Home Stretch

Right, I know I'm a month and a half late with this, but hey....I'm lazy! :) The race has been run, and the training is over (for me) but I wanted to show you the trail that I ran most frequently. This is not the real Whispering Trail (that's actually a street), but it is what Sandra and I affectionately referred to it as! These were taken my last day of training before the race. I was supposed to do a 2 mile walk. I doubt they meant for me to walk casually, taking pictures, and reflect on the previous weeks.....but that's what I did anyway. I took Declan with me on this outing, but my usual runs happened before he was awake, and while Trevor was still home. So here it is people, Whispering Trail....

The beginning of my route.

This trail is just outside a gate from my apartment community, nice huh?!

The sign at the "fork" in the road, I took the Hicks Canyon Trail from here.

This section goes by the park where Declan had his birthday party, it is also right across the street from our complex.

My beautiful view every morning I ran!

I love this house...or at least this much of it, which is all I can see from the trail.

Declan wasn't too thrilled that I "took a break"

I LOVED the trees. I know it's Socal and everything, but here's hoping we get to see some beautiful colors in the next few weeks! :)

I'm disappointed that I haven't run once since the race. I do miss this trail. Here's hoping I get out there soon! :)

half-time show

Sadly, I don't remember much about the race. It's all sort of a blur, maybe because we ran a little faster than we usually do? ;)

I do remember feeling like I was going to fall apart right around mile 7 and feeling guilty and like a failure in my training. I honestly (unrealistically?) thought it would be easier.

Becky was such an encouragement and that got me emotional a few times. She really kept me going the whole way. I'll have to search from within to continue on to the full marathon.

We beat our goal of 3 hours. Our final time was 2:43:02, making our pace 12:45min/mi.

The best parts for me were: running with a friend, using a real bathroom (instead of a port-o-potty) during the race, spotting Colin at Angel Stadium, and seeing the finish line. I teared up a few times, thanked God many times, almost got sick at the end, and could barely walk after I got home.

I was afraid that my knees were injured, but after a 3hr nap yesterday and sleeping from 9pm to almost 8am, my legs have recuperated and I think I can keep going.

Sweat Patterns

Who knew your knees could sweat?

Puff Daddy's Worst Nightmare

We ran 10 miles this last Saturday! To the beach no less! It was a fun and exhausting experience, following a not-so-to-scale map and markings along the trail. But there is a trail "From the Mountains to the Sea!" I would say, in total we actually ran a little more than 8 of those miles. Bathroom stops, goo replenishes, and my need to walk kept us from running the full 10, but we did finish 10! The end of the run was so beautiful, it ends in Newport's Back Bay....which was flat! I was worried, being somewhat familiar with the area, that the end of our run would be climbing a steep hill. But the trail along Back Bay is level, down the cliff from the hills and houses. Excellent! I'm not sure I'd ever do that run again, but I would totally do a bike ride to the beach!

*Side note: When I was in High School, I worked for Villa Park Cable as a camera-man....-woman....-person, and I would often video the city council meetings. Almost as frequently as I worked, a man would come into the meetings, he was a resident of Villa Park, and he would come to complain about the coyotes. You see, his dear kitty cat Puffy had been mauled by a coyote, and he wouldn't stand for their existence in the city any longer. Cause the city council can actually stop coyotes from coming into the city. Silly man. Anyway, he became a joke to us cable employees, we called him Puff Daddy (hence.....). The station manager even came across a picture at a garage sale, paid the $.25, and proudly hung it on the wall of the production room. What was the picture you ask? It was of a coyote standing over the carcass of a bunny. Still makes me laugh just thinking about it.

