Where I Am Right Now

I started running again yesterday. I have run two days in a row. Just 4 miles each day. Running makes me feel better. It even helps me deal with my kids more productively. I will continue to run, even after the bitter disappointment of the marathon. I don't exactly have a plan right now. But, I know that I am going to run in a Thanksgiving Day 6 mile race. I know that I want to spend some time on the weekends running on the trails during this, my favorite time of the year. And so I begin again.

A week out now from the marathon, I am able to have a better perspective on the experience. Especially, after talking to others and reading some race reports, I realized that it was just another bad day. And in some ways, my body shutting down like that was a blessing, because it did for me, what I probably would not have done on my own; stop. On my own I probably would have carried on torturing myself and still not getting the goal I wanted.

So, yeah, I am still disappointed, but it is a whole lot easier to get a handle on now. I would love to say that I would just jump into another one in the next month or two and get that Boston time. I am still in good enough shape, physically. But, as much as my perspective has changed, mentally, I don't think I can right now. My heart and my head are just not into the distance right now.

Running has given me so much through the years. And I have been at this a long time. Really, I already have two Boston qualifying times from my first two marathons 10 and 8 years ago. Plus, I have all the other accolades and positive experiences from years of cross country and track. A trip to Boston to run the famed marathon would have been awesome and maybe one day I still will. I still have time. But, for right now, I gave it my all two years in a row and it is time for other goals.

One of the cool things we are doing this summer is taking our two older kids on a 4 day backpacking trip in the sierras. I haven't backpacked since I was a teen and I can't wait. I would also love to introduce Dash and maybe even Jack Jack to running in some local road races. And there are a lot of local road races I can jump into and maybe work on some of my long lost speed again.

Never say, never on the marathon. But, this is just where I am right now.

Just What I Needed

I ran 20 miles today. It was great. Really. Who needs to do the actual marathon when you feel that good running 20 miles? The weather was perfect. I started out before dark and the Mr. and Jack Jack met me at mile 10 with Gatorade and energy gel. I was determined to run the first part not too fast and I accomplished that. Without really even trying, I ran the 2nd half, almost a minute per mile faster, finishing about 10 minutes earlier than I thought I would. I had been feeling terrible for a few weeks. Not sick, but not right. And then Dash was in the hospital. But, finally, this week, I felt like I got back on track. So, in three week, comes marathon day. Unfortunately the marathon does not start at my favorite time to begin my runs (5 am), so I am hoping that the weather will be much better than last year, because I am ready to go.

cross posted at That's Life v 2.0

So Not Good at This

I can't seem to post on here regularly. Which, I suppose is fine, since who really wants to hear that I felt like crap all last week and did the same run over and over again trying to feel better? Or that one morning I had to spend so much time in the bathroom that I actually ran out of time to run?

So, I am back to hitting the highlights. Over a week ago, I ran 21 miles. The first 15 felt great. The last 5 were terrible. I hate the heat and humidity. I am seriously not running the marathon, if I wake up and that is the weather we've got. I did that once already. I do not feel the need to punish myself again. The last 5 miles of this long run were too hot and too humid. And I felt like poop.

I spent all of last week trying to recover from the 21 miler. I think I might had a bit of a virus or something. Because I had a massive sinus headache all week. I never did get sick, but I felt overwhelming fatigue. So, either I over did it the week before, or I was slightly sick. But, either way, I took it way easy and tried to recover. I am finally feeling better this week. But, the goal was a 20 miler this weekend, and I am still going to play that by ear. If I am not ready, I am not going to push it. The 20 miler can wait until next weekend. Because I won't be any less prepared if I only run 2 20 milers instead of 3 in preparation for the big day.

End of Last Week, Beginning of This One

I have given up keeping track of days and weeks left until the Chicago Marathon. But if you look right, into my side bar, you can see a handy dandy little gadget that counts down the days for me. Also, if you are so inclined, you too can join the dailymile and become one of my friends (so far I have 2, that's it...) and log your miles and workouts over there. It is even easier than blogging!

So, last week:
Friday: 9 miles. I got to start after the sun came up. That was nice. I ran slow and easy, more than just a little afraid of the fact I was running 9 and then needed to run 19 the very next day.

Saturday: 19 miles. I did two 9.6 mile loops, so my total was actually 19.2 miles, but I tend to be an overachiever. I started at 4:30 and the sun did not come up until well into my first loop. The advantage to this, was that even though I hate doing loops, the second loop, actually looked much different than the first loop, mainly because I could see. I had a nasty powershot at the half way point (Razz is not so good, I ordered a whole box of vanilla, it tastes like cake batter, much better, because I can't seem to find it in any stores around here.) I ran pretty slow the first half, but the second half I started to roll, and I ended up running 8 minutes faster for the 2nd loop.

Sunday: Resting

Monday: 8 miles. Ouch....probably should have run easy yesterday to work some of that out. Today was painful. It was supposed to be 10. I cut it short, there was no point in going on any more. Oh well, the good and the not so good.

Gearing up

Last Sat: easy 11
Sun: off
Monday: 9
Tuesday: easy 4
Wednesday: 40 min. tempo
Thurs: off

Coming up....Fri: 9, Sat: 19.

