hanging in there

It seriously has not been 2 weeks since I've run (although my last post was that long ago...). I'm hanging in there, slowly but surely. Ok...maybe it's been ALMOST 2 weeks, but who cares, right? Tis the season to be lazy. And lazy I have been! Today was such a beautiful day that I couldn't stand sitting on my couch eating holiday cookies for one more second. I picked up where I left off on my training schedule and muddled through 3.5 miles, half uphill...which is not an easy task since I've probably put on 12 pounds in the last week alone. Actually, I don't feel too bad, since I think my body needed the rest (so I'm telling myself). For those of you not on Facebook, on my last run 12 days ago, I got bit by my neighbor's dog. I'm not kidding. I was running at about 5pm and it was getting a little dark. I had about a half mile to go to finish my run and I saw my neighbor on the sidewalk walking his dog so I got into the street and ran on by. The rest kinda happened in slow motion....I turned my head to look at the dog at the same time I saw him kinda do a little leap off the sidewalk right toward my ass. Now I KNOW my ass isn't big enough to resemble a ham-hock...God, at least I hope not! and the stupid dog is a golden retriever, not a Kujo-type dog or something exciting like that. How embarrassing! I said "Holy shit- your dog just bit me!" and the neighbor kid had no idea! Duh! I ran home & saw that I had a good size bloody bite on my thigh, near my butt-cheek! WTH?
Anyways, I have taken a little run break for my boo-boo to heal and now I'm out there again. I'm dreading this half marathon now. I feel like 13.1 miles is a long damn run and get so bored! Hubby is telling me that it's completely different running in a marathon setting rather than doing a lone run around the neighborhood. I hope so!!!

Always something

I have been super excited and consistent on my weekly runs and it feels awesome! I'm on the last week of my 5K training and I will be moving on to my 10K.. It's been hard to get out there to run when it's cold outside, or I've worked, or my kids are on the way home from school...or the holidays are here and I've eaten 12 pounds of holiday goodies in a single day. Ugh. I feel gross just thinking about it!
On the up side, my knee has been holding up ok. When I started my run yesterday, my left ankle was killing me and I knew the run would not be great....it kinda felt like a little bit of everything was hurting, sore or heavy. It certainly wasn't a great run, but I hung in there and did the entire thing without walking. When I got to my finishing spot and walked, I was in agony. I think I have a weird muscle thing in my calf that's wrapped around into my ankle. There's always something....which is where I start to get annoyed and frustrated. I kept my run super slow, then came home & iced and rolled. Feels ok today so I'm hoping for no aches or pain tomorrow :)

On my way to a Half....

This past weekend was the LV Rock & Roll Half/Full Marathon. John, Matt, Michelle & Amy all did the Half and kicked butt, so that has me totally motivated. I figured by my training calender, I should (and I say that loosely) be ready for a Half by around April. Problem is, there's no good half marathons coming up during that time frame. So......I had the bright idea that we should do the Half in Seattle in June. I've been wanting to go there for a long time now anyways, so John & I registered to do it! We will take the kids with us and stay for a few days to hang out after the marathon is over. I'm excited! I'm hoping Michelle & Matt will be able to come too...that would be so much fun!
I'm pretty much sticking to the training program I have mapped out. I'm still on my 5K training, but I should be done with that next week and I will start the 10K. I already have a Half program mapped out, but I won't start that until February. I really don't want to do too much too soon. I only did 2.5 miles today at a slow, easy pace & I can feel my left knee tweaking :( I will ice and roll and hope for the best. I'm due to do 3 miles tomorrow, so I will make sure I take it really slow. I'm really trying to avoid any injuries which is the point of this tedious and boring training program, so if I have to stay at low miles for weeks on end, I guess that's what I'll do (ugh...I hope not!).
Anyways....now that I have something in my horizon to train for, I'm motivated and determined!!
Thanks for reading my boring & unimportant updates...you guys keep me motivated!!! xoxo

