"Maintenance"

Plantar fasciitis requires a lot of maintenance. It can come back if you don't "fix" your issues….like tight ham strings, tight calves, etc… So far I'm keeping it away enough that I can run with the stretching, icing, & rolling. This morning I got out for 5 miles. It felt great but it also felt like "tempo". It was an 8:42 pace. At this point in the training, I had hoped to have my "tempo" pace on these short runs closer to an 8 minute pace if not lower. One of the reasons, that I will not be running the full marathon in Indianapolis. With all the worried Boston Qualifiers who are "squeakers" (qualfied by less than 5 minutes) I definitely want my next marathon time closer to 3:50 than a 3:55.  I know I can do that because I took my 4:12 down to a 3:56 within four to five months.  ...."positive thoughts".... 

I feel confident enough that I should be able to do 14 miles this Saturday. We're heading to Shelby park & afterwards I'm cheering on some peeps who are running the "Women's half". That hilly downtown course is a beast & if I never do that half again that's fine with me but I'm all about cheering. At least two are from the "Couch to 5k" group from the club!

12 unspectacular miles.....& LOTS of cross training

Saturday, I ran 12 flat, rainy miles....stopping every 2-3 miles stretching the plantar.  Ummm, not my idea of fun but at least I was running.  9:25-ish pace....with all the stretching I did, I'm surprised it was that fast because I didn't turn off the garmin to stretch, of course.

As for what else I'm doing...cross training my ass off. I hit the pool for 50 minutes of aqua jogging yesterday, 30 minutes on an elliptical, 30 minutes on a bike, did my weights, did lunges, P90x ab ripper, & the entire 70 minute "Yoga for Runners" dvd. I was worn out & today I'm actually sore from the weights & lunges.
I ran just over 2 miles in my newtons yesterday, also, just because.....No, really, I wanted to see how the tendon would do in minimalist shoes & it did ok. I kept it super slow but it felt alright. Slowly but surely this issue is resolving itself. I want to run long & I want to run long "fast". ;-P
I did manage 25 miles last week versus the 11 miles I've had for the two weeks before it. I'm determined to find the positive in this "injury" & if it means losing $ on some races & handing off my bib to others then so be it. It's not about "completing" a race with me right now, it's about obtaining what I want out of the race.

All that being said...I do have other stuff going on non-running related.
We saw Taylor Swith this weekend at Bridgestone. (Saw her in '09)
She was sick with a cold but still sang very well.
I'm going to Zanie's for the first time in Nov with a bunch of running gals from the club.
I'm going to see Justin Timberlake in Nov with a bunch of running gals from the club.

And my Texas family is definitely coming here for Christmas. hooray for that!!! Can't wait! ;-)
Lots of planning for that to be done.

Happy Monday & Happy Fall, yall!

99.9% pain free...

Well, knock on wood, I think the dreaded "snake bite" of an injury is almost gone.  

I ran a total of 9 miles Wednesday.  

The second run was on the hilly 5+ mile route with the club.  2 miles into it the heel got cranky. I was ticked....5.25 miles at a 9:50 pace.   

After running in the heat & doing speed work for most of the summer I better be able to run A LOT faster than that on hills here in the next few weeks.  

This morning as I stomp & press on it, it feels fine. (Way better than last week at this time!) 

So, it's time to roll with tomorrow's long run....not sure of distance or pace but I know I'm getting my ass out there.

After aqua jogging for 45-50 minutes three times in the last week I'm ready to hit land in a bad way.  

We have the Taylor Swift concert tomorrow night at Bridgestone arena.  Always a great show!

Let the weekend begin....

a turning point....

After 2 weeks & 2 days of little to no running, I think the plantar fasciitis is at a turning point.

I've done a few VERY short runs over the last week & there was no major pain involved. I've aqua jogged twice in the last week, been on a bike & the elliptical at the gym, etc… I've worked out but the little to no running has taken the Monumental full off my agenda. I don't want to do it just to finish. I want the sub 3:55 if not sub 3:50 finish time. Crossing fingers my husband's 3:22 is fast enough to get his registration accepted this week for Boston.

I decided to give my "Middle Half" bib away to Jo Anne for the Oct 12^th race. I also canceled my plans to run the "Brooksie Way half" in MI. (Switched flight to Nawlins!).

Honestly, I just need to focus more on the big picture & make sure this issue is fully resolved so I can get the "FULL marathon" training done.

This morning, even through I didn't wear my Strasberg sock to bed last night & the arch was a little cranky, I made it 3.75 miles (9:05 pace). I finished without limping or any real pain. If I had more time I would have run more so I'm running with the club tonight. "2 a day Wednesday" will happen this week!

After much thought, I've decided to do the half in Indy. Two weeks of missed runs was just too much for me to wrap my brain around. I know I was slightly ahead of the training but at this point, I do NOT want just another marathon under my belt. I want to know that I've recovered 100% before I think of running another marathon. This leaves open the fact that we have the CIM Dec 8^th .   

After this weekend, I will know for sure if that is doable. We now have plans in the works for New Orleans, also. Whether it be just the half or the full will be totally up to my plantar issue over the next few weeks & whether or not I end up running the CIM.   

It does feel good to run again, though, even though I'm a bit bummed at having to rearrange travel, miss two races. ($103.00 down the drain), etc… But I have missed my 5am Saturday morning group & my "Middle Halfers" formerly known as the "couch to 5ers".

So, I'm crossing my fingers right now that the CIM training is still doable. I had thought I would go ahead with the CIM & run with our friends out there but honestly, I would want to push the pedal because I know "me". Until this goal is achieved, I will not be able to just run a marathon for the heck of it. SSSSSoooooo, this weekend I will attempt to run LONNNNGGGGG again, can't wait.

In other news I tried out the "Bod Pod" & I'm happy to report that I fall into the high end of the "moderately lean" group. I was .8 from being in the "lean" group. Holla!! ;-) The guy doing the test told me that I need to do more weights & eat more "good" calories. Well, it's true, my one day a week of weights probably needs to be lengthened but I don't think I need more calories. I'm still at my goal weight & plan to stay there but if I happen to add more muscle, I'm sure I'll need to add more fuel for the new muscles. I am pretty happy with my body right now & that's enough for me.

testing, testing, 1, 2, 3....

With the exception of one 6.27 mile run (9:22 pace), I've now lost one week of training.
Granted this wouldn't be such a huge deal if I were not trying to shave 2 or more minutes off my marathon PR. I tested the foot Saturday & it was too soon. I ran in new inserts powerstep pulse. They feel awesome & I wish I had changed to them a month ago. Much more arch support than my blue superfeet & softer than the black or green superfeet. After Saturday's failed run, I went back to Fleet Feet & got the Brooks Adrenalines that I used to wear over a year & a half ago. This time around I got a narrow fit since my feet seem to swim in them a year & a half ago. Better fit, softer, & not as heavy as I thought they'd feel but I've not really run in them yet. Tomorrow morning I'll be taking a test run in them with the new inserts. So, as you can imagine, I'm re-thinking the full in Indy. If this weekend's planned 16 miler goes well, then I'm back in the Monumental Indianapolis business of "going for it" for a 3rd time this year.
If not, I'll do the half & go for a half PR. The half course is the flattest I've ever run & as I have said before, it felt effortless last year. If the pf is totally gone in order to do either race then that's the plans I have in place. I'm a "planner" & I hate not knowing what's coming.
It's obvious I don't need a 3rd sub 4 hour marathon this year. I need a sub 3:55 & if it's not doable then I won't waste my energy unless I decide to run with friends at the CIM.
I'm doing things a little different than I did 9 yrs ago because I'm more informed on what to do, obviously. I'm rolling out my calfs/ankles with the Thera-Band roller & I'm rolling out the foot with a small version of the Thera-band roller, I'm icing the heel twice a day, also. It feels so much better than last week.

Plan B: It won't be the end of the world if I have to run the Monumental 1/2 again & make the CIM my "A" race.
Plan C: If the Pf doesn't totally clear in time for the Monumental 1/2 then I'll run the 5k there & obviously run the CIM slow with Adriane & her husband, Kito. It's their first full marathon.
Plan D: See plan C. If Pf is gone enough to train for Nola, I'll head back there for REVENGE!!!!

Ok, I feel better now that I see my back up plans in writing. Carry on... ;-P

mild case of pf

I was told I have a mild to moderate case of plantar fasciitis.  The doc gave me what I needed & it appears to be working.  Now I have to work on my patience.  I really like this doc, he's not "shot happy" like the other one that everyone loves so much. I personally don't believe in getting the cortizone shots.  That's a temporary fix.  Get to the root of the problem, which is usually strengthening something, (the "glutes" for me). I'm also considering switching to a more supported shoe until it's completely gone.  My long run shoes are 880 New Balance & they weight 11 ounces.  I'm going to try to find a replacement that weighs around that much to get my feet through the training.  Am I worried?  Yes, but I tell myself that the worst that can happen is that I do the half again in Indy (smash my half PR) & then save it all for the CIM in December.  I'm choosing to be positive about this situation.  I am pretty proud of myself for being able to complete that hilly, hot as hell 10k course with a wonky heel.  Who am I running some sub 8 miles on a hot morning on hills in a race & not feeling 100%?  ;-)   I know that speed work has paid off.  I grew to love pushing myself on that Ravenwood track because I felt awesome & developed a sense of accomplishment to finish it every Monday night.  Until this year, I had never done any "regular" speed work at all.  I'm currently reading the "Hanson's Marathon Method" book that talks about how runners get "stale" in their paces & don't seem to improve.  That was me.  Speed work can change that.  As summer starts to fade away, I'm pretty stoked about the running that I've done so far. 

