Happy New Year!

This New Years' Eve has gotten me thinking back over the past year and what I've accomplished. I ran 610 recorded miles in 2010, way up from last year. I ran my first half marathon, my first triathlon, encouraged one sister and my brother to run their first 5k's, but the thing I'm most proud of is that I've gained a sense of self-confidence that I never had before. I doubted myself every step of the way in my training, but in the end I set my mind to do something and saw it through and completed it. I will probably still doubt myself in future endeavors but deep down I know I can do whatever I set my mind to. That is amazing to me.

What will 2012 bring? I don't know, but I'm excited to find out!

No Real Updates

So, last week I was scheduled to see my primary doctor so I thought I'd ask her about seeing a PT for my ankle. In order to get a good idea of how it felt, I decided to run on it to see how it felt. I ran on Tuesday last week, on the treadmill. I did 3 miles, with virtually no pain. It was awesome. I knew I wasn't out of the woods yet though. The true test would be running more than one day in a week. So, my next scheduled run was for Thursday, which I did at the group run, held by one of our local running stores. My usual loop is 3 miles, and I was pushing a jogging stroller. A started feeling it about 1 1/2 miles in but made myself keep running to the two mile mark. Then I remembered and I didn't want to push it and injure myself anymore. I walked for about a 1/10 of a mile and saw some of the other runners nearby. I have to admit that I didn't want them to see me walking, so I picked it up again and ran the rest of the three miles. It felt pretty good, but I'm nervous now. I haven't run since, and haven't been running my long runs on the weekends. This week, because of the holidays, it's been a bit crazy but I hope to to go back again soon. I'm off work with the kids this week, so finding time to go out has been a bit difficult and the rest of the week is booked, so we'll see. I may have to get up early and do a DVD or video workout in the meantime...

Here's hoping it's healing. I will be scheduling PT though, hopefully to strengthen the ankle though.

Race update and Major Disappointment

I've been a slacker on this blog big time... I'd be surprised if I still have any followers.

The Turkey Trot went okay. I was able to run the whole time. I wasn't trying to PR, although I would have liked to. My ankle had been bothering me and it was the first time in 2+ weeks that I'd run. I did well, less than a minute off my PR. I could definitely feel the ankle by the end though.

The week after Thanksgiving I started a weight loss challenge with some girls at work. Nothing at stake, other than bragging rights. Perfect timing because of all the holiday parties... the challenge will last up until Christmas... harsh, I know, but I think twice now when I go for those cookies or those treats someone brought in.

It was also perfect timing because my training for my second half marathon was scheduled to start. Unfortunately, the ankle has been bothering me so bad that I can barely eek out a mile on the training runs. It's time to go see someone. I've got an appointment with my PCP next week and will get a referral. Hopefully I can see a PT soon and get this taken care of. Then I can resume my training. In the meantime the elliptical and I have become better friends. I've been doing as much as I can on the elliptical at the Y so I can pick up my training where I should be when I'm given the okay, or I feel I've rested it enough that it heals.

I'll update on here as much as I can. Hopefully I can keep going with the exercising I've been doing.

Oh yeah, and I'm down 5.5 pounds since Thanksgiving. It's amazing how much my pants fit better with just losing those 5.5 pounds! Doesn't sound like the other girls are doing as well, but I feel really good about myself and have more energy too! I'd like to lose at least another 10 but I'd be happy with 5 more...

Tendonitis Again?

I went to see my Athletic Trainer at work today because of my ankle/calf issues. Bottom line is, he thinks it's tendonitis and wants me to take some time off. I'm not sure that I can do it. I get ansty and get bored with the bike and elliptical. I do have to say that I didn't even make it one day. It's November but it was 70 degrees in NW Ohio, so I really wanted to exercise outside today. Since I go right from work, it was either walking or running. Running gets the job done more for me so I started off running but didn't even make it 3/4 of a mile before I was in so much pain and couldn't continue.

I'm scheduled to run a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving so hopefully I can rest before then and go out on Thanksgiving and give it m all, hopefully healed. I don't know how I'm going to do it. I'm too antsy and want to get out and run! Any advice on how to stay inactive or how to make ankle tendonitis heal magically fast? :)

2 Race Updates

It's been a while and I've done two 5k races since I wrote last. The first one was really special to me for more than one reason. It was the Red Ribbon Run, which was my first 5k I ever ran, 2 years ago. When I did that race 2 years ago, my time was 40:16, and I ran it with a good friend of mine, who got me into running (love ya, girl!). This year, I was running it with my sister, her 2nd 5k ever, first without pushing a jogging stroller. Two days before our 34th birthday (yes, "our" birthday--we're twins), I got a PR on this race! My time was 29:26, which was a PR by 12 seconds! In two years, I took 11 minutes off my time. Sweet! I'm still pretty slow, but I don't even care about that anymore.

The next race was the following weekend. I wasn't even planning on running it, but it was a 5k that my work put on as a fundraiser for our charity we chose this year. It's a trail run and since I had done the RRR the week before, I was going to let hubby run this one while I stayed with the kids. Things turned out differently than planned and I was able to run. Surprisingly enough, my time was 30:33, which is amazing since it was a trail run. I was really happy with that time. It was fun too, since we had a costume contest and other happenings.

Making a Comeback?

I've been struggling through some ankle problems lately. My right outer ankle has been hurting about a half mile into my runs. I took last week off, hoping it'll help since I'm supposed to be running another 5k this weekend with my sister (no strollers this time--yay!) Well, on Saturday, we were out of town and I was going to take it easy and do a nice slow mile/mile and a half run. Well, things were going so well that I ended up knocking out a 3 mile run! It wasn't pain-free, but it definitely felt better than it did before.

Today I was curious to see what would happen. Unfortunately it was raining outside so I had to run on the treadmill. That worried me with my ankle, but I managed to eke out 2.5 miles. After the first mile, I took a little walking break, less than a quarter of a mile then started running again and ran the rest of the way. I stopped to walk mostly because I had a stomach cramp I couldn't shake. I usually breathe through them, but today I was a little self conscious in the gym with someone walking right next to me, so I didn't want to breathe too heavily and look silly. I know, that's a crazy thing to worry about, but the walking break seemed to help get rid of it though.

Is this a comeback? My ankle still is a little tight/sore (I can't really explain what the pain is or what is causing it), mostly after I run, but these last two runs have felt better. I don't know what my speed will be like on Saturday, but I will definitely be able to run again! I can't wait!

4 miles today

I was supposed to get up early today and run before #1's cross country meet, but it had been raining and I could hear the wind blowing like crazy. Yeah, I turned my alarm off. Anyone who really knows me, knows I'll find any excuse to not get up and to sleep in. Hubby and #1 went to the cross country meet themselves so I stayed home with #2 and #3. The schedule worked out that when they got home, hubby went for a bike ride, and when he got back I went for a run.

The wind was still blowing pretty strongly and as small as I am, I was afraid that I would blow away :) I ended up driving over to the towpath along the river and ran out there. It's blocked by trees there so it wasn't windy at all down there.

I went out knowing that I had more time than I usually do on the weekdays so I wanted to do more than 3 miles. It was an out-and-back, so I my plan was to go out two miles and come back the two (mentally, I would have like to do more, but I didn't have THAT much time). At the mile and a half mark, my ankle was really starting to bother me. I was going to ignore it and work through the pain, but it started to hurt upon impact. So at the two mile turnaround I stopped and stretched the ankle. After that it was fine but I had to take it slower on the way back. I ended up do the four miles in 44:08. A lot slower than the first half pace was but I got through it.

Wish I knew what was the problem. This ankle has been bothering me for a while now. I know it's not the shoes because it hurt before I got these new shoes... any ideas?

MIA

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted... Life has caught up with me, so hopefully I haven't lost all my followers... #1 started kindergarten and also cross country so the evenings are pretty busy. There seems to have been a lot of meetings on the other days of the week and weekends are ALWAYS busy. Anyway, running has been taking a back burner to everything else, but I'm getting back in it. After my last 5k at the beginning of August, I had been having a lot of problems with my ankles and legs really hurting during the runs so I've been taking it a little easy and trying to work my way back to it. I also bought new shoes, which are neutral now, instead of having the arch support that I had before. Apparently I don't pronate anymore...? Anyway, they seem to be fine. I also bought a pair of trail shoes (accidentally) and ran my first trail run during cross country practice on Thursday. I'm hoping that'll help strengthen my ankles and that'll start to get better.

Today I ran my first 5k in almost 2 months. It was the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure. In Northwest Ohio, this is one of the biggest races with 20,000 people. This was my first year running it and it was great. The course was good, the support was great, weather held off for us and turned out to be a great day. Hubby told me not to expect to PR today because of the sheer number of people, and I wasn't expecting to since I've been on and off with my running... Well, I don't know my official results, but I think I may have PR'ed. There were two chip mats at the end of the race about 50 feet apart. I stopped my Garmin at the first one, but that wasn't the end, it turned out. When I stopped my Garmin, it was 29:11 with a distance of 3.11, pace of 9:33. My PR is 29:36, so it'll be close. I wasn't trying to, in fact I wanted to slow down but couldn't. Every time I thought I was slowing down, I looked at my pace and was going faster than I thought.

Hopefully after this I can start to train more consistently. I'd like to get my mileage back up to 1/2 marathon distances. I think I'm going to do my next 1/2 in April, so there's plenty of time... in fact, I'm considering running the full marathon, but I'm not sure yet. Hubby is trying to convince me but I've only run one 1/2 so I'm not sure if I'm ready yet. I felt great at my first half but I don't know what will happen next. Only time will tell....

Great Quote

We went for Chinese food the other day and my fortune cookie had the best quote. It really seemed to fit well for my life the past year or so.