Slow going

So I'm back to my running (jogging, whatever) again. I have high hopes of doing Ragnar in Napa in 2011 and I'm really not wanting to be the same sucky weak link that I was this past Ragnar. I've been back to the training for almost 3 weeks now, but taking it very slow and easy. I've mapped out a 5K training program for myself for 5 weeks, starting with just 1.5 miles 3 times a week, then adding on a half mile the next week, etc. So far, so good. I'm hoping this time around since I'm giving myself so much time to regroup and focus, I can avoid all the leg/knee pains that previously had me bothered. Once I'm done with this 5K training, I will start on a 10K training, and add on from there. The foam roller has been my good friend and I plan on continuing to use it for as long as I can tolerate it :) I find that now that I don't have a big "something" looming in front of my face, I have been taking my little afternoon strolls as a time for myself before the kids get home from school and I'm starting to like it again (I mean, not LIKE, but not HATE either). Every single run I've done for the last 3 weeks I have done without walking one single step of it and I'm going to take that small grain of victory ;) I know this sounds really lame to my fellow runner chicks, but when I did my tiny 2.5 miles today, I actually broke my 10:30 minute mile time!! Yay! Yes, lame....but again, small steps & accomplishments. I averaged UNDER 10:00 per mile, which I have never done (ever). I'm almost (but not quite) embarrassed to say that I'm proud of that, since for the average runner, that is still really slow (I know!), but in MY book, it's a job well done :)

Taking a break

November is already here....which means I should be enjoying crisp, chilly morning or afternoon running. I'm having quite the knee issue, so I will be taking a break for a few weeks until I can get it under control. My month will look like this: ice, rolling, adjustments, stretch, repeat....so nothing interesting. I hope to be back at the end of this month or beginning of December. See ya then!

Pumpkin Run

Last night was the Great Pumpkin Run, a fun 5K at Anderson Dairy. I was excited to do it because it was a night run through 2 old cemeteries and we got to wear costumes. In spite of just barely getting done with Ragnar, I knew this would not be a great run for me since I've been having knee issues, but this was such a low-key one that I wanted to do it anyways. John adjusted my knee that afternoon and got a good set on it, but I wrapped it just to be sure. About a mile into the run, I knew I shouldn't push it since I could feel my knee popping, so I walked it quite a bit, jogged, walked, etc. The last half mile in I just walked cause I could feel it getting slightly more irritated and the last thing I needed was to tear something. Funny thing is, as much as I walked during this 5k, my time was still better than the 1st 5k I did. LOL! I was surprised!! I thought for sure I'd have a time of45 minutes or longer, but honestly, I didn't care. John, Matt, Cheryl & Michelle all did so good; they each placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in their age division. It was a cute event; games, prizes & treats for the kids. My children had a really good time. I was surprised by the low number of people who turned up for such a fun run, but maybe since it was on a week night people couldn't make it out? I definitely want to do this one again next year...I had such a great time with some of my favorite people. :)

Wow...!!!

TEAM JERSEY SORE!

So all these months of pain, tears, frustration and anxiousness brought us FINALLY to the event I had been waiting for. Ragnar has come....and Ragnar has gone. I don't know if I have the words to fully express how I felt about it. It wasn't a life changing event......but oh my God, it was (for me) challenging, pushed me beyond my ability, painful to the point of tears streaming down my cheeks on my last leg, exhausting, fun! Our team name was Jersey Sore: the guys dressed like The Situation and the girls all had Snookie wigs & glasses on. Very cute! ;)

Leg 1:

Our race started at 7:15 on Friday morning. The guys were in Van #1 so they had to be at Valley of Fire by 6:15am. They got there late because there was a line of traffic waiting to get into the park for this event.