Tuesday, I did a complete "rest" day.  Been a very long time since I've not done ONE SINGLE little work out.  Wednesday, I did the bike at the gym for 40 mins, IT Band exercises, & some time on the elliptical along with P90x ab ripper.  Today, I'm walking to the gym to do pretty much the same exercises but adding more glute strengthening.  Friday, I'll very likely do ab ripper & some stretching.  Saturday morning I'm doing as the doc says....7 flat miles.  If that goes well, I'll get out Sunday for 4 or 5 flat miles.  I'm on volaren for 10 days & much like any other anti-inflammatory, you can't take it before exercise so I have to make sure I take it right after I'm finished.  If next week goes well, I'll do my 20 miler on Sept 14th.  I've still got plenty of time to get all the training runs in & still hit my goal.  The thing with marathon training, you have to be flexible with the schedule in case something comes up & having a week or two leeway is always a nice thing.

12 miles, a new 10k PR, & plantar faciitis

Here's the skinny version of the last few days...no running on Thur & Fri for me. I did yoga, the bike, & P90x ab ripper.  I needed a few days to recoup & my legs always feel great on Saturday mornings when I've done yoga & given them a little rest.  We took off for a flat-ish 3.5 miles at 5am Sat morning then swung back for a few more runners at 5:30am....then we headed for the "hills" for the rest of our Saturday morning run pretty much.

12 miles - 1:48:34 - 9:03 pace

9:11
8:46
8:18
9:15 (getting fuel belt on & picking up more runners at MJs)
8:54
9:04
9:04
9:43 (waiting on Joe to use a portapottie)
9:06
9:02
9:16 (bleh, it's HOT)
8:57

The last 3 or 4 weekends after my long runs, I've had a tinsy bit of heel pain in my left foot.  It usually goes away after about 24 hours but this week it lingered.  Trust me, I knew what it was so I've been stretching the DEVIL out of that tendon known as the plantar fasciitis. I had this in my right foot in the summer of '04.  So, I know exactly how to treat it.  I am, however, going to see Dr. Holmes tomorrow.  I left a message on his office answering machine Saturday afternoon & within 30 minutes he called me to set up an appt for Tuesday.  He's good like that!  I'm going to beg him for some oral Voltaren tablets. That's what I took in '04 & it cleared it up within a week.  I have the gel version that I use for the tendonitis on my ankles & it works VERY well. 

Yesterday, I knocked out my weights, walked two miles, & did the bike at the gym. 
Fast forward to this morning....I slept like crap worrying about how I was going to run the Franklin Classic 10k.  I could kick myself for not switching to the 5k because I know I could have PR'd & placed in my age group.
Anyway, I took off with Roy T. & stayed with him until we hit the hilly 2nd half of the course.  Since there's construction, we had the bigger hills towards the back of the course instead of at the front. I knew I had a 10k PR in me today but if the heel pain cranked up, how much of a PR was questionable.  You can sure tell by my splits where we hit the hills & if that wasn't enough my left shoe came untied the last mile & a half.  arg!!  I was so ticked.  I felt like I could've gone faster for sure because I could definitely tell that the speed work was kicking in had the heel held up.  It is what it is & despite everything I'm ok with the time.  I was 6th in my age group.  I would have to crack the 47-48 time for my age group to even think about nailing a 3rd place finisher award.  I can feel it, though.  I'm not that far off!

My garmin results below:
6.31 miles - 50:36 - 8:01 pace

1-7:46
2-7:50
3-7:31
4-7:59 (hills start cranking...)
5-8:26 (left shoe comes untied & I'm feeling the hills in my cranky heel)
6-8:29
.31-8:14

Well, this week will likely be another "cut back" week due to this little set back with my heel but the big picture is Nov 2nd.  I have plenty of time to knock out a couple of 20 milers & a 22 miler before then, God willing & the creek don't rise.  Wait..that's a "flooding" reference....I take that back.  LOL!  No flooded courses, please!!!

Run #2: "2 a Day Wednesday"

The only "good" about this run was that I got to run with Preston, Jane's son. Sweet boy!

The "9 min" group went over to Bent Creek. I think this was my 3^rd or 4^th run over there. They ran it a little differently this week due to Amy K putting out fluids. I think one more run over there should get me somewhat familiar with it. I think we should add it to the Saturday morning route this week, which is only 12 miles. With the temp in the 90s this weekend & a chance of rain all three days, including Labor Day, I'm glad my long run is only 12!

Yesterday felt like the warmest afternoon of the entire summer to me, plus I think the 18 miler & speed work on Monday finally caught up to me. 5.25 miles at a 9:19 pace…it would have been faster had I run the regular route. The Bent Creek route includes two stops to cross Nolensville Rd & a water stop...and as you know I don't stop my garmin... 

Today, I'm heading straight to the gym to spin my legs out on the elliptical & bike for a little while. Then I'm doing the strengthening exercises for my left IT Band & glutes. So far so good…neither have given me fits lately at all. I'm also going to make myself get through at least half of the "Yoga for Runners" dvd when I get home & I'll finish the rest on Friday along with ab ripper.

We don't have yoga on Sunday so I may end up doing this dvd again or P90X Stretch on Sunday to get ready for the Franklin Classic 10k. I hear the route changed so of course, we'll go drive it. LOL!

I can't wait. I'm itching to "race".

10 X 800s boom!

Jo Ann, Pam, Tandy, Russ, & I got over to the Ravenwood track about 6:10pm & got down to business.

I really think the first 800 that I do is always a "warm up" & I'm ok with that. The first one is always one of the slowest. I would make myself hold back on the first loop around the track & then I would start slowly reeling them in as we headed around the end of the track on the 2nd loop. My goal was to stay well under 3:55 but not burn my legs out by the 6^th or 7^th 800. I felt great the entire time. I'm really proud of the 3:26 I did on the 10^th 800 because I still felt like I could do another one. Speed work is essentially over for me during this training cycle. I think the rest of the crew may be coming back for two more weeks of it after the Franklin Classic on Labor Day. I'm going to focus more on longer tempo runs. I will really miss my Monday night speed work buddies!

1.06 mi warm up-10:34

10 X 800s (with 60 to 90 seconds rest in between each one)

3:52, 3:36, 3:41, 3:43, 3:42, 3:40, 3:43, 3:35, 3:51, 3:26

1.06 mi cool down-10:07

The 800s above average out to be about a 3:44. If you believe in & trust the "Yasso 800s" prediction, I should be able to run a marathon around a 3:44-ish. I will believe it when I do it. Ha! Honestly, I have to believe that all these consecutive weeks that I've done these 800s on very tired legs will help me on Nov 2^nd.   This may be the missing piece to this puzzle of missing a sub 3:55 by a few minutes. I have to delay the stress on my legs & the stress on my tummy. I'm still working on eating things that don't upset my tummy. The 2^nd long run in the heat with the dates seems to prove that I should stick with them. The key is to get plenty of rest the two nights before these long runs so that my body isn't missing the caffeine jolt it was getting from the gus. So, that's still an ongoing experiment at this time.

Today I'm going to spin my legs out on a bike at the gym for a little while before I join the Wild Wings group run. I'm only running around 3 very slow miles today as recovery. I'm still undecided as to how hard & long I want to run tomorrow. I'm thinking a progression run in the morning & a tempo in the afternoon….maybe 10 for the day…. I can't believe that I'm almost 2 months away from my 13^th marathon.

Decision made: 18 hilly, hot miles....

We met up with our usual friends at 5am & circled back at 5:30am for more friends.  I had taken two sportslegs tabs, ate my usual oatmeal, banana, honey stinger gel, & coffee all before leaving the house.  I drank as much as I could but probably should've drank more.  I ate 9 dates & took in a gel that came in my stridebox that had coconut water in it.  It went down fast since it was watery.  I took that in when we finished up the 6-7 mile hilly loop. 
We did roughly 3-3.5 by 5:30am then hit the 6-7 mile hilly loop that involves Sunset Middle, a neighborhood, & lots of hills, then we were back at Mama's Java refilling bottles, etc...  We then took off for about 2+ flat miles, including the Industrial park, the ball park, Nolensville Elementary, then I decided to take the "Wednesday night 5+ mile hilly loop" to finish the run off or rather "finish me off".  LOL!  I'm trying hard to add hills at the end of most of my "long" runs simply because the Monumental course does have a few small rollers the back half as I've stated before on here.  This was tough simply because it felt really warm by the time we ran that last hour.  Keep in mind it was 70 degrees when we started at 5am.  At mile 10 when I was feeling awesome, I made the decision to go on with the 18 miles.  I knew deep down it was the right thing to do this weekend since we have the Franklin Classic 10k on Labor Day & I want a shorter "long" run two days before.  Doing a 20 miler two days before that 10k sucked last year & I was determined not to do that again. 

18 miles - 2:51:26 - 9:32 pace
Way slower than my winter 18 miler but that's what summer long runs are...slower!  I have to say I am A OK with the pace, though.  The later warmer miles on tired legs on massive hills were tough.  I was having to play mental games with myself on them since the heat was getting to me.  Many thanks to Jo Ann who ran the entire time with me.  The woman needs to push "play" on her first marathon for sure.

