My Husband ROCKS! GPS watch for bday

January 31, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I am SO STOKED. Last night an Amazon box came int he mail, and i knew it was my bday present and I hoped it was a GPS system for running.

And it WAS!

I got to open it early and test it out this morning. It is the forerunner 205, Garmin model and it is awesome. I saw how fast I was going, how far i was going and for how long I was running.

I did only 3.4 miles this morning with a pace of 9;45. I’m happy with that.

The watch would have been GREAT for my long training runs. You can program it to tell you when to turn around, when you go below a certain pace. You can match your old routes. You can have it show you where to go to get back on track if you are following a certain path and get off of that path.

I can’t wait to test this out with a long run! I’ll wear it for my marathon, maybe-just worried I might see the pace, get nervous and go faster than I need to go.

But once this marathon is over and I begin training for San Diego I’m going to use it on all of my long runs. I no longer have to map out a run! I can just put on the GPS and GO GO GO

Dang my husband rocks!!

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4 days and counting!

January 31, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I can’t believe it is almost here! I’m so excited! I had a difficult time getting to sleep last night so I lay in bed thinking about my long runs. I do this sometimes when I can’t sleep. I did it at the dentist office the other day as well. Seems that the newest relaxation technique for me is thinking about running. Guess that isn’t a bad thing though!

Last night I thought well, I can do 13 miles no problem. At 13 I will think I’m almost at 17, which was my longest run several times before the 20. At 17 I’ll think only 3 more to 20 and at twenty I’ll think only six to go, which is less than an hour . When I get that close, if I get tired, I always think about how great it will be to walk in my front door and see my two kids and my husband waiting for me. On Sunday I’ll think about how great it will be to cross that finish line and find them there, cheering me on.

Can’t believe it is so close!

I’m so ready to run again. I mean, really run, not three miles here, four miles there. I need a good six, ten, fourteen miler. Or a 26.2. Guess that will come soon enough!

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Tapering: Playing with your Emotions

January 29, 2008 By Leave a Comment

So I’m in the middle of my tapering schedule. I’ve only done a 3 mile run so far this week, on Monday. My longest two runs in the past two weeks were 12 and 8 respectively.

Yesterday I started to feel a little down.  I was tired and frustrated and couldn’t for the life of me figure out what was wrong.

This morning my husband woke up early to hit the gym, and I realized exactly what it was: I’m missing my long runs.

I recall in the past when I’ve gotten a small injury and had to take a few days or weeks off of running to heal. Those weeks were really rough on me emotionally. i need running to keep everything level: to erase the stress and get my good vibes going.

I haven’t given up running of course, but i have adjusted my schedule drastically. In fact, this past week I ran ten miles less than I have been running each week. that’s a huge difference! so even though I am still running, my runs are much shorter, and this week I’ll only do three instead of four.

In addition, yesterday I ran over my big toe with the chair. It immediately began to swell and I immediately began to cry. My biggest fear; I had broken it and would not be able to run the race.

luckily, that didn’t happen. It is still sore this morning but not as bad as it was, and not as swollen either. I’ll continue to ice it and rest this week. I had planned to be on my feet as little as possible anyway, but now ‘ll really take care to baby that toe.

And then I’ll do the 26, and I can’t wait! I can’t wait to get out there and run, run, run.

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Tapering Sucks: The Last Week Before the Marathon

January 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I spent last night reading through my marathon book. I really do not want to only run three, four and two miles this week before race day. I already feel as though I’ve had to stop running a lot, since doing 20 miles. My longest runs have been 12 an 8  in the past two weeks. Yet in my book even the strongest of runners drops back to 3 and 4 mile runs the last week.

It’s amazing what our bodies get used to. When I began running I couldn’ t do more than three miles, I couldn’t run back to back and the idea of going 26.2 was mind blowing.

Now I run two six milers each week, and then one day I do six and the next do 4. My mileage has increased and I’m missing going more than 8 miles! I want to do 13! I want to do 15!

