Commitment to running

What a commitment this guy has to running this race in Atlanta.

running again.

Well I have done it again. That is I have signed myself up for another half marathon. I really enjoyed running the last one and was super proud at the dedication I put forth into training and proud of myself for accomplishing running 13 miles at one time.

Now you might be saying to yourself, Oh this will be easy for her since it was only two months ago she was in great shape and ran 13 miles. Ha! Wouldn't that be nice. I have been kicking myself for the fact that in the past two months I worked out maybe 10 times and ran maybe 5 times. UGH what was I thinking. I registered last week for this race that is towards the end of Sept and hit the pavement again last weekend. My first run was 2 miles and I had to run 5 min and walk 2 min. The next day the same, and then the next day I ran the 2 without walking. Today was 3 and I didn't walk, so that was good. I'm back in the training game and enjoy it. I seem to work out a lot more regular when I have a workout schedule on my calendar and a goal in sight!

So if you live in my area and want to get in on this fun you better register soon because they are only taking 1,000 participants since it is the innagural race!

One Mile.

I am ashamed to admit that today I ran my FIRST mile since my 1/2 marathon about a week and a half ago! I have gotten so lazy with no race on the calendar and no workout schedule on my ical! I need a race to be traning for.

Tonight I did pilates at the Y, and I 'm still not so sure about it. Yes it did hurt sometimes, but I didnt' sweat hardly and didn't feel as though I had really worked out afterwards. Not sure if I'll do that one again. Then I got on the treadmil and ran ONE lousy mile! Ha! I was running out of time and needed to get home for dinner and that is all I had time for. I guess one is better than none!

13.1 miles with an update ...

I DID IT! 13.1 miles today. I have been training since January and today was THE day! It was early this morning and Becca and I got down to Centential Park about 6:45 am for a 7 am race start. We were in the 13th corral and so it took us about 20 minutes to get to the start line.

The race was great and my goal was to finish under 2 hours and 10 minutes. I was set to pace myself for about 9:30 to 10:00 minute miles. The first mile Becca and I ran was 8:30!!! Way too fast for our first mile! :)

We had fun and my parents flew up yesterday to help with the boys and to cheer me on. Here are some pics to prove my acheivement!


I saw the family during the race around mile five and was able to give the BIg Boy a kiss. He was kinda of caught off guard and didn't know what to think when I ran up to him!





It was fun and I can see myself doing this again someday. Right now my WHOLE body hurts and I want to just lay in bed all day! My knees hurt my calves hurt, my toes hurt, my back hurts .... wow I hurt!

I finished at 2:06.46 so I was very proud of myself!

UPDATE!
***I found my "official" time today in the paper - I finished 5,727th with a time of 2:07:06. The last place in the paper was 19,416 so I think I did pretty well! The first place in my age group (25-29) was 1:24:40! WOW that is grooving! BUT get this ... the first place in age group 12-14 was 1:42:26. What the heck? That girl is amazing! Today my body doesn't hurt too bad, just my knee caps. I know it is random but they do hurt!

TEN MILES

I must brag on myself for one moment. I just arrived home from a ten mile run! Did you read that TEN MILES of non-stop running! I stopped twice for water and twice to adjust my ipod and finished in one hour and thirty-eight minutes (I know for some of you that is slow, but hey for me I was very proud!). I was very tired and now just want to lay on the couch and sleep but of course there is laundry to be done and a bathroom to be cleaned!

Next Saturday I'll be running 13 miles! WOW I think I might cry at the end! My parents are coming up to cheer me on since Aaron will miss it. :(

Marthon update!

Remember I am set to run 13.2 miles in about 12 days! Also remember that until today I had not run in many, many days due to sickness and vacation. Today I hit the treadmill again and it was fun and sad all in one. I was so happy to be back at running, but so sad that I didn't get to run too far and I was a little more winded than I would have been a few weeks ago!

Oh well, let's not look at the negative let's look at the positive side - I'M BACK! Tomorrow I will get back outside and run because I HATE the treadmill!

Check out this story .... this is what I call dedication!

thoughts.

Thoughts from my rocking chair on a yucky Friday morning ....

* Today is going to be a very lazy day. Every day this week we have played outside so much and today it is wet and chilly (I haven't actually been out yet, but that is what it looks like from my living room window!) and so we're stuck inside.

* It is 9:56 am and I'm still in my jammies and just remembered the coffee I made earlier at breakfast is still there and I haven't had any! Bummer - so I just got me a cup and it's not very good. We've been in a coffee slump. Every pot doesn't seem to be good. We've tried to buy other coffee besides Starbucks, and honestly I think we'll be going back to the Starbucks. This stuff just isn't as good!

* The kids are dressed and ready to go though, so IF I decide to leave the house today they are ready.

* Once again big boy was dry this morning when we woke up. Should I put him in big boy underwear at night? He is ALWAYS dry in the AM. We limit his fluids at night and usually he doesn't have anything after dinner unless we are out. What do you guys think?

