Week 6

Monday morning and all I wanted to do was sleep. Got up, ran 4 (a good 4!), now sitting on sofa like a zombie wishing my coffee was already finished. Must get into shower...hair appointment later this morning. It's been too long since I had my hair done so I'm looking forward to some pizazz!

Two things:
1. Had another "best mile yet" during this mornings 4.
2. Had a GU gel on an empty stomach and it worked just great...no problems.

Happy Monday.

I'm a Perfect 10!!!

I did it! I ran 10 solid miles this morning!! I even felt good and didn't need CPR when done! To say I'm proud of myself would be HUGE understatement.

The run itself was pretty uneventful, thankfully there was nothing major to report about it, besides the fact that I got it done. Since my last couple of runs have been less than great, I was extremely nervous about this mornings 10. I couldn't imagine being able to run TEN MILES. At once. Without stopping. Without cramping. Without crying. Without being hospitalized.

It took me awhile to get to sleep last night but I forced myself because I knew I would need to be well rested and full of energy. I woke up at 5:45am, hit snooze and slept 'til a little after 6am. I woke up and forced myself to eat a plain bagel with honey peanut butter, a huge glass of water, and a banana. It's hard for me to eat first thing in the morning, especially peanut butter, but I got it down and I actually felt better. After I was dressed, I enjoyed a cup of coffee while giving myself a pep talk.

Why do I always get so nervous before a big run? Even though this wasn't any kind of race I was still super keyed up and I just wanted to get it started so that I could feel better. So much anticipation had my stomach in knots and I wasn't feeling that great. Then I realized I felt better if I just told myself, "Make it to 5. then go for 7, then go for 9. Once you're at 9 you're practically home free." This strategy helped a lot and I was able to fool myself into thinking that 10 was really only 5, 7, 9. Hey, sometimes these mind games really help and I'll take whatever works!

I dropped the kids off with their dad and headed to the gym. I stretched and drank a few sips of water and warmed up with a little bit of walking. It didn't take much before I was rearin' to go. I started running, paced myself slow and told myself I was in for the long haul. Luckily my music didn't get boring to me, and there was actually some good stuff on TV that interested me enough to watch. On Home and Garden TV a marathon of My First Place was on so I watched that. I've gotten very good at being able to run on the treadmill and watch TV while being able to read subtitles, which kills a lot of time if there is something good on.

I'm trying to learn how to drink water while running, something I didn't think I'd have to "learn" how to do, but I'm getting used to it, which is important since I'm super sensitive to nausea when I get dehydrated. Luckily I haven't gotten nauseated in a long time, so I must be taking in enough water, which makes me happy. When I hit mile 5 I was feeling great, no show of slowing down, but I went ahead and had a GU Gel so that I wouldn't dip in my energy. Fantastic choice because it gave me an awesome boost that carried me through miles 6-8 with ease.

My legs started hurting around mile 7, but they did last week on my 8 mile run so I knew I could push through it, which is exactly what I did. When I hit mile 8 I felt great knowing that this was the longest run I've ever done at one time. I felt energized, my breathing was good, and I knew I was going to take it to 10. Not a single doubt in my mind. My hips and back started to ache slightly at 8.5 and lasted all the way to 10, but I knew I had good form so I just kept telling myself I was almost done, just get through it.

I made it and still felt great. I didn't collapse or throw myself off the treadmill. I slowed down and walked it out for quite awhile because I was worried about my legs cramping. I drank the rest of my water, ate the ice and toweled myself off.

When I walked to my car I still felt great and was surprised at how good the entire 10 went. It was at that time that I realized that the half marathon was definitely something I could complete. I knew that if I made it to 10, then I would be able to do 13.1. I still have 5 weeks of training and know I'll be nice and strong for Chicago by then.

I'm pretty freakin' stoked that I was able to do 10. So stoked that I don't even care that I'm using the word STOKED. I've earned the rights to use it, ha ha. (If you haven't earned it and you use the word, I'm more than likely to think of you as a tool!)

I've worked hard for this goal of 10 and have put in a lot of dedication to make this happen, to make my mind and my body healthy and stronger. Today completes week 5 of training and I've logged in 21 miles of running this week. Next week starts week 6 and I'll be logging in a total of 24.

