Three Things Thursday

1. I enjoyed running with my running group today.  It is a rare treat when my schedule works out so I can meet up with them.  Even had time for coffee afterwards.

2. Starting to regret my decision to run the half on Sunday.  I am going to have to get up super early, trek 40 minutes. and take a shuttle to the start.  So, the hub and the kids won't bother,  they were just going to meet me at the finish but who wants to take a baby, preschooler, and stroller on a shuttle because there is no parking in the finish area(wtf?)  Not to mention it is supposed to be like 38 degrees at the start, guess I need to find my capris and a pair of gloves.....Oh, and hope my boobs don't explode from lack of breastfeeding all morning.

3. Just had my first pumpkin beer of the season.  And it was awful, tasted like a bud.  Then saw it was actually a michelob product trying to disguise itself as a microbrew.  So to Jack's Pumpkin Patch, you may have fooled the hub with your deceptive labeling but you can't fool my taste buds.  I promptly poured out that swill.

Wednesday

Missed my Tuesday run, not a real shock.  I worked all night, got 2 hours of sleep then had the kids the rest of the day.  I was also super crabby mom so that was not great.  When the hub got home I snuck in another hour or so before heading up to the preschool for a meeting.

So today was a make-up day.  Had Sculpt class this morning.  Then, we had a great afternoon at the Botanical Garden.  It was a beautiful day and we weren't in any hurry so we spent the whole afternoon.  I would have taken pictures but a certain 3 year old dropped the camera last week and we haven't gotten a new one.  

Running wise I got in a 4 mile run today.  I am in taper mode for the half marathon on Sunday so just a couple more short runs this week.

Long run

Let's start with my weekend leading up to todays log run.  First, I was awake for oh, 36 hours or so, minus and hour long nap before and after work Friday night and a 2 hour nap when the hub got home from work Saturday afternoon.  I got up after the 2 hour nap so I could eat dinner and go to bed at a normal time. (Otherwise, I would be wide awake at 11pm or 3 am and exhausted by morning.) So this morning when the kids woke up I was still feeling pretty crappy.  I fed the baby and fell back asleep for a little longer. It was raining this morning anyway so I was in no hurry to get out.  I put on a pot of coffee. Mistake #1.  I drank 5 cups of coffee from the time I got up until I got out the door.  Mistake #2  The only thing I had to eat all day was a grilled cheese. (I would have eaten a pb and banana sandwich but we were out of both pb and bananas.)  My parents were taking the three year old for an outing this afternoon, so I figured that would coincide with the baby's nap.  

I finally got out the door around 2 pm.  I had too much caffeine, and nothing to bring with me.   The plan was to do 2 five mile loops.  The loop starts and ends at my house so I would be able to make a pit stop if needed. The first loop went well enough, I strted nace and slow.  There was a little mist of rain but no downpours. It was cool and overcast.  I made it about 20 minutes and felt like I had to pee.  I knew I could wait until I got to the "real" bathrooms and not use the porta-potty that I would be passing.  My plan included running a slightly different route so I could swing by the corner market and pick up some gatorade as I finished up the first loop.  I barely made it into the house for bathroom break #2.  I put my gatorade into my 6 oz. bottle that I was carrying and started out for Loop#2.

The second loop was going well, I turned on my ipod.  I finished my g2 and stopped at a water fountain to refill.  I had to pee again.  Of course I had already passed the "real bathrooms" but I only had 20-25 minutes left.  I picked up the pace.  I steadily picked it up so by time I turned the corner on our block, I was sprinting.  Thankfully, I made it but I will not be testing my poor ole bladder next week.  I think I will skip the coffee before next week's half.  Ten miles total in 1:56.

 My plan going for the half will be to start slow, I can always pick up the pace as the race goes on.  Secondly, listening to music made the second loop go by quickly so I will definitely be using the ipod. Oh, and again skip the large ingestion of coffee. 

I also better check if there will be pottys along the race course, just in case:)

Three Things Thursday

1.  Saw a joggler during my run yesterday.  What is a joggler you ask?  A juggler who runs of course.  Google it. Apparently,  there is more than one person who does this.      I found out that he will be running the same half marathon I'm doing.  He is raising money for charity.  He goes by Juggling Jeff.   He was running at a good clip while juggling three bowling pins.  No, I didn't get a picture either.  But I'll be on the lookout for him on October 3rd.