* Okay so are you wondering about my lental sacrifices? (Is lental really a word?) Well honestly it is not going well. :( My attitude has been awful and Aaron tells me I should quit b/c my heart is not in the right place. :( The Diet Coke thing is going a lot better. I had one on Sunday (Aaron told me that Catholics take Sunday off from fasting .... was he lieing to me???) and it was SO GOOD! I thought that would make me want one more, but actually I have not craved one all week long. :) So, that is going well. I can see myself making it to Easter and then limiting my intake lots! The internet - NOT going well. I have cheated so much that it isn't even funny! I thought I would just limit the blogs I read ... then I started reading the ones that were adopting so I wouldn't miss anything ... then I started reading my friends b/c she lives in TX and I didn't want to miss out ... see how it just kept going. I have pretty much started reading blogs again. UGH! I feel like a failure! Not really, but here's the deal ... I'm still going strong with my diet coke sacrifice ... the internet NOT SO MUCH. Oh well.

* I got some very sad news today. One of my closest friends (the kind that you don't get to see often BUT your hearts will always be close) has had a hard year with her mom. Her mom had cancer and had a masectomy and reconstruction and now she is having more problems. My heart is breaking for her and her family. How much more do they have to indure. Why her family? Why not mine? How long will this go on? Only God knows these answers and they are a mystery to us. I do know that God has a plan and he may not let us in on it but it is HIS plan and it is PERFECT. So, to my sweet friend - I love you, and am praying for you, your mom and whole family daily. LOVE YOU GIRL!

* I feel like all I do is complain about my knee lately. I know that Aaron is tired of hearing about it and I'm sure you are too! I called my doc yesterday to get a reference for an orthopedic or something. I missed the nurses call back and she left on my machine for me to ice it and take motrin. WHAT? She must not know that I have been doing that for about THREE weeks now!!! UGH! I didn't run yesterday b/c after my run on Wed (only did 5 and was supposed to do 6) my knee has been killing me (what's new!!). So, I'll get back to the gym today ....

* If you've made it this far into my boring nothing of a post - have a great day!

the hills of life.

We are out of town this weekend in Dalton, GA and I brought my running clothes with me so I wouldn't miss my run on Saturday. Yesterday I drove two miles out from our hotel so I would know where to go for my four miles. As I was driving I noticed it was a little on the hillly side, but it didn't seem too bad.

Today when I left the hotel for my run I felt great. It is about 66 degrees outside with a slight breeze. Pefect for a Saturday afternoon jog! It was less than 4 minutes into my run that I hit the first of many inclines on this breezy, Saturday afternoon jog! Oh my gosh! This was by far the hardest run I have done so far and it wasn't even the farthest! I think my whole run today was on an incline. There weren't but a few minutes that I was running on level ground.

Half way to the two-mile mark I ran down the biggest hill I have yet to encounter. I almost fell forward it was that big. Although I should have been enjoying this down hill run, all I could think about was the fact that I was at one point going to have to go up this thing.

I encountered many more hills and then the dreaded mountain arrived and I put my head down and started going up. I thought my legs were going to fall off! I was almost to the top and I had to walk the rest. I hate to walk when I'm running. For some reason I feel like a weenie when I walk. BUT my legs were telling me either you stop or we're collapsing!

I got to thinking about these hills and how it is just like our life. We are constantly going through some sort of little hill in our lives and we will all have a big mountain at one point or another to climb as well. I think we need hills in our life; they make us stronger. They also make those big mountains in life easier to deal with when we get to them because we've already been dealing with the little hills of life.

If I never ran these hills I would NOT be prepared for the half marathon that is 7 weeks from today. Although it was a very hard run today I am so thankful for the way it is preparing me for what is to come. I am thanful for my struggle. I know I will be better because of it.

James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "But he (Jesus) said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

It's official!

It is official I have registered for the 1/2 marathon at the end of April! It feels good to know that I'm commited to something and it makes my goal even more important to me! I went today and bought new shoes. I went to a running store and they measured my feet and recommended the perfect shoe! It was cool to buy a shoe that actually fits your foot. I found out I have flat feet and when I run my feet turn in and that could be effecting my knees. So, the shoes will help correct that and hopefully help my body not hurt so badly.

My knee was acting up again tonight on my lousy 2 mile run! I am taking advil and icing my knee and will probably run/walk my 6 miles tomorrow. The lady there recommended me running 5 minutes and then walking 30 seconds to a minute. I told her I would feel like a weanie if I did that. BUT if my knee is still hurting I think I'll be doing some walking!

Oh and did I mention that I'm getting sick. UGH is all I can say to that. Our family has been very blessed this year and we haven't had much sickness in our home. I'm thinking I may have a cold. My throat hurts, head was pounding this morning and now my voice sounds all scratchy. TYLENOL COLD NIGHT TIME will be my friend tonight!!!

one week down.