"You don't really know yourself until you know what you can do."

What a great quote!

Disappointing Run

I'm really upset with today's run. The weather was gorgeous for a run and I was geeked up for a 3-4 mile run. I went out right after work, like I usually do and was excited to run outside again. It's been treadmill workouts lately since it's been too hot to run at 3:30 in the afternoon.

I was doing great, except for some minor breathing issues, that I knew I could work through. Then right at .6 miles, I was really starting to feel some pain and had to stop. It was mostly on the top of my right ankle, but a little of my left knee again too. I stopped and stretched them both, hoping that's what it was and started again. I had to stop at 1.15 miles and stretch again... while I did this, I realized I could touch my toes bending over. I don't remember being able to do that in a long time!

I started running again and vowed I was going to run at least two miles today. I thought I was going to have to stop at 1.75 miles but since I wanted to run 2 miles I forced myself to keep going, and I did. After 2 miles, I walked the 1/4 mile back to my car, disappointed. I don't know what the problem would be.. could be shoes, lack of mileage lately (the most likely reason), actual injury... let's hope it doesn't continue though.

How do you get past a disappointing workout?

Looks like a nice day

Looks like a nice day to run outside... Not too hot, slight breeze. I miss running outside. Hoping for 3-4 miles today

Twinsburg Race Review

Better late than never, huh?

Last weekend was great. It's always pretty awesome when my sister and I get to spend a weekend together. This time we brought the babies with us (mine is 12 mos. and hers was 10 mos.) Our plan was to push the babies in our jogging strollers for her first 5k. She had done a few 5k's in training with her boy, but not an official 5k. I was pretty excited to be doing her first one with her.

The day before the race, we scoped out where we were going to be going to make sure we had enough time for before hand. There was some confusion as to whether it started at 8:30 or 9:00 so we got there in order to be ready at 8:30. We got there, checked in and fed the boys breakfast in their strollers. What good sports they were!

We line up at 8:15 with about 25 other sets of twins, some singletons and their families. It was pretty neat to see it all. Then we took off shortly after 8:30 down the school driveway, side-by-side, downhill a little. Then we went off into a bike path... we knew this was going to be an out-and-back race, so running side-by-side wasn't going to work for the whole race. By mile 1, the first runners were coming back in so we

had to go single file. I let her go ahead of me, then she took off. She stayed about 10 feet ahead of me the whole time. The water stop was at the turn-around. At that point, I was so exhausted trying to keep up with her. It was so hot and humid and my asthma was really starting to take a toll. Plus, I usually run about 11:00/min miles while pushing the baby and we were going at a 10:20 or faster pace. I was so proud of my sister. She was doing it!

At mile 2.75 we started off the bike path and headed towards the school track, which was not in great condition for a track--but it's not the worst I've ever seen either. My sister's husband was there taking pictures and got her smiling just before the finish... I was struggling, but ready to finish. Time was right around 32 minutes.! Awesome for her first 5k, and for pushing a stroller the whole time. I'm so proud of her!!!!

Next weekend, my brother is going to run his first 5k. I don't know if I'll run with him or not, but I will definitely be there to support him. I'm not sure if he wants me to run with him or not. He says he's pretty slow and doesn't want to be embarrassed but he's doing it and that's all that matters. He beat all the people who aren't doing it.

Here is my sister and I after the race... can you guess who is who? (I'm on the left with the blue stroller)

Big Race Tomorrow!

I am super excited about tomorrow's 5k... why? Tomorrow will be my sister's first 5k and we'll be running it together at the Twins' Days festival in Twinsburg, OH. It'll be interesting to see all the other runners and see how they do. The festival itself is fun to see all the doubles and triples (and sometimes more) that are there... I wonder how many runners there will be...?

Anyway, I'm super stoked about this race tomorrow and I'm so proud of my sister for her training to do this. She doesn't think 5 miles is such an accomplishment or that far but the average person can't go out and do 3 miles... I'm proud of her nonetheless.

We have our matching outfits and will be ready to take the course at 8:30am!

Guest Post: Meet Holly

The following is a guest post from Holly at I'd Rather Run Outside. This is all part of the Great Big Bloggy Post Exchange. You should see mine posted at I Have Run sometime tomorrow. Welcome Holly and all Holly's visitors. I hope you come back soon!

So I saw this over at Chelsey's and thought it was really fun! I have been seeing a lot of these survey type things going around lately and will rotate them into Wednesday posts to make things more interesting and so we can learn stuff about each other!

Three Ways I’m Still a Kid:

1) I LOVE to watch cartoons with my girls and prefer to watch them over most of the shows on t.v. during the day. I do like watching adult stuff at night: Man vs. Wild (umm….Bear), NY Ink (ummmm…Ami), MythBusters, Dual Survival, etc…notice the Discovery Channel trend!

2) I love to play fun games, and that’s one of the reasons that I became a P.E. teacher, so I could play all day!! I do prefer Elementary School to upper grades. Upper Grades know everything already and don’t want to learn if they don’t know. I like teaching little kids things and seeing them do things for the first time.

3) I’m stubborn and it takes a lot to get me to “give in”. I am a lot better than I used to be but it’s still hard!

Three Ways I’m already “Old”:

1) I like to get up early, before the girls. I like to have a little time to myself in the morning so I can feel like a real person before I put on my mommy hat.

2) I can say that things came out “25 years ago” and I am able to remember that far back, although no very well.

3) Most nights I fall asleep on the couch by 10, if not earlier.

Three things that I want to do:

1) Teach again! I just renewed my teaching license and there happens to be an Elementary P.E. position available in my area that I just applied for. I would love to get it but it is tearing out my soul just thinking about the prospect of having to leave my girls all day 5 days a week. I know they would be fine, and I would be fine, but it still hurts that I wouldn’t be the one filling their needs for 8 hours of the day. I was rocking Brighit at 3 in the morning and started thinking about this and started crying. I hadn’t originally planned on going back to work until both girls were in school. That would be either 2 years from now if Brighit went to pre-school or 3 years if she just went to Kindergarten, but this seems like the perfect position and the pay would be enough to not just be paying for childcare.

2) Go back to school! I have my Master’s and part of me wants to go back for another, not sure what area though. That would be in the future though.

3) Get certified as a Personal Trainer. If I can’t teach than I want to be able to help others lead a healthy lifestyle. I wouldn’t do this until the girls were both in school as I probably wouldn’t be making enough here to cover the childcare.

Three ways that I’m a stereotypical boy…

1) I have my mind in the gutter a lot and laugh at fart jokes…enough said!

2) I LOVE cars!! I always have but the hubby is passionate about cars and works with them all day so my love has increased as well.

3) I must be a growing teenager because I eat more than my husband!

Three ways that I’m a stereotypical girl…

1) I love the color pink! I never used to like it but I guess with having 2 girls I have grown to love it!

2) I would love to be able to wear dresses more but I can never find ones that I like.

3) I always have to have my toes painted, even in the dead of winter!

Three things that I like about myself…

1) That I am physically STRONG! I am probably stronger and in better shape all around now than I have ever been in my life! All my work is paying off and I LOVE that my girls both want to be strong and healthy like Mommy!

2) That I am tired of acting a certain way or worrying about saying the right thing to have friends. If you want to be my friend you have to like me for me. Yeah, I don’t always say the right thing, but I will be your friend till the end if you like me for me!

3) That I am a GREAT Mommy! Yeah, I make mistakes and some days are better than others, but in the end my girls love me and SHOW me that they love me!! They are healthy and happy and SMART and I want to take credit for that! Of course the hubby has part in this too but I am the one that’s been with them since the day they were born!

Three of my everyday essentials…

1) My Family. If they weren’t around me every day I know life wouldn’t be as fun!

2) Exercise! I do feel best on the days that I exercise but I will not sacrifice family time for it, so sometimes it just doesn’t get done for a couple of days.

3) Coffee! I usually only drink it in the morning and I am certainly capable of having a conversation before my first cup but I love the way it tastes and the fact that it keeps everything going.

Three Things that Scare me:

1) Flying insects that bite….enough said!

2) Not seeing my girls grow up/not having a good relationship with them as they get older

3) Not living up to my potential

Any you want to answer???

What's Next?

The question I keep getting... what's in store for me next? I really don't know yet. I took it easy today and only ran 1.5 miles on the treadmill today as a recovery run after work today. My next race is this weekend but the focus is not on me this time. I'm running with my twin sister, in HER first official 5k. She's been training with the Couch to 5k program and has done the distance in training. This weekend we will be running at the Twins Days 5k. We will be both pushing our babies--mine (#3) is a year old and hers is 10 months old. I'm so proud of her. I never pushed her to do this and she told me she wanted to start training, on her own. So this weekend is about her.

After this weekend, I will need to find something else to do. I'm going to stick with running right now, and will cross train at least once, maybe twice week, but running is what I enjoy. I need to find something in the fall to challenge me. Another half maybe or a Warrior Dash?

I Survived! First Triathlon Race Report

The swim was not pretty. I lined up with the 15:00+ swimmers. The comraderie of the ladies-only triathlon was pretty cool. We lined up for our time trial start, and before I was even close to starting, the first lady came out of the swim. All the participants waiting to start were clapping for everyone getting out--that was neat. I spotted Hubby and kids across the way waved and was off. I started off great, taking it slow. Then something happened... I don't know what it was, but I ran out of breath fast. After that I gave up all hope of swimming underwater, and I was in survival mode from there. I kept my head above water most of the time, and spent a lot of time on my back. It was like I forgot everything I learned. I probably would have been done sooner if I would have sucked it up and continued swimming underwater.