2.  I am super sore from sculpt class and my 5 mile run yesterday.  I ran this morning at a different park.  Going into it I thought the loop was 1.2 miles.  It was taking forever to get around the park.  I looked at my watch. Crap. Am I really running 15 minute miles?  It was hot, had a few rolling hills and I was pushing the stroller,  but really?  I ran 3 loops in a little under an hour.  Doing math I was hoping that I had the distance wrong.  I checked when I got home- it was actually a 1.65 mile loop.  Awesome.  about  5 miles in about an hour is much better.  

3. Already looking at marathon plans I've used in the past and thinking about what I liked, disliked, how well my training worked race day, etc. What training plans do you like?  Do you follow Higdon, Galloway, Fitzgerald, Daniels methods?

They announced a new Rock and Roll marathon today. I signed up *gulp* for the FULL.

10/23/11

My return to the marathon. I have 13 months to prepare. Here we go.

Best Laid Plans

I had my long run all planned out. The streets were going to be closed for 6.5 miles starting about a mile from the house. It is an initiative to get people out on their bikes, walk,run. The Y is one of the sponsors and at certain spots there would be yoga, zumba and fun things for the kids to do. I figured I could push the kids over in the double and my hubby could hang with them while I ran out and back. There would be places for water and people watching to keep me entertained along the way. Perfect, right?

Then it decided to thunderstorm all morning. No running in lightening for me. I finally decided to head out after it looked like the lightening had stopped. I didn't get started until after 10. It poured, I was soaking and miserable. Then it slowed down. My knee was left knee was a little cranky. It gets that way if I change my gait due to things like weather. I stopped to wring out my skirt. I think it weighed 5 pounds. I decided to stop back by the house for a change of clothes. AND, I still haven't headed back out. When I stopped in I realized I was really hungry and couldn't talk myself into going back out. So, my 9 miler turned into about half that distance.

Of course, now the sun is starting to peek out and I'm sure it's humid and nasty. Just not feeling it though, so I may finish up later, I may have to make one of my midweek runs a long one, I haven't decided yet. Maybe I'll feel inspired later. But for now I'm home feeding the baby.

Week Recap

Made it through this week, at least the part I was stressing about. We had a lot going on this week. I was working an extra 2 afternoons to make 4 shifts this week. On top of a new session at the y (and 2 classes for me to teach), preschool, and the start of my hubby's new work schedule. It took juggling and planning but we made it. I even got my running done, I just have to run 5 miles today. Which I am getting ready to do now that the hubby is home.

On the mommy front, the 3 year old threw up last night in her bed and didn't tell anyone. She woke up with puke in her hair, all over the bed, you get the picture. AND she snuck into our bed this morning and laid at the foot of the bed, SO, two sets of bedding to wash and a bath first thing in the morning. She seems to be fine now, no fever, no upset tummy so I guess she got it out of her system.

As for my workouts this week-I taught on Monday, so I was a little sore from that I haven't been hitting the lunges, push-ups etc. for the last 6 weeks. I ran 3 miles on Tuesday. I taught on Wednesday then raced to work. I was sore again on Thursday but dropped off at preschool and took the baby for a 5 mile run with the stroller. I felt like a rock star. That is the furthest I have run pushing that thing. I figured out how to run with it. Of coarse it took me until the second kid but whatever. Woke up last night a few times with calf cramps so I am planning on wearing my compression socks for my run today and tonight when I am at work.

Long run planned for Sunday, will do 9 or 10 miles depending on how I feel.

10k Race Recap

Heading over to the park I was wondering if this race was going to be a waste of time. The kids were up throughout the night. The baby woke up about the time I drifted off to sleep. I got her back to sleep about an hour later. Two hours later the three year old woke up and came into our room. Three hours after that the baby was up for another feeding. Got another hour or two of sleep before the alarm clock went off. Couple that with my poor nutrition Saturday night, I had a beer and ice cream cake while at a my cousin's birthday party. Oh, did I mention the frozen pizza and salad I ate for dinner? Needless to say, I was not going to set any records and I was questioning my ability to suck it up enough to finish.

I had half of a banana, some almonds and a cup of coffee for breakfast. I jogged over to the park, a mere 7 minute jog from my front door. Love living that close to the park. Got my number and headed toward the mid/back of the pack. The race included a 5k and 10k. The later being two loops of the course. I was going to try and start slow. I find it hard to find my pace at the beginning of a race especially when some are running shorter distance. First mile was a little faster than I anticipated, then I slowed down a little too much. Finding a pace and sticking with it does not come easily. There were 2 water stops. They also had a walk that started five minutes after the run started. Which worked out well until mile four when we caught up to the last of the walkers. There really was plenty of room though so I didn't have to waste too much energy going around them.