But soon enough they started their run. Van #2 (the girls) didn't have to get to Lake Mead to meet up with the boys until sometime about 1pm so we could get check in and start our leg of the race. Time flew by and before I knew it, our first girl runner (Super star Hollie) was on her way. The boys were done for about 6 hours, so they were free to go to the next exchange @ Lake Las Vegas and hang around the pool to wait for us to be done so that they could go again. My stomach was in knots and I wanted to throw up. Knowing that Hollie would knock out her run in no time had me anxious because Melissa would go next, and I didn't know what kind of runner she was since this was only the 2nd time I had met her, but previously I think we had only exchanged 50 words ;)....Melissa was awesome. Amy next, and I knew without a doubt she would not have any problems. Ummmm...then came me . Wow...wish I could say I was so awesome too. I wasn't. BUT I trudged trough it, silently cussing in my head as I jogged/shuffled/sometimes walked through 3.5 of my "EASY" uphill leg. What was I doing out there? What in the hell kind of crazy people PAY hard earned money to endure such torture? I made it through (barely), handed my slap bracelet to Michelle and praised sweet baby Jesus that I was done for a handful of hours! Woot woot!! Michelle was done, Amanda flew through her leg and it was getting colder and darker by the minute.

Leg 2:
We met up with the boys again (at Lake Las Vegas) for their turn. Sweet. We had time to kill, but inside knowing they would be done quickly (i,e: too soon for me to be ready again!). Trying to catch some zzz's in the minivan was unsuccessful for the most part. I think I was able to doze off for a little bit, but put 6 girls in a small confined space and we had a whole lot of interesting things to chit-chat about!! LOL!! So fun! But in no time, I felt like the guys were finishing up and we had meet them at the exchange to start our second leg. I honestly don't think I have any concept of time at this point. I just knew it was dark & cold...and the lucky guys were heading to our warm hotel that Amy or Michelle smartly booked for us to be able to shower & sleep for an hour or 2. So jealous! I felt like I blinked and it was again my turn....these bitches are too fast!! haha! 5 miles on a slight gradual incline @ 1am(ish). This was my favorite run. I was slow & steady but didn't stop once, which made me so happy! Michelle hauled ass for her 7 mile run then our last girl, Amanda, would finish up. Her run was the worst...she got stuck with a "trail" run. Rather, it was loose gravel with tons of rocks & boulders...it was pitch black outside and freezing. She's such a trooper! Once she finally made her way to the end, we got to go to the hotel while the guys did their final run. A hot shower and an hour & a half of sleep was so spectacular! I felt like a million bucks, but my stomach was in knots again cause I knew I had to run again soon.

Leg 3 (finally!!!):
We got up and went downstairs to get some breakfast. I didn't have much of an appetite, I just wanted to get this run over with but knew if I didn't eat now, I'd regret it later. I had a little bit of oatmeal and half a banana; that was all I could stomach. We left the hotel to gray skies and breezy cold wind. Booooo! So not expecting that! I was so badly hoping for no wind with just the slightest chill, so that I didn't combust when I had to run :) My face and lips were so chapped and wind-burned that they were painful. We must have applied 87 tubes of chap-stick between the 6 of us!! Once we got on the road, we headed up toward Red Rock where we would meet the guys and finish our race. We got to the exchange point, basically in the middle of the desert. I could smell pancakes being cooked up and I suddenly wanted to grub, but managed to contain myself ;) The guys showed up just as their last runner, Adam, was finishing his run. Hollie took off to do her final leg....a 10 miler! She is truly inspiring. I don't know how she does it, but she makes it look so dang easy! And she looks amazingly beautiful all the while (I hate her! LOL!). Melissa & Amy did their thang, like the bad-asses they are, then I was on my way. Oh brother! This was unbearable. About a mile & a half into it, my knee started to hurt so badly. It was all I could do to go on. I felt like it needed to pop or something, but I couldn't get it to move. I took the ITB strap I had on my left leg and moved it to the right leg just above my knee in hopes that it would help. I had to walk. Michelle asked if I wanted someone to run the rest for me, but I would have been beyond disappointed in myself if I stopped, so as soon as I got to the top of the hill, I had a little over a mile to go, so I just went for it. It wasn't fast, and it wasn't pretty, but I finished. I was so happy to be DONE!! If it were physically possible for me, I would have done a cartwheel, I was so thrilled!!!!! Michelle was awesome on her run then Amanda went on her merry way, never stopped smiling. The 5 of us went to the Red Rock Hotel to meet up with the boys and run in with Amanda at the finish line. It was great! We all had our costumes on and finished together. I don't think I accurately put into words what this race did for my confidence. I was pretty convinced that when this was done, I was hanging up my running shoes for good. I don't think I can do that now. What I would have missed had I decided NOT to do Ragnar. It was more than pushing myself to do something I didn't really think I'd be able to do, but the bonding between the people that was on the team with me was something I will cherish forever. The guys all got along so great and the girls were so supportive & fun to be with. You learn a lot about someone when you have nothing but time on your hand...and since I was the oldest chick there, I taught these young little missy's a thing or 2 (HJ, anyone...???) LOL!!!!
I really hope we do another Ragnar next year...Napa??!!! And with the same exact team. For as little of a time I've known most of my team-mates, I would not have wanted to do this with anyone else.