Sat. is my last long run before I top out at 20 each time. Just under two months to go. So, one more month of build up and then some time to cut back before the big day. I am still healthy and just a few aches and pains. This is the month that could do me in, so I will keep my fingers crossed for a healthy month.

In Passing...Updated

I am going to be more regular in updating this blog now that I am home. It was hard enough to keep up with one blog while I was gone. But, here I am. Oh, and even if I don't manage to blog about every run, you can also find me logging my runs over here. You can join too and be my friend, if you want. Right now, I have no friends.

It has been tough running since we arrived home at 3 am Tuesday morning. I decided to make that my day off since I could barely get out of bed and I had lots to do around the house. So, yesterday was an easy 3 (it was supposed to be 4, but I got out of bed late and had people coming to the house at 9:30) and today I did some 800 repeats.

I would usually do these repeats on a track, but again, I could not get out of bed. This Jet Lag is totally kicking my butt right now. So, I ran from home onto a trail that has each 1/2 mile marked. I knew I wasn't going to get the 6 in that I was supposed to, but this is one of those weeks that I just need to go with the flow and realize that it will still work out in the end. I did 4 800 repeats at around 3:30 pace for each. I jogged in between and had a warm up and cool down.

Right before one of my hard 800s, I could tell that I was catching another woman on the trail. I wasn't running hard, but I was catching her. I really hate passing people. I don't want to act like I am showing off when these people are working just as hard as I am. They are out there, they are running and sweating and pushing their bodies. I respect each and everyone that gets out of bed in the morning or laces up their shoes in the evening. Sometimes I have even cut a run short rather than pass someone and then just have to turn around and go by them again.

But, today, I was catching this runner and I was about to start running my hard 800. That meant that I would either be running past her fast, or I could hold off and go past her slowly and then pick up the pace. Either way, I had to pass her. So, i just started my 800 and went by. Later in my run, I had turned around to head back for home and the same runner was going the opposite way. As we met, I opened my mouth to tell her that she was doing great, when she beat me to it and said "I so much wish I had your body!"

I knew what she meant, because I am positive that she did not mean that she wished she had my belly that sags a little with stretch marks from three kids. I wished I had been able to tell her that I really did think she was doing great. Because, even though it might have looked like it was easy for me, nothing is ever that easy. And I have been doing this for so many years now, and still, I feel the pain, I feel the ache in my legs, I feel the burn in my lungs. Does it get easier? Yes, it does, but every one who is out there pushing their bodies is doing something great for themselves, whether they run a 7 minute mile or a 12 minute mile or any other variety in there, they are doing it and it is in the doing that comes the rewards.

Just Keep Running, Running, Running (think Dorie from Nemo)

I have been running.  I have been running a lot.  But, I have also been busy.  So I am just going to touch on the highlights of the last few weeks and move on. 

Two weeks ago, I ran an awesome 13 mile run from home.  I felt great.  I even found myself picking up the pace in the last 5 miles.  I felt like I could keep going on like that, running faster and faster, for a long time.

One week ago, I travelled to California, adjusted my running schedule a little bit and ran a 14 mile run from my parent's house to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.  I used to run part of this route all the time when I lived here, but I had forgotten that the whole way home is basically uphill, except for one steep down hill.  The hills did not bother me as much as the lack of water/gatorade.  I didn't need any on my 13 miler, but I was so desperate for some on this run that I stopped at a couple houses and drank out of their sprinklers that were running.  This didn't work very well, but it was something.  This was a 2 hour run and I think I need to plan on finding a way to have gatorade on any run over and hour and a half.  That would be smart.

I skipped a few days in the middle of this week for Disneyland and a recovery day after Disneyland.  My legs were tired enough from walking/standing all day.  And then I ran straight through today with a 7 mile run yesterday on a STEEP hill, so steep that you can't run down it unless you are into kamakazing it, and an 11 mile run today that was supposed to be 10.  My knees are sore from all the hills.  I am not used to the hills, obviously.

I also ran into my high school coach on an easy day.  I had not talked with him in years and it was great to see him.  I wish I had more time to catch up with him, because he really was one of the biggest reasons why I learned to love working hard and running.

Today I am heading up into the mountains so I will take a few days of easy running to adjust to the altitude and hopefully when we come back down I will be all ready for my 16 miler next Sunday.

Bug Off!

I am double posting this fun post on here and my Other Blog.  I don't know if there is anyone that only reads my running blog, or if there are even more than three people that read it altogether, but since it is a piece of my running week, it deserve a special place on both blogs.

The training plan called for a 6 mile run.  Six miles is just a medium day at this point since looking ahead at the training calendar showed a 13 mile day scheduled for the very next day. But, it was six miles that I was tired of running near my house.  The roads within six mile radius of my house have gotten stale and monotonous, and so I took a short drive over to some trails to mix things up a bit.