1- 9:12
2- 9:16
3- 8:54
4- 10:15 (putting my fuel belt on & getting the 5:30am crowd)
5- 9:19
6- 9:02 (starting the hills on the loop)
7- 9:03
8- 9:19
9- 9:18
10- 9:09
11- 10:57 (back at the car for refueling)
12- 9:26
13- 9:27 (start hitting the hills again)
14- 9:58 (ugh....Ballenger....& more hills)
15- 9:38
16- 9:43
17- 9:53 (The former "C25ker's" nicknamed this course "hell on hills" for a reason)
18- 9:39

2nd Run: "2 a Day Wednesday" 8 miles on hills in the heat

I told Jay (former C25'er) that running in the heat like we had yesterday on hills for 8 miles would make him really strong for The Middle Half. He's new to long distance running so he believed me. LOL!

We ended up starting out strong on the 5 mile hilly route & I knew it would come back to haunt us later & it did. We were at a death march barely keeping it below a 10 minute pace the last mile & a half. The fact that bugs were trying to eat us alive didn't help but he was staying with it no matter what & we finished at a 9:39 pace overall. His wife is a nurse working 12 hour shifts & they have a son that can't be left alone yet. So, he's struggling to get the "long-ish" runs in but he's now back on track. He told me that running long on Monday's would work better for him since he knows NRC childcare on Wednesday's will very likely end soon. I told him my "speed work" will end over the next couple of weeks. I had already got it in my head that I'm going to do my "long-ish week day runs" on Mondays starting mid to late Sept. That may work out for him if he speeds up a little bit as it gets cooler.

My Monday's will likely have a "long-ish" run of 8-12 miles at a low to mid-9's pace until it cools down. I am hoping by the time I start doing this that the temps are cooler but you never know with middle TN. Wednesday's will be short tempo runs...I may keep the "2 a day runs" on Wednesdays for a little while longer. I do feel that my legs are getting stronger & snapping back faster as the weeks go by. ;-)

I've still not decided exactly what to do on Saturday since it's supposed be a cut back week on the long run. I guess I'll just bring enough fuel & "wing" it. Sometimes the long runs that aren't "over-planned" turn out to be the best long runs. Friday's overnight low is showing 70 on my iPhone right now but I can hope for the best.

1st Run: "2 a day Wednesday" 4 miles - tempo-ish pace

I rolled out the door at 4:56am & had decided to avoid the front of our 'hood. I didn't do the BIG hills but kept some smaller rollers in for 4 miles. My 4th mile had a lot of down hill to it. Trust me, it wasn't that I was feeling great or anything that I pushed out a sub 8 mile. It was warm & humid. When I stopped to bend over & stretch I created a puddle of sweat on the sidewalk.

4 mi - 33:41 - 8:25 pace
9:14, 8:06, 7:56, 8:24

I'm doing ab ripper when I get home & then a slow 8 miles with the club. It's going to be muggy but I can deal if I carry my fuel belt.
Tomorrow, I'm doing IT Band exercises, a few weights, & the bike.
Friday, will be ab ripper & rest....still deciding exactly how much to run Saturday since Joe's brother, Jake (and family) won't arrive until late afternoon.
I really would like a shorter run the Saturday before the Franklin Classic 10k...ummmm......

Monday night speed work at Ravenwood

This week due to a lot of school "open houses" it was just Joe, Jo Ann, Diana, Lauren R. & myself at the track.  We missed the other half of the crew last night.  Some were sick with sinus issues.  It's that time of year here.

 

9 X 800s, 1 to 2 minutes rest in between walking & sipping nuun.

1.3 mile warm up – 13.01 time

1- 3:57 (started too conservative…could've carried on a conversation during this one)
2- 3:43
3- 3:44
4- 3:39
5- 3:46
6- 3:42
7- 3:51 (feeling it!)
8- 3:39 (gave myself a pep talk)
9- 3:46 (thinking I will thank myself & remember this night if this pays off Nov 2^nd!)
1.06 mi cool down - 9:48 time

Next Monday will be my last day at the track for speed work & of course, I'm doing 10 X 800s.

It was around 82 degrees when we started the work out last night but with a lot of cloud cover. No rain so I wore my new Adidas Boost. Love those shoes!
For the evening I had a total of 6.86 miles.

I'm spinning my legs & running an easy 3 miles with Jane & the Wild Wings group tonight.

Recovery & "conservative" speed work

Yesterday I took it easy...jogged 2 miles round trip to the gym at roughly an 11 & a half minute pace, did my weights, & rode a bike for 40 minutes.  I have taken 2 ice baths in the last two days & worn my CW-X compression tights for approximately 8 hours over the weekend.  I feel great & I am looking forward to "speed work" tonight.  Have you ever got into the habit of doing something every week & you're already dreading the fact that's it is going to end soon?
Meaning...I am going to actually miss my speed work friends on Monday nights when this ends.  True, I'll still see most, if not all of them on Monday's (in the dark soon) but it's been an adventure, it's been "playtime" in a new environment.  It's been fun!  Yes, apparently, I've crossed over to the dark side where "speed work" is fun. Who am I?

So the plan for today:
Ab ripper P90X this morning before work
1 mile warm up, then 9 X 800s with about a 1-2 minute rest in between, then another 1 mile cool down

I'm going ahead with the plan to do 9 X 800s & the plan is to start out slow.  Meaning I'm going to be ok with it if my first 1-2 are 3:55-4:00 but the rest better stay below 3:55.  I've not had any trouble at all even in the heat keeping them around the 3:35-3:45 range so this "experiment" should help me practice "holding back" a little but pushing at the end.  Make sense?  It should to someone who's missed a goal twice by literally a few minutes this year. 

Next Monday on the 26th, I plan to do 10 X 800's.  We'll be running the Franklin Classic 10k the following Monday on Labor Day.  The Monday after Labor Day, I hope to do a one mile time trial back at the school to compare it to the one I did 2 days after the Franklin Half.  It should without a doubt be faster than the 6:54 mile I did that night.  (What was I thinking doing a time trial 2 days after a hilly ass half marathon? doh!)

17.2 miles: "the date experiment"

We are having some really good weather for August in middle TN.  Usually in August, the overnight lows are in the 70's & the yards are brown.  We've had so much rain this Spring/Summer that we've not had to water our back yard at all.
All that being said, I still don't run well in warmer temps.   I like it COLD. Cold meaning....anywhere between 20 & 55 degrees.  That's my "sweet spot".  This morning's run went way better than last weekend's 16 miler.  I ended up with 17.2 miles by the time I got back to the car.   This morning I think the temp was mid-60's....what a nice "gift" in August! 
We met Traci & Jonathon at 5am at the Crocket Y parking lot & took off for some hilly neighborhoods in the dark.  I got in well over 6 miles by the time we met up with the 6am group.  We dumped our reflective gear & grabbed more fuel bottles.  I pretty much emptied two out of my fuel belt during the first hour.  I also ate 4 dates 47 minutes into the run at the suggestion of Scott A.  I ate a second helping of dates (4) around the hour & a half mark.  I never got the sick to my tummy feeling that I have got with gels/gu.  I think the dates might just work!
We had dropped Joe's car with a cooler at Ravenwood high school so we would have another place to refill our bottles.  Altogether I know I drank a little more than last week so that went better, too.  I didn't have the glute cramping that I had the previous week.  (We call it "ass cramping"  LOL!)  Overall, I'm pretty pleased with my pace. I never stopped my garmin at any of the refueling spots or when Traci & Mandy went to the Ravenwood portapotties.  ;-)  We did big hills the first hour & then did small rollers the rest of the time finishing the last few miles totally flat. 

17.2 miles - 2:39:59 - 9:18 pace (I'll gladly take a 9:18 pace in August any day)

1- 9:14 (easing into the hills!)
2- 8:55
3- 8:56
4- 8:57
5- 8:58
6- 9:04
7- 11:07 (eating dates, dropping reflective gear, refueling, & circling for 6am group)
8- 9:12
9- 9:08
10- 9:29 (portapottie stop for the girls-stretched a bit)
11- 10:01
12- 10:23 (eating dates, refilling fuel belts, Tim L. & Jonathon rejoin us)
13- 9:10
14- 8:45 (picking up the pace to finish strong)
15- 8:57
16- 9:14
17- 8:46
 .2- 8:35

After breakfast at Mama's Java's, Jessica & I headed to the gym.  She wanted to work out & this was an opportunity for me to stretch & spin my legs out for 35 minutes on a bike.  I even did my free weights for my arms. 

Next weekend Joe's brother comes in with his family for a quick overnight stay on Saturday.  We are way overdue for a cutback on our long run so I'm thinking I'll likely do 12 or 13 at the most next Saturday.  I swear if the Friday night temp drops below 60, I will change my mind!  LOL!

I'm remaining hopeful for a faster marathon time this Fall.  Hey, I've got nothing at all to lose at this point.  Just keep plugging away....  I will say this, I've never run this much in the summer....EVER.  I've never done "organized" speedwork this much with this amount of mileage.  I feel like it's working.  ;-)

2nd Run: "2 a Day Wednesday"

My 2nd run was with the former "C25'ers" soon to be half marathoners at The Middle Half.
The first 5 was the hilly route & then 2.33 miles were flat with Jo Ann & Jay A. He needed 7 & of course I missjudged the distance on my garmin but he'll be ok. The weather was FANTASTIC last night for a Wednesday night NRC run. Vicki & David V. had taken the club's cooler home for the week & brought it in with water in it yesterday. This is a "new" thing that the club has started...sharing the "bring the cooler" duties. Needless to say, they set the bar high with decorating it a bit. They're UT fans so you can imagine. Very cool! Vicki who works in the beer industry brought a pick up truck full of beer to give away! FREE BEER after an NRC run! I'm not a beer drinker but I was blown away with what all they brought. So very cool! Like I said, they set the bar high for everyone who gets the cooler next.

