Beautiful Fall Weekend

I topped off my Sat night with one too many pomegranite martini's at Bonefish, but after seeing Hannah's new place with her fiance', the buzz wore off. I'm so happy she found such a great guy! April really loved Zorro, the cat. It's a cutie but I'm a dog person, myself. :)

I will say one thing, M-Tek puts on an awesome Family Day picnic. It looked like the county fair over there! Cotton candy, funnel cakes, games, etc...

My legs felt good this morning and I'll credit Kirby with that. I did some lawn work and I'll head to the gym a little later for some VERY light cross training. I'll have to hit dreaded Walmart before I come home.

I hope to do a 5 mile recovery tomorrow after work. I've been attempting tempos on Mondays but it won't happen tomorrow that's for sure. I think I'll go for an 8 miler on Tuesday so Wednesday will be cross training. Thursday, possibly 5 at a reasonable pace. Friday rest, Sat, the Music City 1/2 and let's pray for a cool morning! Hannah and I'll be at the Falcons game on Sunday. So, needless to say, next week will be a much needed "rest" week, even with the 1/2 marathon race.

Read that Halle Gebraillese (sp?) finally beat Paul Tergats world record for the marathon! Those guys are AWESOME and how they run 2:04 marathons boggles my mind. It's something that should be one of the "wonders of the world".

I'm sitting here watching Dallas walk all over the Rams and thinking to myself about how stupid I was not to get Tony Romo's autograph on the ramp last fall. He stood literally feet from me on the ramp looking around lost and I did nothing. Tony, I'm here now! ha!! He just ran in a touchdown and he's so HOT! Is it an unwritten rule in the NFL that almost ALL quarterbacks be incredibly goodlooking?! And, speaking of goodlooking, Brett Farve threw his 421st career touchdown, setting a new record today. He broke Dan Marino's 13 yr record. NOT bad for a man that's 38 and nearly retired last year. (Yeah, I'm a football geek!)

Looking forward to "Desperate Housewives" tonight. I seriously only stop for two tv shows a week, "Greys" & "DH". Although, I do like "Two & a Half Men" and few other shows. My short attention span just doesn't allow me to care about a lot of TV, thank goodness. :)

Uhhh, yeah, I did 20....

I had originally shortened this weekend's 20 miler to 18 since I had the Murf 1/2 & Music City 1/2. Well, I decided to go on how I was feeling and the weather was just GREAT! Man, what a difference 1 wk makes in our crazy TN weather. I met Wayne at his house about 5:30am. We took off on his 5 mi loop & stopped at his house for probably less than a min at the 5 mi pt. Then we took off on what I believe was a 7-8 mi route that takes us down W. Lincoln, over to Farrar school, up the Clement hill (ouch!), down Jackson to CVS, then back up Wilson, then to his house on Bragg for one more short stop. We then did his 6 mi route adding extra for 20 mi. The only part I didn't care for was Jackson. My knees hate the sidewalk so I tried to run on Jackson, which was not too bad at all until I pissed some lady off about 7am who was trying to go to a fire, I think... I may have slowed her drive down Jackson St. by maybe 10 secs. That's all it took for her to slow down but apparently, she got upset and threw her hands up at me. I hope that 10 secs out of her life didn't totally screw up her day. ha!

I cannot say enough good things about today's weather! I felt good through out most of the run. I didn't drink everything I carried but with 2 stops, I conserved a lot by drinking some gatorade & water I had in my car. I took 4 enduralyte pills during the run and a hit off a double latte gu at mile 10, I think... I only ate maybe a 1/3 of it and threw it away at a gas station. I think it did help, though. Maybe next time I'll eat 1/2 of one at the half way pt of the next long run. ha!

I knew I would be pushing it to get under 10 min miles and I was ok until probably around miles 12-14. I actually picked up the pace then. My garmin kept me in check with the pace alert. By mile 16, I reminded myself that the last "long" run I did was 3 wks ago and it was at or about 17 miles. Who knows, I ran with the 101 and got off course a bit. I do remember it being a SLOW run, though. :( It hurt! Today, I was not hurting but I could feel the jump in mileage after I got down to the last 3-4 miles. I crawled it in at 3:27:05 with a 10:21 pace and I was actually pleased with that. :) Wayne came in around 3:33, I think, GREAT JOB! (I was delirious when I first posted this...I had 2 hrs instead of 3!)

I took a cool bath, hot shower, and headed to Kirby for my 1 hr massage, then I actually drove to Manchester for the company picnic. Meeting Hannah & April at Bonefish for a well deserved pomegranite martini. Whoo Hoo!

Tomorrow, I will attempt to mow and/or cross train....SLOWLY!

Painful Thursday...still recovering from the 1/2

I did NOT feel like running at all, seriously. I decided to head over to THS. I had not run over there in ages. Screaming teenage boys is the reason. How soon I forget! What is it with these kids?! I think it's homecoming week. They were beating some car with a baseball bat. I don't remember the class of '85 getting to do that! Ha!

