Quote of the Day

"Remember, a marathon is just a 10K with a 20 mile warm-up."

Today's Miles: 1.5
Total Miles: 55.0

Happy 50th!

During tonight's track practice, I hit my first milestone of running a total of 50 miles! It took me a month or so, but I have ran 50 miles ... wow. A month ago, I couldn't run at all and now I'm running miles at a time and they've added up to 50. It's such a great feeling :)

Unfortunately though, practice was a bit tough tonight. I haven't run since last week's practice and I've got this pleasant head cold that's kicking my butt right now. The general rule of thumb of running while sick is to use the "neck rule" - anything above the neck is okay to run, anything below is grounds to take a day or so off. I went to practice and coach told me just to walk, which was frustrating for me since I haven't run in a week but it was better to me than doing nothing. I just want to make sure that this cold goes away soon so I can get back to running and feeling better as soon as possible. I'm still just happy that I was able to get out there and still participate and hit my 50 mile mark tonight!!

Today's Miles: 5.0

Total Miles: 53.5

Yellowstone

I took advantage of some vacation time and went up to see my friend Cody so we could visit Yellowstone and some other great places in Montana for a few days. I wish I could say that I ran like I wanted to, despite the fact that I placed my running clothes and shoes, but it just never quite worked out for me. I didn't even get to hike very much because Cody had just had his appendix out the week earlier and wasn't quite healthy enough for it yet, which was very disappointing for me. However, I did have a GREAT few days. It was really wonderful to get away and just be surrounded by the beauty of the area. Words cannot describe how peaceful and picturesque it is .. and how happy I was to be there. Instead of trying to describe it, below are some of my favorite pictures from the trip, which were very hard to pick out from over 125 pictures that I took over a 3 day span ...

Frog Legs

I should have known that when coach started chuckling before he told us what our practice of the night was going to entail that it was going to be one of "those" nights. He tells us about a certain workout he affectionately called "frog legs". Eight laps around the track (yes, that's 2 miles which generally isn't a problem for me) but at 100m intervals paces. Easy paces around the curves (to prevent injury on the ankles and knees) and sprints down the straightaways. Now, I've gotten really good at running my distances at my pace - slow and steady wins the race - but sprints kick my butt! The purpose of this exercise is to train your body to be able to slow down and speed up to accommodate various obstacles that will come up during the race but sprinting really took a toll on my body. I will forever cringe at the sound of "frog legs"!!

On a positive note, I have the best mentor in the world, Jim. Not only did he give me a margarita before we started track practice - okay, it was a flavored shot block - but we also genuinely talked about the benefits of drinking beer before races (carbo-loading!) and after (to prevent toxins from building up in your kidneys by flushing them out). Ahh, I'm starting to really like this running thing! :)

Today's Miles: 4.0
Total Miles: 48.5

The iPod Failed Me

I had a brief meltdown last night where I actually thought I was going to be running 24 miles at this mornings group run. Thankfully, I was wrong and we ended up only running for about an hour and a half, which is about 6 miles for me. I felt off this morning and it was another crummy morning - cold and almost rainy. I needed the extra motivation of my iPod, especially since we were just told to go out and run for as far as we could in a certain amount of time. Not before I could finish a complete song on my iPod, it died!! UGH, I needed it so bad on this run and not having it was a huge struggle for me. I officially made a note to myself that I now need to charge it more often during the week, whether I realize I need to or not because I absolutely cannot have that happen to me again. The iPod failed me when I needed it the most. I guess that's what happens when you rely on technology too much...

Today's Miles: 6.0
Total Miles: 44.5

TGIF

I have ALWAYS loved Fridays. I love the end of the work week and the start of the weekend. Now that I'm training for the marathon, I love Fridays even more. Fridays are the first rest day in my training!! After 4 straight days of running, my legs and body are pretty sore and I love having a day off to rest. TGIF!!