7.33 miles - hilly for the first 5 then flat for the rest - 9:11 pace - Time: 1:07:20
I think Jay could go sub 2 in his first half if he sticks with the training & gets in all his long runs.
He's faster than he knows he is but he's had calf issues. I gave him three "Sportlegs" capsules last night & handed him gatorade off my fuel belt during the run. He had a handheld with water in it.

Yesterday's mileage for me...12.33 miles...not bad for a Wednesday.

Today, I'm doing my "yoga for runners" dvd, 40 minutes on the bike, & my IT Band exercises.
Friday, P90X ab ripper, stretching.........carb loading for Saturday's 17 miler....
I'm going to experiment with eating dates on my long run this weekend per Scott's recommendation.
Always learning something new!

Run #1 on "Two a day Wednesday"

"Everything around us that we call "life" was made up by people who are no smarter than you. So build a life, don't live one."Ashton Kutcher-the lesson he "re-learned" while filming the Steve Jobs movie.

I'm going to see the movie, "Jobs" this weekend. I read the book a few years ago & found it very interesting.

I've recently tried to find more time to read. It's hit or miss with me actually sitting down to read much right now. I started on "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. I'm at chapter 9. I hope to barrel through it more this weekend.

I am really enjoying the "Wild Wings" group run on Tuesday's right now. It fits real well with my schedule. Since I'm doing speed work on Mondays, I don't want to do more than 3 SLOW miles on Tuesdays right now & that's exactly what I did last night. Jane S. & Jo Ann joined us last night. Kim D. plans to join us soon. Great wings!

This morning I jumped out of bed at 4:35am startled at my alarm going off. I was in a deep sleep. I finally got out the door at 4:49am, ran 5 miles of hills, stretched some, got ready for work, & was in the car by about 6:32am. Over the years, I have learned that I can get ready for work really fast if I lay everything out the night before & use the dryer on my hair. LOL! I think it took me less than 40 minutes this morning. Most women take almost an hour or longer so I'm pretty proud of that. ;-P

5 miles – most of the hills the first few miles – 43:17 –pace 8:40

8:56, 8:59, 8:51, 8:14, 8:18

I've agreed to run slow tonight with former "C25k'er" Jay. He needs 7 miles at probably a 10 minute pace. (He's training for the middle half in Oct) I think that's totally doable after this morning's run.

This weather is totally cra-cra right now…high today of 79 in middle TN & it's August 14^th!!!! I'm NOT complaining…just wish tonight's low was Friday night's low.

8 X 800s...."Just do it!"

That's how I felt about this weeks speed work..."Just do it!"
Get it overwith & get home....

I did P90x ab ripper & some stretching yesterday morning before work.
Last night I did a 1.2 mile warm up on the track at a 12:01 pace.
It looked like rain when we started & thank goodness it was overcast but ugh, so humid.
3.36, 3.36, 3.32, 3.37, 3.36, 3.48, 3.42, 3.53 (the 3rd one is always the fastest for me)
I was dying by the last two, which tells me I really do need to slow it down on the front end.
I don't really know that I could have done two more at a 3:54 or lower, I was tired.
I rested about a minute to a minute & a half in between. If it were 400s, I would stick closer to a minute but in this weather, I'm cutting myself some slack.
I cooled down with 1.07 around the track at a 10:20 pace.

The last two 800s we did while it was lightening off in the distance.
It started raining during my cool down but just light rain.
We just barely got the speed in before the weather got bad.
God really WANTED us to get this done! LOL!

I took two sportlegs tabs when I got home & did an ice bath.
I had forgotten to take the the sportlegs before speed work. ;-(
I feel ok but I sure didn't feel like rolling out of bed early enough to get some yoga done this morning.
I've got a massage today during lunch. Hoping Ryan at the Y can work on the pirifomis in my left hip. Honestly, the only part of my body that is cranky is my hips, specifically the left one.
Other than that I feel good. I also have another massage scheduled for Monday over near work.
I will certainly need it if I do 17 miles on Saturday. Now if the Wed night overnight low would just move to friday night, I'd be a happy runner!

"cut back week"....sorta?

I do P90x ab ripper Mon, Wed, Fri, & yoga twice a week.
My yoga time averages about 2 1/2 hours a week right now.
How do I make time for it?  Well, I can't run well if I don't do it.
I'm 46 yrs old, my body doesn't snap back together like it used to, speed work EVERY Monday, & the last 3-4 weeks I've had my mileage at 40+ a week.
I NEED the yoga!  I feel better when I do it & I LOVE it.
The above, I can't cut back on but I can cut back on the running some...

First of all, I was going to do a cut back on the long run this week simply because my body was screaming for a cut back.  I didn't do it because I thought that Joe's brother & his family were coming in next weekend.  I was going to cut back my long run to 12 miles next weekend.  Turns out I had it ALL wrong, they're not coming in for two more weeks.  All this said...and with the way the weather is trending for next Friday night's low, I may go ahead & do 17 miles next Saturday...we'll see.

My "cut back"?...I didn't do 40+ miles this week.  I had about 38 miles but over 4 miles of it was slow walking.  That was my "cut back".  Instead of doing a 5 mile easy run this morning, I decided to walk.  As I stated before, my gym is 1 mile from the house.  I can walk 2 miles or add a little bit or a lot.  Thursday I walked 2 miles, did the bike at the gym, & my IT Band exercises (preventative maintenance).  Today, I walked 2.22 miles, did weights, IT Band exercises, & the bike.  I'm doing Erin's yoga class later this afternoon.  I made the decision to avoid the easy 5 miler simply because I needed to cut back somewhere.  It's also not smart to run 16 miles & then drive 2 hours round trip to Tullahoma.  LOL!

I had to forgo my ice bath & take the car into my car guy in Manchester, plus see family....been too long...  My "behind" ached on the drive simply because I hadn't stretched or had my ice bath.  The smartest thing I did last weekend after my 15 miler was the ice bath & I wore my CW-X compression tights for recovery.  I felt awesome the next morning.  When I woke up this morning...notsomuch....  I let the early Sunday morning runners know I wouldn't be there. 

As for the 16 miler itself...hot & humid meant I had to take in a lot of fluids, plus practice some nutrition.  I took in a total of 4 "sportslegs" capsules, which certainly helped.  Two before the run & two in the middle of it.  I had a "naturally" caffeinated honey stinger gel before we began, a banana flavored honey stinger at mile 7, & then another "naturally" caffeinated honey stinger about mile 11.  I drank lemon-lime Gatorade, some lemonade zippfizz, & some cola nuun.  I am determined to drink & eat everything in order to see what works & to get my stomach used to a lot of different things. I hope I develop a cast-iron stomach by the end of summer!

We met Andrea K., Jo Ann, & David V. at Mama's Javas at 5am.  We dropped fluids at Nolensville Elementary.  We refilled bottles twice.  At mile 11, which was my slowest mile, I changed out my bottles, & waited for Jo Ann to get water in MJ's & get the blood off her leg.  When she had a potty break she hit her knee on the door.  It didn't seem to slow her down.  She ended up with 15.25 miles when we finished.  Joe called his run at 14 miles due to his arm cramping.  Andrea had to be home before 6:30am so her hubby, Zack, could start his run.  (Traci was out of town, Danielle ran later, & Mandy had to do her long run on Friday.)  David V. got in his long run of 7.5+ miles & did great. 
Over all, we were sorta all over the place & at one point Jo Ann & I lost each other.  LOL!  It was an adventure much like most of our long runs. Splits below...I do not stop my garmin for anything as stated before...I strive for a "true" pace on all my long runs.

16 miles - 2:33:05 - 9:34
1- 9:43 (easing into it)
2- 9:05
3- 9:09
4- 9:06
5- 9:19
6- 9:18
7- 10:50 (my first fuel refill, dumping the reflective gear, & running my mouth)
8- 9:29 (started hitting a few hills)
9- 9:09
10- 9:31 (portapottie break)
11- 11:37 (fuel refill at MJ's & amazed Jo Ann is bleeding from her knee & still running)
12- 9:11
13- 9:31 (circling for Joe who's decided to head back early to MJ's)
14- 9:17
15- 9:19
16- 9:39 (drained, sweaty mess & just want it to be over...circling MJ's the last .25)

I am A - OK with this run since I dare say it was definitely the warmest long run I've done all year.  Had Joe been my "pack mule" I think the pace would have been a little faster but he had to cut it short by 2 miles anyway.  It is what it is for an August "long run" in Tennessee.... It feels like the rain forest here.  It was strange to see the overgrown greenery all the way from South Nashville to Coffee County.  SO MUCH RAIN....and not one drop fell on us during this 16 miler to cool us off!  gggrrrrr......

Tomorrow is speed work....8 X 800s....  I've never done that many 800s at one time.  The plan....slow it down again this week.  I have to survive it without making myself crazy sore.  If they are all 3:45's I will be very OK with that.  I just hope it doesn't storm on us. 

BRING ON FALL & FOOTBALL, please!!!!!

2nd run: "2 a day Wednesday"

Note to self:  When I have it in my head that I want a hilly tempo run, I need to do a route I'm familiar with...doh!  I'm craving some fresh new routes so for the 2nd time only, I joined the "Bent Creek" crew last night.  I accidentally called it, "Bent Cweek". The pace was "9" but most were just below that & looping for a few folks.  I seemed to be pushing ahead at some points.  I looped or waited and/or asked for directions when I would see more than one turn.  I will get it with just a few more runs, I think...so for now I'm going to toss the idea of doing a hard-ish, hilly, tempo run on Wednesday evenings. 

