Happy Mother's Day!

I worked at 6 this morning and boy, does that come fast!  My alarm went off at 4 so I could make coffee.  I laid on the couch until about 5 watching I Love Lucy.  I was pretty tired!  I finally sipped down some coffee and got ready for work.

I was actually looking forward to my run today.  It's been exactly a week since my last run and I was starting to get a little stir crazy.  The only part I was worried about was running 12 miles after working for 8 hours.  No, biggie...right?

I drank a soda on the way home to get a little extra caffeine.  I also soaked my feet in some epsom salt for about 20 minutes to soothe them a little.  I got dressed, filled my bottle with Gatorade, grabbed my phone, and took off.  It was a beautiful day for a run.

We have run 12 before and agreed to do the same route again.  I like it, because we run by the Lighthouse and have some awesome views of the Lake.

The first four miles passed pretty quickly.  I haven't talked to Becky in a week and we had a lot of catching up to do.  I felt pretty good until mile 9.  My legs started to get really tight and my feet were starting to get a bit sore.  Miles 9-11 seemed to drag on forever.

I couldn't wait to run the last mile.  There's a huge hill we get to run down before the home stretch.  The only problem with that was that a giant rock pebble got lodged in between my heel and shoe and would not move.  I was worried that I was going to be bleeding, but sucked it up and kept going.  Becky pulled ahead of me a bit and boy, was that last half mile tough!

When we were walking to cool down, I stopped to pull the rock out and I had a bloody heel. Ouchie!

It was a good run and the fastest 12 miles I've done, even with walking a few times.  Hopefully I can make my goal of a 2:30 half marathon next weekend!

I hope all of you moms had the day that you deserve!

Running in the Wind

I had to work at the crack of dawn today.  I'm glad I don't have to do that too often.  Getting up at 4 in the morning is a little rough!

I tried to go to bed at a reasonable time.  I didn't want to be too exhausted for my long run today.  I was probably asleep before 11, so I felt pretty good today.

I met Becky at 3:15.  We had 9 miles on the schedule for today.  It was pretty windy out, but sunny and NOT raining for once even though it snowed this morning.

Weather according to my Garmin.

As we headed out, I could tell the wind was at our backs, pushing us on.  I was dreading the run home, because we would be running into it if we went back the same way.  Thankfully, Becky is smart about that kind of stuff and had a route planned out.

The worst part was when we were headed east towards the Lake.  The wind was icy cold and took our breath away!  I had to put my hood up on my sweatshirt to keep warm.

The rest of the run wasn't bad.  We walked twice.  The first time was at the halfway mark for a potty break.  Somehow I forgot to pause my watch, or I double hit the stop button, because when I thought I hit start and was running, it was stopped.  I noticed when Becky's watch beeped and I glanced down at my watch.  I was only off by about .15, so I decided to just run the extra minute.  I knew it would be all down hill anyway.

The second time we walked was about a mile and a half before the end.  Becky was getting some soreness and so was I.  Walking a minute or so really helped.  It also helped to know we were so close to finishing.

The last half mile we really pushed ahead.  After the last hill climb it is all down hill and so fun to run down!

I was starving by the time we were done.  I had three Clif Shot Blocks on the run, but my stomach started growling around mile 6.  I scarfed down a Greek yogurt as soon as I got in and drank some water.  Then I stretched right away.  I was so tempted to just hop in the shower, but I never stretch enough when I do that.

I was surprised how good I felt and still feel afterwards.  I haven't run that far since December and was a little nervous about it.  Next week is ten miles!  Only a few more weeks until my half! Can't wait for number 5!

Oh, and a side note, you will be relieved to know I am finally washing my Nike sweatshirt that I wear on practically every run.  I figured it's time.  It's probably been a couple of weeks...or so...an emphasis on the "or so".

Happy Running!

Is anyone watching the Boston Marathon tomorrow?  I am going to try and remember to!

RunChat Scavenger Hunt!

Today was my long run day and I was really looking forward to it.  I had learned that one of the sites that I follow, RunChat, put up a scavenger hunt list to participate in.  Here's the list:

I found 6 items on the list.  I could probably gotten more if I wasn't sick and just wanted to call it a day.