Anyway......so on my way over to meet Sandra on Sat., as I was rounding a corner, I noticed a woman walking toward me, and behind her a little bit was an animal, I thought her dog. On a second, more concentrated look, I realized, "That's a coyote!!" (Hence......!) It bounded carelessly into the bushes soon after I recognized him, but the lady it was apparently following had also just noticed and was a bit upset at what could have been her doom. Or at least that's what it seemed like. I wanted to go pet the coyote! So cute!! :)

Oh, and I've run 5 miles the last two days, running the whole way! Go me! Wee!! Less than 3 weeks and this is over! YAHOO!

struggle-duggle

My 6mi run this morning was a toughie. At the start when I was getting prepared, I have a pre-run ritual that I could not complete. *ugh.* Then there were a zillion bugs flying into my face. There are never that many in the morning! *ewwww.* Spider-web stringies were making me itchy all over. *sheesh.* My knees started to hurt at various times around mile 3, which forced me to take quite a few, albeit short, walk breaks. *sigh.* Then, just when I thought I wanted to quit this pointless endeavor with only 1.5mi to go, I saw my good friend Becky! *yippee!* That made it all better. :D

She reminded me that we should try running our next 10mi to the beach since the trail boasts "from the mountains to the sea..." We'll see. That'd be pretty neat-o.

Well, now time to get ready for work. The new background looks very pretty, Becky! And I hope your electronic devices get their act together. ;) See you later!

Whispering Trail

We met a few months ago. We've been hanging out sporadically ever since. Sometimes he....or she (does the trail have a gender Sandra?) has been nice to me, other times not so much. I realized today that he/she hates technology. After my run yesterday, the keyboard on my phone stopped working. Today, at the end of my run, my iPod froze, and my phone pretty much just stopped working altogether. I don't know what the iPod's deal is, but I do keep my phone in my bra (no pockets on my workout clothes) and perhaps my sweat fried it? Eww, I don't know, but I am now phoneless, waiting for a "new" one from Verizon. :( Boo. I had some pretty cool pictures on that phone, and now I don't know if I will get them on the new one. Or any of my contacts. That would suck big time!

So, Whispering Trail, though we continue to meet on an almost daily basis, I look forward to our time apart, starting in September. I will enjoy having expensive electronic equipment that work. Until then.....ugh.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Eye of the Tiger

That's the song that's been going through my head the last few hours. And here's why:

On vacation, I ran once. Uno. That's it. I had all the great intentions to run at least twice, if not 3 times. But we were really so busy and moving and travelling that we (my sister-in-law Grace is the second part of the we, she's training for a half in October) never really had the chance. Perhaps we did too much on vacation, hmm? :) So then I had the intention again of running 5 miles yesterday. Yeah, that didn't happen. I had minor surgery (ahem....mole removed) in the morning, and then made excuses regarding that for the rest of the day.

But tonight, Sandra and I did our scheduled run: 10 miles! Wow! We didn't run the whole way, but we did run a great deal of it. Before the run started I was thinking about how we have 4 WEEKS till the race and I really need to get my butt into serious gear!! (On a side note, I have been able to get it into smaller jeans! :) I was thinking how I could change my running schedule, add a day, run longer each day, really get serious about my training. So as I was giving myself a pep talk, "Eye of the Tiger" popped into my head! Fun times!

So here we go, 4 weeks left.....and then I'm done! Amazing Sandra will keep going, and good for her! She's awesome like that! And I will be the most encouraging friend that I can be. Until then, I'll run beside her and keep her company. I think that's pretty good encouragement, wouldn't you? :)

super-sweaty

I accomplished my goal this week - to run the entire 9 miles today (my pace was 12:29.) I also ran the entire 5 miles on Thursday morning, which was a bonus. yippee! I can't believe that I started out hardly able to run 2 minutes straight and now I can run for almost 2 hours! It's an amazing feeling (past the achy knees and feet that were begging me to stop - too bad. You're going to keep moving and eventually learn to like it...)

Randy is trying to convince me that I'll not be able to stop after a full marathon. I just don't know at this point. I mean, I thought I would only do one marathon, but I found a really challenging one on Catalina Island (the Eco-marathon) in November that I desperately want to do, but next year. So I plan on doing a flat, "normal" marathon sometime between Jan-June 2010. So that's 2 marathons already in my near future!