I think I'm ready...

Haven't run in a handful of days for no reason other than I haven't felt like it. Booo!! It's so strange for me to believe that Ragnar is now only 3 days away...this huge moment that I've been eagerly anticipating AND dreading at the same time, is within my grasp. My gosh...what am I getting myself into? I have a sneaky feeling that this experience is going to be one of the hardest, yet funnest things I have ever done. I think we have a really fun group of people who are all excited to be on this journey, that I think (hope) we will take whatever comes our way and make it the best time possible. I don't feel any pressure from anyone in the group to be faster than what I am...I am only pressuring myself. I had a really good run today and it made me excited for this weekend. I kept thinking of the adrenaline that we will all probably have...in addition to the fatigue, but there's always time to sleep later, right? ;)
Tomorrow we will grocery shop for our food supply and Thursday is van decorating & packet pick-up/pre-race dinner. So excited!! I need to ice my knee, roll my butt/leg & have my lovely husband adjust everything possible on my body that he can.....then, I think I'm ready.
Have I mentioned that I'm excited...?

Sweet!

I had a really good run today and I feel great about it. I'm keeping my miles short, but adding more runs per week. I don't have a lot of time left before Ragnar gets here, so it's not looking like I'll be running tons of miles prior to the race, but I've run 5 miles before...I know I can do it (5 miles being my longest run in the race). The hard part will be running 3 times in a 24 hour period. I think I will have to get to the point where I say "F it....do the best you can and move on". I'm not there yet. I'm worried about exasperating any injuries I am currently working on, but that's why I'm hoping by keeping my miles short, but adding more runs in each week will help keep me ready. I have a little bit of time left so I'll do what I can, but not at the risk of hurting anything else. Slow and steady wins the race, right? ;)

I think I'm in trouble

Holy crap! I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since I've ran. It's official....I think I'm seriously gonna suck ass @ Ragnar. I think 11 other people (and I'm not mentioning names), are going to regret doing this with me. I just ran 2 miles in the hottest part of the day and it sucked. Good news is: I didn't have any pain at all....bad news is: I don't think I ran far enough to tell. LOL! Hubby keeps saying that Ragnar is just for fun. Repeat 50 times a day : "RAGNAR IS JUST FOR FUN. " No one REALLY cares about my time, right? RIGHT?! I sure hope not, cause folks, let me tell you...you will be disappointed. I'm trying to make light of this cause I'm disappointed in myself. I'm disappointed that I'm months into this endeavor and I'm worse off than when I first started. When I'm consistent in running, I have pain everywhere, when I give my body a week or 2 to heal, it's like starting from scratch. UGH!!!!! crap crap crap crap crap!!!

Seriously..???