Ah, but 26.2 scares the crap out of me!

6 days and counting . . .

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8 Days to the Big Race

January 26, 2008 By Leave a Comment

So, I ran my last ‘long run’ this morning-8 miles. Really, it was nothing. I’m running two, six mile runs a week now, so this was just a little bit extra time. i didn’t carry my water pack or gel packs, I just hit the streets as I normally would do and the only issue was that an hour in I got pretty hungry. But then the run was over and I realized how much I love those long runs. I think I’ll start doing a 6, 8 and a 4 as my weekday runs from now on, and hang on to those long Sunday morning runs at 11 or more  miles once this marathon is over.

And it is going to be here soon! one week and one day! Next Sunday I will be finished. ALl of this training, early morning runs, three pairs of running shoes in the last 5 months . . . all done. I can’t believe it!

I’m excited but afraid. I’m worried about the weather the most. I can’t run int he heat, under the sun. that’s why I do such early morning runs now. But, I know it is only one day, four and a half hours, and I can do it.

I was thinking about it like this today: I typically run two, six mile runs a week. The marathon is just four, six mile runs, plus two additional miles.

On race day, I will think about it like this.

First six miles, just three to go.

Second six miles, halfway there.

Third six miles, just get through it.

Last six miles, just an hour left.

then I’ll have about twenty minutes, but by that time I’ll be so stoked that it is almost over that nothing will stop me!
I can’t believe I’m so close now.

My stomach has butterflies just thinking about it!!

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Just two weeks to marathon time!

January 23, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Less than two weeks, actually!
Tonight my daughters and I painted my marathon shirt.

On the back we wrote go mommy! 26.2, and then, For my mom: strokes stink!

I can’t wait! i have to download some tunes onto my ipod before race day. My husband got me a fifteen dollar card for songs knowing that i wanted them for the race, how cool is that? I’m going to have to start thinking about what I want to listen to during that run.

today I swam for half an hour. it was good to be back in the pool; it has been a few weeks since I’ve gotten to swim.

Tomorrow is a six miler. Then only 8 on Saturday! Yikes! Then just one week and one day until the marathon. i can’t believe it is almost here! wow, how time flies when you are having fun running . . .

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Out of the Mouth of Babes

January 20, 2008 By Leave a Comment

When I was mapping out my twenty mile run I loaded the girls into the car to check the mileage.

We headed out to the ocean and stared at the waves as we drove. After a bit, my oldest daughter said, “Wow, you’re going to run this far?”

I told her yes, this would be what mommy did while she was sleeping on Saturday morning.

“This is a really long way,” she told me, shaking her head, her eyes wide.

I laughed and told her yes, this would be twenty miles, the furthest I had ever gone.

And then she said what ever running mother wants to hear. “When I get big, I’m going to run this far too!”

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12 Miles, 2 Weeks to Go

January 19, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Today was my 12 miler. I’m tapering now, and it was kind of weird. i got home in just 2 hours. I’ve shaved ten minutes off my half marathon pace, which is great, but I dont know that I can sustain that in the big race.

I missed going longer than 12. I almost did 13 instead, just because it felt like I was cheating somehow!

but the great thing is that I got home in time for my kids to wake up. Usually they have waken, eaten and are ready to go do something. Today we all had breakfast together.

I can’t believe I have just two weeks to go! It seems so long ago that I started this. I looked through my training book last night and smiled at some of the notes that I took.

What a great journey!

I’ll be happy to get back to doing my 15 milers. I like the 13s too. But I’ll be really happy when, in two weeks, I’m standing at that starting line ready to go!

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Distance Running-Once You Start You Just Can’t Stop

January 19, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I never thought I’d say it, but now I will: I can’t stop running.

I missed a day this week due to tooth work I had done on Saturday. They asked me to take it easy for two days; one of those should have been my six mile run. Since I’m so close to M-Day (two weeks and two days, but whose counting?!) I can’t really play around with my schedule right now, so I skipped that run. I figured I had done twenty on Saturday anyway, so it wouldn’t matter much. But boy can I tell it today! I really missed that six miler this week. I will not skip another day unless i absolutely have to.