Anyhoo, back to super-sweaty. I admit that I pretty much sweat like a dude. blech. Disgusting, I know.On top of that, it's in really embarrassing patterns, so I believe I need to invest in better running attire - the kind that wicks away the moisture to keep you cool and comfortable. I can do that now, because I'm a "runner!"

I love greeting other people on the trail. It sort of gives me a boost of energy each time they smile, nod, wave, or say "hi." It's kinda like a video game - I get an extra health boost or 1up (hearing the Super Mario Bro.s sound effects in my head) and I run a little faster or "skippier." (no, not like at the 5K. I'm more self-conscious now ;) I wonder if these people are as nice drivers as they are runners/dog-walkers/stroller-pushers/etc.

There is a group of 2-4 ladies who I see every morning I run. They run together. They chat. They wave and smile and say "good morning." They're ultra-fit, but in an awesome, healthy, lady-like way (ie. not scary, anorexic, Madonna way.) I don't know how far they run, but they really motivate me. I look forward to that 2 seconds that I get to see them. I wonder if I'll get to that point someday...

Fighter

I haven't updated in awhile. Perhaps it's because I'm ashamed of the fact that I haven't been keeping up entirely with my training. :( The last two "long" runs, I have not completed. Both times were because I ran out of time and needed to get home. But I have been trying to do more for my "short" runs to make up for it. I make excuses for myself though, and I shouldn't. Boo.


And now I am headed up to Fresno to start vacation. We are starting there, going to Lodi on Sunday, and driving to San Fransisco that night. Then on Tuesday we are meandering down to Monterey, staying till Thursday, and then home. With all the travelling I am nervous about keeping the training going. Thankfully my sister-in-law Grace (we are vacationing with my brothers and their families) is also training for a half marathon, so hopefully we can go running together. We'll see how it goes I guess.


I really love my running playlist. It's called "go running". I have on there a song called "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera. I believe, though I have not looked up the lyrics to confirm, that the song is about a man who treated her poorly but instead of letting it get her down she's now stronger and a fighter. For me, the man = fat. :) Yes, my fat. From being pregnant and eating poorly. Perhaps if you knew the chorus it would help:


'Cause it makes me that much stronger/Makes me work a little bit harder/It makes me that much wiser/So thanks for making me a fighter


Well, that's part of it. Anyway, it also makes me laugh at my silliness. Other good songs from my playlist: "Move Along" by the All American Rejects, (pretty much just those two words really, the rest of the song I don't get.) "Gotta Get Thru This" by Daniel Bedingfield, (that line is repeated....a lot.) Well, those are songs whose lyrics, or part there of, are inspiring, and I get motivated while I listen to them. Also, in Kirk Franklin's "Awesome God/He Reigns" he says "this is dedicated to all my people, who felt like giving up, and you didn't think you could make it" and then it goes into the song, which is basically "Our God Is An Awesome God" but really fun and upbeat and Kirk Frankliny. :) I love music!

Ok, so think of me this week and say a little prayer if you'd like. I am hoping that after vacation I can refocus and really get in gear for this race coming up in a little over a month. Eek! :) Again, we'll see how that goes.....

what is it about the short runs?

I just got in from my 5mi run this morning. Got up at 5am to begin preparations. Icing my knees and angling my foot to avoid putting pressure on the blisters now. :/

There's something unusual that happens in my mind when I know I have to run 3 miles vs. 5+ miles. When I have to go for a "short" run, I huff and puff and can hardly move my legs the entire time. Then I plop down on the couch to recover. When I go for a long run, (alone or with Beckyl :) my body is usually wide awake, pumped, and ready to go farther from the start. I always feel pretty great after the long ones.

I guess it's not a bad thing. I just wish I could be better prepared. The short runs are just as important and I don't want to struggle to the finish line because I was wimpy during half of my runs. My time is very consistent ~12:30min/mi +/- 15sec, so the struggle may not be evident (yet), but my body and my mind tell a very different story.