Damn. I'm close to being one of those REAL runners! Who knew?!

Day of Rest

Today was a much needed day of rest and I enjoyed it for the most part. I didn't exactly "rest" since the day was filled with errands and places to be, but at least I didn't have to run...yippee! I'm really trying hard not to think about my long run tomorrow morning...my T E N miles (sshhhh! Don't say it...spell it!). I can't bring myself to say it without freaking out, so I'm just going to pretend I didn't say it, AND I'm going to pretend that it's not T E N miles, it's just 2 or 3.

If you don't hear from me after tomorrow morning, I'm probably face down on some piece of concrete.

Good luck vibes my way wouldn't hurt, would it? Thanks.

Heat + Hills = Hate

I decided to do my 3 miles outside today because the last time I went to the gym and did the treadmill I nearly gagged on all the old timer smells that were filling the air. Please don't get me wrong...I love old people. They are so cute in their little jogging outfits, and I always smile at them sweetly when I pass them. For the most part they are always so happy and cheerful and it actually makes me happy to see them out exercising. Now I understand that when you get a little older, your sense of smell goes, but why in the sweet name of Jesus do some of them have to put on perfume or cologne?! Like a gallon?!?! Some of them even have hair slicking stuff on...that I CAN SMELL. Maybe I have a bionic sense of smell, but I'm super sensitive to any scent when I run and sometimes even the heavy smell of wet hay or weeds when I run outside will make me gag. To prevent this, I like to run inside on some days, so you can possibly see my aggravation when little old lady Gladys has massive amounts of powdery rose smelling perfume on. What's worse? The blond bimbo with a full face full of oil thick make up and sprays upon sprays of Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth perfume who prances into the gym, doesn't really do much but fix her hair every two seconds and sips on a water bottle. Sheesh. I just can't seem to win. I'm going to have to start wearing a creepy Michael Jackson face mask every time I run. That would really look great.

Anyway...where was I??? I had to wait til almost 9am because of dropping the kids off at day camp and VBS. When I run outside I like to run early...as in 5:30am early, so having to wait til 9am almost seems torture. The sun was ablaze already and I felt waaaaay sloooooow and waaaaay tirrrrred this morning.

I set out and picked a trail I hadn't done before. I *looked* flat enough to me. Turns out that "flat enough" wasn't flat, or at least it didn't feel like it today to my legs that felt like led. I pushed on through and like usual, felt nice and warmed up right as it was time to end. Go figure.

I ran 3.11 and cooled down with a nice walk and a bunch of water. My face feels sunburn, which I hope it's not. I wore a hat, Chapstick, and sunglasses to help protect, but I forgot my sunscreen. Must remember to keep some in the car.

I'm glad that's over with because I really need a rest day. Saturday I have my BIG 10 to do. I'm partially dreading it because right now I can't possibly imagine being able to run 10 miles straight, but I'm also excited because I KNOW I'm going to succeed and I'm going to be so freakin proud of myself when I'm done. I may not be able to move for the rest of the day, but I'll be proud nonetheless.

GU Report

After I loaded my Nike+ today, I got notice that I finally hit the green level. That means I've synced a total of 157.23 miles. Go me! Some dude (pro skateboarder ????) came on and "congratulated me," which struck me funny, but hey I'll take a confidence boost!



Today I had 5 miles. I can't say that it was awful or anything, but it wasn't amazing awesome. I guess every run can't be great. Bummer.

I dropped my son off at day camp, dropped my daughter off at VBS and then headed to the gym. It was raining again (!!!) and thundering and lightening, so today was another DREADmill run.




I finally decided I wanted to try a GU gel because after last weeks 8 miles, I could have really used a "boost" around mile 7. This weekend I have 10 miles and KNOW I will need something to recharge me. I didn't want to go into a 10 mile run trying the GU for the first time for fear of stomach cramps. I'm thinking that doesn't sound like such a great time, so today I decided to try one in the middle of my 5 miles to see how my body reacted.