After the swim, we had to climb up a bunch of concrete stairs to the transition. Apparently I did really well in T1--I was third in my age group in transition. That's when you take your swim stuff off and get ready for the bike. I felt really good on the bike after the horrible swim. I went out pretty fast and passed a decent number of people. I think only 1 or 2 people passed me, but I know I passed at least one again. After riding the course on Thursday I was pretty familiar with the roads and it seemed to go by faster this second time. My overall pace was 15.5 mph, which isn't great, but it's pretty good for me. I went out hoping to go faster than a leisurely bike ride but not kill myself where I wouldn't be able to run. I'd say I succeeded there.

Transition 2 was a little crazier. There were more cyclists around me trying to get into T2 so it was a little congested. I am not skilled at the bike dismount either so that was not graceful. I got in, racked my bike and switched my helmet for my hat, grabbed my race number and took off... then I remembered I forgot to take my GPS watch off the bike. Luckily I didn't get very far. I grabbed that and headed off to the run. Hubby and kids were right around the corner cheering. I can still hear the familiar "Go, Mommy Go!" I love that sound--they make me smile whenever I hear it.

The run felt pretty good. My legs weren't as jelly-legged as I thought they would be. I noticed that one of my shoes was not tied very tight (I have the lock laces, so I just pulled them on without tightening them). I almost stopped but decided it wasn't bad enough. The first half/three-quarters of a mile were tough but after that it was smooth sailing. I actually ended up going fairly fast, I think my pace was 10:02, which is on the faster end for me. There were three water stops on the run, which is a lot for a 5k, but it was so hot that it was well appreciated. The final water stop was right around 2.5 miles and was manned by high school students. I was sort of half-joking, but I asked the kid to just throw the water at me and he did. He grabbed two cups and threw the ice cold water at me. It felt really good since it was probably 90 degrees at that point. As I rounded the corner I could see the finish line. My kids and Hubby were there again, cheering me on. It was awesome. I hear the announcer announce my name, which was pretty cool. I finished!

Overall it was a great experience. If I were to do another one, I have to improve on the swim A LOT. It was almost miserable. Just like I thought though, as soon as I was out of the water, I was good. Maybe I should have started with a Duathlon. Anyway, my first triathlon is in the books and done. I had fun (after the swim was over). I accomplished my two goals--1. Finish without drowning, and 2. Don't be last. I did pretty well. My overall time was 1:31:06 and I finished 26/34 in my age group. Not too bad, considering the size of the age group.

Here is a picture of me after the finish.. and I'm smiling!

Tri Eve

Tomorrow is the big day! I swam in the lake yesterday, first time in open water. It didn't go so well out of the gate. I've never swum in waves before and going out, I was headed straight for them. Between that and possibly going out to fast, something took my breath away and knocked the wind out of me. I tried to keep going, but it didn't last long. I swam back to shore and regained my breath. Then I turned around and headed the other way, with the waves. That was a lot better but I had to turn around so I stopped.

I picked up my packet today, checked out the quarry and swim area. I attended my "orientation" and heard all about the event. I'm still nervous as can be about the swim. Once I get beyond that, I should be okay, but it's the swim that will get me, if anything.

We'll see what tomorrow brings!

Course Preview

Today the family took a preview of Sunday's bike route together. It is a gigantic square, mostly farmland. We got a lot of interesting smells from those farms too. After touring the 11 mile bike route I ran a mile in the 90 degree heat. It actually wasn't too bad of a run. If it wasn't so darn hot, I would have run some more. It felt good to run.

I'm feeling a little better about Sunday's race now. I'm still a little worried about the swim, but tomorrow I will be swimming in open water so that should help ease my worry (I hope...).

Dread

Has anyone ever dreaded a race? I realized today that I'm not looking forward to this weekend's race very much. It's my first triathlon and I don't feel like I'm ready. Today was the first swim that I was actually able to swim the full 400 yards distance and that was because I told myself I had to. I have not swum (or is it swam?) in open water, I have not practiced my swim/bike transition, and I'm really nervous about the jelly legs on the run. I guess it's just more nervousness and lack of confidence that makes me dread this race. It was completely my idea to do this, but I wish I would have chosen one later in the season to give me more time to train.

I don't know... I'm sure I'll have fun once I get going but right now I can't wait for Sunday to be over....

Just finished my second to

Just finished my second to last swim before the tri and I actually made it through the 400 yards! Maybe I won't drown...

The countdown begins. Less than

The countdown begins. Less than one week until my first tri!

Brick Workout

Today's brickout? Complete! The 30 minute bike ride was not difficult at all. The 15 minute run following the bike ride was a little difficult, not because of jelly legs. Because of the "excessive heat warnings" we've had here, I did everything inside at the Y. So, I ran for 15 minutes around a track that is 1/16 of a mile, only turning left. This is the total opposite of ALL the other times I've run on that track, so my ankles were not used to it. I really wanted to give up and not run as long, but I did it. I completed my training!

Tomorrow calls for a 35 minute run with a 14 minute tempo run in there. Looks like it'll have to be either treadmill run or the indoor track again. Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter than today. Ugh!

Hopefully my blog will get

Hopefully my blog will get more exciting soon. I figured out how to post directly to my blog from my not-so-smart phone.

Why "I am Not a Runner" Still...

I've been told lately that I need to change my blog title... that I can't have run a half marathon and not be a runner... I'm not changing it. I still don't consider myself a runner. Why, you ask? Because I chicken out for any reason I can--the heat, my knee, my other ankle, I have a cold... and those are all reasons in one day! I can come up with a gazilion more NOT to run. If I don't have a specific training plan in mind, I won't push myself. Right now I'm training for this triathlon in less than two weeks (!!!!) and over the weekend I didn't want to run more than 20 minutes. It was hot and muggy, I was up in the hills instead of flatlands around my home and I had a cold.

You know, after I finished my half-marathon, I told hubby that I wanted to be able to just go out and run 6-7 miles whenever I wanted to and not worry whether I was able to or not. Now, I'm lucky to eke out 3 miles. I think my timing is wrong though. I wish I was able to run first thing in the morning, but I wake up so early for work as it is, that I refuse to get up any earlier. And on weekends I just want to sleep in.

What's this about my ankle and knee? I don't know. On one of my runs last week, my left knee started to hurt. Shortly after, my right ankle started to hurt. I thought it just needed stretched, but I had to keep stopping. I did something to them, but I don't know what. They felt a little better on the run this weekend, so I'm hoping they'll be okay next time I run.

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt a brick workout. I did a long bike ride (in the cool rain) on Sunday instead of a brick workout so I'm going to attempt to do my brick tomorrow instead. It'll be 30 minutes biking, then 15 minute run. I've done 30/10 but need to do more than that. I've read that the 10 minutes is what it takes to get past the jelly legs point and then I'll be able to run... we'll see.

On top of all that, it's been almost two full weeks that my ear is plugged. Not sure if it's still water or something else now. I had it clear for 24 hours then got plugged again in the shower. It's starting to crackle again now so hopefully it's clearing out. Wore ear plugs during my swim today. Worked out okay, no new water in ear. I probably looked like a dork--swim cap, goggles, nose plug (still can't get past that one), and now lovely ear plugs. 2 weeks to race day.

Where have I been?

It's been a while since I've posted... Life is getting in the way. Between the three kids, my training and hubby's training, it's getting difficult to find time to post.

Training seems to be going well. I've now had two swim lessons and I can see the progress I'm making. It took me about two weeks to get the basic technique down and I felt confident going back to the coach for another lesson. One of the major things I had to do was slow down. I get sloppy when I go fast and when I'm tired I try to go fast. If I take my time and go slow I get through the water just as fast because my form is a lot better.

Right now, I have water in my ear. My last lesson was on Wednesday night, and here it is Sunday afternoon, and I still have water in my ear. I have tried everything to get it out, but nothing seems to work. I guess I have to be patient and wait it out. In the meantime, I missed my swim on Friday. Instead I did Saturday and Sunday's workouts on Friday--30 minute run and my 45 minute bike ride. Tomorrow is supposed to be an off day but since I took the last two days off I will be doing something. I should be swimming, but with the water in my ear, I don't know what I should be doing. I might try it and see what happens.

Running-I haven't run more than 3.1 miles in a long time. That's all that I need to run for the triathlon, but I'm really missing the longer runs. I miss that time alone, I miss that sense of accomplishment, and I really miss what health benefits it has. I've put on a couple pounds since the 1/2 marathon, and although some people say they don't notice it, I do... and I don't like it.

Biking--going well. I figured it should take me about 45 minutes to do the 11 mile bike ride, hopefully less though. It's hard to tell since every time I go out around here, I have to go over an overpass, which slows me down a lot.

Brick workouts--these scare me. I have no problem riding the 11 miles... I have no problem running 3.1 miles... It's the two combined. So far I've only run 1 mile for a brick workout and my legs are like jelly. I go faster than I usually do in a 5k, but I get tired so quickly. Maybe it's been the heat since it's so hot and I'm in the sun the whole run, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it all after the bike portion of the race... which is after the swim portion... what am I getting myself into???

5k PR!

I ran a 5k yesterday, first one in a long time. It was a smaller event, probably 300 or so runners, no chip timing, but gun start/timing. I knew I was going to push myself in this one. I believe it's the first one since I ran the half-marathon. I've done a 4-miler, but I don't know if I did a 5k or not... Anyway, I told myself I was going to give it my all, and push hard. I was feeling pretty good and looked down at my Garmin and my pace stayed below 10:00/mile the whole time! The race finished on a high school track and coming around the last curve the time was in the 29:00 range. I kicked it into high gear and finished at 29:36!!! First time ever below 30 minutes and a PR! I believe I may have shaved 3+ minutes off my time!

