A new dedication

It's been a while since I updated on my running. I am still running, but I have been very inconsistent this year. I am working full time now and it is so hard to fit my runs in. I am running mostly at night, which is fine, but I prefer running in the morning. I ran another half marathon March 14th in Dallas. I improved my time from Austin by 20 minutes. I registered and planned on running it alone. While standing waiting for the race to start I stuck up a conversation with a girl in my pace group. We were each looking to improve our previous time and wanted to finish around 2:30. We ended up running the whole race together and she really helped me. I definitely ran it faster than I would have without her. I finished in 2:20. The race was different from Austin for sure. It was flat, so a much faster course. I really enjoyed it and hoped to run another one in November, San Antonio. I broke a bone in my foot in August, so that did not happen. After 8 weeks of no running, I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I am back up around 6 miles and planning to run Austin again February 20th. I will be running this race with 1 and possibly 2 friends from work. I am determined to stay dedicated this year and hope to run at least a couple, if not more, half marathons. I would like to run my first marathon by the end of the year, but I will probably wait one more year. I will graduate in December so I should focus on school before I try to train for a marathon. I will update my runs more often so I can track my progress. I ran last night for 50 minutes and I hope to be able to do the same later today.

Austin Half Marathon Pictures

Austin Half Marathon

So I fell behind a little in my posting. I went back to work last week and I am running a little low on time. I did run on Monday and Wednesday, on the treadmill, 4 miles and 4.5 miles. So Thursday night I check my facebook messages and I have a message from a friend. She is a fellow runner that I went to high school. She was running in the Austin Half Marathon this weekend and had a friend that had to back out due to an illness. She asked if I wanted her friend's bib. Before even thinking about it I said "yes yes yes!" Then I really got to thinking. My longest recent run was 7 miles and I was actually hoping to get in 8 this weekend. I am not ready! My race is in April, that is what I have been preparing for. I am not sure what came over me but I could not say no and I could not back out. It all happened so fast. Needless to say, I ran it. I have never run that far but I did it. I did it well. I did not walk, at all! Honestly, I didn't even want to walk. I felt good until about mile 11. I started getting tired. But when you have 2.1 left and you have already run 11 miles, why would you start walking? I had come too far! There was a massive hill at mile 11 that I was not happy about. But I thought at least that is it and I can cruise on in. Right. Turns out, there was an even bigger hill at mile 13! UGH! I kicked it in and I made it up the hill. From that point it was smooth sailing. It was all downhill, literally. We circled halfway around the capitol and the finish line was about 400 meters behind the capitol. Once I saw the finish line, my legs took off. I wasn't even making them. Something about me craves that finish line! I ran as fast as my legs would take me and I took it to the house. I finished in 2 hours and 40 minutes. (my new personal record) We kept a 12:10 pace throughout the race which is not bad for first timers. It was an awesome experience and I cannot wait to do it again. This will make my race in April alot easier!!

Day 68

Ok, people my math is seriously lacking. I am not sure how I made such a miscalculation and how I am just now fixing it. My race is April 11th, and from today, I have 68 days left. Let's just say I was never great at math and move on. So, I did not run from Friday-Monday. I did not get to do my long run last week. That makes last week's summary remain at 9 miles completed. That is okay, but not what I wanted. Well, the whole reason I started this blog is for a little accountablity and here it is. I will be able to look back on my training and see where I went wrong. I ran on Tuesday, at the gym. By mile 3 I was so bored I didn't know how I would make it to 5 miles, but somehow I did. My hips are a little sore today. I may have to run at the gym again this week but hopefully by the weekend I can be outside and doing a long run. I am still hoping to get at least 7 miles this week for my long run. I must say I am enjoying running at the gym a LITTLE more, but I still get bored and it is not ideal. I just have to embrace it while Chris is out of town and it continues to rain. I almost just want to run in the rain, but I have been feeling a little under the weather and not sure if that would help. For more information on the run I am competing in here is the website: www.texasmarathon.com

Day 46

I ran today at the gym. How I cannot wait for my huband to get home so I can run outside. It actually was not too bad today. About mile 3, I got pretty board. I fought through though and made it for an hour at a little over 5 miles. My hips are kinda sore today and my legs were sore last night. I feel like I run so much faster on the treadmill but it is actually a slower pace. I still don't get that. I am hoping to run at least 7 miles this week on my long run. It will probably have to be Sunday evening since Chris should be home. I cannot image trying to do my long run on the treadmill with the kids in the nursery. Even though they are older now, I still worry about them getting tired or hungry and me not being there. Everytime I pick them up though, they seem to be having so much fun. Anyway, I am at 9 miles for the week so if I can get 7 miles on my long run I will be at 16 for the week. Almost back where I was before at 20, give or take. I cannot believe I am almost back to that kind of mileage. So great. I think I could have run the half marathon in March, like my original plan. I am glad I waited though. I don't want to try to squeeze my runs in and get injuried. Sometimes I have so much going that it seems impossible.