Crap. This nice cool weather in the morning is making it really difficult for me to get up to run. I actually slept through my alarm today, so I figured since it wasn't so hot anymore, I'd run after I took the kids to school. Yeah. That didn't happen. John had a training session @ the gym at 1pm, so I went with him forcing myself to run on the damn mind-numbing treadmill. I did 1 mile then some weights & came back to the treadmill to do 30 minutes of intervals. I was about 5 minutes in when I felt a huge pop in my right hip and instantly a hot pain spread down my leg. I immediately stopped running and went to the foam rollers to try to work it out. It's now 6 hours later and I am in agony. It feels like a huge bruise deep into my hip bone and I am NOT a happy camper runner. I've been icing and rolling...rolling and icing in hopes that this is not yet ANOTHER something that I have to deal with. I am beyond frustrated. FML.

Lazy

I've been so lazy and unmotivated lately. I have not run more than once a week for a while now. I'm not lazy in general, but with all the pain I've been having in my leg & knee, it made me lose focus & determination to do this. I literally FORCED myself to get up out of my cozy bed @ 5:30, which frankly, was the last thing on earth I wanted to do....especially since my little guy woke me up @ 5am to ask me if he could sleep in my bed and his little body was all snuggly warm, I just wanted to wrap myself around him and smell his neck for another hour. <3
John got up to run with me...and you know how I feel about THAT. So immediately I was annoyed. I don't care if he runs ahead of me on the same route, but since he runs so much faster than me and tries to stay the same pace as I do, it drives me insane when I know he really wants to run ahead...and especially since the last time we ran together, he told me "running that slow physically hurts him". And I don't forget those little things. I hate pity runs. For those who know me, know I don't particularly LOVE running with other people because most people tend to run a lot faster than I do and I hate feeling like I'm slowing everyone down. Go on ahead, dammit! ;)
I was hurting on the run. We only did 3.6 miles and it was not my finest 35 minutes. I think I felt more out of shape and out of breath, than hurting from any source of pain, which is fine by me....I can work up to getting back into running shape without the physical pain getting in the way. I honestly can not wait until Ragnar is over so that I can RELAX and hopefully make running fun again for me and not stressful. I have come to terms that I will never be a fast runner, but I want to just enjoy the sport and feel the excitement again of getting to wake up in the quiet, crisp, early mornings and have an hour to my own thoughts. That's my goal for November. I am VERY excited for what I think Ragnar will bring my our team, but I'm also very excited to start something new :)

:(

I've been "patiently" waiting for my leg(s) to feel better before I take another run, but good God, this is getting ridiculous! Ever since my 5K on Saturday, my right hip and calf have been in agony. I think it's from compensating for the IT issue I have in my left side, but I could not let any more days pass to get in another run. I went to the gym to do a short run, but of course I had to push the envelope and do intervals so now I'm feeling like crap. My right calf is in so much pain it's like the pain I had in the very beginning of when I started to run....it's almost taken over what I feel in my left IT band. I did 1 mile in normal speed (5.6) then I did some weights and got back on the treadmill & did 15 minutes of intervals ranging from 5.0 for 1 minute then 6.8 for 1 minute, and so on for the duration. Ouch. I am frustrated. Either I don't run at all until my leg(s) get 100% better& screw myself in the process, or I continue to run & deal with the consequences....hmmmmm....at this point I have no idea which is the better deal. Neither sound that great to me, but I don't know if I have a real choice here. If I don't run at all in the meantime, I'm going to be in majorly bad shape come race time. I am really at a loss. :(