This morning was a great run. I love seeing God in everything - the mountains, the breezes, the plants, the animals, the people I pass. Today I was a little emotional, tearing up every now and then, just thinking about how unbelievable God is. It hardly felt like running - kinda like those dreams when you're running in slow-motion, but covering a lot of ground. I must've been delusional, though, because I was not any faster than normal. :P And even though my knees ache a little and I'll be hobbling around at work today, it still was a great run. I wish they were all like this.

The Great Roly Poly Migration

Sandra and I met at 5:30 on Sunday morning for our 7 mile run. I do not want to get up that early again on a Sunday when I'm planning to be at church at 9:15! We were on time to church, but I was SOOOOO tired, I could barely stay awake! (Sorry Randy!) But I think we did pretty good! We didn't run the whole way, but I would say we ran a good 5 of those miles, if not 5 1/2. Go us!

I have not done as well as I promised in my last post. I've had fast food a couple times....real fast food, like drive thru fast food. (Yes, I have specific ideas about what "fast food" is, meaning, I make excuses to still eat at some places.) I haven't always ran on the scheduled days, nor have I worked out on the "rest" days. Poo. But....

I have been running in the morning more, including the past two mornings. And I plan to run tomorrow morning too! I got proper running shoes!! I've been running in an old pair of walking shoes, the ones I bought for living in England, 5 years ago! So far, I love the new shoes. Today the tongue rubbed against my leg and it didn't feel too great, but I'll just wear a band aid tomorrow.

I noticed today when I run that I stare at the ground quite a bit. In the past I've seen a roly poly or two on the trail, but today it was crazy! So many polys, and they were all crossing from one side to another. I did my best to avoid them, and as far as I know they all made it. But I can't speak for the other runners out there this morning. Or the lady who was walking her dog in a stroller.

I'm nervous about keeping up with my schedule in a couple weeks while I'm on vacation. We (Trev, the babe, and I) leave on the 31st in the evening and we'll be in Fresno the whole next day. I don't really like to run in areas I'm not familiar with, and my grandparents don't have a treadmill. And I'm supposed to run 9 miles that day. Ugh. Soooooo, I'm working on a plan.....or something. Pray for me that I can keep up the runs (tee hee) while I'm gone!

In 8 Hours....

...Sandra and I will be meeting to run. That's 5:30 am, people! We have to do 7 miles, so we need ample time to get the full run in. And we both have to be at church at 9:15. Oi, totally taking a nap tomorrow!! :)

Worst. Week. Ever. (for running that is)

I guess not for Sandra though! Congrats to her for having a successful week! Thank you Smams for inspiring me!

Alright, back to me! ;) Remember when I joked about taking a week off? Apparently I wasn't joking. This last week, I only ran once. So sad. So disappointed. And when I did run, it was a measly 3 miles, that I didn't even run the whole way, and was super grumpy with afterwards. I'm not quite sure what my deal was last week, but I just wasn't feeling it. Sat, I left for Temecula at 7:30 in the morning to do a wedding, and I didn't get home until 7:30 at night, so there would be no 6 mile run that night.

And I had EVERYTHING going for me! *I got the tires fixed for my jogging stroller so I can go out now in the morning with Declan, which is what I prefer to do instead of the treadmill. *I had a dr. appt this last week and I was weighed (fully clothed) at less than my home scale, and I'm now 157!!! SOOO much less than I started this year out with. *I tried on and FIT INTO 2 pairs of pre-pregnancy shorts, that I hadn't fit into since, well, before I was pregnant....which would be 2 years now. (Whoa, that's weird!)

So with all the goodness of this past week, apparently I thought I was off the hook of being responsible. Not so much. Ok, from here on out, we're gonna see some changes:

-No fast food.*
-Running the scheduled amount of miles on the scheduled days.
-Doing some weight training as well as running.
-Still doing some sort of exercise on my "rest" days. (Except Sunday's which are truly rest days.)
-Get really serious about this upcoming race by praying for strength and endurance for Sandra and I!