Well I'm one week into NO diet coke and very limited internet, and it is going great. I missed the diet coke greatly one day and besides that I'm doing pretty well. :) The internet has been good as well. I am getting much more done and actually reading more and resting more too!! :)

Ran yesterday for the first time in a week and felt ok. Ran 3 today and felt ok. Now my other knee is hurting. UGH. This is one of the most frustrating things I've delt with in a while. I actually WANT to run and I can't. That has NEVER happened! I'm going next week to get new shoes since so many have suggested trying that first, so hopefully that will help! I'm back at the gym tomorrow though. I feel like I lost so much ground during my week off.

knee

Well after 4 days of rest I set out to hit the pavement again tonight. I ran as far as the end of the house next to us and had to turn around and walk home. My knee was hurting pretty badly. It is not the worst pain I've ever felt, but it is pain and it is worse when I run. I was telling the hubby last night that I am constantly aware of it. Not that it hurts all day long, but I just feel this uncomfortable feeling in my knee. If I stand up and immediately stand on that one leg then my knee hurts, if I am sitting and turn it the wrong way it hurts, and tonight when I started running it was hurting even worse.

So, I've contacted my local Y and am going to have someone check me out. They'll tell me one of three things - either #1. you need to rest a little bit longer and then get back to running, or #2 you should see a doctor, or #3 you are a big BABY get back out there and run!!! I'll keep you up to date on the outcome.

****UPDATE 12 MINUTES LATER*****
So after feeling like a complete looser for running 43 seconds and turning around I decided to try one more time. So, I ran around my block and limped for the first half. Then is started feeling a little better but still hurt so I went inside. It is sore now and I think tomorrow I may try the treadmill so I can go slower and it will be softer on my legs than the pavement outside. I'll probably walk the most, but honestly I have to work out. I am starting to enjoy this running stuff and have MISSED it so badly these past few days. I've felt awful for not running and felt as though I was loosing ground.

Any thoughts?

5 miles!

I don't remember the last time I ran 5 miles. Probably over 10 years ago in high school cross country! Oh my gosh today my body ran for 51 minutes and 21 seconds without stopping. Boy am I proud! After 3 miles I had to pass by our house and Aaron was outside cheering me on - I LOVED that!

Yeah for me! Now I am on the floor in the living room watching THE VIEW on my tivo with my leg propped up and ice on my right knee which was killing me the whole time I was running!

One day closer to my goal!

Don't feel like it

This is a day I DO NOT feel like running. Hubby is home! Kids are being so good! Hubby and I are sitting at the kitchen table, talking and catching up, drinking coffee and checking emails. Pure bliss!

But I will eventually go run ......

Update to last night's entry

Okay yesterday I was on top of the world after running. I felt incredible, strong, fast, healthy. This morning I felt like I SUCK at this. I ran 2.5 miles this morning and it took me longer than it took me last night to run 3! I felt awful. My legs were tired, my ankle and knee on the same leg were hurting. I had to walk the last half mile!

I have talked with this lady at the Y today for the second time and she is a RUNNER. You can tell when she runs that she is a RUNNER and you can tell by her body that she is a RUNNER. I think I want to be a RUNNER someday! Anyhow she asked me how my training was going and I told her about how awesome last night was and how awful this morning was. She mentioned a few things to me:
1. I didn't have a long recovery from last night's hard run until this morning.
2. My knee is probably hurting b/c it is not used to this running. I need to do weights to increase my strength. I had not been wanting to do weights b/c I was running and thought that was enough, but apparently I need more - today I did weights.
3. She said I should change up my workouts. Running on the treadmill is so hard and boring. I ran outside twice this week when it was nice, but I can't run in this cold. So, she suggested changing the tempo and incline to simulate the outside.
4. Need to work on speed work too on some days.

I think I have begun to obsess over the miles and getting them in that I haven't cared how I got them (treadmill or outside). I just wanted to finish as fast as I could and mark it off the training list.

Now I'm back to the internet to look at my workout plan and see where I should do weights, cross train, speed work, hills, etc.

Any seasoned runners feel free to pass on any advice you have! I love advice!

running status

For the 5 people that read my blog I thought I would update you on my running status. As you may remember one of my New Year's Resolutions is to run a half marathon. I am hoping to do the Country Music Marathon in April.

So, last week I ran 14 miles (more than I ran the whole month of Jan!) and that brought my total since Jan 1st up to 40.80 miles. :) So far this week I've ran 10 and have three more to go before the end of the week. On Tuesday I ran 4 miles in 36:54, and today I ran 3 in 26:03.

For those of you that remember my complaining in January about how much I hated running and wondering if it would ever get better. Well, it is still SO hard, but it is getting better. I am enjoying my runs more often. Tonight I was only supposed to do 2, but was feeling good so I went one more.