Anyway, I started off REALLY slow. My legs felt like lead. It was an effort just to put one foot in front of the other. Since I had not worn the 305 over there yet, I decided to do some loops that I have done a million times just to see what the distance was....all the while avoiding the boys. ugh! About mile 2, I knew I was going to cut this short. I had 5 down for the day but I knew my legs would not allow it and I was very unmotivated. I felt good, but my legs were screaming, "Rest!" At one point I was singing "I wanna be a Rock Star!" in my head just to keep going. I stopped running with an iPod back in May when I realized it wasn't going to be allowed in most of the races anyway. I think I need it on days where I can't make my legs move! I finished at the 3.5 mark (38:09, 10:54 pace, best pace 8:56 ?) and headed to the gym for 25 slow mins on the elliptical to loosen my legs. I'm still going to have over 40 miles for the week, which is ok at this point. I'm still recovering from the Murf 1/2 that's for sure. I'm seriously thinking that I need to run my 8 miles on Tues of next week instead of Wed. I may rest my legs from running on Thurs/Fri. Just do some light cross training. I really want to do better at the Music City Half.

Grey's Anatomy: So predictable...I do NOT like the Lexie character, I see George and Izzie having an affair behind Callie's back, and I'm a bit sick of McDreamy and Meredith breaking up and getting back together, but I'm addicted to it and I really don't watch that much TV anyway. I am looking forward to "Desperate Housewives" Sunday. :) I will say that I'm glad McSteamy stayed on the show! They need to give him a woman! ME! ME! Pick me! As for men in my life, they are virtually nonexistent and I could careless right now. Sure, I've made a few buddies but none that I'd be attracted to in a million years. One day, I'll trip over my soulmate on a training run or race or he'll be yelling at me to get out of his way at a Titan's game. :)

Slow and Easy and it felt good...10.62 miles

I met Chris & Carla about 5:40pm @ East. With the way I had been feeling, I had already made up my mind that I was not going to push myself. Carla & I did about a 9:40 pace for the first 2 miles. She stopped at a portapottie in Macon and I kept going. She caught up with me on the 2nd loop when Chris saw us. I held back a lot since my right calf seemed tight and achy. I slowed it down to a 10 min pace and just took it easy. It finally loosened up after mile 4. I'm still feeling the pain from the race on Sat. ugh! I must have picked up the pace somewhere because my 305 told me that my best pace was 7:56. Go figure? Our average pace was 10:01 and I don't care. Next Wed, I'll have to run alone and I'm only doing 8 miles. I'll pick it up then provided my long run doesn't do me in this weekend. I'll admit it is a struggle right now. I'm trying to find some joy in this so I don't burn out. This is the most effort I've ever put into building mileage and sticking to a "plan".

The moon was so round and red looking, FULL MOON. No wonder I could not get much done today at work. Computer spazzing out and everyone griping and getting on my last nerve. Ahh, tomorrow is another day.

Tomorrow: 5 rec miles
Fri: rest
Sat: 18-20 miles depending on how I feel
Sun: Cross train
Mon: 6 or 7 mile temp run
Tue: Cross train
Wed: 8 miles
Thur: 4 rec miles
Fri: Rest
Sat: Music City Half (pray for a cold front!)

Cross Training on Tues....

I enjoy my cross training days, always have....I love stretching all the "junk" out and being able to socialize a little at the gym. :) I did 1 hr 5 mins on the elliptical at a moderate- slow pace. Some free weights on my arms, light legs weights, yoga ball crunches, and I stretched. This is the 2nd time this week that I've actually had time for weights and some core strengthening. *yeah*

Wayne and I talked about the long run for the weekend. I'm going to try out the headlight that I bought at Lowes. (thanks for the heads up on that, Michele!) I figure if we start out at 5:30am, I'll probably take it off at the 6 mile mark back at Wayne's house. The plan for me is to run the first 6 with Wayne and then head off for the rest on my own, just gaging my mileage by the garmin. If I end up with 18, good, if it's closer to 20, that's fine too. I had cut this long run back to 18 since I didn't do 18 last weekend. Next weekend is the Music City Half. I pray I do better than I did in Murf. :( I think I'm going to try to bring some stuff to eat on my long run this time. What a novel idea, right? I've not been eating anything at all on these long runs. I keep saying I need to experiment but my stomach issues are making me too scared to trying anything lately. I'm spraying my Nasonex as I type this....ha! ahh, sinus drainage, never pretty.

Tomorrow: 10 mi (hopefully Carla and Chris will do some of it with me)
Thurs: 5 rec mi (Grey's Anatomy)
Fri: Rest
Sat: 18-20 miles
Sun: Cross Training at the gym
Mon: 6-7 mi tempo (?)

I know what my problem is.....

