Looking Ahead

Distance: 1.2 mi.
Time: 15:00 min.
Warm up for strength training

First of all, I maybe should have swapped my Thursday/Friday workouts. It is, again, a beautiful day! The forecast was for cloudy skies all day Thursday with possible rain. But the dawn brought clear skies and abundant sunshine with temperatures in the mid-60s. Of course, the forecast for tomorrow is cloudy and rain. Maybe the weather guy will be wrong again.

I had a great conversation with Coach Jeni this morning about what happens after the half-marathon which is only 4 weeks, 3 days away. I have a couple of busy weeks following the race and I wasn't sure how much running I need to schedule. Also, what kind of training schedule should I be developing for after the race. We have no idea how I will feel about racing. So Coach Jeni suggested the following:

• Keep running every other day after the race. The week after the race will be a rest & recuperate week so the distances will be shorter, but I definitely need to keep running. I haven't built up my fitness level to a point where I can take off several days so I need to keep to my every other day routine. If I am traveling someplace where I can't get outside to run, find a treadmill and do 2-3 miles on it.
• After the race I can decide if I want to keep up the distance to run races or just want to run for the joy of it and the health benefit.

As usual, great advice from my coach and mentor. She's so smart!

On the fashion front, I went shopping last night with mixed results. The skort is out. Let me just say, I do not have Tina Turner legs. I ended up with 2 pair of capris and 1 pair of shorts. I couldn't find any shorts that I was comfortable in except for this one pair. I was reminded by the radio that it is only March and we can still have some really cool weather before it gets summer. So I decided that capris would carry me well into warmer months. Everything I bought was black which was a bit of a disappointment. Not that I was looking for a bright, look-at-me color, but I thought I might find something in a nice blue or maybe dark purple, but it wasn't to be. So I'm set now for a while.

Oh My Gosh! This Was Why I Started Running

Distance: 4.09 mi.
Time: 51:53 min.
Pace: 12:41/mile
Time of day: 12: 30 p.m.
Temp: 67°F; Bright sunshine, slight breeze

Oh my gosh! This is why I started running…to go outside on a beautiful, warm day, bright with glorious sunshine and run till sweat drips off my face and runs down my back and it doesn't even bother me and I feel absolutely great!

On a fashion note, I am going to have to do something about my running clothes. I ran today in capris (which were o.k.) and a long sleeved shirt (which was not). I chose the LS shirt because I just wasn't sure how warm it would feel. I wasn't "way too hot" or anything, but I will definitely wear a short sleeved shirt at this temperature from now on. The issue I am grappling with is I have only 1 pair of capris. So do I buy a couple more pairs of capris or just go ahead and buy shorts, because I don't have any running shorts? Such decisions. I don't think I would be comfortable in shorts right now, both because of the temperature and my not-so-chubby-anymore-but-still-not-svelte legs. Hmmm. What to do, what to do.

Resting a Day Early

Imagine my surprise when I awoke around 4 a.m. and realized it was raining. Hmm. What happened to warm and sunny? I swapped my rest day today and will run tomorrow when, even though it will be cloudy, the temperature is predicted to hit 70°F.

I was a little sore in my upper back and shoulders this morning after my strength training yesterday. But it was a good sore.

Is That Renewed Enthusiasm I Feel?

Distance: 1.17 mi/
Time: 15:00 min.
Pace: 12:49/mile
Time of day: 6:30 a.m.
Warm up for strength training

I was up and at 'em this morning, heading out to the gym around 6:15 a.m. I wanted to really work with the weights today since I had a couple of easy strength training sessions last week. I didn't push myself on the treadmill, just enough work to warm up the muscles. And I had a great strength training session.

This week is a step back week on the training schedule. And, for the first time I really understand the purpose. I ran a total of 28+ miles last week and I'm ready to take it a little easier this week. The weird place I feel it in my body is my ankles. Those bony knobs that stick out on the ankle--my are really tender. But other than that I feel great! And I'm really looking forward to running this week. Is that enthusiasm I feel?

A Great Sunday Run

Distance: 2.1 mi.
Time: 23:36
Pace: 11:16/mile
Time of day: 11:00 a.m.
Temp: 50-ish, warm, sunny, slightly breezy

Sunday's are short, easy runs designed to make sure I don't get stiff and sore after my LDR on Saturday. I felt great Sunday. The Love Of My Life wanted to walk outside so we headed up to the middle school track. I decided the track would be a great place to work on speed and I'm really pleased to see that my pace was so good, 11:16/mile. I felt like I could have run another couple miles at that pace, but I didn't. Instead I slowed to a walk and shared a couple of laps with The Love. It was a fantastic workout!

Could that be enthusiasm returning?

Longest Distance Ever

Distance: 9.0 miles
Time: 2:00:03 hours
Pace: 13:25/mile
Time of Day: 9:45 a.m.
Temp: 45°F, beautiful, bright, sunny

I ran 9 miles today! Nine miles! Of course, I had my DS running with me and encouraging me, but I did the running! I ran 9 miles.

I felt pretty strong during most of the race, but the last 1.5 miles was a struggle. Scott was an awesome running partner. He encouraged me and supported me through the entire race, but especially that last 1.5 miles. I said to him at about 8 miles, "Don't let me quit." He responded, "No, Mom. There is no way you are quitting at this point. I won't let you." The other thing he said to me was, "The first 7.5 miles is just a warm up for this last 1.5 miles." It was what I needed at the time.

After feeling so completely worn down last Sunday with my 7-mile run, I am really pleased that today I feel great. I am tired and my legs are sore, but I didn't feel like collapsing at the end of my run today.

One thing Scott had me do today was stretch every time we had to stop and wait to cross a street. A couple of times I stretched my hamstrings. One time near the end he suggested I rotate my ankles to kind of stretch them out. That felt great. He also had me really stretch at the end of the run, which I believe helped me not feel so sore this afternoon.

We ran a completely new route today. It is a paved trail over an old railroad line. It is flat (as in no hills) and runs along a couple of streams. The sky was bright blue; the sunshone brightly; a light breeze. It was absolutely gorgeous! And, by the way, did I mention I ran 9 miles today?

A Beautiful Day To Run

Friday Stats
Distance: 3.91 miles
Time: 49:33 minutes
Pace: 12:41/mile
Time of day: 3 p.m.
Temp: 51° F. Bright, sunny, light wind, an absolutely beautiful day!

It was a beautiful day to run. I felt great! Nothing else to say!