Candlelighter's 5K

Yesterday I did a 5K for the Candlelighter's (Children's Cancer). My daughter's friend found out she had a brain tumor a few months ago, at the age of 14, so we joined her team to raise money. Anyways, I have not been running, as you probably already know, because I complain about it all the damn time.....the day before the race I couldn't even run on the treadmill because my leg hurt so bad, but race day I did ok. I rubbed biofreeze (ben-gay type ointment) on my calves, which have started hurting again, and taped my knee in addition to wearing my ITB strap and I did decent. I thought I did it in 33 minutes, which I was pissed about, but I actually did it in 32:22, which...SHUT UP!! I KNOW it's slow, duh! But it's the best time I've had so far in any of the other 5K's I've done...so there! I'm hoping that sooner or later I can do less than 10 minute miles, but crap, it's hard! LOL! Everyone is saying they don't care what my time is for Ragnar, and those bitches better not be lying to me & talking crap in the van as I run 5 miles in 79 minutes ;) Seriously, how many people get out there and actually do something like Ragnar? Very few, that's who! So maybe I should just be happy I'm doing something like this & enjoy the experience, right? Right! Do you even KNOW me? If I can't do something right & win all the time, it really pisses me off & makes me not want to do it all. Ugh.....!!! So frustrating! I'm going to bed. I'm annoyed now.

4 miles, bitches!

Holy crap! It's been so long since I've been able to have a decent run so I am beyond thrilled this morning for this very small accomplishment! I know, big frikkin' whoop - 4 miles, blah blah blah....whatever, but I'll take it! Whoever said that running was like riding a bicycle (once you do it then stop, you can go right back into it) was a big fat liar. Actually, I don't even know if anyone HAS said that, but I have heard people say they "used" to run then stopped for many years before starting up again and they love it even more. Suuuuure! The first mile for me today was the worst. It's all uphill and I swear I had to stop and walk about 4 times. UGH, but the rest was pretty good. Still had pain in my (left)leg, but now it's my RIGHT knee that was bothering me, instead of my left. I can't catch a damn break! Pretty soon, my entire body is either going to be completely wrapped in KT tape or have a brace on it. This is just too damn stressful for me. Why the f*#@ can't I just RUN? Why is everything so complicated?! Ragnar is looming around the corner, taunting me, and I have a feeling this is not going to be pretty :/

Trail run

I did a trail run with John this evening while Emma & Roman rode their bikes along side us. Actually, they rode along side John while I lagged behind. It's more of a horse riding trail by the state park near my house, but it's pretty nice to run. I thought the trail would be like 5 miles (it felt like it), but in the end it was only 3.2. Ugh. I hate short runs that feel like they go on forever. I did ok. My leg was annoying me, but I had my knee taped up and I finally got my IT band strap, so I had that on too. John said he could tell by the way I was running that something was going on with my leg...Great. I know my running has FELT weird, but I thought I looked normal...LOL...hope my leg is good tomorrow. Right now my knee is bugging me, but not overly so, which is a good sign for me.
Now that the kids are back in school tomorrow and the evenings are getting cooler, I hope to get a better schedule so that my running is more productive. My friend, Michelle, who will be doing Ragnar with me was nice enough to switch runner places with me during the race, so that I'm not all stressed out about running a hard leg @ over 7 miles. I feel bad that now she has to do it, but for the record...I didn't ask her to! LOL! She's awesome. She's been running up to 14 miles on Saturdays, so I'm definitely jealous! :/ But switching with her took 2 miles off my total run, with my hardest run being 5 miles @ a moderate level. Takes a little bit of stress off of me, but I'm dying to get back to running normally. I'm dying at 2 miles and that is very annoying!

Better...

It feels like it's been forever since I've run, but I have been trying to let my leg heal up a bit before going out there again, since the last few times have been disappointing. I set out this morning for a short run, after taping my knee, and it was actually a pretty decent one......decent for hardly running at all the past few weeks. I did have a slight pain in my thigh & a small twinge in my knee, but I kept my pace super slow and was able to go 3.27 miles. I think it took me a long time, but hey- beggers can't be choosers! LOL! I feel accomplished and happy :)

Mission: unaccomplished

Hubby taped up my leg & knee last night in hopes that I will be able to go for a good run this morning. No change. Bummer! My next move is to order a strap specifically for the IT Band since for some ridiculous reason, the sports store carries every strap EXCEPT for the IT band. Strange.