...SINUS DRAINAGE!!!!!! At the risk of grossing anyone out who might read this blog, on Sat, I had a hard time breathing. Usually my nose will run slightly year round when I run, well, it's draining in my throat and down in my stomach now. I could not face the 91 degree heat today, so I headed for the cool gym and the company. I barely made it to the 4.5 mark when I felt sick to my stomach again. I headed to the bathroom. I coughed up a lot of clear phlem (sp?). I sometimes forget at how horrible my allergies used to be as a child. I still have trouble with my sinuses when the weather is trying to change and sometimes I get sinus infections. If I ignore the symptoms, I start feeling really tired and my stomach gets upset when I'm exterting myself...the last week of miserable runs now make sense to me, duh! I'm not saying the chinese on sunday didn't bother me but I'm sure now that my drainage is making me sick. What to do? For now, I'm going to start using my Nasonex and if it gets worse, I'm going to Dr. Milam.

I was going to do a 6 mile tempo run, but I ended up with 4.5 in 40:10 and then I got back on and did another .5 for 5 mins for a total of 5 miles. I told Chris and Carla what my problem was and that I really did need them on Wed to push me. I hope to get in 10 miles on Wed.
I got on the elliptical for 30 slow mins to stretch out my legs and burn some calories and then I did the machine that strengthens your back.

Hannah called my cell and I told her we have tickets for the Carolina game now. I decided to leave since kick off was about to happen in New Orleans. There is something about how Vince Young can sprint for a 1st down or into the end zone that really gets my blood pumping! If you've ever seen him do it live from the sidelines, you know what I mean. I would feel the same way if it were the Olympics. My dream one day is to go to the winter and summer Olympics and a Super Bowl game....love it ALL! I guess I need to become independently wealthy, win the lottery, or find a sugar daddy. ha!!! KIDDING!

Tomorrow: Cross train
Wed: 10 miles
Thur: still only doing 5 (Grey's Anatomy season premiere!)
Fri: REST
Sat: 18 (I may do the first 5-6 with Wayne then take off on my own)

Sore Quads....

I did a very tired, sick 4 miles on the treadmill to avoid the heat today. I sure didn't want to get up early to get out to run. The leftover chinese for lunch made my 4 miles seem like an eternity. Sesame chicken and running do NOT go well together and I knew that! I did 4 in 40 mins at the gym watching the Giants fight hard. Thank God, they did end up winning. Go Eli!

I bought new Brooks Trance at FF Murf on Sat after the race. LOVE THEM! I'm so tired of the Brooks Adrenline. These are very comparable to the Adrenalines so I should be ok. I plan to run 10 in them Wed and then 18 on Sat in them. So, I'm currently trading out 3 pairs of shoes right now.

I did 15 slow mins on the elliptical after I ran, some free weights on my arms, my yoga ball crunches, and some light weights on my legs. Once I stopped doing cardio I felt a lot better. Tomorrow, I will run my 6 mile tempo run and then come home to stretch in front of the Saints-Titans game. :)

Mon-6 mile tempo
Tues-Cross train
Wed-10 miles
Thurs-5 recovery miles (not doing 6 as I had planned)
Fri-Rest
Sat-18 miles (may get 1 hr massage)
Sun-Cross train (push mow)

Personal worst at Murf 1/2

I don't even know my official time but I think it was 2:02 or 2:03 something. My very FIRST 1/2 in 2004 was 2:01......yeah, I'm mad at myself and the freaking heat wave. :P

Seriously, someone really needs to remind me that I don't run well in the heat. Sure, April's marathon fiasco should have still been embedded in my brain, you'd think....but I bounced back in May and did ok at a couple of 10ks. June was Moon Pie and although I didn't get a PR, I did ok and even went shopping afterwards without feeling sick. The Marine Corp in July was by no means a great 5 miler for me but again, I lucked up and did ok in the heat. I did not race at all in August but I bumped up my training in a REALLY HOT August. September's Franklin Classic wasn't pretty but it was only 6.2 miles....not 13.1. It had hills which I had not trained for since June. (My legs do forget things!)

So, I'll back up here a bit. The race was well organized, great course, great finish, etc... The heat that seemed to creep into my tummy and then cramped my legs hit me by mile 10 really hard. I was feeling the heat by mile 4 - 5 but stayed focused. At mile 10+, I got nausiated. I told myself, "just finish". Saw a lot of people I knew before, during, and after the race and a few told me that they ran their personal worsts so that made me feel a little better. Sad, but true! My 305 kept perfect distance. I kept my pace under 9 mins until mile 10 and that's the positive I'm retrieving out of this race. Tomas de Paulis came up next to me at about mile 10.5 - 11 and asked me how I was doing. I told him I hope I do better 2 wks from now and he smiled and said, "Yeah, it's rough in this heat today." He said some other things but I was so delirious I can't remember right now. He is the Music City half director and the director of the state park series. I used to chase down his wife several years ago and now I do stay ahead of her. She's 60 yrs old. Amazing!

I used the 10% off coupon at FF after we got our showers...got a much needed sports bra, bought a Nike skort on sale, and more shoes.... I should NOT need anymore shoes or running related apparel until after the first of the year now.

