Fun Morning Run

If you run you know that there are times when you get a little stale, you feel like you are doing the same thing over and over again. Sometimes it's fun to shake it up a bit. Today was one of those days.

This morning Terry and I went to the park. I needed to do some speedwork but I have no real plan right now so we decided to do "poles". This is really what the experts call Fartleks, but because we have light poles at the park we call it "poles". We ran two miles to get a good warm up and then ran 2 miles using the poles to do some speedwork.

We would run starting at one pole and run as fast as possible for two poles, then jog two, then run two, etc...for 2 miles. Toward the end we were walking instead of jogging inbetween our sets of speed. It was fun and my Garmin allowed me to do laps so we have the pace for each of those sets.

Although it was hard and I definately felt it, the time flew by and doing something different was really fun. Not to mention that having to try to "beat" Terry was fun. He was pretty good though and I was only able to beat him toward the end because I have a bit more endurance.

Well time for work...have a great day.

Perfect Weather

Wow, what a morning. God is amazing, have you seen how green everything is after the rain? As people plant flowers in their gardens the city begins to take on new breath. I love this kind of morning.

I ran 5.5 this morning. Started at Redbud about 8:00 this. Immediately I noticed how green the park is and how vivid the color! The sky was so blue no clouds in sight and the sun bright and cheery. The temperature crisp and cool but not too cold, perfect little slap of tingle just enough to keep your run in step

Then I went out on the streets and not even sure where I was heading, I just ran. I crossed 27th and ran through the neighborhoods amazed at the color that people have begun to add to their gardens. A good laugh at a big brown squirrel with a big pecan trying to figure out if it was OK to cross the road, back and forth he went, I wish I knew what he was thinking!

Then back to the park to finish up where I stopped for a bit to see my friend Mick who was just getting ready to run with Maria. I am sure they too had a great run, who would not on a day like today?

This was a great day, I could have run forever on a morning such as this.

Good Couple of Days

It's a beautiful day! I love this weather, 70's, light wind, no clouds in the sky. It really is nice out.

Yesterday was interesting. Because on Thursday my last 800 was not where I thought it should be in terms of speed I decided (and got approval from Bill) to run 4 today. Two miles VERY slow, then one 800 as FAST as I can, then two miles to cool down. I don't want to overdo after a speed day and before a long run day. It was very humid this morning 84% when I went to run at 7:00.

I ran my two slow miles and then ran my 800 in 3:23. That is a pretty fast time for me. Of course I could not do it more than once at this point, but after a hard day then to come back and be able to do that alone, on a street not a track, makes me feel very good. So it was a good day. Later it cooled off when a cold front came through and the humidity dropped to below 50%. Strange day.

Today, well, what a wonderful day! I got up at 4:30 am, ate, got dressed, went to the bathroom many times (I always seem to do that), and met Patrizia at the park at 5:30. We ran 8.5, trying to get 10 in before 7:00 but we just didn't make it. I did not factor in my long run pace but never the less it was such a great morning with the nice cool weather. Just perfect for long sleeves and shorts. Then we helped with the March of Dimes 5K and enjoyed watching the runners/walkers having a good time.

Now we are working in the yard and laying out before Prom tonight. We will have a good number of teens are our house about 1:00 am through the night. I'm glad they will be here so that I know what they are doing :) They really are good kiddos.

I'm off tomorrow, it's a rest day....until Monday...

Turn Around

Tuesday I had a bad run, of course you know all of this already. A couple of my esteemed running friends were kind enough to let me know that we all have bad running days especially when the temperatures rise. Thank you for your wisdom!

Today was a good day running, despite the early morning heat I ran my 800's and felt good. It was not easy mind you instead it was comfortably hard. This was my turn around.

I guess the heat and humidy is here to stay, I am a cold weather runner but I must adjust to the heat, that's just the way it is.

In the winter I go run a little later in the morning when the sun is just up and the air is brisk, that is my favorite. Now that will change and I will get up early to run before the sun shines and the day gets too warm. To be honest I love finishing my run as the gloden rays peep over the horizon and yellow fluffy clouds.

It occurs to me that we as runners have wonderful opportunities to see the day as others do not. I pledge to not take these opportunities for granted.