5 miles - 44:15 - 8:51 pace
8:50, 8:37, 8:48, 9:12, 8:48

I took two "sportlegs" capsules & boy, did they make a difference.  I usually come home on Wednesday nights from the NRC runs a little stiff legged & then Thursday I wake up a little more stiff but not this time.  I feel pretty dang great!

Recovery run & Progression run

Last night we joined the "Wild Wings" group & I ran with Jane S. & Kate J.
Since my legs were still heavy from speed work, I made sure I took it easy.
With two really LONG stop lights, it was "easy" to take it easy...
Tuesdays & Thursdays are definitely my easy days.

3.03 miles - 34:24 - easy

This morning I got in 4 miles....and it turned out pretty decent on my tired legs.

4 miles - 35:03 - progression
9:31, 8:49, 8:22, 8:21

With the craptastic weather that's going on off & on all day, I wish I had got up earlier & done 6 or so miles.  If it's not lightening...we run, though...rain or shine.

7 X 800s two days after a 15 miler....who am I?

Trust me…I'm as surprised as anyone else that I ran 7 X 800s two days after running 15 miles.

We have had between 8 & 11 runners show up every week for the last 6 or 7 weeks. It's been "bonding" time to say the least. Joe & I'll likely stop doing speed work altogether mid-Sept. My long runs will be REALLY long then & I cannot risk injury running 800s a few days after running 18 to 22 miles.

I did a warm up of about 1.4 miles at a 10 minute pace.

Then we took off. My garmin did something crazy on the first one so I ran it by myself.
I shortened my "rest" break in order to start with everyone else on the 2^nd 800.
Overall I think I was probably resting about a minute to a minute an a half in between them.
My goal was to slow them down some this week & for the most part I did.

3:41, 3:32, 3:35, 3:27, 3:34, 3:34, 3:32

I then did a 1.12 cool down run around the track. Overall mileage was right around 6 miles if I did my math right.

This morning I soaked in a tub of cold water for about 10 minutes & then I did 30 minutes of "yoga for runners". The plan this afternoon is to do an easy 3 miles with the "Wild Wing" group in Cool Springs with Jane S.  Good times!

15 humid miles & another 5 humid miles....

The goal yesterday was to hold back as much as possible, keeping the first 7 as flat as possible, then hitting the hills the last part of the run.  Mission accomplished.
We started at 5am as usual with Jo Ann, Mandy, Andrea, & Traci.  Nobody confirmed for a 5:30am pick up so we ran until a few minutes after 6 before we came back for more fluids.  It was around 70-ish degrees when we started & it was humid.  At 6am we noticed a slight drop in the humidity/temperature but it crawled back up there again towards 7am.  Andrea headed back to her house for just over 10 miles (training for Rocket City in Dec).  Mandy did 12 & Jo Ann joined her since her tummy was acting up instead of doing the 15.  Mandy, I believe, is just maintaining half marathon shape until her marathon training for Nola begins.  Traci & Jo Ann are entertaining the idea of a marathon, maybe Rocket City, maybe Carmel.  Jo Ann is actually signed up for Carmel next April.  If she can figure out what her tummy can handle, the woman has a sub 4 marathon time in her.  She's 51 yrs old so this would be a Boston Qualifying time for her!  I cannot tell you all how giddy I get on Friday nights knowing I'm meeting these peeps for a long run in the morning.  They are great friends, amazing runners, & are always dependable & on time.  ;-)

15 miles - 9:13 pace - 2:18:14
This 15 miler is way slower than I was doing in the winter months but hey, it's August, it's humid, & I refuse to beat myself up over it.  Heat training leads to better running in the Fall when it does cool down.  I know that a year ago this run would have been around a 9:30-ish pace for me but I'm a much better runner than a year ago. 

Mi 1-9:17 (so very hard to hold the pace back)
Mi 2- 8:39 (ooops....slow down!)
Mi 3- 8:57
Mi 4- 8:59
Mi 5- 9:09
Mi 6- 9:05
Mi 7- 9:37 (circling MJ's while everyone reloads their fuel)
Mi 8- 9:19
Mi 9- 10:12 (and here come the humid hills)
Mi 10- 9:21 (It's just Joe & me now)
Mi 11- 9:32 (climbing & drinking my fluids)
Mi 12- 8:53 (some down hill finally)
Mi 13- 9:05
Mi 14- 9:08
Mi 15- 9:03 (finished w/o any toes cramping)

This morning I got my weights out of the way & did the bike for 30 minutes.  I met Jo Ann, Amy L, Katie, Kelly, & Elizabeth for 5 recovery miles at a 10:16 pace.  It felt even more humid than Saturday to me.  Welcome to the real weather in the south in the summer!  I can't wait to stretch these miles out of my legs at yoga today.

Tomorrow, I'm doing P90x ab ripper either in the morning or before I join the "speed work" group.  The goal is to slow my 800s down.  Yeah, I know that is weird but I'm purposely slowing them down from the 3:30-3:34s.  My goal marathon time is sub 3:55.  If I slow down to a 3:40 on these, I think my legs will recover a little better by the next day & Wednesday.  These 40+ mile weeks have to be "managed".  ;-) 

2nd run: "2 a day Wednesday"

I ran the hilly 5+ mile hilly route with Diana, Jay, Amy L, David V, Vicki, Crystal, & Jo Ann.  Most of them added a flat 2 miles to this for their "long run" for the week. I stayed with them & ended up with 7.08 miles at a 9:55 pace.

11.72 for the day & most of it HILLS!

Today: 2 miles round trip to my gym very slowly, 40 minutes bike, & yoga for runners

Friday: ab ripper, more stretching, especially the IT Band

Saturday: going to get the 15 miler done since 2 peeps have confirmed they'll do it!  

My drink of choice today below. 

Happy TGIThursday!

3 "recovery" miles & 4.64 early morning miles in the rain

Yesterday morning before work, I did 35 minutes of my "Yoga for Runners" dvd to try to stretch out some of the "speed work" from Monday night.  I felt ok but I have to admit, the 3 "easy" miles I did with Kate J. yesterday with the "Wild Wings Run" group were hard.  My legs were feeling the effects of the speed work & last week's 42 mile week, plus I was HUNGRY!
I did 3.01 at a 9:50 pace then I ran into the restaurant & ordered a plate full of boneless wings.  My body was craving protein so bad I was shaking. Joe & I were were shoving them in fast & then I accidentally dropped two of them on the floor!  Not cool!!!

This morning I was excited that it wasn't raining hard but it was a light sprinkle. I did 4.64 miles at the front of our 'hood where it's hilly.  My legs did feel better than last night, thank goodness.  This actually "looks" like a progression run but it was totally unintentional.  41:25 time, 4.64 miles, 8:56 pace....9:35, 9:11, 8:42, 8:29, & the last .64 was uphill at 8:33....
I'll take it as my first run on "2 a day Wednesday".

The plan tonight is to run with Crystal for most of if not all of her 7 miles.  She's going on vacation this weekend & doesn't want her long run of 7 miles hanging over her head.  She's also about 2-3 weeks ahead of her "Middle Half" training but she's 27 years old with youth on her side & obviously, an overachiever.  ;-)

Speed work @ Ravenwood High School

I raced home to stretch & knock out P90x ab ripper before meeting DD & Jo Ann at Publix to car pool to Ravenwood.  I'm determined to get on a track for the remainder of my speed work because it's so much more nicer on the legs.  We'll see how that goes once school starts, though.
I did a 1.26 miler warm up on the track.  For some reason, it was a little hard to get them going & I'm sure the 42 miles from last week didn't help any.  My warm up was 1.26 at 12:50 but I think I stopped & talked during this also.
The cool down was 1.06 at a much faster pace of 9:31.  LOL!
Even though I did 6 X 800s last week, I decided to keep it at 6 this week, too.  Not that yesterday was terribly hot at all but I could tell a difference over last weeks early morning temperature in Michigan during the 800s.  These felt a little harder & it showed. (3:36, 3:34, 3:34, 3:30, 3:34, 3:34)  I rested for a minute in between these & drank my grape Nuun.  I had finished off a big bottle of zipfizz at work.  I was plenty hydgrated, thank goodness.  Next week, we'll shoot for 7 X 800s.  Joe keeps reminding me that my 800s are faster than they were during the winter, which is great.  I'll chalk it up to being better conditioned & heat trained.

By the time we reach 10 X 800s & then do a one mile time trial the week after, I'll be ready for this to be overwith because my long runs will be up there.  I have switched them around again & I'm still unsure about the placement of them but they'll get done. 

Overall I feel great.  I'm getting enough sleep or my body is adjusting...who knows.  Marathon #13 will be my 3rd attempt to go under 3:55.  The Monumental Indianapolis folks have teased us with previews of the shirts.  They look like bike shirts.  Cool!

Last weekend in July...

I'm pleased with this run simply because I did 14 miles last Saturday, also, under way better conditions than this weekend. The humidity really started to get to me towards the end even though I drank as often as I could. I ran with a pretty heavy fuel belt too. I took in one power gel at mile 7 with caffeine in it & drank caffeinated Nuun cola & orange zipfizz.  (Loaded with electrolytes).  We started just after 5am with more runners than usual.  Some had a different pace/distance plans. 

 Jo Ann, David, Traci, & I stuck to our plan & ran together.  Although, I never stopped my garmin when we were back at MJs for the 2 different fuel stops. I would circle the parking lots & building slowing down some while they refueled & we gathered more runners.  (I wanted a "true" 14 miler.). We ran the first 3 flat, then added the hilly loop, finishing the last 3+ flat. 