Lana and Michele both did great even though Lana got sick. Mike kept yelling at me so I know he was alive. Wayne struggled but did ok...thanks for sharing the ride today, Wayne! Lamar did 15 mins slower than last weeks training run but seemed happy to finish. Terry said he suffered on his time because of the heat. Everyone really liked the race but I think we'd all really LOVE it if it were on a much cooler day of the year. The strider's race calendar is so FULL. I am amazed at the races we are lucky to have in our area. I wish I could be efficient at all of them. ha!

Decided totally NOT to do Detroit, after my stressful week and this race, I think it might be better to put that off until next year, especially if I do NOT get into the NYC marathon. Terry said he really LOVED the Detroit marathon so I know it's a must do. I think it would be fun to get others to do it from here anyway.

Tomorrow: possibly 4 recovery miles with Carla and some cross training
Monday: 6 mile tempo (7:30pm kick off in New Orleans-Go Titans!)
Tuesday: Cross train
Wednesday: 10 miles
Thursday: 6 rec miles (Grey's Anatomy season premiere!!)
Friday: Rest
Sat: 18 miles....(I whittled the plan down to accommodate 2 half marathons)
Sunday: Cross train (Desperate Housewives season premiere!!)

6 for recovery....and some other stuff.

Doing Detroit may be more trouble for me than it's worth. First of all, I would rather do it with other people who are doing it. It's all about logistics and the fact that I'm trying to work out the logistics a month out is almost crazy. I did reserve a room at the host hotel in Huntsville for Rocket City today. It's been years since I've stayed down there. The last several years I've always driven down the morning of the marathon. I think this year, I'll just stay down there and sleep in until 5:30am instead of being on the road at that time.

Tonight I did 6:04 in 1:02:56 for a 10:25 pace...hey, it was recovery! I did my yoga ball crunches and stretched my legs as much as I could stand it. Tomorrow I'm resting, not doing "jack"! :)

Got some stuff ready for Sat morning. Heard they will have showers. That will be great if Wayne and I end up heading to Fleet Feet to shop and trying on stuff. ha! I could seriously use another sports bra and maybe even another pair of Brooks. I am one of those people who can't go much past 250 on mileage on a pair of shoes. I run like a 300 lb woman! :(

Getting back to Detroit....it might be smarter to just do my 20 miler here that weekend or head up to Louisville for their marathon. I could knock out KY on my list to do.

8 miles alone...blahhhhhhh....

I'm not a big fan of running alone, but most of the time I have to run alone. It doesn't motivate me and it makes me work harder mentally. I don't like it. Carla got sidetracked on time and could not make it and Chris was sick.

I did 8:01 in 1:13:32. I'm not going to say it felt good because it didn't. I felt a little drained, but right in the middle of it I felt myself picking up the pace. It was still rather warm when I started at 5:40pm. Tomorrow I'm doing a very SLOW 6 miles, probably alone. Friday, I'm resting, getting to bed early, and resigning myself to the fact that I'll probably run a 2 hr half marathon Sat morning. My first half was in '04 and it was 2:01. It will hurt my ego to run slower than that but we'll see...I just know I'm going to have to push to get it there. God, help me!

Got to looking ahead at the schedule that I've whittled down here and there and noticed that I'm doing 20 miles on Oct 20th. Then I got on southwest.com...round trip tickets are $230 to Detroit.....dare I go for it???!!! Dare I admit that Detroit Free Press Marathon has been on my mind? My cousin is walking/jogging the half with a friend. I know people at of our Novi, MI office who are doing it. So, I will make a decision on this in the next day or so. It's just over a month away. I know I could do it, but I would treat it as a 26.2 training run. I'm scheduled to do 18 a week from this Sat. Food for thought.......

I love my massages!!

I really did need my adjustment & massage today! I've scheduled an hour long massage a week from Sat with Kirby at her shop. I will probably need the calves worked on after I do 18 next Sat (Sept 29th). Two half marathon races with one 18 mile training run in between....yep, I'll need it!

Got my Falcons tickets today. Can't wait to go with Hannah. I don't get to spend as much time with her since she got engaged. That game is the day after the Music City Half. That will be an extra busy weekend! :)

Tonight, I got to the gym late but I made myself stay until I got everything in...1 hr elliptical, (slowly, stretching the legs), 200+ yoga ball crunches, light legs weights, and free weights for my arms. I stretched everything and I feel like I can do my 8 miles tomorrow with no soreness. I sit all day long and nothing gets stretched during the day unless I make myself get up, go downstairs, and walk around. (It amazes me the people who use the freaking elevator to go downstairs. We have TWO floors in the administrative offices for pete's sake). Ok, I won't go into a rant on that here....

Tired Monday...

I think I'm still tired from the weekend. The game was exciting as usual even though the Titans could not pull ahead in the 4th qtr. We ate a greasy breakfast at the Wildhorse Saloon, don't think I really want to do that again. Needless to say, I was worn out when I got home.