Swim Lesson

I had a swim lesson on Monday night. I'm 33 years old and I am just learning to swim. Yes, I know how to float and move around in the water, but I've never learned to properly swim. I had a 1/2 hour lesson on Monday night that taught me the basics of the proper way to swim. Boy do I have some work to do! I worked on it in my swim workout yesterday and at times I was confident and at other times I was very doubtful of my possibility of completing the triathlon next month. Towards the end of the workout I started to get the hang of it but I still need practice.

I'm anxious to get out and run tomorrow. It's been a while since I've run more than 2.25 miles. I didn't get to run on Sunday due to time constraints so tomorrow hopefully will be 3 miles. I'm doing a 5k on Saturday morning and REALLY looking forward to the race. It's a small one, but I love the atmosphere of a race.

On a side note, my brother and sister who both are training with the Couch to 5k program are doing an awesome job. My brother is up to a 20 minute run, which with his height should be close to 2.5 miles. My sister is hitting a milestone this weekend too. She's going to run 2 miles this week, as far as she'd run when training years ago. I'm so proud of both of them for taking on this challenge. And this is without me urging them to. They came to me interested. Working on a race day for my brother. My sister and I are running in the TwinsDay festival 5k in Twinsburg the first weekend of August. I can't wait to run with them!

Where Have I Been?

It's been a while, but I'm still here and still training for my triathlon. I'm sticking to the scheduled training now that we're back from our cruise. Here's what the schedule usually has me doing:

Monday--rest (woohoo!)
Tuesday--swim
Wednesday--bike
Thursday--run
Friday--swim
Saturday--run
Sunday--bike/run w/transition.

I haven't been able to do the bike/run transition yet, but I'm not worried. I need to focus on swimming and figuring out how to breathe. Hubby got a book and a video from the library to help me learn and to help him improve his swimming but we haven't watched it yet. Hopefully it'll help because I need some serious help to get the endurance going on the swim...

I still miss running though. After my triathlon, I think I'm going to focus back on running. I love the freedom it gives me, the exhilaration and how good it makes me feel when I'm done. I really feel like I did some work when I get done running. I probably will still do another triathlon someday but I really enjoy the running right now. Maybe after I really figure out the swim, I'll enjoy it more.

Any swimming tips from anyone out there?

Off Track

I got off track on my tri-training last week. Hubby and I were on a cruise to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, so it was for a good reason! Don't yell at me :) I did work out twice on the boat, so at least I did something. I ran one time, probably 2 miles and I rode bike for 30 minutes. I'm trying to get back on track this week. We finally found some swimming goggles that work for me. Of course they were in the kids' section... So, with those goggles and a nose plug, I set out to swim today and see what I really could do (I grew up plugging my nose when I swam, or wearing full-faced goggles). Once I found out the goggles were okay, I went to town. I was able to do almost a full 100 yards before I had to stop to catch my breath. My form is awful and it was very awkward today trying to focus on breathing, kicking and paddling. I really tried focusing on my breathing since that was the most important part of it. Once I get that pattern down, I can focus on other things.

The triathlon is scheduled for the end of July and I'm debating whether or not I should do this one still or try another one later in the season. I just don't know if I'll be ready for it or not. Maybe I'll give it a few more weeks and see what happens. I have until mid-July to register.

Tri Training

I started triathlon training this week. I'm not signed up yet, but I started my training for a ladies only triathlon that is held at the end of July. Yesterday was a swim day--first time actually swimming, since I was a kid. I did okay, considering... I'm a nose plugger. I never learned to swim underwater without plugging my nose, so I spent most of my energy staying above water in the pool yesterday. I've since invested in one of those silly nose plugs, so we'll see how that works later this week. I was able to do a total of 450 yards in the time I was there. The first stint was somewhere between 50 and 100 yards. Then I had to take a breather between each 50 yards. I've got my work cut out for me.

Today is a bike day. Getting ready to get on the trainer now. The tornado watches and severe rain today made it impossible to go outside. Hubby and I are going to ride side by side on the trainer while watching Hulu. Gotta love it.

I have to say, I'm anxious to run again tomorrow. I'm really liking it and missing it now that I'm on to other things. Ah well... we'll see what happens from here.

Thanks

I have to say thank you to someone very important to me. This person was there for me during my training, encouraging me every step of the way. He had more confidence in my ability than I did. When I didn't want to run, he was there to gently push me out the door. When I had questions, he taught me the ways. He knew that running a 1/2 marathon was something I wanted to do. He never once forced me to do any of the training, but he encouraged me and helped me accomplish my goal. I don't know if I could have done it without him... Thanks, Hubby! I love you. Incidentally, this Thursday will be our 10th wedding anniversary and this journey that we've gone through together has been pretty amazing... not just the journey to the 1/2 marathon and full marathon, but the last 10 years. I love you!

Benefits of Running

After running this 1/2 marathon in Cleveland, I've been doing some reflecting... what are some of the good things about running? A certain someone, not to be named, has asked why would anyone want to run without being chased? Here's my answers:
1. I feel great. Running has given me my health back (not that it was bad to begin with)
2. I've been told I look great. I've lost all my baby weight and 10 more pounds, putting me 10lbs lighter than I was before I had kid #1. I haven't weighed this since high school, I think.
3. It gives me "me" time. I can go out, clear my mind and not think about anything or be bothered by anyone.
4. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. As I've reached my little (and big) milestones and goals, I feel like I can do anything.
5. The half marathon gave me a natural high.... it's like a drug. I couldn't wait to go out there and run again after it. I can't wait to sign up for my next one.
6. I'm inspiring others. I know of at least three-four other people who want to get started...and that's awesome to me.
7. The support from friends and family is amazing. When my mental game isn't on, my friends and family have more confidence in my than I do in myself. Strangers along the course provided the support DURING the race too... which was totally awesome.

Race Review Part 1

I don't even know where to start with the race review, so I'll start at the beginning.. Good idea, huh?

The day started with a wake-up call at 4:45am. As early as this sounds, I get up at that time everyday anyway so it wasn't a big deal to me. Breakfast consisted of a bottle of Gatorade/Powerade and a chocolate chip bagel with cream cheese. We slowly woke up and got dressed and ready for the 7am start.

As we walked from our hotel, it was foggy and cool. There was a slight mist from the fog and the lake. We dropped our bags off at the bag check in Cleveland Browns stadium and headed out to the start. I said goodbye and good luck to Hubby and our friend, and headed back towards my pace goal markers. I had figured I wanted to stay close to the 5-hour marathon runners since I wanted to do a 2:30 half. There were so many people that I couldn't even get into the coral until well after the start. I decided to wait until the pace groups passed in front of me instead of going backwards to them. I got impatient waiting for the right group, so when the 4:45 marathoners came up, I got onto the pavement and started heading towards the starting line. Seven minutes after the actual start of the race, I crossed the starting line.

I was amazed at how many people were running this race. I knew there were thousands registered, but to see the sea of people ahead of me and behind me was amazing. I had decided not to take my camera with me but I wish I did just to show people how amazing it was. I'm an emotional person, so I got choked up--choked up at the start, when I finally crossed the starting line, when I saw the mass number of people...

I was taking it all in... the people, all the fun and different things on the back of people's shirts, the signs. We got to the water stop at mile 2 and I couldn't believe the number of people that were stopping for potty breaks already. The port-a-potties were all full so the men took it upon themselves to find an open tree. Just something I found humorous... Because of all the things going on, I never once thought about my running. I was in a rhythm and never thought about being in pain or hurting at all. I'm used to running alone and noticing every step and minor pains. I was so distracted taking in my surroundings that I never had that problem.

I saw my father-in-law around mile 11.75. Knowing I was so close to the finish, I got a second wind and started to speed up a little. Unfortunately, the next mile was mostly uphill--over the Carnegie Bridge and up the hill to Tower City. I powered through that and kept the momentum going. The last half mile was downhill towards Cleveland Browns Stadium and I picked up the pace again into the finishing coral. Man.... that was awesome!!!! Finishing time--2:27:03! Words cannot describe how I felt, and still feel.

What a Rush!

The race was a success! I met all three of my goals:

1. Finish
2. Run the whole thing
3. Finish in 2:30.

I ran the whole race, finishing in 2:27:03. I can't describe the amazing time I had at the race yesterday! Tomorrow I'll post a recap of the weekend, but I really wanted to say thanks to some people..

First and foremost--Hubby. He's been so supportive and motivating about this whole adventure. His first full marathon and my first half... pushing me out the door for some "me" time to train, helping me figure out a plan, but mostly having the faith and confidence in me that I can do this.

Second, my good friend, Beth, who got me started running. I would never know what I am capable if it weren't for her.

My parents. They watched the kids while Hubby and I ran but they've also given me so much support and confidence as well. During my whole life, they've always had confidence and pride in everything that I do and that's priceless.

My co-workers--they're awesome. Asking me for training updates, motivation, bought me flowers and chocolate cake pre-race to wish me luck.

Friends and family--for giving me tons of support and motivation. I honestly couldn't have done this without all the support.

I'll write more tomorrow but today I'm exhausted and ready for bed.
Love you all!

Race Day

We're up at 4:45 today...nothing says breakfast like chocolate chip bagel and gatorade! Relaxing a bit, digesting and getting ready.

Here we go!

It's Race Weekend!

I'm sitting here in the hotel, wondering what's going to happen tomorrow. We've gone from a sunny day to torrential downpour to thunderstorms and now it's a light rain. Maybe it'll get all the rain out of the system now before tomorrow. I have not trained in heavy rain so I would not have fun...

That being said, we scoped out the start/finish lines, went to the expo, picked up our bibs and shirts, had dinner and now are relaxing before heading to bed. I have so many things going through my mind right now... and the rain isn't helping. I'm a ball of nerves right now!