I'm sure there is more I can do and when I figure those out, I will add to this list. Next week I hope to be as positive as Sandra's post today! If you don't hear from me before than, wish me luck!!!

*except while on vacation July 31st-Aug 6th......by the way, in case you didn't know, my middle name is "Excuse." :)

success!

I did it! I accomplished the week's goals. yippee-skippy!

the sun just keeps getting brighter

I slept in today. Well, sleeping in for me is past 7am and I made it all the way to 7:45. Then I got on the compy. Then I had some cereal. Then I got back on the compy. Then I will do some dishes and tidying up of the apartment. And the sun just keeps getting brighter. If I go out an run now, I'll be squinty, sunburnt, and sweaty (all three very good 'S' names, by the way). I think I'll be running this evening when it's hot, but still less sun. I'm really not feeling 6 miles today and 3 miles tomorrow, but that's all I need to complete the week successfully...

honesty is the best policy

I was looking at my training schedule (a modified version of Becky's training schedule) and decided to be honest with myself.

I marked thru the days that I didn't run or didn't strength-train or didn't cross-train and it wasn't pretty. There is a column for the [assumed] total miles run for the week, and not once have I completed the total. I knew this to be true, but when I saw it on paper, it made me realize that I am seriously not accomplishing the goals I set. So now there is a new column. A 'Goal' column of the total miles I should run, and a 'Total' column for the miles I actually ran. They should be the same from now on. I also had a couple days of 'rest' that have now changed to some kind of exercise days.

Since it's getting warmer, I'm trying to run in the mornings during the week. There's fewer bugs, so that's a plus. And people are much friendlier. I can see where I'm going, the view of the mountains is nice, and it's so neat to watch all the little critters scurry about. Just don't forget sunblock!

Bad mood

Stupid other people "working out". I did go running tonight, but I did not enjoy any of it. When I walked in, there was a guy in there already "using" one of the weight machines and the TV was on showing a baseball game. Every other time I've gone in, either there is no one there, or whoever is doesn't care about what's on the TV. Yes, I am that obnoxious person that asks if I can change the channel. I wouldn't like me much either. However, this time, it seemed that he did care about the game, so I didn't ask.....although I grumbled to myself and hoped he was leaving soon.

Before I go further, let me just say that other people's "work outs" are really weird sometimes. Like there is this man who's come in a few times while I'm running. He sometimes has gloves on and sometimes brings a mat which he does not use. He then proceeds to walk around, slightly aimlessly, and periodically lays down and does a leg lift or two. And then he'll lay there for a bit. He doesn't seem to really "work out" at all. There are the people who will sit on the bike and pedal at a very slow speed, doing nothing but maybe raising their heartbeat a beat or two. And then tonight, the baseball watching guy would move from machine to machine, do a couple reps, watch the game for 5 min, and then move on. One time he just sat there, not watching the game, picking his fingernails. It's like people think that just being inside the gym is good enough, that their intentions are what matter. Oh, if only that were the way.....

Tonight I also learned why Trevor will randomly tell the sports casters what idiots they are: because they are. Whenever a game is on at home, I tend to block out the announcers, mostly because I'm not really paying attention anyway. Tonight, I had no choice but to watch/read the subtitles for the game. Seriously, these guys are lame.

Also, apparently when I run on the treadmill, I run REALLY close to the display thingy. How do I know this? Because I've hit the HUGE pause button that's right in the front several times, not on purpose, and not always with my hands. Awesome.

Finally the guy left, so I was able to change the channel. I think the break in the run was not good for me, I never really got back into my "groove" and walked for a couple minutes. Yuck. But at least I was able to watch what I wanted. Distraction is what I need! TV, iPod, or Sandra*.....I always have at least one of those with me when I'm running, and when one is not working so well......watch out. Cause then I'll be in a bad mood.

*Sandra, just so you know, you have always worked superbly! :)

I wonder what would happen.....