Day 47

Did not run on Wednesday.

Day 48

Ran today at the gym. It is such a struggle for me to get there. I already don't like going, but fitting it in my busy day is so hard. Regardless, I went and I ran 4 miles. I was feeling good and I could have gone a while longer. Unfortunately, it was 5:45 when I started due to kids naps, traffic, etc. I gave the kids a snack but we usually eat dinner around 6:00. They had fun at the kids club though, and they were troopers about eating. Like usual, the first mile to 2 miles were blah. Once I hit mile 2 though, I could have gone forever. There is one thing I like about running at the gym. If the person next to me is running, I try to outlast them. I also try to make sure I am running faster. I guess I am just competitive, but it helps motivate me to do more. Side note, I usually win. Although, in all fairness, they don't know it is a game. But I usually "outlast." Today I had a good competition going, but at 6:30 I figured I needed to get my kids and feed them. I will probably take the day off tomorrow since I usually run better when I don't do it on consecutive days. I will try to hit the gym again on Thursday and hopefully get 5 or 6 in.

Day 49

Did not run

Day 50

Did not run today, but I can already feel a change in myself. I am more dedicated to my runs again. This week I ran right at 12 or 13 miles. Not quite back to 20, but I know I will be soon. I am not sore today and this was after my long run yesterday. (approx 6 miles) I craved a run all day. It is on my mind and it is all I can do not to throw my running clothes on and take off. Yesterday restored my confidence like I cannot believe. My run was not easy, but is wasn't impossible. It was not all flat or downhill either. In fact, on my way back it was pretty much uphill. In fact, on our way church today I showed my husband where I ran and he said "it was probably pretty tough on the way back." My music really carried me. I remember one long hill that I thought I was to the top of and it kept on coming. Living On a Prayer by Bon Jovi came on and I just chuckled and picked it up. At one point, I remember singing out loud and not even caring what the passing cars were thinking. Not like I will ever see them again. I am sure you wish you could see a picture of that! Kinda hard to carry a camera when you run though! Chris leaves to go out of town tomorrow so I will have to go to the gym. I will struggle to get my runs in on the treadmill but I have to keep at this level. Hopefully I can get up to 7 miles next week, or at least close. Side note, not sure if it is the amount of miles I have run, but I have been so hungry this week that I feel like nothing can satisfy me. Sometimes I go through that as I increase miles. I have been eating good still, but eating more. Also, I think I am going to start working on my core more so help with strength and balance for my runs. All for now, got to get back to this Saints game!

Day 51

Today was one of the best runs I have had in a while. Since I began slacking, I have longed for a run like today. I started off really slow, like I should. When I start off my long runs at the right pace, they are always good. I get to a point where I can really pick up the pace and finish strong. I ran for 1 hour and 15 mins and it felt good. Again, my phone failed me. The time was right but the distance is off and so is the pace. It said I ran a 5.8 min mile, uh, that is impossible. Anyway, I will work on getting that fixed. I do know I ran at least 6 miles, maybe a little over. I went down the access road of hwy 130 from our apartments almost to hwy 45 and back, then around the complex until I hit the 1:15 mark. I could have gone further but I had to get back to watch the kids since Chris had a phone interview at 10:00. Today gave me the confidence I need to continue training. I have lost so much of what I had before that sometimes I get frustrated. I feel like I have started over and will never get back the mileage I once gained. Today made me feel like I am not that far. I ran 6 miles relatively easy. That is an accomplishment. Next week will be a challenge, however. Chris will be out of town all week so I will have to find a gym so I can run on a treadmill, which I think I have established that I hate. Oh, well, must keep going and not lose ground.

Day 52

Did not run today so I can rest my body for tomorrow's long run. I will usually only run 3 days a week increasing my distance each time with my long runs being on the weekends. When Chris is out of town, this can change but that is what I aim for. My long runs are my favorite part of the week, because I do not care for speedwork. I am a distance running, after all.

Day 53

I went to run at Lady Bird Lake in Austin on Thursday, very pretty and nice place to run. I ran for 55 minutes, I could not quite make the hour. The first 40 mins were pretty easy, but last half of the run was hard. Maybe I started out too fast because I was so excited about being in such a nice place. I also discovered along the way, that not only did I not eat enough before the run, but I had not drank near enough water. That was a huge mistake. Still I got a pretty good run in, but it could have been better if I had prepared better. I had to drive about 25-30 mins to the destination so it will probably be a once a week event when Chris is here to watch the kids. It sure was nice to see so many people running, and so many people my age. Still having difficulty measuring my runs but I think it was around 4 miles maybe a little more.