I found

1) A bridge

2) A giant hill I'm going to run up.  It may not look too bad, but I had to go up it a bit to get the whole thing...and please note the billboard at the top.  It's for McDonald's.  Makes me want to puke every time I come huffing and puffing to the top.

3)  Christmas decoration still up.  I was surprised I didn't find more.  After all, we've been snow covered for a while.  Decorations up in March really isn't that strange around here.

4) Water. I live by the Root River and run by it frequently.  I should have waited until we got to the lake.  The water was very pretty out there today.

5)  Trail Marker.  I think we are fortunate to live by these paths.  I love running them!

6) A scene from my favorite place to run.  The beginning of the Root River Path.

The scavenger hunt was a really fun idea!  I would love to do one of these more often, especially in warmer weather!

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!  Did you run today?

Everyday is My St. Patrick's Day

I opened all weekend at work and committed to run with Becky Sunday after work.  I know I wouldn't have gone otherwise.  We only had to do 5 miles, but it has been a long, long time since I've gone that far.

It was St. Patrick's Day, so of course I had to wear my favorite color, GREEN!

And, yes, I wore my hair down. Long hair, don't care.

I really didn't dress as warm as I should have.  I knew it was only 30 out, but for some reason I thought it was warmer.  I have my mind set on Spring.

The run was a good one.  It was windy most of the way, but I felt good.  Maybe it was from the cup of black tea I drank before I left.  It must have given me an extra kick after being up since 4 a.m.

I didn't look at my watch except to see how far we were, so I had no idea we had been going at that pace.  I mean, maybe Becky mentioned that we were going a little fast, but besides that...lol.  I'm happy with the splits and it felt good to go out for longer than 3 miles for once.

After I took a scalding hot shower and drank some hot tea, I realized that I was exhausted.  So, like any responsible adult, I had guacamole and tortilla chips for supper and went straight to bed.

On another note, Becky has me drinking classy coffee now.  I can tell the difference.  I only need one cup of the fancy stuff as opposed to a whole pot of the cheap stuff.  Here's my new favorite.

I got it from Target.  I like their Archer Farms brand of pretty much everything.  They make a salsa that I practically eat by the jar.

As I was shopping today, I came across this Chardonnay.

I don't like Chardonnay and I didn't see this brand in any other types of wine.  I totally would have bought it.  I'm the middle sister of two brothers and I am a definite smarty pants.

Happy Monday!

What are your workout plans?  Today is a rest day for me.

Running is Fun!

Words I will not say while running.

Since I've already had a post titled, "Running Sucks" I thought this would be a nice change.

I had three alarms set for this morning: 6am, 6:30am, 7am.  I slept through my first two.  I woke up before the 7am one.  Kevin was in the kitchen blasting his music, drinking coffee, and looking for jobs on the computer.  Doesn't he know I have to check my Facebook and Twitter right away?  What if something important happened?!?!

I had my customary cup of coffee and even ate a breakfast of brown sugar oatmeal.  I read through the paper, skipping all of the sale papers.  My first reads are the weddings/engagements and the comics.  Yes, I am 10 years old with my choices.  

I texted Becky telling her I am bringing my ipod and headphones on our run so I don't have to talk to her to to get me through the tough run.  She said she was planning on doing the same.  Great minds think a like.

There was frost covering the ground this morning.  

I took off in my gear; skirt, capri tights, compression socks, light long sleeve shirt, and my water belt with a GU.  My compression socks are too big and I had to fold them over to keep them under my knees.  I think it made the pressure on my calves too intense, because they were pretty sore while running and they are still sore now.  I don't usually have this problem, even on long runs.  Next time I get some compression socks, I am going to get the calf sleeves.  I don't like how the sock part feels on my foot.  I feel like it makes my foot sweatier than normal, since my foot was squishing in my shoe towards the end.  