...if I took a week off? I sure do want to right now. I wonder how far back it would set me. Farther than I'd like to be. Boo. I'm just not feeling it right now. I guess I need a pep talk. As happy as I am that the race is still 2 months away, that I still have that time to get ready, I want it to happen already so I can go back to running for leisure, not so much because I've signed up for something so huge. Who am I kidding......I've never run for leisure!! :) Hmm, it should be interesting to see how I keep up with running after the race. I guess we'll see in 2 and half months....

goals, schmoals

Since I didn't have any goals for the 10K from the start, it didn't seem all that bad, nor that much of an accomplishment. :/

6.2 miles is a lot! But I guess I got spoiled with the way the 5K had freebies, lots more people and events. I guess I really enjoy the "big scene" when it comes to racing, so, look out Disney! I'll be making crazy faces and leaping all over the place (especially thru the 'A' ;)

Despite what Becky thinks [that she held me back], it's quite the contrary. I absolutely feel that running with her is easier. At the end, I always feel like I could do more, but I know if I was on my own (which I am during the week for training) I always feel like quitting, and sometimes do. I wouldn't have run the whole race without her. Besides, Fried Green Tomatoes sounds like a pretty good movie. I don't know why I've never watched it.

I'm going to be taking some interim "after" pictures to motivate myself further. I think I need to see the progress when compared to my "before" pics. Eventually, I will post them, but they only go on my fridge for now. I'm hearing my Nike+iPod lady's voice, "Half-way point. Only 9 pounds remaining." Then eventually she will say, "You have reached your goal of 25 pounds lost. Celebrate by buying a new wardrobe." schweet.

P.S. Yes I understand that 9 is not half of 25. But I've been hovering around 12 pounds and VERY slowly inching my way down. It feels like I'm still only half-way there.

NOT last! :)

Sandra and I just ran a 10K......and we were not the last ones to finish, even though the guy on the loudspeaker said we were! :) It felt like we were because we never saw anyone behind us, but I could have sworn there were from the start. We were however, the last to finish under the banner, as it was taken down about 10 mintues after we finished, thinking everyone else had finished. But we waited and watched 3 more people come in after us so there! I feel kinda bad becasue I was not feeling well, and I feel like I held Sandra back. But she is a great friend and stayed with me (perhaps to hear what happens in Fried Green Tomatoes?) I hope that we can stay together in the half, but because we are both feeling good, I don't want to keep her back with that race! We'll see I guess, 2 months away!! We can do it!!! :)

foot goes on trail, not in mouth

So I am learning that the way I say things does not at all come across as I intend them. oops. (This happens more than I would like, which is to say, more than 0 times.)

Thankfully, my friends love our friendship enough to help me learn this lesson.

I am sincerely sorry for what I said about Trevor and I understand now that it came across very poorly. Rather than try to explain my way through it and lose all humor, I decided just to remove it. Delorted!

Now let's all forget our troubles with a big bowl of strawberry ice cream! :D

Verdict....

Sorry Grace, I'm running the 10K.

I am really bummed because I think it would be SOOOOO fun to run with family, but I know I have the opportunity to do that anytime during the week, which I would LOVE to do, and will work on setting up tomorrow! :)

But I am supposed to run 6 miles that day. And Sandra is my running partner for the half, so I would like to keep experiencing races with her so we can better prepare for the half. And it's cheaper! Not by much, but that was the deciding factor.

So Sandra.....I'm going to e-mail you now to get the info! Eeek! 6 MILES!!

oh! shoes

I almost forgot! Remember my shoes were giving me problems? So for the first time since I bought them, I thought, I need to lace them tighter. And it worked! My feets were fine. whew! No need to exchange them and risk losing a percentage of the cost (since I have been wearing them on trail runs for the last 20-something days.) That was easy. gah. I wish I had done it sooner!