I Just Kept Going

I've been pretty attached to my treadmills lately for my runs. I'm in love with the comfort of climate control (air conditioning, no rain, etc.), being able to run at one pace at one elevation, a TV for entertainment make the time go by faster (especially with the NBA playoffs going on), and honestly, I'm terrified of cars zooming past me on the roads! But today, I decided that I was going to head out on the roads near my house and go for my 3 mile run. It was tough. I still struggle with the slightest bit of a hill which I'm going to have to work on still because it's IMPOSSIBLE to run without them around here! So, I'm running along, and right around the 2 1/2 mile point I get this burst of energy and I decide I want to go just a bit further. I can either go left or right past my apartment and left brings me up that monster hill (from a few weeks ago that I HATE) so I decide to go right. Perfect - the USAFA gate is just a little bit down the road. I'll run there and then walk back, it will be the perfect extra run and then cool down home. I'm happy, jogging along, and it's further than I thought it was. I get to the gate, turn around and I'm still jogging home, feeling good. I get back and I decide to hop in my car to check out the mileage ... yep, I added an extra 2 miles to my run!!! Holy moly, I just ran 5 miles!! I don't know if it was the warm sun that kept me going or the fact that I was just in a good mood or what, but I ran 5 miles and I felt good. I'm going to have to get off my treadmill and get outside a bit more often!

Today's Miles: 5.0
Total Miles: 38.5

Rainbow

I was having a really tough day today. My body was really sore from yesterday's workout and I didn't sleep very well so my body was just off. Add that to the fact that it was a crummy, rainy day outside, and I was just in a funky mood. I wasn't motivated to work out today even though it was Wednesday which is my long yoga class day, and I normally look forward to that. It took a lot of energy for me to get off my couch after work to get to the gym and eve n after getting dressed, I was just feeling off, which is a terrible feeling. I was really searching for something to give me a boost of energy. I don't know if it was a sign from Aunt Goofy or what, but as soon as I got on the highway, there was a rainbow right in front of me. It put an instant smile on my face :) Sure, my workout was still hard and I'm still tired and sore, but for those few minutes, I smiled and was given a boost of positive energy that I really needed and for that, I'm thankful!

Tuesday's Mileage: 5.0
Today's Mileage: 1.0

Total Mileage: 33.5 miles

Monday

Time to start a new week of running after a Sunday off ...

Daily Miles: 2.4
Total Miles: 27.5

Section 16 Hike

On this beautiful Saturday morning, I set off on a hike in Section 16 with Becky, Nicole and Lisa. I had already decided that I wasn't going to make it to the group run in the morning and thought a 6 mile hike was a great substitute, and much more enjoyable! The hike up kicked our butt - it was really steep but the views along the way were worth it. And unlike most hikes in the area that I've done, we were hiking in woods that reminded me of the east coast, smelling of pine trees, instead of looking at red rocks the entire time. The top was remarkable, really made me fall in love with Colorado even more than I already did. The hike back down was more gradual, although it was longer. We all finished the hike back down with a jog across the gate at the end of the path, a tribute to all of the talks we had about running marathons during our hike.

Oh, and after our hike, we went to the Manitou Springs Wine Festival ... the perfect way to rehydrate :)

5k

Yes, I just ran my first 5k (mileage)!! I remember a long time ago when I ran my first straight mile after knee surgery, I was so excited. The excitement of running a 5k (3.1 miles) just blew that excitement out of the water. The best part of it all is that the excitement of being able to run more and more miles is only to get better! I was on the treadmill at the gym and I honestly felt like I could have kept going. Wow, I am feeling so great right now. I'm so going to be that person that starts signing up for random 5k races on the weekends just because I can. I'm a runner now ... haha, that still hasn't quite sunk in yet! :)

Daily miles: 3.1
Total miles: 25.1

Frustrated

Seriously, what is my problem and why is it impossible for me to wake up in the morning? I was all set to get up in the morning at 6am (alarm was set for 5:50am so I could snooze once!). My plan was to go to the gym and run my 3 miles before work. Before going to bed last night, I picked out my work outfit, packed my bag and even packed shower stuff so I could get ready for work at the gym this morning rather than coming home first. I was all excited, and even more excited to be able to come home after work and have a whole night to myself.

