On the Path

I'm nervous about this running goal.
Then again...I love, love, love things to look forward to and work towards.
I've even made reservations at the best place to stay at in Fort Collins!
Yesterday was three mile run.
I almost feel like I should skip the first two weeks of this training schedule since I just finished running a 10k last week....but I won't.
I'll be good and stick to the schedule....I guess.

Plan for week one:
Mon: 3miles
Tues: 3miles
Wed: off
Thurs: 3miles
Fri: off
Sat: 6miles
Sun: off

Wed, Fri and Sun will, for the most part be my days off. The marathon itself will be on Sunday.

This week I didn't run today for two reasons: one-I ran the 10k race this past Saturday and I had band practice tonight also. I traded tonight's run for tomorrow's day off. I'll run 3 miles tomorrow.

At it again!

I'm back. Healed and ready to go.

I have now completed four 5ks and one 10k.

My goal? Yep...another try at the marathon.

I'm thirty pounds lighter, have done more reading/research and have an easier training schedule planned out. My first goat edit: goal (not goat) was San Antonio (which was this month). My new marathon goal will be Fort Collins, CO.

Let's go!

This officially starts week one!

Wish me luck!

Doc was wrong....

....Doc said about two weeks and I should be able to run again.

Nope.

End of May was my last running bit?

UPDATE:

No running in June. I did do some walking starting the beginning of July. Two nights ago I ran (lightly) on the treadmill for the first time. I went for an hour just over three miles but it was alternating walking and running laps for two of those miles.

I'm not hopeful that I'll pull off my original November marathon goal....but I WILL pull off that marathon eventually.

So far I'm just glad to be able get through without pain.

I gained weight while not exercising, but since I've been walking its going down. I can also blame poor dietary choices (waaay too much ice cream) on the weight gain.

Now....let's just hope Mother, who has been running and eating right, doesn't challenge me to a 5k. She'd whip me!

Injury

Boo.

My running is taking a forced break.

Diagnosis: Shin Splints.

Prognosis: Tearful.

I can not tell you how painful and frustrating shin splints can be. I can't walk, run, sit still, sleep, think....all I feel is pain. The doctor gave me pain drugs and I remembered after taking them that I hate pain drugs. I don't take pain drugs well at all. In fact, I tend to get sick even with a full stomach, get left with that mediciney head feeling and still feel the pain. Yuk!

I have been doing lots and lots and lots of reading of the causes, prevention and caring for/of shin splints. I completely understand the need to rest it so it can heal. Resting my leg is probably the hardest thing ever. My yard still needs mowing, house still needs cleaning, kids must be fed, don't even get me started on Walmart trips.

At first, when the doc said shin splints I was a little relieved to hear that it wasn't anything more severe. When he said no running for two weeks....at least, I honestly teared up and almost started crying. He started in with some story of a buddy he knew that...yada, yada, yada....all I could hear in my head was: No running for two weeks? That sets me back! Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.....I felt completely devasted. I actually think I went through a period of depression from between the last attempted long run until a couple of days after the doc appointment when I realized that:

Things really could have been so much worse.
This is only temporary.
I still have 167 days until my chosen marathon.
I will continue, even if I have to start over.
If I can't make my chosen marathon, they are others.
I have gotten so much encouragement.
I can still do other forms of exercise to keep me on track.

Not so bad, and not the end of this blog. It will.......run on. :-)

Week Six's Long Run

18 miles.

18 miles?

18 miles.

I had the route mapped, had a tough week before hand and was looking forward to getting this run over with so I could get on with my easy week with light runs. I drove ahead and stashed snacks and water so I didn't have to carry any.

I left the driveway after a good stretch and started out trying to slowly jog only to realize that running was very painful in the back of my leg. It was as if someone was stabbing me everytime my foot hit the ground. I actually felt pretty good after stretching.

Probably a bad idea, but I decided I would continue on. I could still walk a fast pace and probably just wasn't warmed up enough. I'd try again in a little bit. About a quarter mile more and i tried again. No luck. Still pain. It was frustrating to feel this pain when i ran and not when I was walking. I kept going and kept trying and kept feeling that same pain. The first six miles were all near my home. After fours miles i started getting pain in the front part of my leg and then I felt the most concern since it seemed to be getting worse. I decided it was time to head home and give in.