I ran pretty much alone tonight (7:03 miles-1:03:43-9:03 pace). Wayne didn't feel too well and had 205 garmin trouble early on and stopped to fix it. The first 3.5 miles were a struggle for me. My right calf felt tight and sore but by mile 4 it loosened. I started feeling stronger by mile 4+. I really need to get the pace down below 9 on these tempo runs and I hope that when it does cool off, it goes down. Tonight was warmer than last Monday, I think... I just need more tempos!

I skipped the gym totally and stretched at home. Tried to do crunches but it just wasn't working. I'm really looking forward to my adjustment and massage tomorrow. My neck and upper back feel so stiff.

Tomorrow: cross training
Wed: 8 miles with Chris and Carla
Thurs: 6 VERY SLOW miles for recovery
Fri: REST and to bed early
Sat: Murf half marathon
Sun: I may try a 4 mile recovery run along with some cross training at the gym
Mon: 6 mile tempo

Reality check....& hating this UT-FL game!

Ran 13.1 with the 305 this morning. Did some hills near the country club area that were unforgiving, but I've avoided them too much this summer! I started out with my Urban 10k tech shirt on (that I won memorial day weekend) which was a mistake. I forget how much I heat up. I took it off & tied it to my fuel belt by mile 2! I felt a little tired & sleep deprived. Took just 1 enduralyte pill before I started. Stayed up too late & got up too early. I was out just before 7am. The weather was PERFECT, but a little breezy. I like breezy when it's 80+ degrees but it was not 80+ degrees & it took some adjusting. Overall, I felt strong & tried doing some fast, long strides right in the middle of it. That & the hills wore me down by mile 10-11 but oh well....it's a training run...

I spent 1 hr 30 mins push mowing after the run & I planted some mums. Can that count as my cool down? :)

Tomorrow is a rest/cross training day & I'll be walking quite a bit downtown Nashville. Should help with any soreness, though. Don't think I'll make it to the gym!
Man, FL's Tebow is playing like Vince Young and he's only a soph! Poor Erik, that broken finger & sore shoulder are hindering him. OUCH!

Mon (Sept 17th)-7 miles and most of it at tempo pace
Tues-crosstrain
Wed-8 miles
Thur-6 rec miles SLOW
Fri-Rest
Sat-Murf half (just keep it under 2 hrs!!!)
Sun-possibly a slow 4 mile rec run
Mon (Sept 24th)-6 mile tempo?

305 Garmin Drama...and a great 6 mile rec run!

Ok, apparently you have to have a grip much like Hulk Hogan to push the freakin' power button "on/off". It's insane! Customer service at Garmin told me how to do a "Hard" shut down. It did not work. The ONLY way I got my 305 to come back on was to put it back on the charger and do a "hard" start. I took it off the charger and kept it on for our 6 mile rec run. I did a 9:44 pace 6:06 miles. Wayne, according ot his 205, did 9:43 pace 6:11, I think... He was slightly behind me so we were failrly close. It felt really relaxed to me and it felt much like the pace I have been doing on my long runs so who knows...

Getting back to the 305 problem....we deducted that the button is slightly off and may adjust the more I use it. You seriously have to hold it with both hands and FIRMLY hold that button down right now. I think it's ok, but tomorrow's another day. It felt nice not getting those lost GPS signals! :)

I did come crunches at Harveys and some stretches for my legs after we ran.
Thank God it's almost friday. Tomorrow is a rest day for me, but I may do a little mowing when I get off.

Damn 305 wouldn't start, but the 10 miles went well!

I was so disappointed. I went to start the 305 before I got out of the car at East. It would NOT come on. I had charged it and played with it the night before. I don't know what happened but I didn't have time to mess with it. I threw on the 101 and got started. Carla did 8 miles and chatted with neighbors along the way. ha! I pumped out 10 as if it were nothing. I think I'm a much faster runner when I'm pissed off, seriously. Some of my best training runs and races have all happened right after I've got ticked off at something or been sleep deprived. My marathon PR was done on 3 hrs sleep the night before, go figure?

Anyway, I think I did roughly 10.25 miles in about 1 hr 35 mins. Unfortunately, I was running my mouth when we took off and when I finished so I am not sure about the time.

So, the 305 is sitting on the charger right now. Charging again. It turned on when I put it on the charger. I know I had it charged well enough.
Maybe tomorrow it'll boot up!

Ahhhhh, my fat free chocolate milk tastes so good tonight! :)

Cross training and cramping...ugh!

Is anyone as sick of bananas as I am? I hate them unless they are covered in chocolate. I've slacked on my potassium intake, obviously. I've got to do better with my eating. As I was doing weights, my left toes cramped. My legs have been cramping at night some lately, too.

Anyway, did the elliptical for 1 hr 5 mins slowly while reading the Garmin handbook and trying to set it up. I did my usual crunches, free weights, and machines. I'm trying very hard not to overdo it on my quads. I slightly strained my left quad last week. OUCH!

Still planning on 10 tomorrow and trying to look ahead to the next week. It seems like the days just go by so incredibly fast recently. I feel like I'm always trying to play catch up.

