Eeeew, doesn't look good.....

.....the Titans in Tampa, that is...and my run on Sat. Vince just got injured and I feel injured!

First of all, I don't have too many consistant running buddies. Everyone has their own thing going on and I totally understand that. I don't have kids, I'm the one training for the marathon here, and I choose not to get up extra early during the week to run, etc... So, Sat morning, I still felt tired from my week. Work was not exactly stressfree this week and I didn't get to bed as early as I wanted Friday night. I just flat out felt tired. I ate enough on friday, but probably should have opted for some pasta instead of the very light salad I had friday night. I felt weak and almost "light headed". Someone told me I looked like I had lost weight but the scales don't show it. I do know that my NIKE running skirt is a little loose on me and it's a medium. Some of my running shorts look like curtains on me. I am happy with the way my body looks but right now, I feel like I could eat forever but can't stomach just anything. Ever have one of those weeks? Ya know the weeks where you want to eat but just don't know what you want?

Needing some motivation just to get out the door Sat morning, I took my shuffle and drove out to Tim's Ford lake. I knew I'd be sacrificing pace on those hills. I've only run out there once since June and that was a slow 5 miler with Carla on a Wed night back in Aug or early Sept. When I took off, I felt my hips aching. I thought to myself, "I am warming up and it will go away". It didn't. I knew the 11.5 miler and the 6.18 miler had made me a little tired but friday was a rest day.

I felt like I was climbing mountains. Again, I realized I was sacrificing pace by going out there on hills I have not been running lately. I ended up doing 11.17 instead of the planned 15. It felt like 20 when I got in my car. I was sore from the hips down. So, I went to the gym to see what the problem was......I loosened my legs for 30 mins on the elliptical slowly and 30 mins on the bike SLOWLY. By the time I left, my hips felt better but I was hungry, sleepy, and just completely exhausted. Needless to say, the rest of my Saturday was very lazy. I called Terry to see how the first state park race went and I complained to him about how I was feeling. He said he's had those days before not to think too much about it. He didn't place at the Montgomery State Park trail race but he said he had a pretty good run. I heard some people fell and one person ended up in the ER. I'm not a trail runner for those reasons. I'm too clumsy!

Anyway, my time out on the Tim's Ford bike trail was 2:03:31 for 11.17 miles. I admit, I walked about 4-5 minutes drinking gatorade. So, this morning, I got my butt out and ran 5:03 in 47:02 for a recovery. I'm going to head to the gym later this afternoon and try to do weights, crunches, and some serious stretching. I'm still planning on a 20 miler this Sat but it's looking very tempting to put it off till the 27th and running it with Wayne. This would mean that I would have to blow off the Halloween Hunt but that's ok. I may end up going to the Oakland Game at the last minute on the 28th anyway. Too much driving around in one weekend wears me out and I did that last weekend. Not too much fun being on the road both weekend days.

I have a chiropractor and massage appt tomorrow so not sure what I'll do on Monday. I do know I need another mid week long run either Tues or Wed, probably 10 miles. I will go on how I feel this week and I will watch what I eat and try to get some good carbs in my system.

I think I've let Wayne talk me into the Team Nashville half. Heck, what have I got to lose at this point with the last two half marathons being my worst ever?! I will NOT run in my Trance shoes because both Lana and Terry told me that socks and shoes would get dirty on the cinder trail. I will have to really watch my footing and slow down on that trail....it's a new race to me and I have to go with the intent to have fun. :)