I'm here

It's been a week since I wrote in my blog. WOW. You know I'm not excited about this when I miss my entries. Were to start? I ran my 5 miles last Thurs. Don't remember anything to exciting about it. I was worried about running on Sat. 10 miles less than the week before but I was hurting enough I didn't want to get worse. I had a personal goal of 2 hours and 10 minutes and was able to finish in 2:05 including a bathroom break. I was excited and I didn't hurt too bad. Woke up Sunday in pain again and decided to skip the 3 mile run for a two day rest. Which brings us to Tues. I starting running my 5 miles and my ankles were not in it sooo I walked 3 miles instead. I had just a bad day on Tues. and I wasn't able to run at the time I like to so I wasn't into it at all. I was glad I walked the 3 because it seemed to loosen up my muscles that were killing me. Yesterday I decided I was going to really change things and I ran a new way for 4 miles. I didn't care about what my time was going to be and I just ran. It was a nice change. Today I still wasn't able to run at the time I like and it was hot. I pushed myself to run 3 miles and turned around walked about a mile to cool off. Then I finished my run home 6miles today run/walk. I feel pretty good.

I need to learn to count

This morning I had to run 4 miles and instead of running to the park I wanted to change things up a bit. I decided to run the hills today. The path as far as I know is marked for a 3 mile but I've never gone farther to see if there's more. So I decided to run a few .25 back and forth. I knew the end was a dreadful uphill .25 mile and after 3 miles I figured out I could just run another .25 mile and not have to run the uphill path. By the time I finished I looked at my watch in disbelief. I know I'm slower than normal on the hills but come on. I couldn't figure it out. When I got home I had to make a diagram in order to count the miles. Sure enough I ran over. Otherwise it was a good run. I saw 5 deer including a fawn. Plus I woke up this morning and the muscle by my knee wasn't tight. I don't know if it was the fruit I ate late last night or the Motrin I took for a headache but I feel a ton better. Yeah!

July 17

To my amazement I was able to roll out of bed on Sunday and that was about it. I could feel muscles in my legs I didn't think you had. My hips and my outer knee muscles are just killing me. I hope it's just something I need to develop. It almost feels like they are too tight. I stayed and stretched for about 15 minutes on Saturday because I could feel those muscle were tight. I keep stretching hoping it will work. Anyway I decided to skip the 3 mile run on Sunday and take Sunday plus Monday as rest days. Today really last night I was dreading today's 6 mile run. After the first steps I was ready to call it quits, but I pressed on. At 1 and a half I wanted to turn around and just make it 3 miles. Then I figured I was in the park I may as well take it to 5 miles and I could always walk the last mile. I don't exactly know how but I finished all 6 miles running. I wasn't worried about time, honestly I really don't worry about time I just wear my watch because I need to see if I can finish in the allotted time frame. I push a button at every mile but, I don't look at it until I'm walking my cool down. Once I'm moving, I'm moving I don't care about time I just care about finishing my miles. That reminds me of a story I heard the other day about two women at the Bayside or Bayshore race. They were so slow people kept trying to get them to stop , the race officials tried to force them off the course, eventually they came and took their numbers and shoe tags. The women refused to give up and said their goal was to raise the funds and complete the race. Someone asked what if no one is there when you complete the race, they replied that it didn't matter They were there to complete their goal. They finished 3 hours after the event was over and everyone was home. Then they walked home! Locals of course but good for them, they had a job to do and they didn't let anyone or anything get in their way.

I Ran 12 Miles

Yep... I ran 12 miles today. I'm soo proud of myself. There was not team training today so I headed up to the park anyway. Have you ever heard that athletes are the most superstitious people known? I don't consider myself to be an athlete, but I'm really superstitious when it comes to my running. I like things in the same spot, I like to run the same way, I like to get dressed the same way... Today I had to run around the park twice and I know I do not like the 4th mile in one direction, it's always been a hard mile for me. So today I decided to make a turn around I ran counterclockwise first so that miserable 4th was my 2nd mile. I was pretty happy about my decision and I also decided that I would turn around and run clockwise for the second lap. I knew that my 11th mile would be hard regardless of the direction I ran. Plus going clockwise gives you a nice downhill run toward the end that I thought would help me out because I can always run downhill. I could feel my muscles alongside my knees and my hips and I knew if I stopped I would have a really hard time starting up again. Toward the end there was also a gentleman what would walk/run and we were lapping each other for a while which helped me keep going. I wanted to complete this run in 2 hours and 30 minutes. I finished it in 2 hours and 31 minutes that includes the 3 minutes bathroom break. You know their not going to stop the clock the day of the race and say," so and so's on a bathroom break stop the clock." I'm incredibly impressed with myself and I'm sure I'll feel all 12 miles for the next few day. I'll be impressed if I can roll out of bed tomorrow.

Do Turkeys attack?