Shoulders slumped, feeling very frustrated and a little beaten I started heading back home. I noticed the storm clouds that were in the distance were now right on top of me. It was probably good considering if i continued i might get caught in the rain. Then it was probably really good because the pain seemed to worsen with every step.

Yea...within a mile of my house the clouds opened up and fell upon me. It started with a sprinkle and gradually grew worse until there was a downpour right on me. I'm not sure I've ever felt any greater defeat than to limp a mile home in the pouring rain. I cried. I probably should have ducked under a tree and called for a ride, but I had trouble controlling the tears.

I decided if it still hurts in a couple of days then I'll call the doctor.

Week Five Update

The week itself was pretty good. In fact, it started out fantastically strong and extremely hopeful. I ran my 16 miles, I had three great practice runs scheduled over the week and felt more ready for those than ever. To end the week I had a 5k race with my sweet mother to look forward to.

Tuesday brought two workouts-The six mile regular run and then a light run of Saturday's course...more of a very easy run/walk. Almost through the course, I got the worst pain in my left shin. Horrible enough to make me tear up. Ouch doesn't even cover it. At first I just assumed it was some sort of cramp that needed more stretching.

Stretching didn't help.

So not wanting to over do it, I took a rest day the next day and skipped a scheduled eight miles. That night I was still in pain so I took another rest day knowing I had a rehearsal for a musical I've been cast in and the race on Saturday.

Over the week the pain got worse, walking was even hard, sitting with the leg propped was not good. I stretched, iced and advil'd everyday. Saturday arrived and I made the decision to do the race in pain. I stretched first, I warmed up and tried not to push too hard. I slowed to walk a couple times and finished in under thirty minutes....the time clock was not displayed very well and I have yet to find a list of finishing times.

I walked and walked after the race and then stretched and stretched. The rest of the day still hurt and I still had the long run for the next week to look forward to. Normally, I would be excited. This time....notsomuch.

This week's pic is courtesy of my arrival home after the long run....stay tuned to my next post on the long run.

Forecast: Stormy run leaves me drenched.....

Week Five's Long Run

Wow, seriously? This is the fifth week? I cannot believe it's been that long.

I would start out by saying.."Today's long run was especially difficult because...." but every long run has been hard. Running any distance over.....hmmm....fifteen feet is unnecessary. The run started out pretty good. I was happy with myself for how much of it was actually jogged and how little was walked. There were two hills that I just couldn't muster the strength to conquer. Actually one of them is so steep that I'm not sure I will ever be able to pull off getting up that hill. I'll include a pic at some point. Then you'll understand.

This run took me just over three hours and I had the worst time during the last mile. I wasn't really in that much pain, I think I was just mentally worn out. I had a friend call around mile 15. I heard the phone go off and figured it would be a text from my girls, so I pull the phone out to see a "where r u" text from a friend. It normally takes a bit of energy to deal with this person. "wanna meet for lunch?"
ME:I'm still jogging.
Friend: wow u take 4ever. when u gonna be done?
Friend: are we meeting for lunch or not?
Friend: text back please
Me: I still have a mile left to go and a cool down walk. I'll call in 30.
Me: BTW My text back No to lunch. Thx

How disheartening can it be to see someone say, "wow u take 4ever"? Thanks, so much, that really helped me along. I have the phone set to where it the text sounds different than the ring. I should have ignored the text. I only looked at it thinking it was my girls. That'll teach me....(need to remember to changed their text tone to something different than anybody elses).



Next week: 18 miles and then it's time for another rest week where everything slows down. Ahhh, that will be very very nice.

Week Four Stats

I think I'm feeling (finally) like the runs are routine. There's a chance it doesn't hurt quite as much as it did when I first started. Then again, I said a chance! There is a run coming up next weekend. I've run the course a ton of times. In fact, this course is pretty much the same one that I ran 2-1/2 years ago when I first started running. I trained for it, then a 10k, then 15k and then did the Cowtown for the first time. My time back then was, I believe either 34:32 or 32:34. I honestly can't remember which one it was.

My all time best 5k time was the one in Forth Worth in March with a 27:25. To be fair to my legs, the two course are very different. Next weekend's course has some extreme hills which makes the course very challenging. I had the thought that I would like to beat my personal best 5k next weekend but I'm now changing my mind to be more realistic. The two courses are too different. Getting under 30:00 would make me ecstatic.