14 Miles - 9:01 Pace - 2:06:21

Mi 1- 9:12

Mi 2- 8:49

Mi 3- 8:46

Mi 4- 8:59 (fuel stop #1)

Mi 5- 8:54

Mi 6- 9:07

Mi 7- 8:55

Mi 8- 9:08

Mi 9- 8:53

Mi 10- 8:47

Mi 11- 9:27 (fuel stop #2: circling MJs waiting on those getting more fuel)

Mi 12- 9:06

Mi 13- 9:21 (toes & glutes cramping)

Mi 14- 8:56

Early Sunday run with those training for "The Middle Half"- flat run & way cooler temps

6.57 miles - 9:15 pace - 1:00:46

(This isn't my recovery pace. LOL!)

Mi 1- 9:51

Mi 2- 9:12

Mi 3- 9:04

Mi 4- 9:12

Mi 5- 9:20

Mi 6- 9:06

  .57- 8:48

This was supposed to be recovery for me but due to the low temperature we all took off.  Had Amy L. been there I would've backed off & run with her. I also did weights & the bike at the gym.

I also took a short much needed nap this afternoon.  Now all I need to do is stretch this mess out at yoga at 4pm today.  

I hope speed work goes well tomorrow. The plan is to do 6 x 800s at Ravenwood's track. I did 6 last week instead of the planned 5 but I don't see me bumping it up tomorrow.  Too tired!  :-p

I'm well over 1,000 miles for the year now as we start closing out July.  If my body stays healthy, I will blow my yearly mileage record out the door. I think it's only about 1,200-1,300 anyway.  

Thank you God for this mild summer you've given us so far in 2013. 

2nd Run: "2 a day Wednesday"

The second run went much better than the early morning run at a warmer temperature. Go figure? I told DD that I think the speed work on Monday afternoons in the heat is really starting to pay off. My legs felt like they could really take off yesterday. I was running with 2 or 3 guys leading the "9 minute pace" group for most of the run. We did a few "courtesy loops" so I'm thinking this probably could've been even faster. I needed this run as I head into the weekend knowing I will do another 14 miler on Saturday with the "Super Secret Society 5am running group". LOL!  We're starting at Mama's Java at 5am & the "secret" will be posted on JP's Friday morning NRC weekend run plan post as always. ;-)

As for the former "c25ker Runners" they are rocking the hills on Wednesday nights. The faster runners did "courtesy loops" for the slower runners last night. They are already up to 6 – 6.5 miles as their long run for The Middle Half on Oct 12^th. They're doing awesome!

47:19 – 8:37 pace – 5.49 miles

Mi 1- 8:47

Mi 2- 8:51
Mi 3- 8:26
Mi 4- 8:50
Mi 5- 8:15
   .49- 8:30

1st run on "2 a day Wednesday"

I was wide awake early enough to get in 5.32 miles before hitting the shower this morning & heading to work.  I always hate the first day back at work after being off a few days.

This run was just straight out "blah".  My body is tight from yesterday's car ride & it's screaming for yoga.  I'm definitely doing the "Yoga for Runners" dvd before Saturday morning's planned 14 miler.  (Yes, we plan to do another one...) 
Just wasn't feeling it this morning but I think I'll enjoy this afternoon's run a lot better.  I'm thinking I'll run with Joe on another route that takes us through Bent creek.
Jo Ann is running with Meredith & the other former "c25k'ers" are knocking out the 5+ mile hilly route.  They know it pretty well now & hopefully Meredith will become very familiar with it over the next few weeks. 

5.32 miles - a lot of hills on tired, tight legs - 9:01 pace - 48 minutes flat

Mi 1- 9:34
Mi 2- 9:01
Mi 3- 8:53
Mi 4- 8:57
Mi 5- 8:43 (at least I sped up just a bit)
   .32-9:21 (uphill finish)

Michigan training runs

Saturday, we took advantage of being only one mile from the shaded paint creek trail.  It was 70 degrees when we finally got out at 7:15am. The trail was pretty busy with cyclists & runners.  There was some sort of training run going on because I spotted a small, unmanned fuel station set up.  

I ate a bagel with cream cheese & took in a caffeinated power gel before we got going.  I drank my caffeinated Nuun & ate caffeinated power chews. They went down easy without much chewing. 

There's a slight down hill going out & of course we had to do an out & back on this route.  :-(

The final mile has a big up hill back to Joe's parents neighborhood.  

14 miles - 8:54 pace - 2:04:41

Mi 1- 9:07

Mi 2- 8:32

Mi 3- 8:28

Mi 4- 8:30

Mi 5- 8:27

Mi 6- 8:35

Mi 7- 8:31

Mi 8- 8:59

Mi 9- 8:53

Mi 10- 9:01

Mi 11- 9:00

Mi 12- 9:24 (up hill starts to slow me down)

Mi 13- 9:20

Mi 14- 9:55 (up hill & concrete...yuck!)

I'm A-ok with this run, it wasn't in my initial training plan for this trip but my body was ready for it.  It was fun!

I ran 6.25 miles (3:1 intervals with my cousin) Sunday morning on some of the Brooksie Way half route.  Joe & I had driven most of the course on Saturday.  It's supposedly one of the hilliest half marathons in Michigan. (It doesn't hold a candle to Viola & the Franklin half marathons. Ha!!)

Monday we ran from my cousins place in Rochester, MI over to Rochester high school. (1.44 mile warm up). I knew the speed work group in Nolensville planned to do 5 x 800s.  We ended up doing 6 x 800s. The cool down was 1.83 back over to my cousins place.  

We had to dodge the cheer leader practice but the track was pretty empty. 

My first 800 was the slowest at 3:36, then....3:31, 3:16 (too fast!), 3:23, 3:32, 3:30.  We rested a minute to one & a half minutes in between them. What a difference it makes running on a track versus around an elementary school!  I'm going to suggest a "field trip" to Ravenwood's high school track soon.

It was a good trip but I'm ready to get back to training with my running buddies! 

NRC Wednesday night run with Meredith & a 500k finisher....

I ran last night with Meredith, former "Couch to 5ker".  She's signed up for the "Nashville Women's half" (her first!) & doing her long runs with the Fleet Feet store running group program.  She officially started her training last Saturday with a three miler with FF.  We did the 5+ mile hilly course last night.  We did 5:1s & she held a 12:19 pace overall.  She had never done that route & it was HOT.  The girl has guts!  I had thought she ran this once before with her sis, Lauren, but she had run 5 flat miles in Lauren's 'hood. 

Roy T. finished the "Last Annual Vol State Race" this morning with a time of 7 days & 42 minutes.  Truly Amazing!  What an adventure he & Dar must have had out there.  We are still tracking Diane T. & as of last night she still had about 111 more miles to go.  They have until sometime Sunday to finish this race, I believe....?

Life just isn't worth living without a great adventure!
I hope everyone has an "adventure" this weekend.  Happy Running!

Google "Reader"...gone..."Feedly" is finally up...

Google Reader is no more & we had plenty of notice of it's demise so I created a "feedly" account in order to read blogs that I've been following for YEARS. I have cleaned out my account & I don't have near as many to follow anymore because the bloggers stopped posting. I'm trying to find ways to get rid of things that are a "time suck". I've actually not had time to even start a new book in the last six months or so. My goal over the next 5-6 months is to find more time to just relax. We have had our calendars filled to the rim for many months & while I like having plenty of things to do I think it's time for some "down time".  Feedly is going to take some getting used to but I'll have 18 hours of car riding to do over the next week & I'm sure I'll figure it out.

All that being said, I don't have time to spruce up this boring little blog. It will just have to "be" & if it's boring, snoring…then so what. It's really for me…to keep me accountable for what I want to accomplish. After all I still have that a "goal" to reach & I sure don't want to be chasing it for YEARS with one excuse after another that's for sure.

Yesterday was pretty hot but we met up with the Jacks & Jayson at the Wild Wing group run.

I ended up running 3.51 miles & most of that was with Wayne. We kept it easy & talked the whole time.  We ended up with a 9:44 pace & I was A OK with that. I think you could have fried bacon on the side walks. I also managed to do the first 30 minutes of my "Yoga for Runners" dvd. Sometimes I feel like that dvd is like a long, slow run…I love how it makes me feel but hate that it's so long.

It's Wednesday so here's my first run on "2 a day Wednesday".

I am thinking it was around 75 degrees this morning at 4:50am & freaklishly humid. This is probably the warmest morning I've run so far this year. This afternoon will likely be the warmest afternoon I've run all year too…. I'm truly amazed that I got this 5 miler in under a 9 minute pace without melting down on the hills in my 'hood. I'm so much stronger than I was a year ago on these same hills.

5.02 miles with lots of hills – 8:52 pace – 44:32

Mi 1- 9:41

Mi 2- 8:58
Mi 3- 8:38
Mi 4- 8:14
Mi 5- 8:50
  . 02- 8:36

This afternoon I'll run 5:1 intervals on the hills of Nolensville with Lauren's little sister, Meredith.

She's a "Couch to 5k" graduate & is doing her first half marathon downtown Nashville in late September, The Women's Half. Bless her heart, she picked a hilly one.  Lauren, I see that you're reading this blog while on vacation in Aruba.  Stop reading this boring $h*t & go have some fun. ;-P

Tomorrow, I'll likely hit the gym & work on my IT Band strengthening. I may log a few slow miles with the Lenox Village "South Siders" run group, too.

Oh yeah, I have to finish packing for Michigan too.  Can't wait to run FLAT!!! 

speed work....

Yesterday I did P90x ab ripper in the morning & met the "speed work" group after work at about 6:30pm. We stood there staring at the blazing sun wishing a cloud would cover it like last week. I bet there were 30+ runners who showed up either to "just run"...."walk"....or "do speed work"....on a Monday night. This running club started by meeting on Wednesdays & Saturdays...now there's an "unofficial 3rd week day meeting". LOVE IT!