Thursday's short 2 mile run scared me. It was 85 degrees and muggy. I really didn't feel good running, at all. I never fell into a groove and my legs hurt. That made me nervous. Today, I had a 10-12 minute run, which was a mile for me. I felt really good this morning... I took it pretty easy and I'm glad. I feel a little better about tomorrow's run now. Granted, it was only a mile.... :)

Okay folks, I'm off to bed in a little bit before an early start--4:30 or 5:00am. Uck!

My Goals for the Half...

1. Finish. This shouldn't be a problem, unless I injure myself.
2. Run the whole 13.1 miles. Fingers crossed, shouldn't be a huge problem.
3. Finish in 2 1/2 hours. I'm torn on this one. I took the 12 miles slower than usual and I'm going to have to do it slower on Sunday too. In order to make 2 1/2 hours, I'll have to have just under an 11:30/mile pace. For the 12 mile training run, my pace was 11:52. That's a big difference, but I'm thinking with the excitement of the race, it might be doable. I'm going to take it easy during the first part of it and see how I feel.

Other than these three goals, I don't have a lot of expectations. This is my first race longer than a 5k, so I don't really know what to expect. We'll see what happens.

Last Week of Training

Wow....this is my 15th week of serious training for this half-marathon. To see how far I've come is amazing, not only in these last 15 weeks, but in the last two years. I started running for the first time in July of 2009. I remember not being able to run more than a quarter of a mile. In August 2009, I developed tendonitis in both of my knees and had to take 6 weeks off of running. October was when I completed my first 5k and I barely made it. If I had not had a friend to run with, I would have quit about mile 2. In five days, I will be attempting my first half-marathon. I cannot believe how far I've come. I never imagined I would enjoy running. I never thought I could do more than that first quarter of a mile. Even when I said I wanted to run a half-marathon, I didn't think I could do it. When I saw the training plan and the fact that my long runs increased each weekend by a mile, I thought that was impossible. Now here I am, already accomplished 12 miles and ready to complete my goal. I am so ready for this.

I say I'm ready for this and that I know I can do this, but in the back of my mind, I wonder if I really can. I know how I felt physically when I finished those 12 miles... I just have to get past the mental block of it all, and let the adrenaline of the weekend take me through it.

Which One Will Show?

I'm not a consistent runner. Some days I'll go out and just kill it (fast, for me) and run under an 11:00/mile pace. Some days, lately, I'll go out and run a pace of over 12:00. I'm so inconsistent and I'm never sure which "runner" will show up until I'm out there running.

There are days that I feel really good running. Any discomfort can be worked through quickly. Other days I have to stop to stretch out a muscle. I don't know what causes this inconsistency. I stretch before I run (I have to, ever since the plantar fasciitis decided to make its way to my foot).

Which "runner" will show up next weekend? I don't know. I want to be able to finish and not kill myself, so it's okay if the slower me shows up. However, I wouldn't mind being faster.

Later this week I'll try to post my goals for the half-marathon on Sunday. I can't believe it's almost here!

Taper Week

This week I get to step back and taper my running in preparation for the big race next week. Tuesday and Thursday's runs were 4 miles each. I swear... I know I've said it again, but running is all mental. I ran 12 miles last week, right? I know I can do that. Except both of these 4 miles runs, I kept thinking that I couldn't do it. I couldn't do one more step beyond that 4 miles. It's crazy.

I went out today and ran my last "long" run--6 miles. It was 70 degrees out, sunny the first half and overcast the second half, but REALLY windy the whole time. I felt pretty good, after the first 1.5 miles. I must have gone out too fast because my shins really bothered me the first 1.5 miles. I actually stopped to stretch them out and then kept going. In today's run, I didn't feel like I couldn't do anymore than 6. I actually felt pretty good by the end and probably could have done more, but wasn't going to overdo it.

On the website for the marathon, they posted a video of someone driving the marathon course. After watching it, I feel so much better. It looks a lot flatter than I was expecting. I have trained by running over overpasses but it doesn't look like we'll even be changing elevation that much.

I also got my bib number. It's 6523! I like it. I'm not sure why, but I like it. You can follow my progress during the race via text or email, but I'm not sure what that link is yet. I'll post it when I find it.

12 Miles, Baby!

So, last week, when I was really upset with my 11 mile run? Revenge today! I had 12 miles on the schedule today and I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I changed a bunch of things from last week. I ran in the evening today (mostly based on schedule), I took water with me this time, and I started out with a slower pace. It turns out I was much slower this time, but I'm okay with that.

The great thing about living in the country is the different places to run. During my 12 mile run, which took me 2:22:26 (I know, it's reeeally slow) I can probably count on one hand, the number of cars that passed me while I was running. There were times where all I could hear was my breathing and the sound of my water bottles sloshing. It was so serene and beautiful.

When I was coming up on 7.75 miles, the point where I stopped for a long time last week, I started to get really nervous but kept talking myself through it and knowing I was going to take another gel at 8.5 miles, I knew it would be help.

I kept thinking about why I was doing this and how good is it going to feel in two weeks when I cross that finish line and I realized that I've never in my life pushed myself to do something like this before. I've never pushed myself outside of my comfort zone to go further or to do more than I ever thought I could. No matter what happens in two weeks, I'm extremely proud of myself.

Minor Setback

Tuesday's run was a great run. I wasn't sure if it was going to rain or not and there was a tornado watch but I decided to risk it anyway. It turned out to be quite windy, but overall a nice run--5.5 miles. Thursday was supposed to be the last 5.5 run before this weekend's 12 mile run and then the taper before the race. Unfortunately at 3am on Thursday morning I woke up shivering with a fever of 101.2. I spent the day in bed and on the couch and spent Friday recovering still. Today's schedule didn't work out for my run, so it'll have to wait til tomorrow. But today I woke up and my legs ached so bad. It's been four days since I ran and my body needed to get moving. Instead of jumping back into running, not knowing if I was still weak and recovering, I decided get on my bike on the trainer. I rode for 55 minutes and felt really good.

What will tomorrow's run bring? I really don't know. I have 12 on the schedule, but don't want to overdo it since I'm still getting getting over the bug. We'll see what happens tomorrow and how I feel then.

Two weeks until race day!

Awesome Tan

One good thing about today's run is that I got to work on my tan. We're going on a cruise in a month and I don't want to burn on my first day there. So, hopefully with the running I'm doing, I'll get the start of a tan that'll protect me when we get there.

The bad part of that, is that I wear my Road ID on one wrist and my Garmin on the other so I have this killer Farmer's tan.



Whoooo! That's sexy! The picture doesn't do it justice but it's pretty....

Warm Weather Run

Today was a gorgeous day! It was sunny and about 72 degrees! This is about 20 degrees warmer than anything I've run in, more than 2-3 miles... I did not plan well. First of all, it was a bit windy and I hate worrying about my hat in the wind. Second mistake--didn't bring my sunglasses, or I would have just taken the hat off. Third mistake, which was actually the first, but it came about later.. I didn't drink anything all day. I had a bowl of cereal with the kids for breakfast about 9:00, but didn't drink anything else all day.

I left the house around 12:30 for an 11 mile run, the second-to-last long run before the half-marathon in three weeks (yikes). I was doing really great on the country road. At five miles, I took the first nutrition and immediately felt a cramp. Luckily I've learned how to work through those. At mile 6, I passed a McDonald's and decided to use the restroom and clean my hands (had a little accident with the gel nutrition). While I was in there, I looked at my face and realized how overheated I was so I splashed water on my face and neck and drank a little there--not much but enough to wet my palate.

7.5 miles in, I really started to get thirsty. I was coming into downtown Podunkville and decided to stop at a restaurant and see if they'd give me a glass of water. I figured that during the run I'll probably end up walking through the water stops, so this would be okay. The glass of water I got was huge and I chugged it down. I rested a lot longer than I should have but that water was good and I was hot. It was then that I saw Hubby and the kids coming towards me and I burst into tears. I didn't want them to see that I had stopped. They had a bottle of water for me, too. How thoughtful they are :)

I told Hubby I wasn't giving up but just resting a bit and we discussed my probable dehydration contributing to how I was feeling. He and the kids took off after we decided where they were going to meet me next. The next mile and half to where they were was tough. The wind was at my face and I just had to take the hat completely off. It had blown off too many times. I was pretty slow because of the wind, but I was still exerting the same amount of energy. And, that tall glass of water I had was sloshing around in my stomach and giving me a cramp. Second nutrition gel was taken at mile 8.5. This one was not so messy.

So, I met the family at a shelterhouse in the park I was running through and I drank some more water. I didn't want too since I was already sloshing, but I knew I needed it. They said they'd meet me at home when I was done. At mile 10, I had to stop one last time. My calves started tightening up, and after reading a post from another blogger where she pulled a calf muscle during the Boston Marathon this year, I started to get worried. I couldn't stretch them out. Finally I told myself just to go and finish and it'll be over soon. Mile 11 complete with an 11:05 overall pace and a total time of 2:01:53. I was hoping to do it in under 2 hours but didn't make it. The first have had a pace of 10:54 and I was hoping to continue that through the rest of the run but didn't.

When I got home, I tried something I've never done before--cold bath. Hubby does it after his long runs (20 miles--he's training for a full marathon) and says he can tell a difference. It was cold... but I'm not sure it helped me. As I sit here, I can feel my calves, tight and achy. My feet are still tired and sore, and my thighs hurt. We'll see tomorrow how I feel.

So, 11 miles in the books. I'm not happy with it at all. I'm really disappointed I had to stop so many times but I'm glad it happened in training. I'll just have to remember to drink before the race.