Getting real excited about Sunday. We are all meeting at Coyote Ugly for breakfast. Should be a blast!! :)

6 mile tempo run

Ran with Wayne in his neighborhood. I didn't feel 100% but managed to hold a 9:12 pace for basically 55 mins. We were doing these same runs in the Winter/Spring well under a 9 pace. It did feel comfortable after I settled into the pace, though. We really need more of these. Our monday nights need to be tempo runs since our long runs are on Saturdays. Since the heat is subsiding and my legs are getting used to the mileage, I hope to see some improvement in my pace over the next month or two. The 305 came in today. I'm charging it and doing the warranty info tomorrow. I hope to run with it Wed for 10 miles. Carla may join me.

Tomorrow: Cross Train
Wed: 10 miles
Thurs: 6 rec/easy pace
Fri: Rest
Sat: 13 miles
Sun: Colts game

Football and Cross Training

Watched the 1st qtr of the Jacksonville game while on an elliptical. Of course, I was not giving it an all out effort. It was mainly to stretch my legs and burn some calories. 50 mins into it my friend, Hannah, called to tell me they were ready to eat and watch the game. I ate too much but I was starved so dinner will be VERY light. I did go back to the gym after the Titans squeaked out their win. (Yeah!) I did my crunches, weights, and a little more stretching.

I'm about 99% sure I want to send in my form for the NYC marathon in '08. It's done by lottery so chances are, I may not even get in, but it's worth a try.....

Since I feel almost NO soreness this week the day after my long run, I am going to attempt a 6 mile temp run tomorrow after work. I need it! Tues, I'll crosstrain at the gym. Wed, 10 miles since I only did 8 last week.....Thurs, 5 mile recovery and the gym. Friday, rest. Sat, probably 13 miles.

17 or 18.57....who knows....

I was out exactly 3:01:37 today according to my garmin, but my Timex Ironman said less than 3 hrs, go figure?? Ran what I thought was a 17 mile course according to USATF route website. My garmin read 18.57 and I was probably half a mile from home. So, I walked the rest of the way in...my legs were reading......"enough already, walk!"

The weather was great at 5:50am when I started, but the last half hour got a little too warm. I did use the portapottie in Macon Manor at what I think was mile 14ish. Just could not pass it up at the time. Where was that pottie Wed? :P Took a cool bath and started winding down. Then I thought about how nasty my car is right now. So, I'll clean it!

Tomorrow will be a crosstraining day at the gym for me. I'll have to figure out when because I do want to catch some of the Titans-Jags game. I've slacked a little lately on leg weights so I'll definitely hit those and the elliptical.

Monday will be a 5 mile recovery run.
Tuesday, not sure yet. I really need to check my schedule.
I will say that I'm only doing 12-13 next Sat and I'm looking forward to it. Funny how that distance seems so short to me right now. :)

Finally got it!

Colts tickets that is.....and yes, the 305 is on the way, too.
This and the fact that I mailed off my Rocket City registration form ($50) and bought my plane ticket to San Antonio for Christmas has drained me, but "life is good!" :)

Resting today....hope to be up and running by 6am tomorrow. (17 miles) I will use the USATF website to measure the course and just stick with it.

Thursday's workout

Lately, I've been wondering whether I should start using gels again during my long runs. I used them in the '05 CMM and they worked well considering I didn't log the miles I should have for that marathon. I used absolutely nothing in my first marathon, 2004 Rocket City. So, for the sake of breaking down my mistakes and what worked at the moment, I'm going to analyze this while it's on my mind.

marathon 1: Dec '04-sidelined due to plantar fascittis but ran my first marathon anyway (Rocket City 5:04ish and I was proud...almost no training whatsoever and no gels although I do remember taking salt packets)

marathon 2: April '05-trained with the striders some, used gels for the first time in training. Could not get used to the taste but forced them down along with a salt packet. I used 5 of them during the (CMM 2005 Finish time 4:23:46 and I was pleased!)

marathon 3: Dec '05-unfocused for much of the fall season but still did Rocket City using no gels. I had completed several half marathons that fall but almost NO long runs at all. (finish time Rocket City 4:44ish I think I was just basically winging it here! Don't recall taking gels or anything)

marathon 4: April '06-focused, driven, and running with Michelle Hawkersmith all over Winchester & Estill Springs. She's a great runner with long legs. I sure miss running with her. (CMM '06 finish time and my PR 4:17:11 using 8 enduralyte pills and maybe 1 salt packet. I also had only about 3 hrs sleep the night before. Was I happy with my time? You betcha!!)

marathon 5: Nov '06-left shin injury. I was still wearing motion control type shoes because of the plantar fasciitis of '04 and scared to death, I'd get it again. Also, I had been running A LOT of hills out at Tim's Ford. My toe off was hard and my shins paid for it, more so on the left shin. (finish time for Chickamauga's marathon in 4:59ish with enduralyte pills) I was in PAIN!!

marathon 6: Dec '06-still suffering with the shin injury. Ran with it wrapped like I did in Chickamauga taking enduralyte pills. (finish time was 4:57ish and my goal was just complete it. I knew better but was too stupid NOT do it).

marathon 7: April '07-more focused but still suffering on my long runs with my left shin even though I had switched to stability shoes. I was doing well at races, though...short races. Used enduralytes, water, and that nasty accelerade. At mile 9, I had to go to the bathroom for the first time ever in the middle of a marathon. After that, it started feeling like an oven downtown Nashville. I felt sick the last 6-8 miles of the race. (finish time 4:36ish and I hated myself enough to where I buried the ugly t-shirt never to wear it but maybe once to the gym.)