I ran/walked only 2 miles this morning...but I'm LOVING that the weather is cooling down in the morning. Normally, if I'm not out the door by 5:40am, it's so dang hot outside that I'm miserable, but when my alarm rang @ 5:10, it was still nearly pitch black out. When I left the house, there was an awesome cool breeze. I'm getting excited for this time of year: kids back in school next week, Fall stuff already out in the stores and much cooler weather. So excited! Now if I can get my leg to cooperate, I will be so happy! ;)

Crossing my fingers!

ok, ok...I think I said I was NOT going to run for another week....ummmm.....well, I lied. I am very hopeful of what tomorrow morning will bring me. I got some KT tape that I will have my hubby wrap my upper leg with tonight and I bought a knee wrap to help support my left knee.....and I'm going for a run in the morning. :D
I am going to keep it short, slow & sweet and see what happens. Ragnar is less than 2 months away and I need to do this! Please send good vibes my way & I will let you all know the outcome ;)

I hate this :(

I get that life constantly throws curve balls our way and we just have to find ways to get around them, but this is one of the most frustrating things I've ever dealt with! I tried to go for a short run this morning, although the little voice inside my head was telling me that my knee/leg was not feeling that great. Screw that voice, right?! Sure. I gimped my way around the first corner down my street, already winded because they way I was running certainly wasn't doing me any favors, my lungs on fire, my left leg (what I like to call my "peg" leg) was killing me and I could feel the ankle on my right leg feeling awkward because I'm compensating that leg instead of putting all pressure on my bad leg...Yikes. It was a hot mess. After I turned the 2nd corner, I realized it was not going to end well. Either my left leg was going to eventually give out and I'd end up face first on the gravel, or I was going to injury my right leg too. So I did the walk of shame home. I'm so frustrated. Ragnar is only 2 months away. I have a 5K in 2 weeks.....WTF? Like I told my friend the other day, had I been running simply for the joy of doing it, I might be handling this better & differently, but I have a big run coming up that has other people counting on me....I don't want to walk the damn thing! Let me rephrase that: I REFUSE to walk the damn thing! I don't know how long this will take to feel better and that uncertainty is what has me freaked out. Ugh!! I hate this!! I want to cry! I've read that sometimes IT Band injuries can take a couple of months to get better and that doesn't help me. I need it to get better in a week! This is not good. :(

I'm still alive...

Yes, I realize it's been forever and no, I haven't given up running. I've had leg issues for the past little while, ever since I did that 5 mile treadmill run...and dummy me, didn't give my leg a rest so I've had all sorts of pain in every part of my left leg. Ugh! I think I've had IT Band problems all the way down into my knee but now it feels like it's deep inside my thigh muscle. I've been icing, rolling, massage, not running, etc, but it hurts like a bitch! My fear is that the longer I go without running, the harder it's going to be for me to get back into it. So in spite of my own advice, I found myself wide awake at 4:30am with nothing to do except stare at my ceiling, so I decided to go for a small run. By small, I mean SMALL. 1.7 miles. Not only did it feel like I had a wooden leg, all clumsy as hell, but everything was stiff & uncomfortable. It felt (and I'm sure LOOKED!) like my first run ever. It was ugly. Yes, it did hurt. Not burning pain, but enough for me to know it's there and enough for me to mentally repeat "I don't know if this is a good idea" over & over in my mind. Probably NOT a good idea, but i HAD to do it. I've been going crazy! So I will ice & roll & stretch & curse my stupid leg all of today and hope that tomorrow will not bring another ache or pain for me. I will consider it victory should nothing new arise. If all fairs well, I will keep my runs short & sweet for the next little while then hopefully be able to kick it up a notch before the big run. There's only 2 more months left! :/