I chose the Chocolate Outrage first because I've heard such great things about it and I definitely wasn't disappointed. Oh yum! This stuff seriously tasted like brownie batter/chocolate frosting. It had the consistency of the same and left no gross aftertaste, so I was pleased at how easy it was to get down. I was waiting for a stomach ache, just because I tend to have a sensitive stomach when I run anyway, but thankfully this caused me no issues or cramps. Woot for that. I felt a good boost of energy that last almost the entire run, but I do admit that my mind wasn't into it this morning, which as anyone who runs knows, it's all mental. Really. Mile 4 to 5 really blew. I was winy inside my head and begging the kilometers to go faster! faster! faster! I upped my speed during the last mile just to get the hell done.

I felt good after I finally finished, said a quick prayer thanking God for my health in that I CAN run, and thanked my legs for carrying me through yet another long run.

My knees on the other hand? Yeah they must have not of felt the love because they are cursing me out for sure today. Sorry guys! Just 3 miles tomorrow and then you can have a rest day. Please be good for me. I really do KNEED you. :)

Yeah. I crack myself up on a daily basis. Kinda. Anyway, off to down some Advil.

Short Miles, Big Smiles! Monday, June 21, 2010

Today was a good run, a “short” 3 miles. When I woke up, it felt good knowing I didn’t have to kick it into high gear, hurry, and still get ready for work. Today I’m officially on summer vacation!

Instead of my normal 5am alarm, I was able to sleep until 5:45, which felt great. I woke up and took my time getting up and getting functional. I brewed some coffee, fixed an egg and piece of toast, and read the morning news. Larry is doing this super intense workout called P90X, so while I was eating breakfast and waking up, he was downstairs doing his ab workout. I looked out the window and saw it was lightly raining, but that the sky was dark with a greenish tint to it. That meant STORMS. I could hear thunder in the distance and since we’ve had some crazy scary lightening the past several days, I knew I wouldn’t be running outside this morning.

I finished my coffee and breakfast and then got dressed. When L left for work shortly after 7, I got my water, towel, and iPod ready and left for the gym. It was raining pretty hard at this point and the sky was pretty dark. I was wishing I were at home, snuggled in the nice cozy bed, rather than on my way to run. Oh well, I’ll feel better about my decision after.

Once I got to the gym, I realized that I had forgotten that all the old timers speed walk around the track this early in the morning. This is some SERIOUS BUSINESS PEOPLE! You should see these little old people fly around the track with their fanny packs, hand weights, and towels over their shoulders. They had severe written all over their velour jogging suites and white sneakers and I wasn’t about to get in the way of THAT, so off to the treadmills I went! Whew!

The 3 miles weren’t bad, I held steady and enjoyed watching the old folks on the track, which kept my mind off most of my own run. I sweated a lot today, which I don’t mind, because hello I’m running my BUNS OFF, therefore I SHOULD be sweating, but today it just felt gross. Good thing I’m not there to impress because I give the words HOT MESS a whole new meaning… and not necessarily a good one.

When I was done with my 3, I realized it was the same time that my son’s summer day camp starts and since he gets dropped off in the mornings at the same center I workout at I had a good chance of seeing him on his first day (his dad was dropping him off). This excited me, so I quickly cleaned the treadmill, hopped off, and headed out to the gym part. Sure enough I saw Collin in his circle and trotted down to say hi. I keep forgetting that he’s old enough now to get embarrassed at things and I think I mortified him when he realized his sweat-drenched mom with a huge ridiculous smile plastered on her face was headed his way. In fact he looked shocked to see me obviously he wasn’t expecting it. He ended up waving and smiling and I didn’t TOTALLY embarrass him and insist on a hug or anything, just went over and said hi and told him to have an awesome day. Of course it being the first day, all the kids were sitting in silence, none of them knowing anyone, but all eyes were on the crazy glistening lady with blotchy face and sweat soaked shirt trying to figure out who she was and why she was standing in front of them….um yeah, I guess that WOULD embarrass any 9 year old. Ooops. I gave him a quick smile and wink and said goodbye, told him I’d pick him up later this afternoon and I high tailed it outta there. Someday he’ll appreciate stuff like that. He may have been rolling his eyes with embarrassment, but I walked out with a skip in my step and a smile on my face. I just ran 3 miles and I got to see my boy!