Now on with this week's stats:

Sun: 13
Tues: 6 and 3 (Double header)
Wed: 4
Thurs: 5
Sat: 4 (in the rain)

This week's grand total is.....35!!!!!

Patting myself on the back. I didn't do any tae bo or core exercises but I swear I'm going to work that into my schedule.....I am going to write down that I will do tae bo on Mon and Fri while my legs rest from the runs. I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna!

Tomorrow is..... 16 miles! Eek! I'm scared, nervous, and thinking this has got to be a terrible idea. Am I insane?

Today's pic.....yuck....I'd like to fast forward a month and just skip on the pics inbetween. I think the worst part of this blog was the thought to post one pic a week until the actual race. I'm not the biggest fan of that idea right now. Not bright. Not bright. Not bright. Well, at least it will get better....right? Won't it? (Walking away from double bacon cheeseburger right now.)

On with the day......

Week Four's Long Run

....was semi good.

Nothing like a good Mother's Day than getting up at 5am to jog 14 miles. Right? Well, maybe if you are crazy as I am.

The only problem with running the 14 miles that I mapped out was that, it wasn't 14 miles. At 5am I decided to changed my mind on the route I had mapped out. I feared road kill and drunk drivers in the country so I went for a city run from my mother's house. I must not have been awake when I created the map because I messed up and missed a mile of it when I jogged it.

When I got back I realized that my time was too incredible even for me. (lol). After the sweet mother's day lunch we drove the course and it fell short one mile. That depressed me and still bugs the heck out of me. I'm sure I'll make it...but...still.....ugh.

Issues?

Hairband/ponytail combo for the hair is a keeper.
I now have a couple of different favorite jogging shirts.
I have yet to find a good pair of jogging shorts. (I need to lose some thigh before the big race.) that or I'm sticking to the jogging pants.
I realized while into the long run that I did not invest in a little tub of Vaseline. Yep, certain areas around the brazier got rubbed raw again.
Shoes now have over 150 miles on them and my right knee and left foot are starting to complain.
I was a little tired during the run but I'm not sure I ate enough the night before and I know I certainly did not sleep enough. I went to bed after midnight. Next week I vow to be in bed much much earlier!

Surprise of the day: I stepped on the scale for the first time in three weeks and was delighted to see a loss of five pounds. That was encouraging. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that downhill slide on the weight keeps going. I won't weight in again for another three weeks. I'm afraid that weighing in weekly will be too much of a disappointment.

For now....week four shall continue and it all gets harder from here. BUT I've come this far!

Week Three Stats

This week almost felt as if I was not training for a marathon at all. It was really really hard to stick to the schedule. I had this fear that if I didn't run a zillion miles like I have been then I won't be able to pull of next week when it starts to get really ugly. Plus, I had a hard time sticking to a diet when not burning a zillion and two calories.

Ok, so here is this weeks runs:

Sunday: Six
Tuesday: Four
Thursday: Five (was supposed to be four)
Saturday: Four

Total: 19 miles.

That is still alot of running but compared to last week's 36 miles and next week's increase, it feels a little lazy in a wierd way. (Which I can't believe I'm saying.)

Effect on the body? My legs have got to be the most muscular I have ever seen them. My booty is.....not bad. Not bad at all. I think my tummy has slimmed up a bit, judging by a couple of belts that have been moved up a notch. Is there anyway I could lose a little size in a certain chest area? That would rock.

*Wow, this week's pic was hard to post. I look bigger than I felt at that moment.

Grand total is....

36 for the week!!

Week Two Stats

I think I finally just had the light bulb come on in my head as to what in the world the 10/18 stood for from my week one stats. I think that was supposed to be 1 out of 18? Maybe? Who knows.

Sun: Twelve miles
Mon: Rest
Tues: Six miles
Wed: Eight miles
Thurs: Rest
Fri: Six miles
Tomorrow will be four miles bringing the grand total of the week to......

36 miles!!! Woo hoo!!! That's alot of running.

Sunday's run won't be a long run it's a slow week with a only six miles. (Did I really just put the world only in front of six?)

The week after gets a little more insane....that Sunday's long run will be 14 miles. Yikes!