I’m addicted.

When I started running ten plus years ago I never thought I’d hang this long and I never ever thought I’d say that I love to run. But I do. I can’t wait to get my shoes on.

Tomorrow is my twelve miler, but I’ll do thirteen (I know where that starts and stops-for twelve I’d have to figure out the six and a half mile mark-why not just do the 13?!)

I can’t wait to get my shoes on and go.

Next week, 8 miles. It seems such a short distance now that I’ve done 20. 8?! I mean, I could still do another 12 lol! Almost another half marathon . . . how messed up does that sound?

Today my friend stopped by and we were talking about the green market they have downtown. I told her I run by what is left of that each Saturday morning and see the tents. “You mean you run from here?” She asked, with a quizzical expression on her face.

Yep, if I”m doing an 11 miler, I said. And those are my shortest of long runs.

“You mean you run past there?” She asked, even more pained.

I ran 20 miles on Saturday, I told her.

And then she said, Why?

I about laughed out loud. Oh, no, maybe I did laugh out loud. I told her I’m doing a marathon in two weeks and she wanted to know how long that was. I told her 26.2 and she said, “Why are you going to do that? That’s crazy!”

I couldn’t explain it so I just shrugged and said I love to run. Especially distances.

Then she said, “Do they give you stuff when you get done?”

It’s been a long time since I wasn’t a distance runner. I forget what it was like to look at others who were going the miles and thinking wow, what are they, crazy? I know that I thought that. I do know that I did. And I know other people look at me and think the same.

26 miles . . . that’s a long way! I don’t care how much you run, that is a long, long way.

20 miles last Saturday, that was a long way too.

And I know in my head somewhere deep down that 12 miles is as well. But tomorrow’s run seems so short to me.

I think that this is how I know now that I am a runner. I don’t go jogging, I go running, because I can’t live without it and because 12 miles seems like such a cake walk.

Happy running!

Filed Under: January 2008

How Do You Do the Distance? Break it Up Into Chunks!

January 14, 2008 By 1 Comment

When I began training I looked all over the internet to figure out how people could physically run 15, 20, 26.2 miles. I had no clue. COuldn’t comprehend it.

Now that I’m on the other side-I just finished my 20 miler yesterday (and boy are my legs tired–barump!) I can tell you exactly how I have done it.

Training, of course, which means adding on to the mileage slowly, building up so that your body can tolerate the added distance. For instance, I might run 13 on a long run, then 15 the next weekend, and then drop back to 11 to give my body a break. From 11 I’d go to 14, then 17, then 12. Two longer and then one in which I dropped back really helped me to gain distance and recover from my higher runs.

But honestly my best piece of advice is to break up your long runs into chunks.

Huh?

Let’s put it this way: You have a 15 miler to go. You have your regular long distance path carved out. You know that you are going to start out going left from your house, and then at mile marker 2 you will pass the elementary school, and then at mile marker 5 that cute white Victorian home, and then at mile marker . . . well, you get it. You find targets at different distances.

When you begin your 20 miler you don’t think Today I’m going to run 20 miles. Instead, you think that you are going to run to the elementary school. Once you are there, you visualize that white Victorian. And so on and so forth.

For me, I know that 3.5 miles is the ocean, 2 more miles is the pier, another mile is the road on which I cut off, and two miles down on that road I’ll view horses. I know where I go and then when I turn around I know what I will see next, because I’m simply moving backwards from my start.

By breaking the run up into chunks it is so much easier to tackle.

And my last trick? When adding on a higher distance – for instance, when going from 13 miles to 15 – all you have to think is, “Today I’m just running one extra mile out, and then I get to turn around and head home!”

Before long, you’ll realize there is nothing to this distance thing . . . nothing but a little time, a few gel packs, some water and a beautifully foggy morning that you never want to leave.

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