The last three miles were really tough for me.  I didn't want to complain about the pace, since Becky seemed to be going at a pretty good quip.  It was mostly downhill on the way back too.  So I was a couple of steps behind her, but kept my mouth shut.  My darn calves were just killing me and it just seemed to be really draining all of my energy. And of course we got all of the green lights on the way back so I didn't have a minute for a break.  The last half mile, I really fell behind her, which was fine.  We were almost done and Becky likes to sprint to the end.  Somehow her watch got off with the mileage, because my time was a few seconds faster then hers and she was a good tenth mile ahead of me at the end.  

Yup, it's sideways.

My goal was to finish right around two hours, which we did.  It was a nice change after the few tough long runs we've been having.  I think the different route helped the time go faster.

Garmin splits

After entering my workouts in all of my websites, I took a nice HOT shower.  I get so cold after runs.  I realized I hadn't eaten yet after my run.  I was pretty wiped.  I had some of my Potato Kale Dish that I made yesterday.  Find the recipe here.  

I talked to my mom for a bit and read some blogs, watched some Christmas movies on T.V.  I ended up dosing off until about 5:30pm.  I woke up starving!  I had 5 pieces of bread, each with a piece of cheese <---that is a true story.  Two of my favorite things, cheese and bread.  I also ate the last pickle from the jar my mom made.  Oh, and a bowl of Fruity Pebbles and almond milk.  I think I'm good now.

*Things I had to Google while writing this - the difference between colons and semi colons.

What is your favorite post run pig-out food?

Water, Water Everywhere...

It's been a busy couple of day.  I've been working a LOT with no day off in sight.  Friday morning, while getting ready for work, I went downstairs to get some clothes and saw that the carpet was soaked!  All I could think of was that the sewer had backed up.  That was happening every couple of years until we found the source, so hadn't happened in a while.  I was expecting the worst.  When I went downstairs all of the way, the water seemed to be coming from the opposite end of the basement that the sewer was on.  Maybe it was a burst pipe?  Nothing was leaking from overhead and I could not figure out where all this water had come from.

Source 

I ran upstairs to tell Kevin.  He thought I was joking for a minute.  After I told him I was definitely NOT joking, he came down with me.  He figured out that the water heater must have rusted out of the bottom and leaked out everywhere.

I didn't know what to do.  I asked Kevin if I should call in to work, but he said I should just go and he would clean up and take care of it.

By the time I got home from work he had bought a new water heater, but had to wait until Saturday to put it in so his dad and brother could help him.  It was $350 plus more for new hoses and or pipes to connect it.  Ugh.

We had to turn the water completely off, because there was a leak in the shut off valve.  You never realize how much you use water until it's gone.  Simple things like washing my hands, rinsing a dish, etc.  I had bought two gallon jugs of water and a pack of water in bottles.

This morning I had my long run with Becky.  I had 7 on the schedule, she had 9.  We ended up with 8.3, but that was due to a mapping error.  It was a tough run!  The first mile and a half was physically painful.  My legs were sore, I woke up with a headache, my ankles and calves felt really tight, blah, blah, blah.  After that, I started to feel a bit better.

Not from today, but an overlook of the lake on our run.

It was also unseasonably warm out.  I wore a short sleeve shirt and capris.  I was sweating my butt off by mile 3.  As soon as we got to the lake though, there was a really cold breeze.  We stopped at mile 5 to take a GU and stretch.  We were right on the lake front and BRRRR!  All of my sweat was definitely making it worse.  All I can say is that I expect next week's long run to be awesome!

While I wasn't on a TM, this was me most of my run...poor Becky. Source

My watch also died before we even hit mile one.  At least Becky had hers.  It was funny though, because when hers would beep for the miles I would hit the lap button on my watch and when we would stop at lights I would hit the stop button.  Old habits die hard, I guess!

I'm home from work now after a long night.  I'm going to watch Comedy.TV and go to bed.  And I plan on sleeping late tomorrow since I don't have to work until 1:30.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Running Sucks

Source

Yesterday was my long run.  I was scheduled to do 10 miles.  I had my alarm set for 5:30.  I turned it off and went on the couch.  I was soooo tired.  I turned on the T.V. and fell asleep watching I Love Lucy.  I woke up and Golden Girls was on.