I have come to the conclusion that I absolutely hate power bars. I tried to make myself eat them before long runs, but I have found that poptarts sit better on my tummy. Also, sport beans are ok for me but not during the race. If I do eat them, I make sure I finish them at least 15-20 mins before the start.

Marathon 8 has no where to go but "Up" no matter what I do at this point.....

Tonight's run was an easy 5 miler in my neighborhood by myself. VERY slow roughly 46 mins, I guess....that's all I do is guess with the forerunner 101. Can't wiat for the 305 to get here! I headed to the gym and stretched, did my yoga ball crunches, and some free weights for my arms. I cut the work out a little short to catch the opening day game.....Go Colts!!!!

Pushing 8 miles on Wed...

I cut this weeks med-long run from 10 to 8. I just could not do it after Monday's race and last friday's long run....still unsure of exactly how long it was.... I think I'm due for a massage!

Met up with Carla and Chris out at East @ 5:45pm. Terry was there for probably 10-15. You never know with him. ha! Carla took off first. I set my inaccurate 101 and started off with Chris at a fairly fast pace about 30 secs to a min behind her. The starting pace felt way under 9. I'll tell ya that. I ran with Chris for about 4 miles and I told him to go on. I didn't want him suffering to hang back with me. Tara was quiet as usual and the 88 degrees felt ok. I took in a sip of water and gatorade at about mile 5 or 6. I took in air with it and felt like I needed to belch or burp the rest of the way back to the car. Not a comfortable feeling. Carla pushed me in the last .75 to East. We finished 8 miles in 1:17:34. I know it was correct even though the garmin read 8:39. The garmin was definitely off! Carla, you did great tonight...if you read this.....

Terry had finished his mid-wk long run and was heading home. He yelled obscenities at Carla and myself (well, not really! We yelled at him.) I decided to head home for a long bath. I should have stretched but I'm very sleepy for some reason. I have discovered my love for fat free chocolate milk after these med-long runs. So GOOD!!!!

Finally bit the bullet for the 305...

After trudging through a 4.21 mile run in 33.31 mins, I just know that was NOT right. My first mile in Monday's 10k was 7:58 for pete's sake. Wayne had told me about an AD in the military catalog for Garmin 305s at $229.00. Needless to say, one is officially ordered now. No more guessing games. I need to know exactly how slow I'm currently running. :(

My right calf was very tight today and never loosened up until I got on the elliptical for a slow 30 mins after I ran. (those hills in Franklin!) I did some weights and crunches, also. Tomorrow, if all goes well, Carla and Chris are joining me for 8 miles out at East. I'm going to map it to make sure we get it in. I decided to drop back on the midweek "long" run to allow my legs to regroup. This Sat, I'm attempting 17 miles alone. I've always run those with the striders and I've only run maybe 3 total "17 mile training runs" in my 3 yrs of marathon training (7 marathons). Yeah, I know....I was never properly training. Hey, maybe I'll hurt a lot less this time around. duh?! And another admission here, I've only ran 2 or 3 total "20 mile training runs"! Yeah, that '06 4:17:11 was a gift from God. :)

My plan is to do the 17 this Sat and then drop back to 12 the weekend before Murfreesboro's half. I do not know what the long run is the weekend between Murf and the Music City halves but I do know that the two days before the Music City Half, I really need to rest.

So, here's the rest of my week.

Wed: 8 miles out East area
Thur: 5 miles and some light cross training
Fri: Rest
Sat: 17 miles....and yes, I did decide NOT to take the UT tickets for Sat. *sniffle, sniffle*
Sun: cross training at the gym

......but I'm on track for some Colts tickets still...

Hot, Humid, Sore, and Tired...excuses for Franklin Classic 10k

Today, I drove up with my running buddy, Wayne Smith (no relation) to Franklin for the Franklin Classic 10k. OH MY GOD, the hills! Ok, I admit it! I've not run many hills since I did Moon Pie in June. I can tell it! But in my defense, I did a little more on my long run friday morning than I should have, I think... Not to mention the white water rafting on Sat....and I pushed mowed for well over an hour after I ran friday. (toasty legs!)

The back of my knees were sore Sat morning when I headed off to the Ocoee with my friends. I iced and took ibuprohren. I was worn out when we got back Sat night!