New Endeavors

With the race coming up, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what's going to happen after that. If I were to want to do a full marathon, now would be the time to do it, since I'm halfway there, but I don't think it's something I want to do anymore, at least right now. My foot definitely needs to rest some from the longer runs. I've been considering doing a triathlon. Hubby has been doing them and is doing a half Ironman this summer. There is a women-only triathlon that I'm considering doing, but I don't know how to swim well. I always swim on top of the water and have to plug my nose... so I'm not sure if that' something I want to attempt or not. It would be 400 yards swimming, 11 miles on the bike, and a 5k run. Still thinking about it....

3 1/2 Weeks to go!

I can't believe I have less than a month to go before race day!

I hit a major milestone on Sunday--10 miles! This 10 mile run was a different one, in many ways. First of all, I was not well-rested the night before. Usually I sleep in on the weekends but this weekend, I was up late (til 3am) and then up again at 9. The second difference was that I had a running partner! Up until Sunday, I haven't had anyone to run with since two summers ago when I first started running. Hubby decided he would do the 10 with me and go my pace. I've never done a run where I had a conversation the whole time. I did pretty well--I thought I would get winded easily, but I didn't.

I had some nutrition at 4.5 miles, right after the first major hill. I should have taken a second one with me because around mile 7.5 I started losing it. Our conversation hit a lull and my mind started wandering and I wasn't sure I could do it anymore. I asked Hubby to start talking to me again to get my mind off of it.

At mile 9.5, I started to have some breathing issues. I knew the last 1/2 mile was going to be uphill. Right when we were at the bottom of the hill, I started a heavy wheezing/gasping breathing. It's hard to explain, but it scared me. I have asthma but have never had an attack. That's all I could think, was that I was going to have one so I started to cry. I had to tell myself to stop that because it was making it worse. I finally worked through the breathing and started up the hill (the breathing and conversation with myself lasted less than a minute, but felt like a lifetime). Once that episode was over, we went up the hill and got back to the car. It was amazing! I didn't think I could do it but I did.

Today's workout called for 5.5 miles but the weather didn't cooperate. It was not raining when I got to the gym, but it had been on and off all day. I decided to make an attempt on the treadmill, since it had been a while since I ran inside. I had an interval plan worked out and was determined to push myself. Here's what I did:

10 minute warm up at 4.7
2 minutes at 5.0
2 minutes at 5.2
3 minutes at 5.4
2 minutes at 5.2

2 minutes at 5.4
2 minutes at 5.5
2 minutes at 5.6
2 minutes at 5.7
2 minutes at 5.6

2 minutes at 5.8
2 minutes at 5.9
2 minutes at 6.0

I ended up doing 4.5 miles and walked .5, instead of the 5.5 but I was going a lot faster than I usually do at some points. I ran for 50 minutes and walked another 7 minutes. I feel pretty good. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for an outdoor Thursday run.

5 Milers

Two more five mile runs this week. Nothing spectacular about either of them. The weather is starting to get warm, so my wardrobe is changing. I have a tendency to overdress, so I have to be careful with that. I'm looking forward to race day and I hope it's on the cooler side, so I don't overheat. I tend to overheat instead of sweat, like I should. I guess I'll be using the water stops for something other than drinking.

Last Sunday, my long run was 9 miles. I also ate some energy gel for the first time. I took it at mile 6, just before I hit the hour mark. I wanted to get used to eating them and make sure they didn't upset my stomach. It was decent, considering what it was. After eating it, my pace got faster by almost a whole minute! I couldn't believe it. I was trucking along and looked down and realized how fast I was going. Hubby said it was all mental, but I don't know... Maybe I should eat one BEFORE I go out this weekend :)

These two short runs have taken me a while to get focused. Maybe I need to start listening to music again to give me something else to think about. It's an ankle that tired, a knee that's a little sore... I've tried to focus on my breathing and that seems to help me forget the other things. Guess I need to get the mp3 player out again.

10 miles this weekend. Looking forward to hitting this milestone!

Stats and "Short Run" update

So, I said I was going to post some stats on Monday, but never got around to it. Here are the total miles run per month (that were recorded with my Garmin)

January: 35.22 (I officially started my training at the end of the month)
February: 51.85
March: 80.10
April (so far): 11.22
Total: 178.39

This doesn't include any miles that I've ridden on the bike, or any time spent doing other cross-training (including Tae Bo). It only picks up from here...

Speaking of that, my short runs this week jump to 5 miles. Yesterday's run started off rough. I forgot a bunch of things and had to make do with what was in my gym bag. Luckily, I tend to overpack since I have to pack for all kinds of weather.

I started off feeling very clunky. It's hard to explain but I felt like I was clunky and making very heavy steps. It was also very windy. The route I had planned, unfortunately had me coming into the wind on the second half, and there was no way around it. I ended up stopping twice and rolling my ankles and stretching some more to see if it would help. Eventually I just kept pushing my way through it and just had to go with it.

The wind was brutal. I ended up having more of a strength workout because of the wind. Finally I worked through whatever it was and finished the five mile run. Phew! Hopefully tomorrow's will be better.

Today's cross-training was a session of Tae Bo, with Billy Blanks. I've been having an issue with one of my hips getting tired and not wanting to do anymore so I thought all the kicking and stretching he does will help. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

This Week's Training

This week's training was all over the board. Both of the short runs were 3.5 miles and Tuesday's was rough. I couldn't get into it and I couldn't go faster than 11:00 pace throughout the whole run. My overall pace might have been 11:15. My knee hurt, my ankle was weird... I thought maybe my new shoes were going to have to go back to the store.

Wednesday was a 1/2 hour session on the recumbent bike at the Y. Nothing terribly exciting, because I was tired from the run on Tuesday and didn't want to wear myself out for the run on Thursday. My thighs were really tired during Tuesday's run. First time in a long time, I have felt that way.

Then Thursday's run felt great. My overall pace was 10:45 and I got as fast as 10:25 on one of my 1/2 mile splits. I felt a lot better than I did on Tuesday. I'm not sure what the difference was.

This weekend's long run was a 10k race, since it was a step back week. There wasn't really a race going on in town, but there was a trail run on Saturday. The early start was at 7am (ugh, too early for a day off...) so I was planning on doing that while hubby watched the kids. I ended up taking off a few minutes before they started the early start and it was still dark. It was neat to run by the river and watch the sun come up.

The trail run was pretty much for people who are doing the Glass City Marathon in Toledo and who are looking for another way to train with others. The GCM is in two weeks so there was a variety of distance being run. The way the course was set up was weird. You started at the start line, went one direction for about .75 (to the end of the towpath trail) turn around and go back through the start and keep going as long as you need to, then turn around and end at the start. Because of that, you had to calculate in your head how far to go. Apparently I can't run and do math in my head at the same time because I calculated wrong and ended up doing about 7 miles instead of the 6.2 required. Oh well, I guess I'd rather be wrong that direction..

So how did I do? Awesome! I ran by myself the whole time so I didn't have anyone pushing me along, but I did a great job of pushing myself anyway. My overall pace was 10:25 per mile, which I'm sure is a PR for any distance. I even went as fast as 10:10 for one of my splits! I felt great!

I'll be posting some stats tomorrow. Can you guess how many miles I've run so far this year?

Eight Mile Follow-up

After Sunday's long run of eight miles (my longest distance ever), I was worried about my foot. I iced it all day Sunday and wore my brace at night. Monday morning? It felt great! The brace is definitely helping. Only problem with it is that I'm not sleeping as well as I had been. There was one night that I didn't put it on tight enough and I experienced the pain in the morning, so now I've been waking up a lot at night wondering if it's tight enough. I've got to let it go.

This week is a step down week so I only had 3.5 miles today. I was a little faster today than I have been, but I also didn't feel as well running it. My hip and knee were bothering me, probably from overcompensating for the other foot. My breathing was an issue today too, couldn't get into a good rhythm. I kept wanting to give up and just do 2 miles, or just do 3 miles, but I pushed through it and did the required miles. I'm such a whiner, but like I said in the past... a lot of running is mental for me.

It was a beautiful day for a run today. It was 44 degrees and sunny... I hope it stays this way (or gets warmer). It makes it easier to run.

Contest

I just entered a contest to win a running skirt from runningskirts.com. I've never tried one, but LongLegsontheLoose is giving one away on her blog.

http://longlegsontheloose.com/2011/03/27/who-wants-a-new-running-skirt-or-athletic-or-tri-skirt/#comment-5208

Might as well try! :)

20 Degrees is COLD!

My plan for the eight mile run this morning was to get up at 6:30 and be out of the house by 7:00 so I could be home by 8:30. For some strange reason, my alarm didn't go off. I'd been awake all morning, but happened to fall asleep in the time my alarm was supposed to go off. I woke up at 6:50 and hurried to get ready. I checked the temperature outside - 20 degrees. Brrr! I've never run in anything colder than 25, so I was leary about going out. I don't really have anything super warm... plus I lost one of my warm running socks in the laundry the other day. I bundled up with my usual--tights underneath my pants, long sleeve compression shirt under my running jacket, running gloves and earband. I put two pairs of my thinner athletic socks under my shoes.

I never know whether I should eat before I go out or not. I'm always afraid breakfast will sit in my stomach or give me a cramp... Since I got a late start today, I figured I would take a gel with me and just rely on that. Only, I forgot to take the gel with me :(

I made it out of the house at 7:20 and started making my way down the country roads. The first 1/2 mile was pretty cold. I had to take my fingers out of my gloves and let them warm themselves together. This was when I wished I would have brought my mp3 player so I could distract myself from the cold. I also realized at this time that I forgot my gel.