One of my least favorite parts of summer in Indiana is the bugs.  We sometimes wear bug spray just to play in our own yard.  When going to a park or a hike in the woods, the bugs can, on occasion, be unbearable.  So, I packed my bug spray into the car with me, and in the parking lot, before I began I doused my whole body with a layer or two of the bug spray that was rated by Backpacker Magazine as a top 10 bug spray.  It uses all natural elements rather than DEET, so I had no qualms using lots and lots.  I can't get it in stores around here, so I order it in bulk from my favorite store, REI.  I especially concentrated on spraying my hair, since for some disgusting reason, the bugs around here really like sweat and when my hair gets sweaty they like to land and try to make a nest in my head.  Nothing says summer like finding buzzing insects in your hair while repositioning a drooping ponytail.  

And so, I felt very protected as I set off on my run. It was like I had some sort of invisible shield surrounding me as I ran through the woods on packed trails, past streams, over boardwalks and up and down short hills.  It was like my "Magic Spray" really was magic.  There were bugs, I could hear them buzz by.  I could see them fly up to me and then veer away, probably from the intense smell of an entire bottle of bug spray running by. I was debating in my head as to whether the bugs really were repelled by my smell or if it was just not a very buggy section of woods, when I started to notice quite a few more bugs taking a chance and diving through my bug shield.  It was 4 miles into the run, so, I thought it could be quite likely that I had sweated some of the spray off.  

I sweat a lot.  This is something I know.  I inherited my sweat glands from my father who has to wear a sweatband to keep sweat out of his eyes while he works in the yard.  One time, when it was particularly hot, even by Southern California Standards, my Dad came in the house and wrung out his sweatband into a measuring cup.  I don't remember the exact measurements.  But, I do remember that we were all amazed in a really disgusted, yet awed way, that anyway could have collected that much sweat in one sweatband.  I don't think I sweat that much.  But, I do sweat, and I do stink by the time I am done running.  Jack Jack won't let me touch him until after I shower when I return from my runs.  In fact, I tried to steal a quick kiss from him the other day and he told me "Mommy, your kisses STINK!  Go take your shower!" 

And so, by mile 4 of a humid Indiana day, I am sure that the bugs were just dying to get a piece of me.  Maybe even so much so that they were willing to take a chance, plug their little buggy noses and bust through that bug spray barrier to nest in my hair, or on my back.  But, I had only a couple more miles to go and the bugs were not all that bad.  I finished a shaded section of the trail and entered a patch of sun.  I thought maybe the sun would make the bugs a little less interested in me and after I had run for a minute or two in the sunshine I turned slightly to see a river I was passing.  When I turned my head, I caught a glance of my shadow on the road.  I also caught a glance of another shadow directly behind my running form, it was a shadow of a giant swarm of bugs!  I turned my head a little further and I was in shock and awe to see that it looked like every bug in the entire wooded area seemed to be following just a little ways behind my stinky self.  I juked left, the swarm went left.  I juked right, the swarm went right.  I picked up the pace, and so did the swarm.  It was no wonder that the occasional bug tried to land on me, they were probably behind me plotting and encouraging each other and then sending one out of the mob to try to get me.

I was almost done with my run, but this really creeped me out.  It was really bugging me, you might say.  So, my pace quickened.  I figured that if the swarm was going to keep up, they were going to have to be quick about it.  And then, I had to pass some other runners.  I went by them fast, with my enounterage following close behind.  I can only imagine what in they world they were thinking as a lightning fast, yet stinky runner streaked past them with a swarm of bugs behind her.  I ran straight to my car and got in before the bugs could come home with me.  Yuck!

But, on the positive side, the bug spray really did keep the bugs from actually getting to me.  I did not get a single bite or bug nesting in my hair.  I also, may have made it possible for every other runner and hiker to have a bug free journey through the trails that morning.

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Miles Today: 6
Miles So Far This Week: 21
Weeks Until Marathon: 14.1

Week Four...Here We Go!

Sunday: ummm...I was just supposed to do an easy 3, but i didn't.  Can you spell LAZY?  Actually, part of this was because I didn't take my usual Thursday off and so, by Sunday, I was tired.  Of course this means that I will make the run up this Thursday, putting me in the exact same situation come 'round next Sunday.

Monday: 6 miles with an emphasis on enjoying the run and just running slow.  I ran on some cool trails, and just ran.  I Loved It.

Tuesday: easy 3.

Wednesday: I didn't run until almost 11 am.  It was HOT. I thought the breeze would keep me cool.  It didn't.  38 minutes total running time.  15 min. easy/ 15 min. temp/ 8 min.  cool down.  Well the cool down was relative, because it was soo hot.  I decided to start back lifting again.  I could feel that my arms and pecs were getting tired on my last long run and it had been a while since I lifted so, it was time.  Biceps, triceps, ab crunches, push ups, planks.

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Miles So Far This Week: 15
Weeks Until Marathon: 14.3

The End of Week Three

Friday: I think I ran too fast.  But it felt good at the time.  Supposed to be just a 6 miler, nothing special.  might have been more than six because I ran by time and I was super speedy.  I could check it with Google Earth, but I am too lazy.

Saturday: Since this was a back down week, my long run was only 8 miles.  8 miles it was.

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Total Miles This Week: 25
Weeks Until Marathon: 15