it was like watching tv

So my life right now is without cable. And to hear Becky talk about running on the treadmill while watching tv sounded interesting, I don't know if I enjoy it so much when I'm at the gym. But running with Becky while she tells me about movies and books she's reading is totally awesome! It seemed to distract us enough to get through a super majority of the run...actually running!
And another milestone is that we were able to hold up a conversation while running. This really means a lot to me, because so many things I've read say "If you can't carry a conversation while doing the cardio, you're working too hard. (You shouldn't be able to sing, that would mean you're not working hard enough.)" Who knew that working too hard was as bad a problem as not working hard enough. We got it just right! And we're only going to get better.
After the run, I ate Papa John's pizza. I was planning on only one slice. It was almost 9pm (I have an aversion to eating after 9pm.) Well the slices looked small enough, so I ate 3. Three! I really need to stick to my plans. Same goes for the running schedule. I really need to just follow the plan. It's already going to be July and I've got a 10K to run! eek. Come'on, girl! Get your head in the game!!

And after

Yeah! We did so good! We didn't run the whole time, but we ran A LOT of it! And Sandra got to hear the entire plot line, beginning, middle, and end, of Steel Magnolias. With a few quotes to boot! Courtesy of me of course. :) I think it was a good strategy cause I don't think we noticed the running so much......maybe. I wonder if Sandra feels the same...... :)

This next weekend (the 4th of July), I've been planning on running another 5K, this time with my family. But Sandra is doing a 10K....and I'm torn. I know Sandra is building her way to the half, completing the proper steps along the way, but I never felt the need to do that. I did the first 5K to get a race under my belt and to really set off the training. And then Grace said she was doing this 5K and I thought it would be fun to run with my family. But now, since my schedule has me running 6 miles that day (which is the distance of a 10K) I'm thinking I should do the race with Sandra instead. But I really want to run with Grace and my brother. Hmmm, what's a girl to do?

Guess you'll have to check back and see what the verdict is..... :)

Just before...

Sandra and I are meeting in 40 mins or so to run 5 miles! I just jumped around, dancing for my son's entertainment and now I'm winded! Let's hope I can recover in time to do well running. I haven't run since Tuesday because of Declan's Dr. visit and then I was sick for a couple days. Poo poo. I'm just glad I'm feeling better now and I think I can do better now. We'll see! :)

Ugh

I did not do my run tonight because of this. Go ahead and read it before continuing....and make sure you've got 10 minutes. :) We were home by 9, but I still hadn't eaten dinner and we needed to get Declan to eat and go to bed. I am bummed cause I really want to get through a week of training where I actually do the entire week. On the correct days! But that's the life of a mother, EVERYTHING drops for the child, especially when their health is involved. I don't know yet if I will make up this night. I think I'll try to run 4 miles tomorrow, which is what I should have done tonight, but then I don't know if I'll do tomorrow's run on Friday or not. And I don't quite know how the run will work on Sat. We have Angel Food distribution and with Trevor leaving early, I can't go for an early run....argh. Smams, let's talk about this at bible study ok? Eh. Poopie night. Yuck.

3 miles later.....

...and the brownie has STILL not been burned off! Ok, well maybe the other walking and what not that I've done today made up the last 100 or so calories needed to cover the 430 from the brownie. It is crazy to think that after running 3 miles straight, only 293.4 calories were burned!

BUT....I did run the whole way tonight! I'm learning that the treadmill and TV are spoiling me. And running at night as well. Oddly, I've felt better to run in the evening than when I get up in the morning. I guess that's not so odd, I'm NOT a morning person. But I want to run earlier so I can rest at night, and so I don't have to go to bed with wet hair. But my jogging stroller is having some tire trouble, needs to be fixed before the bambino can go runnings with me.

I tried something new tonight. I used my towel that I brought to the gym to cover the display on the treadmill. That way it is a little more like when I'm trail running, in that I don't know my exact distance. It helped! And I have to say, I think I'm starting to notice a difference when I run. I felt more comfortable tonight, like I could have pushed myself farther....in terms of pace that is. I was DONE at 3 miles.