We had Pam P. Russ, Diana P., Stephanie S., David D., Tandy, her daughter, Jamie, & Jo Ann. Joe ran in our 'hood since we had Joey. Joey is on a plane by himself for the first time heading to MI to spend time with his grandparents. He's 13 so this is a big deal. ;-)

I ran 1.22 very slow to "warm up" the legs. We then whined a little more about the heat & got started.

We started right at the end of the road where you turn in behind Nolensville Elementary. Luckily, everyone that was running last night had already arrived.

My 800s were like this.....3:25 (too fast!), 3:31, 3:32, & then I pushed for 3:27 on the 4th one. We rested for about 1 to 2 minutes in between since it was so hot & we needed our fluids. After my 4th one, I had to lay down on the sidewalk so the world would stop spinning. LOL! I did 1:14 as a cool down once I peeled myself off the sidewalk. Overall.......4.36 miles in the heat.  The ones new to speed work did an awesome job!

Next week........we'll be in Michigan & I should be able to do 5 X 800s in the morning up there....somewhere.....maybe the high school track will be open...

I'm hoping the Paint Creek trail isn't too "buggy" like it was last summer. I would totally love to run 8 or 10 miles on it Saturday morning.

Today I am going to try to stretch some of the "speed" out of my legs before I head over　to run with Wayne & Kate J.　at the Wild Wing Cafe run meet up.　 Wings...yum!

Easy like Sunday morning & LAVS tracking...

We met up with our early Sunday morning group for an easy 6.2 miles at an 9:43 pace.  I got my weights in & time on the bike at the gym, then did Erin's yoga class in the afternoon.  This group is mostly made up of the former "Couch to 5k'ers" as I've stated before on here & they are doing GREAT!  One is a 1/2 marathon veteran but she's gearing up for her first full marathon in Huntsville in December.  I'll miss them next weekend along with the "Early 5am Saturday group" while we're in Michigan.  We sure had a good run Saturday & some good laughs this past weekend!

As we finished with the Sunday group, a little bit of rain started falling.  Turns out Diane T. was walking in a monsoon around that time out on the LAVS course. She said she got wet then cold. When I heard from her, she had just left the Subway restaurant that we had met Roy & Dar at the day before. She's a veteran of this "Last Annual Vol State" event. (It's about 28 years old, btw.) 
When we sat with her in the McDonald's on Saturday while she was taking a break, she gave us a little history lesson on this event & who the regulars are... one of which is a fella named, John Price, apparently he ran/walked across the US & England.  We had the pleasure of meeting him when we were in Subway with Roy.  Interesting character.  ;-)  As I type this Roy is well past half way done.  I cannot wait till he's done, rested, & back with us on a Wednesday for some post run food & some LAVS stories!

Today, I did P90X ab ripper & I'm psyching myself up for speed work tonight.  Per a suggestion of Fleet Feet's Tammy (via Pam P.), we are easing into some 800s....just 4 of them while others knock out some 400s in the heat.  For a "loosely" organized Monday night group, we have got ourselves a plan going with even more NRC runners joining us tonight.  Hot Summer Speed work can't get much more fun!  ;-P

13.1 mile training run & adventure

We started at Mamas Java shortly after 5am this morning with Andrea, Jo Ann, & Traci.  Joe had us pushing the pace from the start but we kept it flat.  I'm working on trying new things with nutrition so I had a caffeinated power gel with me that I took at mile 7.  It went down well & wasn't near as thick as the gu. 

We ran just over 3 miles flat then swung back to Mamas Java for the 5:30am runners.  Derek, Mandy, & Grant joined us there. Then we headed out on the hilly 6+ mile loop.  I had circled Mamas in order NOT to stop my garmin so by the time we left there for the hilly loop I had 3.5 miles. We did the loop in reverse of how we've been doing it lately.  It always seems more difficult for me this way.  

When we got back to Nolensville Pike, I needed another 2.5+ miles so I stayed with Derek & Grant.  The weather was AWESOME!!! 

 I realized I should've been drinking more when my left toes started to cramp a little so my last few miles slowed down.  I don't care. It just felt good to get in a solid 13.1 miles in July!!  

13.1 miles - 1:54:52 -8:46 pace

Mile 1: 8:31

Mile 2: 8:03

Mile 3: 8:13

Mile 4: 9:00 (circling 5:30 crew)

Mile 5: 8:50

Mile 6: 8:47

Mile 7: 8:39 (power gel...not a bad taste at all)

Mile 8: 8:35

Mile 9: 8:19

Mile 10: 8:50

Mile 11: 9:07

Mile 12: 9:47 (cramping toes)

Mile 13: 9:18 (up hill in front of old MJs)

      .1: 9:24 (circling new MJs parking lot)

We hung out & ate breakfast with DD & Grant in Mamas.  

We showered & headed to find Roy & the Diane's who are doing a 314 mile, 10 day running event.  I cannot think of the name of it but it is definitely something I will never do. LOL!   We didn't find Diane B. but we found Diane T. & Roy in & around Parsons, TN.

This little road trip was an adventure for us but nothing compared to what these two are experiencing.  Diane is "unsupported" & Roy is "supported".  Can't wait to hear their stories when they're done. 

Fun filled day that's not over yet....

facebook & my blog....

A small portion of my boring running blog was posted on facebook while I was sleeping last night.  I woke up to a lot of alerts from friends who saw it who haven't been kicked off this person's page yet.  Crazy!

This person "unfriended" me after the Carmel marathon.
(I hid the status updates over a year ago due to the "negativity" constantly posted by this person.)

What brought this to everyone's attention this week is that this person accused the running club of leaving them out of an event that was a "neighborhood event" not a "running club event". Really?! (Reminds me of the Seth & Amy SNL skit)
This is the type of "negativity" I stayed away from in order to train the past year, thank God.

Assuming the worst about a running club when you hardly ever show up for anything that involves the club whether it be a morning run or an event the club is doing is just wrong?

This person also asked me last year to help watch their food intake on "myfitnesspal".  When I said something about candy, Sonic food, & the fact that they needed to lose weight to get their Boston qualifying time, this person got mad & deleted me from their "myfitnesspal" friends list. 
Hey, when you ask my opinion, you will get it....truth hurts.

There are 600+ members in the run club now thanks to the "Couch to 5k" program.
Yes, there are going to be groups that break off that run the same pace, same time, same place, week after week.  That happens with a group this size.  We always put out there in the long "string" of running plans what we are doing.  Then Amy K. puts it on the run club website for all to see that go to the website for info.  Nothing is any different from a year ago, except that the "string" of running plans has got a lot longer & harder to follow on Facebook.  The thing that is different....I personally contact the "regulars" that I run with on Wed or Thurs to see what they're doing on Sat morning.  I'm a planner...& I am anal about my training these days.  I have a goal that I still have to reach if my body allows me to reach it.

This is all the attention I'm going to give this "behavior" because this is MY running blog & I have a lot of running to do, a lot of training plans to make, & so many races in my head that I'm excited about & as you know I'll post about them here...good or bad.  

We have been given a gift in July....Yes, as one member said, "It's Christmas in July!" here in middle TN.  I cannot wait to run tomorrow morning in the low-mid 60's temperatures!!!!

Have a fabulous weekend whether you're racing or running!

running away from the storm...

Our 5+ mile hilly run got cut short last night due to lightening. I ended up with 3.5 miles (easy10 min pace with the former "c25kers") which gave me 8 for the day.  At one point Scott A. said he was running right into a "wall of rain".  They turned around & tried to out run it.  We all would have kept running had it not started lightening really bad.

I also did P90x ab ripper & stretched....as a matter of fact, when I woke up this morning I did the first 35 minutes of "Yoga for Runners".  My plan is to finish up the dvd after work today or tomorrow.  It seems that Thursday's & Friday's tend to be my easiest days.  Maybe that's why I tend to run strong on Saturdays.  ;-P   I purposely dropped my miles down a bit this week in order to do speedwork & recover from it.  In a sick sorta way, I'm looking forward to doing it again on Monday.  We've got a few more runners that plan to join us next week.  I really am trying to make sure I get some "rest" days but yoga for me really is a stress reliever.  I love it & always feel so good after I do it.  I just don't view it as a hard workout at all.

So, I guess I'm eating my words about not caring to go back to Nola.  The super secret society of early morning weekend running gals (is that title long enough?) have wheels churning for a "girl's trip" to run the full or the half in Febuary.  Love these gals....all fun & no drama queens!  ;-)
The race is on Super Bowl sunday, Feb 2nd.  Yes, I can see me watching the Super Bowl in Archie Manning's restuarant.  LOL!

The week has flown by & I'm so glad tomorrow's friday.  I'm really happy about Saturday morning's temperature!!  A wonderful "gift" in the middle of July....overnight low of 63 still showing on my phone! 

"2 a Day Wednesday"

I got out & ran 4.5 miles with plenty of hills this morning.  I think my pace was around an 8:49. The reason I say I "think" is because the first mile didn't register.  I remember hitting a button to turn the light on the garmin on & I must have done something really wonky. 
Anyway, judging by the effort, I think the first mile was around a 9 minute pace.  My legs took off!  Funny how about 2 days after speedwork your legs feel like that...or least mine did this morning. 
The 2nd & 3rd miles were at 8:18 & 8:14.  I will be so glad when I start seeing sub 8's again.
It was so humid, when I bent over to stretch...a puddle of sweat formed on the sidewalk where I stretch at the "stretch wall".  Crazy!  BUT....looks like we'll get a break in the weather by friday...my phone is reading an overnight low of 63 degrees.  Wow! 