Day 54

Did not run today. I had a long day so I figured I wouldn't really get a good run in today. I will run in the morning, acutally already laid my clothes out. Morning is my favorite time to run so I am looking forward to it. Will post tomorrow.

Day 55

I did not run today. I am embarrased to say I am little sore after yesterday. I used to be able to run 10 miles and barely be sore the next day, but those days are gone. I will pick up tomorrow and see if I can't get a better run in. I read something tonight that made me think. For Christmas, I bought my husband a book by John Bingham called "The Courage to Start." John Bingham writes a column in Runner's World so I have read several of his articles. He was a couch potato that started running later in life for his health. He has completed several marathons now and is completely changed. Anyway, I was reading an exert for the book tonight about his first race. He said he was not so proud of himself for finishing his first race, he was more proud that he had started the race in the first place. Wow, so simple and so true. How many of us wish we were doing something that we don't even have the courage to start? The fact that I am running period, is a victory. No matter how many races I complete or how many hours it takes me to finish. I am running. Running for my health, running for me. That is what matters. Everything else will fall into place. Have the courage to do something great and you will be a winner....

Day 56

So there are 56 days from today until my race. (going to Day 1 which will be April 11th) Wow, doesn't seem like long. Unfortunately, I did not run at all last week so today was pretty tough. I ran 4 miles in about 34 minutes. I am not going to lie, today was a tough one. I am living in a new area and not really sure where to run and I did not pick the best route today. I like running along highways but this one didn't have a shoulder the whole way. Ugh...the thing that is frustrating is that rather than get over in the other lane so

I could run along the white line, people don't. I wonder if they they care, don't see me, or purposely want to piss me off. Anyway, my pace was better today and I definitely enjoyed it more than the treadmill. I think I probably started off a little too fast, but I was so excited to be running. I have got to get my routine down, even when stuff is going on, I cannot slack. The fact that 4 miles was pretty tough is not good, but I must focus, fight through, and if I want to excel. There are so many opportunities living in the Austin area for pretty runs. Maybe tomorrow I will try to find somewhere to go. Note to self: I think I am getting tired of my playlist and need to update. Also, Saucony shoes are the best. I am pretty sure I will never wear another type of shoe. Let's see how far they can take me.

Runner's High

This past Saturday I went to run in the gym. I am not really a wimp about running in cold weather, but sometimes I just can't feel it. I am not a big fan of running on the treadmill, but sometimes it has to be done. Once I get the first mile and a half in, I usually get in the groove and I feel better. Same was true this time. I got close to the 2 mile mark and I started feeling good. This is ususally around the time the "runner's high" kicks in, at least for me. For those of you that have not experienced this, it is the best part of running. It is the point when everything is right with the world. You feel like you can do anything and you only want to be better. I want to be a better runner, a better mother, wife, friend, etc. I can't really describe it and I am sure it is different for everyone. This is what it is like for me. Sometime is doesn't last very long, and sometimes it lasts my whole run. It is probably the reason I love running so much. It gives me focus and strength. Saturday I ran about a 12:00 min mile. For those non-runners, that is very slow. In my prime of running this summer I ran about a 9:35. That is not extremly fast or anything, but it is not bad. I have been running around a 10:00 or 10:30 mile, so 12:00 is slow for me. There is something about a treadmill that makes you think you're running faster than you actually are. None the less, I ran 4 miles in an hour. It is just one run on my way to 13.1. No run will be perfect, but every run will be necessary....

Here Goes

This blog will contain information concerning my runs and my training. This is for my accountability and will be used as a training log. This may not interest you at all, so don't read it. For those of you who love running, it may interest you. I also want this to be a tool for me to take my progress. Encouragement is greatly appreciated! My first half marathon is April 11th. 2010 and it is the Big "D" Marathon. For more information www.texasmarathon.com. It is not an especially big race. It draws about 2,500 for the half marathon and 1,000 for the marathon. Some races are capped at 20,000 or 30,000 to give you an idea about how big some can get. Races like the New York Marathon had about 44,000 in 2009. So I am starting out small and I will build up to bigger more prestigious races. This past summer I got up to running close to 11 miles on my long runs. I was running about 20 miles a week at that time. Soon after, I started working part time, Chris started traveling alot, and well, life got in the way. I was in such a good routine and it felt great. I wish I had stayed with it, but I will get it back. I am at about 4 miles on my long runs now. I will make it to 13.1 by April 11th though, whatever it takes.