits really seemed to help today. (Grits the christian band, not the mushy food.) I had a pasta breakfast and by the time I was ready to start my day at work, I felt like I had already done a day's work! Today was a busy day, which always makes the day go fast.

HUMID!

Today started with lightening and thunderstorms. I was glad in a way that I didn't have to get up this morning! However, that meant that my 40 minute run got moved to this evening and today got more humid as the day went on. I was a pretty sloppy, wet mess by the time I was done with my run. I was glad to have Craig along for the run. He has finally outfitted his bike with a cyclometer, so now he knows all his stats like me. We ran some new roads and even got to see 3 deer.
I made a mistake while I was estimating my mileage. I can't add! I won't be able to complete 100 miles before my scheduled massage on my day off on the 18th...but I will be close. So I have decided to keep my appointment, mainly due to having one day off this summer.

Holiday weekend

Saturday’s running goal was 11 miles at 10:40 to 11:10 pace. The morning was a lot like last Saturday – overcast and cool. Also, just like last week, the sun came out after I ran and it became more warm and humid throughout the day. I was very grateful for the great weather during my run. My average pace was 10:43/mile but it took me about 3 miles before I could settle into the right pace. My body felt pretty tired the whole time. I didn’t have a high carb meal the night before and I was still catching up on sleep, so those are probably the reasons. Craig was nice enough to make some wonderful pancakes for my post-run meal.
My body hasn’t been sore since my run, which is unusual. I think it was because I had a really great stretch and kept things loose by hiking at Turkey Run for a couple hours Saturday afternoon. I went with my sister, Sarah and had a really nice time. Trail 3 was terribly busy and very wet, but the other trails weren’t crowded and not quite as muddy. It has been a great holiday weekend, but it went way too fast!

Happy 4th of July

This morning I spent the half hour that I was supposed to be running having a very realistic dream about getting fired from work! Thank goodness that didn't happen today! My evening 30 minute run was very nice and Craig rode along side me the whole time. We took some different roads through some different neighborhoods here in town. I always take the same basic route because I know it is safe (from people and dogs.) Tonight it was nice to have some new scenery.

It has been 5 years since we got engaged on the 4th during fireworks! Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th!

DONE with geography!

I just submitted our last essay 2 minutes ago for my geography class. It is officially over! If you are interested in the distribution of sport franchises in the US, the ten cities that will gain franchises by 2030, and the 6 cities that might lose them - I have a 12 page paper for you to read!

So even though this week has been busy, with less sleep than I would like, I still ran this morning and did a couple miles on the bike last night with Craig. (My bike is a yard sale junker. Every time I pedal, the foot pedal hits the kickstand and it makes horrible noises when I brake - but it does the job for as little as I ride!) This morning's training was at the track doing 10x400 at 2:05 pace with 2 minutes rest. I didn't wake up Craig to go with me because we were up so late, so I took my ipod with me to be my motivation. However, I must have left it on when I was using it last to take my test, so it was dead. So I was left with the noises from the birds and my thoughts. There is definitely a pretty big component to running that is mental. I usually try to tell myself, "This hurts now, but I need to continue so I can stand at the start line at the marathon and be confident that I have trained well." or "My body is smart. It will learn that this hurts, so it will grow stronger for next time." But a little Kanye West - "Stronger" always helps too.

I decided that I needed just a little more motivation and incentive so I set the goal: for every 100 miles that I run - I earn a 1 hour massage! I have already scheduled an appointment for one on the 18th - my day off. I should hit 100 miles on the 12th. I'm looking forward to it. I had my first massage ever about 3 weeks ago from a great lady that works at the chiropractor office here in town. I highly recommend her.

Also just a quick note about another motivating factor. Another generous person donated to the American Cancer Society through my website, so now I have reached 85% of my goal!