Running Sucks

Today was not a good day, my run sucked. Luckily Terry was there to pick me up out of my self pity and loathing for that dreaded mile test.

I can't breathe anymore. The heat and humidity are killing me. If I go slow I am ok but when I try to push I just cannot get any air into my lungs. My legs are good, my knee was fine, my muscles can do it, but I just can't breathe.

What the hell is wrong with me? I am not happy, I don't like a bad run day, I want to throw it away like a piece of unwanted plastic wrap that has been covering something green in the fridge for weeks.

I am dissappointed. I can do better. But do I care anymore? Maybe I would be happier if I just gave it up. Maybe there is something else I can do.

Ok enough of the self pity...so I had a bad run. Who hasn't had them, right? And if you haven't I sure as hell don't want to know about it.

Tomorrow I rest and so we will see how Thursday goes. I'm hoping for a good run to get me out of this funk.

Micks Birthday and Boston Marathon

5:30 - I'm up getting ready to run at 6:30...ok maybe it was 5:45. It takes me some time to prepare.
6:05 - I gently ask Terry if he is indeed going to run with me as promised last night. To my surprise he says yeah (in a very sleepy voice) but he does not budge.
6:15 - I gently tell Terry that if he wants to be running by 6:30 he needs to get out of bed. Reluctantly he stumbles out and gets ready.
6:31 - We are at the park where Mick is waiting.

Today is Mick's birthday and he is running 5 or so runs with 5 or so different groups or individuals. This is in celebration of another year of life having gone by! How exciting.

We ran a nice liesurly pace and it felt good although it was quite warm and humid out.

I felt fine until mile 4 when my knee began to hurt again. So what the heck is going on? I think it must be the treadmill on Thursday that did me in. I iced it when I got home and am hoping and praying that it will be fine in the morning when I do my mile test. Please keep your fingers crossed!

I watched the Boston marathon on TV this morning. I wish I had a ounce of their speed in me so my leisurly pace would be fast enough to do well all the time without puking. They are indeed amazing to watch. And I learned that yesterday Deena Kastor came from behind a girl that had a 2 minute lead on her to win the olympic trials. And she won my quite a bit. Wow, amazing.

It was inspiring and did get me a little excited hoping I can get to Boston someday, but it also made me nervous to even try. I am dealing with mixed emotions, ups and downs, yesses and nos, just nost sure what to think about me making it to Boston.

To those I know who made it and are there running today and those who already made it for next year I wish for injury free, happy, fun filled days of training and running.

Oh and yes it was windy this morning...ok for a slow run, hope tomorrow is better!

Long Run Saturday

I'm so tired. Ran 10 today, got up at 5am started running at 6 and ran with Jean, Gary, Patrizia, Molly, Rich, and a new runner named Lisa. This was Jean and Gary's last long run before their first marathon in Oklahoma City.

It was a good run for the most part. I always enjoy visiting with friends on my long runs. At about 7.5 miles my knee began to hurt. I pushed through the pain to get to 10. I am wondering if it's the run on the treadmill that started this. After all I am not used to the treadmill. I'm hoping tomorrow with a good rest day it will feel better. And yes doc, I'm icing :)

Then it was off to a 7v7 soccer tournament all day. Long run and lots of sun with good soccer. I am going to miss watching Taryn play, but I know she will be happy without it and will enjoy her college years without the game. I sure do love that daughter of mine.

Terry was unavailable for running today, instead he and Tanner were in Colorado State Park doing a little fishing and camping. Seems they did well and had a wonderful time...I sure do love that husband and son of mine.

The wind was not bad today, yes I know it's hard to believe. Speaking of wind I did look up the least windy place in the US. It's in Oregon, guess we are not moving there, but it's good to know just in case.

Jean and Gary and all the others who are marathon virgins in OKC are in for a treat. I am so happy for them and cannot wait to hear about the experience! Their excitement seems to carry me.