After the first 3/4 mile, I started to get comfortable. It was very peaceful at that time of the morning - I think only one car passed me in the first four miles. My route took me out four miles and then back... I wanted to do it that way so I could tease myself into thinking it was two four-mile runs. I don't know why, but it makes it easier if my mind thinks of it that way.

At four miles, I turned around and headed back. I started to feel it a little bit in my foot and my hips were getting stiff, I think from the cold. My pace was pretty slow, 11:30/mile but I did it. The last half-mile was on my road... I got cold again. The wind wasn't at my face but my toes and fingers were getting cold again. Luckily, the run was just about over :)

Eight miles done! I believe next week is a step-down week, so I can rest my foot after the shorter runs. Wore the brace in the two-hour car ride, both directions while icing it, so hopefully that'll help. I'll wear it again tonight and hopefully tomorrow will be a good day. I'm hoping the two days of rest will help too.

Oops

I tried to post a picture of the brace, but it didn't work. I apparently don't know how to use blogger :) Let's try this again...

Okay, just look at this link, I guess...

http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-left/right-adjustable-plantar-fasciitis-foot/ankle-night-sleep-support/ID=prod6038233-product

Foot Brace

Tuesday's run was okay. I did the scheduled 4.5 miles, hoping the rain would hold off. We've been spoiled by the nicer weather that even the slightest bit of cold made me want to stay inside. I knew I wouldn't be able to get the proper mileage in if I ran inside so I pushed myself out the door and ran outside. I was pretty slow, but made it through. I was a little worried about the foot and my cold was still around. After last weekend's run, I was worried about being able to breathe, but I didn't have an issue.

Well, after I ran on Tuesday, I wore the plantar fasciitis brace on my foot. What it does, is keeps your foot flexed, so that while your foot is healing at night the arch tendon doesn't heal while it's shortened... does that make sense? Wednesday morning, I was really scared when I woke up but as I put my foot down on the ground, I didn't feel any pain! It was a miracle! I couldn't believe it would start working immediately! Throughout the day I could still feel some twinges, but not like before.

Thursday, I wasn't feeling motivated at all. I really didn't want to run but again, I pushed myself outside and had to tell myself that if I couldn't do the 4.5 miles today, how was I going to get comfortable doing the longer runs? So I got out there and completed the miles. I was still pretty slow, but not terrible.

I've been wearing my new foot brace all week, so imagine my surprise when I woke up Friday morning in excrutiating pain in my foot. I don't know if I wore the brace wrong or not tight enough, but it was not a good day. Friday night, I really paid attention to how I put on the brace. Thankfully, today (Saturday), the foot felt great...granted, I didn't run yesterday.

Tomorrow calls for an 8 mile run. Due to schedules, I'll be doing something I don't really want to do--getting up early to run. We'll see what comes of the foot Monday morning...

If you want to see a what the brace looks like, here you go

Foot issues

So, after I ran on Thursday last week, I felt pretty good--until I woke up on Friday morning. My foot hurt so bad, I could barely walk to the bathroom. As the day went on, it got better slowly but it still hurt. I'm starting to think I may have injured it pretty badly.

Saturday morning I woke up and it was like a new day, like my foot didn't even hurt the day before. I felt great. The weather was gorgeous, so I ended up taking a 9 mile bike ride outside by myself. It was gorgeous out! I still have a cold, but it was so nice out that I took advantage of that.

Sunday was the day for my 7 mile run. Hubby ran a half-marathon in the morning and it was cold! Standing there, cheering him on with the kids, the chill got to my bones. But after we all got home it was time for me to go out and do my training run. Today, my cold was hitting me really hard. I really wanted to take a nap with the rest of the family, but I knew I had to do this. The wind was pretty strong, so I set out to a local metropark, where the trail would be blocked from the wind.

I ran the 7 miles, but had to stop a few times to catch my breath. My cold was not making it easy to breath so at 3.5 miles, when the trail stopped and I had to figure out where to go, I stopped for a breather. Then at 5 miles I stopped to put my coat in the car and took another breather (the temperature had gone up 10 degrees during my run). I finished the 7 miles though.

Unfortunately, Monday morning brought the pain again. It hurt so bad that I had to crawl to the bathroom on my hands and knees. As much pain as I'm in during these episodes, all I could think about is "I hope I can run tomorrow" and "I hope I don't have to give up running." I want to finish this half-marathon. I can rest my body after that. In the meantime, I still have work to do.

Again, this morning, I was able to walk again. I had a little more pain than usual, but by the time it came time to run, I felt good enough. As I started off, my arch hurt a little bit and I felt myself overcompensating for it and my thigh on the other leg hurt. I became more conscious of how I was running. After I got through that, the 4.5 miles on the schedule today was pretty good.

After talking with several different people, it sounds like I have plantar fasciitis. I'm icing my foot after each run, and now I have a brace that holds my foot flexed at night. Tonight is the first night I'll be using the brace, so I'm really hoping that tomorrow will be easier to bear. I just pray that this helps. I really, really want to be able to run this half-marathon in May. I don't want to hurt my foot even more and not be able to run. I keep telling people that it only hurts badly the day after I run, but if I run just about every other day.... that's not good. We'll see what this brace does. I might also get some orthodics for my running shoes for plantar fasciitis. We'll see. Keep your fingers crossed.

What a Week!

Last Thursday, I was doing my four mile short run. It went well, but on Friday morning I woke up and was unable to walk. My left arch on my foot was in excrutiating pain. Each step I took shot a pain through my foot like you would not believe. I thought it would get better as the day went on, but it did not. Even just sitting at my desk, it hurt. I came up with a couple options of what it: plantar fasciitis, a heel spur (family history of this...), and the last option we came up with was improper shoes. We went to the shoe store and got re-fitted for shoes. I was told that I still have the bigger size shoes (my feet grew a size and a half after baby #3--well, one of them did) but they were no longer wide. So, we figured that the wide shoes were giving me support in the wrong part of my foot, causing the pain. I went back to my original running shoe, but a size and a half bigger (6.5 now).

My Saturday run, with the new shoes went great. six miles felt great. The kids wanted to run with me, but when we got to the park I was running through, it was so windy they couldn't push passed it. Even with the little stop with them, I think I had my fastest pace ever!

Sunday, the arch pain came back. It wasn't quite as bad or last as long, so I'm hoping the new shoes helped and I'm on the mend now. Sunday was a busy day, so I did not get to my cross-training. I'm okay with that though.

Tuesday, I had a tough decision to make. I wasn't feeling well, had a cold and it was raining outside. With 4.5 miles on the schedule, I didn't know what to do. I can't do that inside. With some encouragement, I decided to run outside (Don't tell my mom, she'll be mad!). I wanted some practice running in the rain because on race day, I could be sick and it could be raining. The run went well, and I slept even better afterwards!

Cross-training on Wednesday was on the bike training in the basement with hubby after the kids went to bed. It's fun to sit next to him and ride :)

Today was such a beautiful day outside. It was in the mid to upper 60's--the first time this season. We decided to do a sort of family run at the running shop that sponsors group runs on Thursday nights. Hubby took the two older kids in the double jogging stroller and I took the baby in the single jogging stroller. I had 4.5 miles on the schedule again. Never having pushed a jogging stroller while actually jogging, I was nervous. It was a little windy, so we put on a thin plastic cover for the stroller, but unfortunately the wind was going just the right way when I started, that it collapsed on him. I stopped to fix it at .15 miles. Then he cried almost the first whole mile. We were going into the wind, so that could have been why. At the first mile marker I stopped to see how he was doing and decided to take the cover off and try that. Not one peep out of him after that.

At this point I didn't think I was going to be able to do the whole 4.5 miles while pushing the stroller but I did! I even kept up a decent pace of 11:08, not much slower than a normal run! I'd say I did pretty darn well. After that first mile it got easier but I am a little sore in muscles I don't normally use while running. I'm proud of myself for pushing through it to complete the necessary miles for today.

Seven miles coming up this weekend. Looking forward to seeing what I can do!

This Week's Training

After the race on Sunday, I was pretty excited to start picking up the mileage this week. My two runs during the week increased to four miles each.

Tuesday's run was pretty uneventful, a little windy but not too bad. Wednesday's cross-training was on the bike at the Y for 30 minutes. Thursday, the weather was kind of iffy. It had rained and was slightly misty. I wasn't sure I wanted to run outside or not, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get four miles inside, and wanted to get some experience running in different weather (who knows what race day will bring) so I ran outside. The weather actually held out until about 3.25 miles. Then it started a rain/snow mix. It wasn't too bad, I just need to wear a hat in this type of weather. It was a little difficult to get into to run, but after the first mile or so I was okay.

Today I woke up and one of my arches hurt so bad, I could barely walk. I've been having arch pain for a while, but after I wake up and stretch the foot out a little, it's usually better. Today... not so much. My arch bothered me all day long, getting up and down and walking. It's tender to the touch. I've done some research to see what it could be and it could be anything from a heel spur to plantar fasciitis, to a flat foot. I don't know what it is, but I certainly hope tomorrow is better. I've got six miles to do this weekend, and I'm not sure that I can do it with this pain.

We'll see what tomorrow brings.

What a Race!

Last night we got home from movie night at church and there was an inch of snow on the ground. I knew today was going to be an interesting run. For any other runner, it would be a Yak Trax kind of day, but unfortunately they don't make Yak Trax for my feet, at least in the running ones.

We (hubby, three kids and I) got to the site of the run and saw that it had not been completely plowed. Yippee. We got inside, got our packets, which consisted of the race shirt and a coupon for the sponsoring shoe store. Then we went outside to find the starting line and "warm up." The reason that is in quotes is because I don't warm up, typically. I'm afraid of wasting my energy. But it was cold, about 24 degrees and very windy, coming off the lake.