I woke up again and some Hallmark movie was on.  By now it was 10:00.  I only do this when I really have no plans all day.  If I were going with someone or I had to be somewhere, I would have gotten up and gotten it over with.  Instead, I procrastinate and procrastinate.  I mean, let's face it.  Running ten miles is not my idea of a good time.


Finally, by 1:00 I started getting ready.  I slammed a Coca Cola and ate a cheese, tomato, pickle sandwich on toast.  Got my water and Gu together and finally took off around 1:30.

When I left, I told Kevin that I may not do all 10.  Maybe I'd do 5.  I just really, really, really didn't want to run.  I'm not really sure why.  I guess I was just tired.
I never start running until after I walk up a hill that leads out of my little neighborhood.  Once I was at the top I seriously considered going home.  I told myself to just go and see how far I could get.

To make a long story short, every mile sucked.  At the end, I knew I hadn't gone out far enough to get to ten miles.  I went around a cemetery once and instead of going again like I should have to get to ten, I said forget it and headed home.  I ended with 9, which was good enough for me.

Yes, I had tater tots for supper.

It's runs like these that really count.  I knew that I would appreciate this after it was done and these are the runs that will make me better, blah, blah, blah.  I'm just glad it's over.
And, the good part is, when I have a bad long run the next week is really good.  I'm hoping that holds true next week since that is my half marathon!

Nice spread!

I'm glad I didn't have time to lay around after my run.  I would have been so sore.  Instead, I stretched, ate, and jumped in the shower to get ready to go to Laura's.

Adding butter, real butter

We were going to watch a bad, scary 80's movies.  We went to get the movie and when we got back her husband had made popcorn and set everything up downstairs.  What a sweetie-pie!

We watched Return to Camp Sleepover or something like that.  It was so bad, yet funny.  By the time it was over, I was so tired and so was Laura.  We called it a night and I headed home to go to bed since I had to work all day today.

Oh, and I finished another leg warmer...yup, just one so far.  I like these.  I knitted most of it and crocheted a little on each side.


Now, I'm going to watch Boardwalk Empire and Homeland.  I love these shows!

Two More Weeks

Source

This morning was my 9 mile long run.  Next week is ten miles and then my half marathon!  It will be my second half in five weeks and my third half in five months.  That is definitely the most miles I have put on since I started running.

It hasn't been as hard as I thought.  No, it's not always easy or convenient to get up early after working late or fitting in my long runs, but it's something that I have really wanted to do.  I've really wanted to put more miles on my legs to build a good base to start marathon training.  I wanted to get use to running on tired legs and to keep going when all I wanted to do is quit.  I will have to think back to times like now and know that I will finish because I will know that I can.


This morning I had a running date with Becky.  Thank goodness I had someone to go with, because I would have been procrastinating all day!  I knew I would be exhausted after closing at work the night before, but I dragged myself out of bed and made some coffee.  It was SO cold this morning.  This isn't fall weather, it's winter weather.  I had no idea what to wear so that I would be comfortable.  I ended up in capris, a short sleeve tech shirt, and a heavier pullover tech hoodie.  Then I wore a Bondi Band over my ears to double as a sweat band and as a light ear warmer.  I thought this was ingenious!  I ended up being comfortable the whole time.

After I got home I hopped into the shower and Kevin and I ran some errands.  We went to K-Mart to look at a coffee maker that was on sale. Ours had died a couple of months ago and we have been using one his parents had.  It was just a simple on/off coffee maker.  I missed my options of setting a timer and having it turn off automatically after two hours.  And the one we were borrowing did not match our other appliances.  We ended up with the new one.  It has everything we need.


 After we paid for the coffee maker, we went to the Little Cesars that was inside K-Mart.  We were both hungry so ordered a large pizza.  It was only $5!  I couldn't believe it!  I ended up eating the whole half of the pizza.  I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started eating.

Kevin enjoying his pizza!

I forgot to mention that after I took a shower, I thought it would be a great idea to cut some bangs for myself.  No, I'm not a hair stylist, but sometimes I think I am.  I cut my hair while it was wet.  I thought I made it long enough, but as soon as I dried it, I couldn't believe how short they got.  Five minutes after this they were already driving me crazy!  They are right in my eyes.  In about two weeks they will be the right length, but for now I will have to suffer.  