Treadmill vs Wind

Yesterday when I got up to run my 800 repeats at the track the wind was blowing at an incredible rate. I looked it up on weather.com...25 mph with guts over 30. Back to bed my little legs went. When I awoke later I realized I had to do something so I made the decision to run on the treadmill. Now I hate the treadmill, but I had no choice. If I wanted to do speed work at noon it had to be on the treadmill, there are too may kids at Cooper to run at noon on their track...that is just not happening.
So off to the YMCA I go. I was going to do "800"s on the treadmill. And this I did! I think. It's not as easy as it sounds, I had to figure out the "pace" on a treadmill and I have no idea what my pace is when I do 800s I know I do them in 3:40 to 3:50 which is somewhere in the 7ish pace. So that is what I did, half a mile at 7ish and then a bit walking at a slower pace then another half mile etc...
It was tough and the treadmill is so boring, even when doing the speed work. When I got home I thought that perhaps I should have just gone in the wind. Neither is preferable, neither is fun, but the accomplishment of doing speed work and doing it well is the same.
I may just stick to the wind...at least you don't see people stare at you like you are crazy...at the Y, well that is a different story.

Weekend with Roomies

What a weekend! Three days with my college roommates. Lots of good food, drink, and best of all GREAT company. I even got them out to run 5 miles with me.

Needless to say I am exhausted from staying up until 1:00 in the morning gabbing about old times, new times, and kids. Not to mention talking about all the things that come with being old.

I've not had that much fun in a really long time. I love those women.

Having friends who know you that well and don't care about all the goofy things you did or do is such a wonderful feeling. There really isn't anything better than friends like that.

Running? Well it's been slow after Saturday. One 3 mile walk with my friends and 5 miles running on Monday. Nothing today (thank goodness).

Time to work although I would rather sleep :)

Mayor's 5K and me

Today was the Mayor's 5k. They Mayor's Roundup if you will. The race is run downtown which is nice because we don't do many races or runs down there.

There were a lot of turns for a 5k which may have slowed things down a bit but not by much. The weather was perfect! 48 degrees, sunny, and .....very light wind. It was a wonderful day to run a race.

My goal was a 24:24, this time is a benchmark to tell me that if I can run a 5K in 24:24 I can run a 10K, half, and marathon at a specific time. Every time I hit one of these benchmarks I feel more confident.

I've not "raced" a race since my injury in December so I was somewhat nervous, not sure I could hit my goal. I warmed up well but felt the "butterflies" more and more with each passing minute. As it got closer to the start time I began to feel nauseous, this is not good when I haven't even begun to run!

As we stood at the starting line waiting for the gun to sound I wondered if it's really worth it to feel so much pressure. "Why do you do this to yourself" I asked. Then the gun (well in this case the fog horn) sounded and we were off. I needed to stay on pace and not go out too fast which proved to be difficult. I did fairly well though and let people pass me, I knew I would get them in the end. As the first mile went by I felt the butterflies go away and I began to feel the run. Now I was in the moment. Mile one comes and I see (from my trusty Garmin) that I have run a little too fast. So I slow it down for mile two. Just enough to allow me to keep on pace but not overdo. That mile goes well, then it's the last mile. I wanted to speed up and I did, and then I felt it. I began to get nauseous. I am now yelling at myself "what the hell are you doing? Is it THAT important to you" the answer is yes. Knowing I can push past that voice and past the feeling of wanting to walk, the feeling of wanting to puke, is .... well.... for some reason important to me, it gives me a feeling of power over my inner person and the environment around me.

Then the last 5 blocks, always the most difficult. I can see the finish line which really helps me push and I buckle down, push with everything I have. I hear my coach yelling at me to push harder, a little harder, a little faster, leave it all out there. And I do. A new PR 23:45.

I immediately run to the side to gag, I've once again pushed past the limit and my stomach is showing me it's not happy with this. That's ok, a couple of gags and it's under control again. Now it's time to celebrate and cheer the others on.

My wonderful husband came out to cheer us at the start and at several points along the way, did I mention he is wonderful? I thought to myself later, this man and his support are why I am able to continue to enjoy this sport I love. Do others feel this way about their spouses? If they don't it's a shame. I can't imagine my life without him and his support for this thing I love called running.

And now it's on to see my college roomies! A weekend of catching up the years. This too was a gift from my husband. My life is good, it's an old cliche I know, but God really has been good to me.