Sunday, I slept in but I did hit the gym for a very light, slow 35 mins on the elliptical. I stretched really well in the yoga room and did my crunches. That's was it! After icing and more ibuprophen, the back of the knees were still a little sore this morning but not so bad that I could not run at all that's for sure. Wayne and I arrived and met up with Terry Quillen from Tullahoma and Dan Carnahan from Fairview. (Dan's first race ever and he did it just over 1:01!! Go Dan!) Not sure of Terry's time (40:something and slow for Terry, supposedly!) but he's faster than the rest of us will ever be...we hate him! (KIDDING!!!) Wayne did ok considering his lack of training the last couple of months and his plantar fascittis bothering him in the early part of the summer. I think he was 56:something.

I was just barely under 55 mins. After I got up the 2nd hill, I wanted to lay down and die! I had heard that the first 2 miles were the hilliest so I expected it. When we were at mile 3 and still getting hills, I seriously felt my calves screaming, "What R U doing?!" The humidity/sun felt like it was on my head the whole time. I was miserable and my legs were toast by mile 4. Thank God for the down hills going in the last 2 miles! When I could see the clock, I tried to pick it up because there was no way I wanted to go over 55 mins unless I was dying. When I finished I grabbled water bottles for Wayne and Dan and while waiting, I held the bottles on my neck and head. When Dan finished, he admitted he felt dizzy towards the end and felt like he was passing out. Wayne was the only one happy! ha! The 3rd place finisher in my age group did a 1:51 something so I knew even on a good day, I might not have caught her anyway.

Wayne said this would be a good tune up race for the Murf and Music City halves. Guess I needed a good butt kicking to snap into reality. I will be dropping back to 12 miles the weekend before the Murfreesboro half and I will take it easy on the Thurs/Fri before that race for sure. Briefly talked to Tomas de Paulos, the State Park running tour director and Music City half director. He seemed intrigued we were ALL doing Murf and his race 2 wks later. He also said that the course for the Murfreesboro Half winds around 3X passing the start 3Xs. That will be interesting. I'm excited about both half marathons. Murfreesboro, because that's where I went to school and it's inaugral. Music City, because it will be low key, it's inaugral, and Tomas may make it a FULL next year.

Tomorrow, I think I'll do 5 slow rec miles and then do my 10 miles on Wed. I just don't think I can take 10 miles tomorrow. Depending on whether or not I get the tickets for the UT game on Sat, I may try to take off on friday AGAIN for my long run but I will not know until tomorrow if I should/can do that. Fall is always tough on me when it comes to getting in the long runs. I hate the heat. I'd much rather do ALL these long runs in Dec/Jan/Feb. This is why I'm actually thinking of doing Knoxville's marathon late Mar/early April. It is fairly hilly and ends on the 50 yd line of Neyland. Sweet! This would mean a lot of hilly long runs during the winter and that's ok. I HATE THE HEAT and HUMIDITY of summer!

Over 142 miles for the hottest month....

Surprisingly enough, I've logged over 142 miles in my marathonguide.com despite the hottest Aug on record in many, many years for TN. That's the most miles for me ever in one single month and definitely the most miles for any August EVER. Whether this brings me closer to the Rocket City goal, who knows. I'm going to mail off my registration today.

On Friday, I got out at about 5:50am for what was supposed to be 15 miles. It appears it was more and my legs are still feeling it. Today I'm going to do some serious stretching and icing. I went white water rafting yesterday and some of the soreness could be from bracing my legs in the boat but I doubt that affected it that much. All I know is that the cold water felt GREAT on my legs. The soreness is on the back of the knees where the knees bend. I've had soreness here before but it's been a very long time. I hope it's gone by tomorrow morning. I would like to stay well under 53 mins for this 10k, but who knows... At least the Franklin Classic 10k is relatively FLAT compared to the Urban 10k which was REALLY hilly to me. Surely I can come close to or beat my 52:43 time from Memorial Day weekend.

Michigan lost to Apalachian state and who cares...UT lost to Calif and that hurt. Poor Erik and his broken pinkie! :( I was so tired that I nearly fell asleep while watching the last half of the game. I plan to do little to nothing today with the exception of working out this soreness.
Still looking for Colts tickets and I still believe there's illegal bidding on ebay running them up. ha! Thank God April has offered to pay half and we've decided that if we have to, we'll do the scalper thing for the first time. Thank God for my football hungry girlfriends! ha!

Still looking at airline tickets to San Antonio for Christmas. I will go irregardless the cost but it's still early and I'm hoping Southwest runs a special. I wish I could go to Disney in Jan and run that marathon. My San Antonio brother in law is doing it with his brother, can't wait to hear his personal account of it.

My schedule for the next week:

10k Race Monday
10 miles Tuesday (may cut it to 8 if my soreness hasn't gone)
Rest/Cross Training Wednesday (may move the 8-10 mile run to Wed and rest/cross train Tues)
5 miles recovery run Thursday
Rest on Friday
17 miles on Saturday
Rest/Cross Training Sunday