And then this morning comes. Alarm goes off. I snooze until 6am like I planned. Then I snooze until 6:15am. Then again until 6:30am. At this point I can still get up and go to the gym. Then it's 6:45am. I can still get up - I'd be rushed but I could do it. Thank goodness for a flexible work environment where I can come in at a reasonable time before 9am. Next time I open my eyes it's 7:30am and it's way too late. CRAP! So frustrated with myself. There was NO reason I couldn't have gotten out of bed, especially since I was awake. I really, really need to work on that because I want to start working out in the mornings. Sure, I don't have much going on after work but there are some days that I do and I don't want to compromise my training and it makes more sense to do it in the mornings. I honestly just don't understand what is so hard for me and why I can't drag my butt out of bed in the mornings ... ugghhh ... off to the gym after work I go ...

National Running Day

Today is National Running Day. It's a day designed to promote running as a healthy, easy and accessible form of exercise. A lot of cities across the country had large races and events going on during the day but there wasn't anything going on here in the Springs. I was still determined to participate in the day, how could I not since I'm training for a marathon. I put on my running shoes and set out for the treadmill at the gym. A mile and a half later (I splurged a bit past my training for the day), I reluctantly turned off the Alternate Routes on my iPod and felt good about being part of National Running Day. Maybe next year I'll do something a bit bigger ...

My main goal of going to the gym was so that I could go to a "Twilight Yoga" class - nothing sounded more spectacular than an hour and a half of yoga to me today! My body was tense and sore and I had been stressing out this week with some personal issues and I totally needed an extended class at the end of the day to stretch and relax. The class was amazing. My personal jury is still out on yoga sometimes about it being a real workout but I left last night feeling the best I had in a long time. I'm going to continue to mix in yoga with my running/training plan because it truly is the perfect compliment. It feels great to be able to stretch out ALL of my muscles and relax and reflect on what I'm going through with the training. Ending the session with the leader releasing the tension in my neck and massaging my forehead ... perfection!

And on a positive note, the sun finally came out today! :)

Daily miles: 1.5
Total miles: 22

It's Not Enough ... Really?

I almost got booted off the track team "island" tonight by my running friends ... for stating that I wanted to run more, that I didn't feel like we had done enough. Ha! Me, saying that I wanted to do more. And that was after a total of 4 1/2 miles and 540 yards of various exercises on the turf. I was hesitant to work out all day because it was so gray and dreary out and I almost didn't even go to track practice because it was 45 degrees, windy and drizzly. I literally was hesitating all the way up until the point where I had to turn my car left to the highway or right to go home. I went to practice, started off at the track with a great mile run and the positive feelings kept going from there and didn't stop. I'm still feeling pretty good :) I even made plans with some teammates to run some other races this summer, about how we're going to be "those" runners that run races and then run more afterwards! We talked about planning a fundraiser for the summer, and running more. It was just such a good night of running and being with my teammates.

Working out and running is energizing and contagious. Once I started, it felt good and I wanted to keep going. I felt good, I felt really good. I'm hoping I can remember those good feelings next time I don't want to work out because it really is a tremendous feeling. Makes exercising worth it.

Daily miles: 4.5
Total miles: 20.5

Rain

I hate rain ...

I hate rain even more when I use it as an excuse not to run. I have enough of those, I don't need to add rain to the list. I was supposed to run a mile today as part of my training plan but of course it was raining. And it didn't just rain, it stormed, like it's been doing in the afternoons for the last few weeks. PS - I so thought I left the afternoon rain storms when I moved out of Colorado but that's clearly not the case. Anyways, I tried on multiple times to get outside to get a quick mile in but every time that happened, a bolt of lightning would strike and I turned right back inside - figured one mile wasn't worth dying for! I hated the idea of driving to the gym for one mile, knowing it was going to be packed. So, I didn't run and I regretted it all night long.

I hate rain ...