I'm still curious how I'm gonna get through the half marathon......do you think they'll let me run on a treadmill towed by a car with a mounted TV? Oh dear.....

bugs, I don't want to inhale you!

Running is tough. I thought that since I skipped my Sunday run (I had a painful healing blister on my big toe...ouch!) that I would tack on a mile to each of my other runs this week, starting today.

Well, that didn't go the way I planned. My foot is still hurting. I did run the whole 3 miles, but 4 was not gonna happen, today at least.

On top of that, why do bugs wish to be inhaled and make me freak out?! I feel like I should be running dressed in one of those bee-keeper suits to keep them away from my face. blech!

Ok, how am I going to run a 10K on July 4th? Hello?! The tagline is getting our butts in gear (and I think there's some more :) and I'm letting the tiniest things hold me back. Thankfully, Colin pushes me out the door (literally some days) to accomplish my goal. And once I'm out there, even dodging bugs and the occassional bad dog owner business, I really love it. I can feel the improvement now. Finally! That's pretty motivating. Just focus on that. Focus, focus, focus...

LAME excuse

I was supposed to run 3 miles today. My running clothes were not clean, so I did not. Lame.

I'm not so proud of this, so tomorrow I will go shopping for more running clothes. Apparently one outfit is not enough.

And to celebrate not running, I ate a brownie from Pick-Up-Stix. It was 430 calories. I think my priorities have been switched today. :)

Boo.

Sandra, what have you made me do?!?

I'm just kidding! This was something I had thought about for awhile....running a half marathon that is. Me bros and sister-in-law have run half marathons and such, and then the boys ran a full marathon a couple years ago. I went to that marathon to watch and cheer, and boy I'll tell ya....just being around people who've just finished a marathon was amazing. You could literally - ok, figuratively - feel the sense of accomplishment dripping from them. And you could smell it too....hmm.

Not that I could ever do a full marathon, that's all Sandra, and I will cheer her on like no other! But a half does seem doable. Especially the one we're doing: the Disneyland Half Marathon. I've always thought that if I were to do one of these crazy things, this would be the one I would do. Running through Disneyland? Heck yeah! And I believe it will be really helpful (for me, sorry Smams) to be as familiar with the whole course as I am, being that I grew up around here and have been driving around these streets for 11 years. And I'll be able to say to Sandra "only this much further!" and "OOH, this is coming up!" Hopefully that will be a good thing! :)

So I've been doing.....eh, pretty ok with my training. We ran the full 5K last weekend. GO US! But I haven't been able to do a full run since. :( And then yesterday's 5 mile, I just wasn't feeling it. And then I could hardly walk the rest of the day. Yuck. But, oh well, I keep moving on! A new hot body is at stake here! The funny thing is, when this ordeal....I mean challenge is over, I wouldn't mind starting to try for another baby. HA! Good thing health insurance is too expensive, I'll get to keep slim for awhile it seems. :) and :(

Oh hey, Sandra's peeps: I'm being kinda Jr. High about this and not telling all my friends and family, because I want to surprise them. I go back and forth with telling people, I'm bad at keeping exciting news....and, let's be honest, I like attention. I've told a couple people....just cause I couldn't not tell someone...or 3 ones. But I really do want to surprise people! That being said, this is why the blog is private. Sorry to be a pain......at least I'll be a hot pain when this is over! :)

Oh, I should also tell you.....I write A LOT! And I think I'm funny so I think people don't mind that I write a lot. I hope you agree......lie if you don't! :)

3 miles tomorrow! WOO HOO!

oh Tenda-foot

Hello first blog about running!

Fun times. Although, my feet protest...my new shoes? running longer distances? Me not know. I'm thinking of getting into hyphen-hands. ;)

I'm really loving running. Who knew? I hope I can have the stick-to-it-tiveness that will take me to a full marathon in the near future.

Well, this was just an initial post to get me started. Next is to tell people about it. First, a shower is in order after the 5 mile run/walk with Becky. She's such a little trooper. Got such a strong, one leg. The heart of a champion! :D