Odd I know but one of the last things I thought I'd have to worry about is if a turkey will attack. Went for a 5 mile run today and on the way ran right between two turkeys. One starting puffing his feathers at me so I slowed down then he crossed the path to join the other one. At which point I moved to the other side of the path clapped my hands loudly and ran quickly. Then looked up to see a deer on the path. I know they have attacked but I wasn't worried about that. It's funny how your mind starts to wander then I started to think about movies like birds or when animals attack. I continued on my run and just when I forgot about the turkeys and thought I was in the clear more turkeys. This time on the way home and it was a mama with her 7-8 babies. Being a mom of two I know that if anyone comes near my kids I'm on defense. Plus I could only imagine what kind of mood I'd be in if I had 7-8 kids of my own. I wasn't even going to risk that one. I just ran softly and fast. Other than the animals I had a good run, it felt really good 1 hour and 3 minutes. I found the groove quickly but I was tired and it was hard to stay in it. I found myself slouching a few times. I'm glad tomorrow is a day off. I need it. Sat is a 12 mile run and I'm excited. Funny I was scared to death of 7 miles but 12 miles doesn't sound scary.

Finding the groove

Went out for a four mile run today. Yesterday I finally purchased a fuel belt. I don't know why I was running holding a bottle of water for so long. I figured I start wearing it today on a shorter run so if it didn't work out I won't be stuck with it for 12 miles. I like the way the belt gives a snug support to my lower back. It has four water bottles on it. Starting out I did a triple whammy, I ran up the hill with the belt trying to find my groove again. Needless to say me run was slow but that's o.k. I finally got comfortable with the belt at the end. Finding my groove with the belt on was harder than I expected. I did figure out a few things: 1. without holding a bottle of water I'm less likely to drink myself to death. 2. I hold myself back when running downhill. I need to just go with it 3. I've been running with my knees! Finding that groove requires me to run from my hips. Which explains why my right hip has been hurting lately. So when the tush is flying I'm doing good!

I'm back

Let's see where did I leave off, I ran 3 miles on Weds. It was horrible. I had a breakdown just couldn't believe I was signed to run a marathon. After talking with Bill, I calmed down. I was putting too much pressure on myself. I didn't want to let anyone down especially Bill. I wasn't sure I could really run 26.2 miles. You know you can hear something a gillion times but until someone else says it, it really doesn't sink in. I was crazy scaried of running the whole thing, but I don't have to run the whole thing. I just have to finish it. I'm not worried too much about my time I only want to finish in the time limit 6 1/2 hours. Thurs. by the time I was able to run, it was scary thunderstorms outside so I thought it would be o.k. to skip which I felt bad about. But it gave me time to recoupe alittle more. Fri was a day off. Sat we had an early run time with the team, we met at 7:30 and had to run 10 miles. Half way through, it was way to hot. I know I didn't eat enough that morning to sustain that run and at one point I just kept walking I couldn't run anymore. I truely think I walked 4.5 miles, and I was o.k. with that. Finally I was o.k. with it. I finished in 2 hours and 18 minutes. People ask me how I did after the runs and my answer is always the same," I finished it." Because that's what I truely care about. Sunday I had to run 3-4 miles. I woke up at 6:30 and it was already too hot. So I went back to bed. I cheated later that day I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill. Mindless running I call it. I figured since I was cheating I'd do 4 miles on an incline and run as much of it as possible. It was good I finished all four miles with only one walk break long enough to swallow some water. I took it really slow too. Monday was an off day and I was wondering why my thighs hurt so much. That takes us to today. This morning I ran my scheduled 5 miles. I was doing really good too. I figured out why my thighs hurt on the hills. I was in a real groove. I felt so good I didn't want to stop and walk. I did have to take one walk break, I was starting to see stars. I was so bummed. As soon as they faded less than half a .25 mile, I started to run again and was able to run the rest of the way. I finished in 1 hour and 4 mins and was very proud of myself. I hope I'm able to keep that same feeling when I run the next time.

Back on the trail

Well after a good number of days I finally feel well enough to get out and run some miles. I wanted to run the 9 miles I missed on Sat. but thought it best to just run the 5 miles scheduled and let my body heal some more. It felt great to get out and then I started to feel bad again. I was having a hard time getting through the miles. I even took my walk breaks and had to take some extra ones during mile 4. I also started wondering again why am I doing this? Me running that's just two words you shouldn't see together. Almost had another breakdown but instead decided to just keep running one foot in front of the other. I often wonder if I can't get though 5 miles how in the world am I to get through the whole 26.2 miles. But then it really doesn't matter because I'll get through every mile, whether I'm walking or running I'll get through it! One foot in front of the other. I did complete the run in 1 hour and 5 minutes. No wonder I was having a hard time I wore myself out by running 12:36, 12:35, 11:32 with walk breaks!! That's fast for me. The lasagna I had for lunch wasn't helping any either. Reminder to self don't eat big meal even 4 hours before running!