I'm hoping to run 5+ miles slower on the hills with the "former C25k" group tonight.
Love them!

Speed Work in the heat...

We organized a small group who wanted to get some speed work done. 
Lauren & some others had expressed a need do speed work this summer so we have finally got it going. 
Last night was technically our "2nd session". 
We did a one mile warm up.  Mine was at around a 9:30 pace.
Then we all hit the 400s.....Eight of them.  It was hot but we watched the sun go behind a big cloud then we started up.

All 8 of mine were 1:41 but the 7th one...it was 1:42.  We rested roughly a minute in between them.
I then cooled down (or rather jogged around while sweat dripped off me) for 1.65 miles at about a 9:00-ish pace....  Once my legs got going on the first two 400s, the rest seemed easier.  Really odd how the body works like that.

Pam P. brought her orange cones & her neighbor, Stephanie.  We also had Stephanie S. Diana P., Tandy, etc...  There were others meeting at the school to just get some miles in...this club now has an "unofficial" Monday evening run going on.  Love it! 
I love the postive energy we get from this group...some of the best runners I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.  There are no negative attitudes in this group & we're going to keep it that way.

Indiana weekend....

It felt good to zip 5 hours away to Indiana to see good friends, who just bought a new house on a lake.  They also have a new dog that I fell totally in love with...a rescue named, Louis.  I ran just over 4 miles on Saturday morning & the first 2.3 of it was with Hannah & Louis.  Flat, flat, flat.....it was around a 10 minute pace.....just needed to loosen the legs up a bit & rest.

This morning before we left Indianapolis, Joe & I went downtown Indy to scope out most of the 2nd half of the Monumental Marathon that we are doing Nov 2nd.  We parked the car & ran 8.04 (8:55 pace) of it.  It was humid, but overcast, flat, with a few tiny rollers.  The first half is definitely flatter than the last half, which means, I need to make sure I am running hills the latter part of my longer runs when training kicks in soon. 
The Broad Ripple area of Indy is so beautiful.  I cannot imagine how gorgeous this area is going to look once the leaves have changed.  Whether my 3rd attempt to BQ happens or not, I'm looking forward to running these streets with Joe, Kim, Russ, Kristina, & Danielle G. 

Firecracker 5k race report & a friday morning 10 miler

With the temperature drop, the front coming through, & all this rain, of course I got a sinus migraine headache.  I woke up yesterday morning about 4am & had to take a "mac daddy" migraine pill.  Needless to say, I felt "foggy" for a while.  I didn't feel 100% that's for sure but I felt "ok" by 7:00am.  The last mile & a half of the 5k, my sinuses drained.  That's normally a good thing during a training run but not during a 5k.  It rained nonstop during the 5k but it wasn't bad.  I've run in MUCH worse & of course after we finished it pretty much stopped raining.  My time was 23:58 but my garmin read 23:54 (3.14 miles).  This wasn't a PR but considering how I felt, I'll take it. 

1.16 mile warm up.....11:01 pace

3.14 miles - 23:54 - 7:37 pace
Mi 1- 7:12 (too fast)
Mi 2- 7:32
Mi 3- 8:07 (I was spitting a good bit the final mile...drainage)
  .14.- 7:31

This morning I met Mandy & Danielle G. for 10 easy miles at 5:30am in Crockett park.

10 miles - 1:32:20 - 9:14 pace
Mi 1- 10:06
Mi 2- 9:22
Mi 3- 9:58
Mi 4- 9:17
Mi 5- 9:12
Mi 6- 9:20
Mi 7- 9:17
Mi 8- 8:42
Mi 9- 8:46
Mi 10- 8:22 (sped up the last few miles & felt strong despite the 5k the day before)

We are headed to Indianapolis for the rest of the holiday weekend & hope to run some miles there.  We definitely want to check out the last half of the Monumental full course.

"rest"

I tend to do "active" resting.  Meaning on days where I don't run, I sometimes spin my legs on a stationary bike at the gym, do yoga, a 16 minute P90x ab ripper dvd, or I walk.  (Or a combo of all of them.) 
Some peeps totally do nothing but "rest" on rest days.  I choose to do what I want to do & so far it's not bothered me at all but due to my sore hammies, I skipped this mornings planned easy 3-3.5 mile run.  I chose to do ab ripper & stretch some more instead of rolling out of bed for such a short run.

Other than the tight hammies, I feel awesome.  I'm very happy to be running the 5k tomorrow & possibly running 8-10 miles Friday morning, then getting a message.  It's going to be a great weekend in Indianapolis on the lake with good friends. 
Happy 4th of July!

First week of July...

I rolled out of bed for 4 miles this morning feeling "groggy".  I didn't sleep well so I choked down a vanilla caffeinated gu with some water & got out the door a 4:55am.  I felt tired, period & I tried to avoid some of the hills. 
My plan is to run an easy 3 miles with Wayne & Kate J. with the Wild Wings group tonight giving me 7 miles for the day. 
Tomorrow morning, I'm going out for an easy 3-3.5 miles. Thursday morning, I'm running the Maryland Farms Firecracker 5k.  I do NOT expect much since I HATE heat & I HATE 5ks.  It's like pulling a bandaid off a hairy scrape on your knee.  OUCH! 
My 5k PR is from last December & it was something like a 23:40.  I will do good to get anywhere near 24 minutes in this heat but it is what it is.....I'm considering it "speed work" for the week!

4 miles - 8:25 pace
Mi 1: 9:27 (yawwwnnn...)
Mi 2: 8:04
Mi 3: 7:49
Mi 4: 8:19

the weekend...running with a purpose....

I did cross training on Thursday & Friday...bike, yoga, ab ripper...
Saturday, I was up at 4am & out the door at 4:30am to park at MJ's for a one mile warm up run to the ball park to meet the 5am girls.  Jo Ann, Andrea, Traci, & I took off for 3.67 miles before we met Mandy & Danielle at 5:30am back at the ball park. All of us took off for the hills on Sunset, Waller, & Maxwell roads. By the time we got back to the ball park, we had another 7.13 miles.  I stopped my garmin 2x so I'm not counting this as a full fledged 11-12 mile long run.  My heart rate rested for probably 2 minutes in between the runs.  

I cooled off, got breakfast back at MJ's, & handed out cold wash cloths to the participants of the "Miles for Amelia" event.  I ended up walking 2 miles after i ran with Lauren C. who is recovering from an injury.  She's been given the "ok" to start running slow intervals.  Can't wait to till she can run again!  The event was awesome & the club exceeded what they needed to raise so much so another family was helped with renovations for their daughter.  How cool is that?!!  Talk about running with a purpose!  We had 3 runners complete the marathon distance around that ball park track. Joe was one of them.  Thanks to his sponsors he raised well over $500.00!  We had a silent auction where I won a massage at the Y. :-)

My weekend runs below:

1.04 + 3.67 + 7.13 = 11.84 miles

1.04 flat mile: 9:58 pace - warm up
3.67 flat miles: 8:43 pace

Mi 1- 9:08
Mi 2- 8:42
Mi 3- 8:23
 .67 - 8:38

7.13 miles hilly: 8:50 pace

Mi 1- 8:41
Mi 2- 8:47
Mi 3- 8:53
Mi 4- 8:45
Mi 5- 8:41
Mi 6- 9:02
Mi 7- 8:59
  .13- 8:51

About 15 of us stayed 

until the last walker finished at 3:00pm. Needless to say, we were happy to stay in for the evening.

Early this morning I ran an easy 5.71 miles with Vicki, Crystal, Amy, & Katie.

My pace was 9:55.  The weather was great for the last weekend in June in TN!! Low 60s!  I got my weights in, 35 minutes on the bike, & planning to hit up yoga later. 

This week.... Firecracker 5k & a trip to Indianapolis!

"Two a day Wednesday"....nosomuch....

My legs were still way too heavy from the 1 mile time trial on Monday & the half marathon two days before that on Saturday. The time trial really put them over the edge. I will not do that again so soon after a half marathon race that grueling….ha!

Yesterday, I ran 1.1 miles with Joe before we met the Wednesday night crew….9:01 pace.

Then we both took off with the "5k to 10k to ½ marathon group". Yes, I've renamed the group & created a private facebook site for them only. I'm limiting it to probably less than 25 runners.
The NRC facebook site has gotten crazy confusing. I feel like all I do is scroll so it's to the point to where I make running plans privately days ahead of time with the "usual suspects" that I know will show up & run my pace or close to it and/or push me. (Then on Friday, we make a post on "JP's message" via the NRC page & we're done with it…no more scrolling.)
Anyway, we took off on the 5 mi hilly route with a few who had never done it before because they have it in their minds they can't do hills and/or they're slow. Some are folks who want to lower their current half marathon times & some are first timers training for the Middle Half. Doing at least one day of hills will surely help that's for sure. I came in with Elizabeth (first time on this course) who took two bathroom breaks, one at a portapottie at a construction site & one at someone's house less than a half mile from the school. LOVE HER! ;-) Joe finished with Tiffany, who also did the route for the first time. As the weeks go by I'm confident they'll get more efficient & faster but it is summer after all & the temperature isn't helping any at that time of the day. Heat & hill training now, will help them in October. ;-)

So, I had a total of 6.28 miles combined yesterday (along with P90X ab ripper) when it was all over with at a slow pace, much slower than I'm used to but I was due a break. I'm not running one step until Saturday morning at 5am.

We are looking forward to helping with the "Miles for Amelia" event at the Nolensville park this Saturday & we have nothing else planned.  YES!