Have you ever cut your hair yourself?  How did it turn out?

The Long "Runs"

I planned on doing my long run yesterday, but laid around all day instead.  I don't know what it is, but I've been so tired lately!

So this morning I got up early to go.  I drank my coffee and had my breakfast.  It was super cold out, only about 40 when I left.  Despite the temperature I wore capris and then a short sleeve tech shirt with a long sleeve cotton shirt over it.  I couldn't find any of my long sleeve tech shirts.  They must be packed away with my winter stuff.

I really wasn't feeling this run today.  I decided to start running as soon as I got to the end of the block.  Usually I walk about ten minutes or until I've gone up a large hill I have to climb up to get out of my little neighborhood.  I just wanted to get these miles over with.  I ran the four block to the hill then walked up the hill.  My stomach was kind of bothering me, but I figured I would be fine after a bit.  I ran through a cemetery that I pass to add on another mile and took a GU on my way back out to the street in hopes that it would give me a little energy.

By this point, I was walking a lot. I had a lot of pressure in my stomach, but figured it was from my water belt pushing on it.  I continued on my way and figured after each mile I would feel a little bit better.  A little after mile three I was really gassy...at least that's all I thought it was.  I ended up sharting!  I stopped dead in my tracks and didn't really know what to do.  Should I keep going?  Should I call Kevin to come pick me up?  What a sh*tty run!

I ended up deciding to just run home.  Kevin was sleeping and probably wouldn't hear the phone.  And this way, I could at least get in a couple more miles (you know you're a runner when...).  I had to stop and walk a couple of times because of fear I would further poo my pants, but my pace really picked up!

I finally got home and told Kevin what happened.  He said he just woke up, so not calling him was a good decision.  After I changed and spent some quality bathroom time, I thought I would be good to do at least three more miles.  I headed out and after about a tenth of a mile my stomach was not cooperating.  I turned right around and called it quits.

My first and second runs.

I forgot to even stretch afterwards.  I just jumped in the shower.

Kevin and I went to his parents house to celebrate his sister's 30th birthday.  They were having lasagna and his mom made me my very own since I don't eat meat.  I thought that was super sweet of her!  It was very good.

Then we came home and watched the rest of the Packer game.  They lost by 3 points.  I blame myself.  Every time I watch them they end up losing.

Who is your favorite sports team?

Have a great Sunday!

Sunday Funday!

Despite working most of the day, it was still a great day.  I was pretty tired when I got home.  I knew I had to run, but actually fell asleep for about an hour in my running clothes.  I got up and turned my Garmin on when it beeped and said low battery.  Well, that was just great!  I will not run if I don't know how far I'm going!  So I charged it for about twenty minutes and hoped it would last.

 I was walking for about 5 minutes outside when it beeped low battery again.  I turned it off until I was ready to run.  I was already outside and it was getting late.  It was almost six and I knew I would be out for over an hour.  With fall here, it is getting dark at about 7 now.  I'm not a fan of running in the dark just because I feel a bit off balance.  I turned my watch on and started running.  It beeped the low battery warning at me, but I just figured I would go until it died and then I could just figure out how far I went by mapping out the rest.


The first mile was really tough.  I kept getting crazy stomach cramps and stopped about three times until they passed.  After that pain was gone I was feeling a bit better.  I listened to Jillian Michaels podcast.  Her and her cohost are so funny.  It really made the time fly by.  And every time I wanted to give up I would just think about Jillian and what she would say to me.

On the way back I couldn't believe how huge the moon was! I tried to take a picture of it (again) and it never does it justice.

After I got home and I logged my runs on my 3 websites and wrote it in my running journal ( a little over-kill, I know) I jumped in the shower.  I hadn't realized that I had sweat through the two shirts I was wearing!  I knew I was sweating a bit, but I most mostly a bit chilly and was thankful I had thought to wear the long sleeves over a short sleeve T-shirt.

The rest of the night I just hung out, caught up on blogs, and watched Boardwalk Empire.  Next week's episode looks good!
Off to bed!  Early day tomorrow!