My goal for next week is to put make up on before taking "that week's pic". I apologize for the frightening experience. Please don't report me to the scary-chics-because-they're-not-wearing-makeup-police.

I've decided this week which marathon I'm going to run and will be readjusting my running schedule, as it is more than 18 weeks away. That will just give me more time to improve my time so that I may qualify for the Boston Marathon. Riight.

Monday's Run....

....will consist of....

Nothing.

It's a day off running. Monday's and Friday's are recovery days for me. Those days I'll do a little ab workout for my big ole pot beer belly. I'm gonna miss my pot beer belly.

Or not.

Good news

I made it! I actually made it. I was worried and filled with self doubt last night, but I pulled it off. I can't explain what a high it was to complete it. (Edit: This was my long run for this week's training that I was worried about.)

Marathon....here I come!!!

OK, so the long runs are meant to be an experiment for what clothes to wear, what snack to eat, how everything is going to go during the big race.

Issues:

• Vaseline. I read somewhere to invest in some Vaseline to combat blistering in certain areas. I discovered after this morning's run that around my chest I experienced some blistering. Ouch. Apparently, the Ipod rubbed me raw and then so did my sports bra on the under side.
• Better socks. I discovered that my toes need extra padding. Actually, I discovered that before this long run. I just recently had a toe nail fall off one of my right toes. It didn't really hurt ahead of time, didn't hurt coming off and it doesn't hurt now. I've started wearing two pairs of socks that have extra padding around the toes. It seemed to have helped this morning.
• Safety glasses. It might have been a one time fluke thing, but a car passed by me, kicked up a tiny pebble and it hit me on my cheek about an inch from my right eye. I was wearing sunglasses and that would have hurt like.....if it had gone in my eye.
  
• Hair. At yesterday's 5k race I tried running with my hair down, changed my mind midcourse, pulled it back with a hair dohickey and then lost the dohickey. I can't stand running with hair in my face and always have flyaways even if its pulled back. This morning, I used a headband and a pony tail holder. It was perfect.
• A baggie. I carried, my phone, a couple of dollars and my handwritten map in a ziplock baggie in the back of my sports bra. I stopped two different places to buy water. I don't like carrying a bottle of water. I need a....maybe a belt? I think I've seen those before.

I think that's all the issues so far. Next week is an easier run. All the hard runs will be on Sundays. For the next 17 Sundays, I will be getting up at five am and conquering a long run. Next week's is only six miles followed with an easier week. Piece of cake. The runs gradually increase each week except every third or fourth week it backs off and throws in an easier run.

Breaks:

• I walked around mile five to eat my snack bar going up an incredibly steep hill. I stopped at McDonald's about a mile later to tinkle and buy a water.
• I stopped at mile 7 to do a map check and compare with the spedometer (that stopped working at that moment.)
• I stopped at mile 9 for another bottle of water buy and walked up another hard uphill.
• Last stop was a block away from the finish where I had instructions to walk it out for the next quarter mile for a cool down, followed by stretching.
• I jogged across my imaginary finish tape with arms outstretched with a huge smile on my face.

Time: 3:46.

I did it!! YEA!

My long run

I'm posting this Saturday night and scheduling the map to pop up at noon. Hopefully, I'll make it.

Fingers crossed. I'll update my thoughts after church. Oh yea, I'm getting up at 5 am for this run.

At this moment, I believe if I can make this run then I can surely complete a marathon after this training schedule is complete. If I can't make the run tomorrow and give in before it's through, then I've either lost complete faith or will totally rethink this training.

Week One Stats 10/18

First week running a training program. Ouch. This was a hard week:

Sat: 11 miles (5k zoo run and then 8 miles at home)
Sun: Monday: Rest
Tues: 6 miles (2 in the morn and 4 in the evening)
Wed: 8 mi (2 in the morn and 4 outside in the evening and 2 on treadmill)
Thurs: 4 mi (2 in the morn and 2 in the evening) Legs cramps prevented me from finishing the last two I was supposed to do today. I'm a little bummed about that.

Next two days:
Fri: rest
Sat: 5k race (no more)
Sunday: 12 mile long run.

Pic is from last Friday. I got dressed up for a date and my date bailed. He's forgiven. He had really good reason and he missed a great play! Please, please, please tell me that 18 weeks from now, I'll be just a tad skinnier.

Please?