My splits were as follows:

1. 9:00
2. 10:16
3. 9:15
4. 9:44
5. 10:22
6. 8:56 The last 0.2 1:29

Total time for the 10k 59:05. I was happy with that. I was hoping to finish in about an hour so that was right where I wanted to be. And yes you read that right, 8:56 for the last mile. I looked at my watch at mile 5 and knew if I picked it up I could finish just shy of an hour.

Goals leading up to the half marathon in three weeks are:

Nutrition: I need to eat better and fuel better for my long runs.

Pacing: I need to maintain more even pace. I'm all over the place. Not sure how I'll go about that yet.

Day of Firsts

My three year old started preschool. She walked in, sat down and started playing. She refused to smile for a picture or even look up. In fact she gave me the back of her head for a picture.

So while I only had one kid, I met up with some friends and ran with the single jogger. It was the baby's first time in the single, she's only run with me in the carseat in the double so she got to see a bit more of the world. She was really good and just chilled the whole time. I even got to hang with a few of the gals afterwards for coffee.

When I picked her up from school, she was the only kid to cry because she didn't want to leave. As you can see she was not happy that I came to get her.

As for my running this week, pretty much as planned. Five miles on Tuesday, three on Wednesday, 40 minutes today but I ran with the stroller so I think that should be close enough to five miles without it. I am working a different schedule this week so we'll see how the rest of the week goes. I have a 10k race on Sunday.

Sunday Recap

The baby woke up at 4:30 am on Sunday. And instead of thinking "ugh, there goes my run" I thought, "Good, I'll get an early start." Of coarse, we both ended up falling asleep on the couch a little after 6. Had a little breakfast (toast with peanut butter) and coffee when we woke. Forgot I am going to have to figure out nutrition before the half. So, by time I actually left it was 10 am.

Luckily, it was beautiful outside. I decided to leave some water on the porch and do two loops of 4 miles each. The first loop went well, finished in my normal time, about 41 mins. The second loop was a couple minutes slower so no negative split. Total time 1:24. I think that was 10:30 minute average.

I didn't wear my compression socks yesterday nor did I wear them after I got home. I am sore today. Mainly my calves. So, I guess they have been helping. I wear them to work and I can tell a huge difference in the morning when I get off work if I don't wear them. But, I wasn't sure about running for a few miles. Not much of an experiment but I'll be wearing them either during or after my long runs.

Plan for the week:

• Tuesday- 5 miles ( off monday night)
• Wednesday -3 miles
• Thursday- 5 miles
• Friday- probably rest day, working Thursday night
• Sat- rest or easy
• Sun- 10 k race

Kids say...

Since my fall Wednesday my hip has been sore and bruised. I attempted to run yesterday, jogged over to the park but it was still bothering me. Later in the day I was complaining about one of the cuts on my hand hurting and telling my 3 year old that I fell while running.

She said : "Mom, you're not a very good runner. "

me:"No, I guess I'm not."

"I'm a good runner. I could hold your hand and keep you safe."

Notice how she saved the insult with a sweet comment on the end. For those of you who don't have small children the "keep you safe" is from too much Dora and Diego.

Going to try and run later this afternoon when the hubby gets home. Hoping my injured saddlebag feels good enough to do the 4.5 miles I have on the agenda. Going to ice it before I go. Wish me luck.

Woops

This morning I woke up and just had a few minutes to get out the door. I threw on my running clothes, foregoing the contacts and wearing my glasses. Grabbed my hat since it was raining lightly. It was still really dark and the sun didn't start to peak out until I was halfway through my run. I only saw a few people out. It was muggy, really muggy, fog up the glasses kind of muggy.

I was most of the way around the park when it started to pour. I put my hat on and kept going. Running in the rain doesn't bother me. It rained two out of the three marathons I've run. I was almost home and going to add on a little more when I went down. I tripped and went sliding head first across the asphalt. They had just repaved the street with chip and seal so I had gravel all down one side. I think it was the fogged up glasses that caused me to miss a bump in the sidewalk next to the alley. I slid across it like I was sliding into home plate. Luckily, my running skirt and socks withstood the slide. My hands are a little torn up as is my hip but otherwise okay.

So lesson learned, I will take the extra time to put my contacts in before I run:)