It’s the little things!

8 Miles!

Can I get a woot! woot! Or a high five! Or a Hell yeah! Or even just a thumbs up here?! I just finished running my 8 miles! EIGHT freakin miles!!! That is the farthest I've ever run at one time and I didn't stop once. I'm totally patting myself on the back and you can better believe I had a smile a mile wide when I hit that mile 8!

I chose to do my 8 this morning on the treadmill at the gym for a few reasons.
1. My knees have been a little bothersome lately and I wanted to be good to my joints, rather than pounding the pavement and causing any injury. I'm listening to my body and I know when it's good to run the trail or track outside or run the treadmill inside. My body knows what I need so I'm listening.
2. HYDRATION! I've gotten pretty good at my water intake. I drink water all day and always carry a water bottle with me. I used to HATE drinking water...ick. Now I love it. I can run an hour and be okay with just what water I've hydrated my body with, but after that I not only NEED water, but it's necessary to your body. I knew that if I wanted to stay hydrated and stay away from nausea, I'd have to intake water after 1 hour. A coworker has a hydration belt that she said I could borrow, but for today I just decided having water at the treadmill would work easier, so that's what I did.
3. People watching. Time goes faster when you can watch all the people coming in and out of the gym and working out. It also make me feel more accountable and makes me wanna work harder when I know that those same people *I'm* watching, are probably people watching by watching ME! See?! It all works out! :)

This morning I woke up at 5:45am...yes even on a Saturday. I wanted to eat a decent breakfast and give it an hour of digestion before running. I ate egg beaters, a piece of wheat toast, and a few watermelon pieces. It worked well and I had plenty of energy and "go" for most of then entire 8 miles. And NO NAUSEA! Yay!

Mile 1: Felt great and time went fast.
Mile 2: Felt great and found my pace, but my shins! They were screaming but I just kept working thought the pain.
Mile 3: I felt like I had to pee but I was determined not to stop that early. Once I started thinking about it, it's all I COULD think about. My knees started hurting a little on this mile, but again, just pushed on through the pain. Energy level felt great and I was still keeping my pace.
Mile 4-6: Felt good, pace good, energy high, good even breathing. Really enjoying it all.
Mile 7: This is where I felt a slight dip in energy. Nothing major, but this is where I could have definitely used another burst of energy. Not sure I'm brave enough to try the Gu gels just yet, but I really wished I had had something. Time starting to drag just a little.
Mile 8: Back to feeling great, letting my adrenaline take me to the end. Upped my pace back at mile 6 and kept it up the last two miles. Drenched sweaty mess but feeling great!

I finished, kissed the first person I saw, which luckily just happened to be my husband who was on the treadmill next to me. I FINISHED EIGHT FREAKIN MILES AND FELT GREAT!

Of course I'll be downing Advil later and hobbling, but damn...I DID IT!

Hi and welcome *waves frantically with huge smile*

That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going.

I just love that quote! It's so true and fits perfectly. That's how my journey started. One day I was walking and that walk turned into a jog and that jog turned into a run and that run turned into a goal and that goal turned into a race. It's kind of strange actually. I've never envisioned myself to be a "runner" and I've never had a desire to be a runner. I still, even with several races under my belt, don't really consider myself a RUNNER. I can't say that I ever will. I take that back...perhaps after I finish this half marathon without having to be drug across the line by paramedics, then, just then...I *might* consider myself a real deal.

Half marathon in only 6 weeks. *gulp* I'm on week 4 of my training. Unfortunately I was hospitalized and had surgery just 4 short weeks ago as well. I took a week to recover and then I jumped (more like hobbled) back into running. It was slow and steady, but at least I got myself back out there. It's what I needed to do. Not only for my physical recovery, but for my mental recovery. Running does something amazing to me, mentally. It clears my mind and brings me to a place where I can feel at peace.

I've been able to build myself back up and now I'm consistently running four days a week. I logged 16 miles in last week, and this week I'll have a total of 19. This is a huge goal of mine and damn does it make me proud!

Maybe, just maybe some day soon, I'll get to be one of those real "runners!"