Reprieve

I got a reprieve today, didn't do the mile test. I saw the weather last night and it was supposed to be blowing 18 to 20 mph at 6 am this morning. So along with my esteemed coach I made the decision to race on Saturday rather than just run. And today I did 800 repeats instead of the mile test.
Now I have not done a lot of 800 repeats since my injury. But to my amazement I ran them faster than I expected and I believe that is a good sign.
The wind? Well it was almost non existent this morning, an absolutely beautiful morning, an amazing sunrise...God is really good! I could have run my mile it would have been the perfect day.
When I got home I grabbed some coffee and sat outside enjoying the morning God provided. When a morning like this presents itself I refuse to be rushed. Work can wait, laundry can wait, life can wait. Sometimes it's worth it to just be still and watch and listen to the world going on around us.

And then...the wind came.

Rainy Day

Today is a rest day, I'm happy about that but it's a pretty morning to run. Cloudy soon to be rainy, work will be difficult today.
Tomorrow is my mile test, I get too nervous about this kind of thing, it's not as though I must be at a certain pace so why do I get butterflies about a mile test run?
I want to do well, to push myself and get better. I believe I am trying to fight aging. As long as I can push and improve maybe he will stay away from me leaving my body to fend for itself instead of adding wrinkles and internal struggles.
Oh well, I know it's coming. All the running, pushing, creams, soaps, make up and such to help me "not age" isn't REALLY going to work. So I think instead I'll just embrace getting older.
For my rest day I'll enjoy the time off of my feet and do some strength training instead.
Oh and enjoy the rain while praying for no wind in the morning.
Patrizia and Rich...safe travels to you both!

Wind...and more wind

Wind, is it really neccessary for the wind to blow incessantly day after day after day? I am really tired of wind, why do I live here? The wind makes my runs somewhat unenjoyable. Although a friend and fellow runner keeps telling me that it adds resistance so it's good for training. Hmmm...I am trying to remain positive :)
Ran 5 today, natural pace run. It was a good run, I ran with Mick which was very enjoyable. The wind was blowing (of course) but I tried to remain positive and when the run was over and the sun was peaking through the clouds I knew it was worth rolling out of bed in the dark to run with a friend.
Tomorrow is a rest day and Thursday is a mile test. I will run as hard as I can and most likely throw up, just to see how fast my mile can be. I don't like doing this, I don't like feeling sick from a run, from pushing myself to my limit, but when it's done and I've recovered I am amazed at what I am able to do.
Oh how I hope that Thursday the wind decides to take a morning off!

Rest Day

Well today is another rest day. Rest days are hard for me. I know they are important but I just can't stand not getting out there on a pretty day. And for once it's not windy this morning! My brother was here over the weekend and we had the opportunity to run together for 10 miles. It is always so much fun to run together. There were days when I would not have believed you if you told me that some day we would go on long runs and talk and laugh and talk about politics and religion. What a wonderful time...thank you Sid for coming to see us.
This week I am doing a mile test run, to see how fast my mile is at this point. And then I will run the Mayor's 5K this weekend, hopefully do well there. Then it's off to Dallas to spend a few days with my college roommates, can't wait for that. We are going to see Bon Jovi on Monday next week (a present from Terry). We haven't spend time together in awhile, can't wait to see what all they are doing in their lives.
Enough for today I need to work!

Beginning of this Blog

Well I guess this begins my Blog. Most recently, for the past two years, I've been training to gain enough speed and endurance to qualify for Boston. With three weeks before my planned marathon I tore my miniscus (actually they believe it was torn already) and it was three weeks out when it "got me". So now I am building back up. I am not back to the point I was before but of course this has set me back some. Especially mentally. My struggle now is not with my body but my mind.
Do I care enough about Boston to work as hard as I have the last two years? I struggle with whether or not it's really that important to me or if I would rather just enjoy running for running.
Problem is when I get into a race, even if I SAY it's only for fun, I feel competative. I'm not sure I can run "only for fun". Not that I am that fast mind you, but in my own age division I am not shabby.
So I will struggle through this part of getting my mind in order and once that is accomplished I will see where it leaves me. Then maybe I can share some insight with anyone who wants it.
If anyone wants to share insight with me I'm all for that too!