Okay, then it was race time! The gun went off and everyone was trying to find a clear spot on the road. Everything else was a sheet of ice. The first .75 miles was nothing but ice. After that it got a lot better. By 1.5 miles, it was pretty clear. The first .75 miles was a very slow pace though. I was so nervous about falling and injuring myself so I took it cautiously. At the 1.5 mile mark when it got clear, I began to fall into my normal pace--between 10:30 and 11:15 per mile and I was passing people!!! I don't think I've ever passed so many people in a race before!!!

At 2.5 miles, we went from the park roads onto a paved pathway. That was almost completely clear except for a few spots. I wish I had my camera with me here, the trees were so pretty with the snow-covered branches.

One of the cool parts of this race was seeing some of the younger kids out running with their siblings or their parents. At 3.5 miles, I passed what I'm guessing was a 7 year old and a 9 year old running together, struggling. I told them both they were doing an awesome job and high-fived the younger one. I told them there was less than a mile to go and once I passed them, I heard them start running again. That was cool.

Around 3.75 miles, we came out of the woods and out by the lake. The wind started to pick up again, but so did I. I started passing people left and right. I'd find someone and tell myself that I had to pass them. I had a whole group of them. Just before the end, hubby and the kids showed up to cheer "Go, Mommy, Go!" That was awesome and was just the motivation I needed (that and when I saw the finish line) to pump up the pace. I kicked it into high gear and passed three more people just in front of the finish line. I got my popsicle stick that showed I finished 111 overall.

My overall pace for the entire race was 11:08, which is amazing, considering how slow I took it in the beginning.

After the race, we went to the post-race party and I enjoyed bananas, cookies and soup. It all tasted so yummy. Just wished there was some hot chocolate too :) I actually won something too! I got a prize for finishing in the top of my age group. It was not first but I was in the top 8 in my age group, which was the largest of all of them. I got a pretty snazzy mug. This is the first time I've ever won anything at a race, so I was pretty stoked. My oldest, 5 year old was bummed that "All we got was a mug" so I had to explain to him that not everyone got one and I was pretty excited.

Overall, I'm really happy how I did. I wish I could have broken the 11:00 per mile, but I'm sure I would have if it weren't so icy out. Good race!

Rough Week

This has been a tough week for me, even though it's a step-down week. I've been really tired this week. I'm behind on my sleep and can't seem to catch up. Tuesday, I really wanted to skip the run, but I didn't. IT was three miles and I ran my fastest ever with a pace under 11:00/mile! Wednesday I rode the bike for 30 minutes... just wanted to nap in my car, but I found the motivation to keep at it. Today I just wanted to sleep too, but didn't. I forced myself to run. I thought 34 degrees was going to be warm enough, but it was so windy that I was cold a lot of the run. I didn't wear my earband and I should have. My ears were really cold. Three miles with an 11:00 pace in the wind... not bad. I'm getting faster!

How do I get the motivation? I ask myself that a lot. I just think that on race day, what am I going to do if it rains? What if it's windy? What if it is cold? I've got to get used to any of these so I just go out and do it. I can't give up.

Sunday is the 7k race--4.34 miles. Shouldn't be too bad, as long as the rain holds out.

Knees?

Someone asked me this week how my knees were doing since I hurt them. I hadn't thought much about them until she asked, but they are definitely feeling better--not completely, but better. They don't feel tight anymore like they used to and definitely don't hurt when running. In fact, they only hurt when they crack, which happens sometimes when I bend down. I get some clicking, from the ligaments moving around, but that's about it. Not a lot of pain. Thank you!! So glad I didn't injure them!!!

This Week's Training

It's been an interesting week for training, since the weather has been kinda crazy. Monday was a rest day... Tuesday I was forced to run inside because of the snow and nothing being cleared enough to run. I didn't do so hot. I've been spoiled running outside... I ran 1 mile on the indoor track, then planned on doing 2.5 miles on the treadmill. I failed... I ended up doing 3.25 total miles, but I had to walk some of it. I know for sure that if I ran outside I could have done it all, but the treadmill is not my friend.

Wednesday was cross-training. I did 30 minutes on a stationary bike at the gym. Not too bad.

Thursday's run was great. 3.5 miles outside, in the neighborhood's near the Y. Weather was nice, and the run wasn't too bad. Refreshing.

Friday was a rest day.

This weekend I'm supposed to do 5.5 miles and 40 minutes of cross-training. Due to some OT at work and schedule conflicts, I didn't get to do anything yesterday. I'm going to do the 5.5 miles today (rain, please hold off until I'm done!) and then I'll use tomorrow's rest day to make up the 40 minutes of cross-training. I'm looking forward to getting out today. I'm feeling that pre-run rush and can't wait to get out.

Next week is a step-down/race weeks, so I won't have to do as far. Sunday is a 7k race for me that will hopefully have hubby and the kids cheering for me at the finish line. I heard the weather is supposed to be nice next week to... After next week is when the weekend long runs start to increase by a mile at a time. Yikes!

I did it!

I didn't really doubt that I could do it, but there were times during the run that I wanted to quit. Hubby did a 25k this morning and when he was done, I went out on the same course while he stayed with the kids. Since I started so much later, I didn't see anyone on the course for the first three miles so I had to talk to myself... not outloud, but I kept telling myself that this was two runs... a two mile run and a three mile run (or vice versa). It actually wasn't bad.

My pace for the five miles was 11:03, with a total time of 55:18. That pace is amazing for me. I was hoping for somewhere between 11:30 and 12:00. No music this time. I had my mp3 player with me and had my earband on. I went out so quickly that I forgot to put my headphones on. It would have been too much work to do while I was running so I just went without. Unfortunately, I had my phone in my pocket and it bounced annoyingly in my pocket the whole time. Uch!

Mother Nature held off for me too. As soon as I got back in the parking lot, the snow started to fall slightly. By the time I got back to the kids and hubby, the snow was coming down big time.

So, how is my knee? Great! I didn't really feel it until about 4.5 miles in. After I was done I felt it a little, but my thighs hurt more than anything else, from riding my bike on the trainer yesterday. Feeling pretty good right now! I'm on a high. Five miles... never thought that would happen....

Anticipation of Milestone

This weekend I'm scheduled for a 5 mile run. I'm actually really excited about hitting this milestone. Last year before I got pregnant and completed a couple of 5k's, I was thinking it'd be pretty exciting to be able to run five miles. Now, it's approaching and I'm so excited! It's a big accomplishment in my book and I know I'm well on my journey to the half-marathon. Hopefully the weather will hold up until at least noon or 1:00. We're supposed to get snow and ice. I don't mind running in the snow, but it's the ice that'll be the problem. Hubby is running a 25k this morning and the kids and I will meet him when he was done. The original plan was to all play on the playground but with the threat of the weather, I want to get my run in as soon as I can.

On another note... does anyone read this?

Good news

So, on Super Bowl Sunday I fell on the ice. I didn't think much of it until Wednesday when I was traveling to the Chicago area for work. Each time I got out of the van my knee stiffened up and was pretty painful. It seemed to be getting worse, and began to hurt more during the day. Finally today, after dealing with it long enough, I visited our Athletic Trainer at work. He helped me through the tendonitis I had in my knees two years ago, and I was fearful that's what I had again. After his examination, he determined it was slightly swollen, with a visible bruise. The ligaments are not damaged and it's probably just some bruising under the patella. Phew! I was worried. I have to take it easy during my runs, make sure I warm up first and ice when I'm done. Hopefully the pain will go away soon. But thankfully, it is NOT what I thought it might be--tendonitis.

Music

I need some good, motivating, upbeat music to run to. Anyone know some good downloads?

Busy Week

The title says it all... It's been a busy week, but I've managed to get all my workouts in. Here's the rundown:

Tuesday: went to the Y and got measured for body fat %, BMI and waist-to-hip ratio. After this, I felt good about myself. I was in the normal/recommended range for all of them. Yes! So then I ran 1.5 miles on the indoor track and 1.5 miles on the treadmill for the full 3 mile training.

Wednesday: I was traveling for work but luckily it was a cross-training day. My plan was to get to Berkeley (Illinois, near Chicago), go get dinner with my co-workers, then ride bike for 30 minutes in the fitness center. Instead, I did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. I thought I would get a cramp from eating so much before but I did not. In fact, the training called for 25 minutes and I went for 30.

Thursday: Got up at 5:00 Chicago time and ran 3 miles on the treadmill in the fitness center. It was 6:00 our time, so even though I got up "early" there, I slept in an hour and a half later than usual and still got my training in. For some reason, it was easy to do the three miles on the treadmill there. At the Y I have problems doing it for so long.Maybe it was the time of day or the show I was watching, but it was really easy to do.

Friday: rest day!

Saturday: I switched up today and tomorrow and did my long run today and will cross-train tomorrow. I did 4.5 miles today, which is the longest I've ever run. I knew I'd have a mental block with this so I told myself I was two runs of 2.25 miles each. Believe it or not, it worked. I was doing an out and back run again so I knew that once I hit the 2.25 mile mark, I'd turn around and start my "second" run back home.

This time I ran down the country roads to a new bridge being built. Half of it is open, so I ran to that, and just to the bottom of the other side was 2.25 miles. At the bottom, I turned back around and climbed back up to the top. Unfortunately the wind was not my friend here. The long stretch on that road, the wind was at my face on the way home. Luckily when I turned back onto our street the wind was at my back and the last half mile was one of my fastest splits.

Overall it was a good run. I wanted to give up, but I didn't. Like I said, it was all mental. I had to push myself through the times I wanted to stop. I did it and was proud of myself. Looking forward to the 5 mile milestone next week!