Week 4

Stats:

Mon. ran 5 miles on Tmill
Tues: Rest day....trying to get to the gym later for a free weight session.
Wed: ran 3 miles
Thur: Rest day...sorta got the days mixed up. I went to the gym and did a Total Body class.
Fri: ran 5.
Sat: long run. 6.25 miles. {It was supposed to be 8 miles*}
Total: 19.25 miles

So this week was pretty uneventful, in speaking of running. Very productive family week. I was glad that I stuck to my running routine, and didn't skip a day because of the busy week. It meant getting up earlier and running in the cold, going to the store in sweaty gym clothes. Showering later in the afternoon. Yet still I got the runs in.

Saturday I have had in the back of my mind all week, knowing that this would be the longest I have ran in a L O N G time. I am good at 5 even 6 miles, but mentally I was doubting my abilities of an 8 miler. Our Saturday was busy from the sunrise, we had a church bbq at 10, got home from that did house work, went to graduation open houses and didn't hit the pavement till 2:30pm and all day the wind was picking up. As you may have noticed in my stats I logged 6.25 (not 8) there is a reason to this. I had mapped out my 8 and loaded my water bottles, charged the ipod and off I went. Once I crested our neighborhood hill, I got discouraged as the wind was so strong. I had a full head wind after mile 1, for 4 of those miles I trudge against the howler. Mentally, I was suffering, my legs were fine, but the noise and difficulty of fighting against the wind was bad. I found comfort in knowing that once I got to the end of the street and turned around I would have the wind fighting for me. A tail wind was great, but too late. My estimated run time was far behind. I rounded my neighborhood onto our street at 4:00 and gasped because I was still 2 miles short of my 8 miler goal.

A new week is before me and my goals are clear. I am rededicating myself to a well balanced diet. I need to start eating like an athlete, instead of a kindergartner looking for all the sweets. Monday is the start of a new week, and I hope to see improvements as I map out new routes and a new menu plan.

I am searching out a 1/2 marathon to do when I get to Ut. I think I have one in mind the Hobbler Half, but I am still looking.

Week 2

Stats:


Sun. *
Mon. Ran 4am/ 2.25pm
Tues. Ran 2.25 am
Wed. Ran 3.8am
Thur. ?
Fri. Ran 5 am
Sat. Ran 6 am.


Monday I was so excited to run and try out the new shoes. I opted for the Asic's they felt pretty good wearing them around the house but into 2 miles of my run I knew something was up. Hot burning, rubbing only means one thing a blister.

I boxed those shoes up and sent them back to exchange for the Mizuno pair. I have been running in those since and have had zero problems.


It's pretty cold running outside here in Rochester. Much more enjoyable than trudging along on the treadmill at the gym.

week end FUN

This weekend Shawn and I went up to the "cities" Minneapolis (where our hotel was) & St. Paul (where the concert was)

With any great get away there is always more eating and less of...everything else. Namely training.

Saturday was supposed to be my big day to go running a 7 miler, in my shiny kicks but mother nature had other plans- rain. So, I packed up some of the kids and headed off to the gym. I ran 2 miles on the mill, and then jumped into my favorite cycling class for one heck of a butt kicking. I LOVE cycling class. I think it will be a great addition to my training.

I am prepping myself for Monday and crossing my fingers the weather will co operate. The kids have a late start, and I am hoping that doesn't throw me off of my plans.

(side note)The concert was fun, the food was good and the hotel was oh so devine. So relaxing and seriously the most comfortable bed we have slept in EVER! I now know Shawn is convinced to buy us a new bed when we move and hand my 20 yr. old one on to one of the kids.

Learning.

I want to do this the "right" way.
A few years back I wanted to run in races, 1/2 marathons, 5 k, and a marathon.
I woke up one April morning and decided to run outside and not on my treadmill.
What a difference that made. It seemed like the miles just flew by, and each week I
would challenge myself to go farther and longer than I had.
I was determined to crest the top of certain hills with out stopping or walking.
I think I did pretty good with out having any knowledge of what I was really doing.
Now being a couple of years older, hopefully wiser I have decided on a whole new approach
on running, and more particularly to learn the skills of running a marathon.
What I have done this past week was...

1) Researching out different methods of training for a marathon.
I have talked with some friends who have trained/completed marathons and
I have read thru a book called "4 months to a 4 hour marathon".
I like the theory behind this training, the only thing I am hesitant about is only training for 4 months. I feel like I should be out burning up the pavement each morning till my legs fall off.
Like I said, I am putting faith in others who have gone before and so I am going to test this method and hope to get good results.

2) Shoes! This is the fun stuff of running. I have had the same running shoes since Ut which was eh...3 yrs. back. A true runner who runs daily should replace their shoes every 3 months. Say what? It's true. It has something to do with the shoe materials breaking down, and the tread wearing out etc...but dang they cost so much. I have found a great on-line site that I love and have bought all my running shoes thru for the past few years. http://www.runningwarehouse.com/. No shipping cost, no cost returns that sounds good, and their shoes are discounted.
The two set's that I bought were mizzouno's and asics got them both for $160.

Tomorrow I am hitting the road for a 7 miler and I can't wait to wake up put on my new treads and run.

At the starting line

On your marks, get set, go!
I entered the St. George Marathon and was lucky enough to be "randomly selected" in the lottery. Over 10,000 people from all over the country sign up each year to run this race. Only aprx. 7,500 are accepted to run.
This isn't the first time I have put my name in the St. G. lottery, but it is the first time that I have been selected.
My mind is swirling with the unknowns, and the excitement of all that is to come. The race is not until October 1st, that gives me 144 days and 16 hours, 29 min. as I type this to train for the longest run of my life.
This blog is for me and to journal my thoughts, joy, and pain of my training process that is to come over the next 5 months.
Please feel free to give advice, encouragement and any uplifting comments.