Trail run

I've been wanting to try trail running for quite some time now...and there's one up @ Mt. Charleston that I've taken my kids hiking on before that's just beautiful. My girlfriend, John & I planned to meet up Saturday morning (yesterday) and attempt to run the trail. My mistake. I should have allowed a couple of days in between running 5 miles for the 1st time, and trying to run a hard trail. Holy crap! My leg was in agony! I did not realize that the back way up the trail was entirely uphill...for about 3 miles or so. And not GRADUALLY uphill...extremely uphill. My husband is such a frickin' stud! He ran the entire trail (with our fat, out of shape dog), ran back to find us, and ran to the end of the trail again. It was so hard! I think had my IT band/knee not been hurting so bad, I could not have run the whole uphill anyways! HARD!!!! Once we reached the peak, the single trail downhill was absolutely stunning! The ash tress were green and the weather was glorious! I loved the run down, although I don't think my knee appreciated it. I think once we did the entire trail and ran back to where our car was parked, we did about 6.5 miles. I could be wrong...but it felt like it! ;) I'm looking forward to my knee feeling better (hopefully soon) and attempting the trail again, with better results. It was so much better than my usual neighborhood runs!

OUCH!!!

Since my 5 mile run on the treadmill the other day, I have had some serious IT band issues, down into my left knee. I was good at icing for that day & stretching, but as soon as it felt better, I slacked. So I got up this morning to do my run, feeling a little twinge in my knee, but deciding it was ok enough to run through. I felt pretty good heading out, as the air was not as hot as it normally is at that time,but there was the slightest chill in the air. I ran up Cheryl's Mt. Everest ;) & around the neighborhood...my senses being assaulted by cigarette smoke as I passed someone's backyard, enjoying their 6am smoke :/ Then I almost stepped on a dead pigeon AND got a face-ful of diesel fumes as some punky kid sped around the corner in his truck. Ahhhh...LOVE running in Vegas ;)
The whole time, I could feel the stretch in my upper thigh, annoying me to no end....shooting into my knee, but I hung in there & ran through it. By mile 4, my knee was on fire & I felt like I had lead in my leg. I was moving so slow, I may as well have been walking. BUT...I finished what I started. I ran 5.17 miles, only stopping to stretch my leg & knee when the pain was too much. :) I'm in agony NOW, but I'll ice today & stretch. I'm SO excited to attempt a trail run @ Mt. Charleston tomorrow morning...nothing is going to stop me from doing that. Even if I have to hobble through it (or have my dear, sweet friend carry me) ;)
Today is the kind of day that makes me love running....through sweat, pain & tears you just get out there and do it.

I'm back!

ok, it seriously has not been since my last post that I've run....I probably ran once in between then & now ;) I felt like a huge lazy ass for not getting out there more, and until my brother asked me on FB last night if I've been running since I had not been updating my blog, I really had no desire to run. I've been annoyed that either my knee, ankle, hip or calf has been in pain...I'm a damn old lady! So anyways, I got my lazy butt to the gym today & ran 5 miles nonstop. Am I awesome or what?! LOL! That's the furthest I've ever run. I love me! Doesn't matter that my knee is in total agony now and I hobbled throughout Lowe's afterward, with no sympathy what-so-ever from my husband....but I'm high on life right now, so that's all that matters :)

blah.

I just ran/jogged/hobbled 4 miles. It felt like 10. It sucked, I'm in pain. The End.

4...finally!

Actually made it up on time this morning, then debated not running cause my legs hurt so bad from running yesterday in my old shoes, but I forced myself out the door and just...ran. I didn't THINK about it, I just blanked out my mind, listened to my ipod and ran. My husband always tells me that I over-think my runs too much. I anticipate how long it's going to take, how tired I'll feel or how hard a hill will be...and I do, I can acknowledge that. But it felt GREAT to be out there pushing my body again. I did 4.1 miles this morning and I feel fabulous! I really wasn't that tired and I probably could have tweaked out 5 today, but my calves & knee were in agony, so I didn't want to push it much farther and pay the price for the rest of the week. I'm just so happy I was able to bust out of my rut {for today!}and get past 2 miles! I have a massage later on and right now my entire household is still asleep....today is going to be an awesome day!

It's hot!!!!!

Crap...I slept through my alarm this morning! Just when I had convinced myself last night that I had to get serious again about this running stuff.....hmmmmm, I wonder what my mind is trying to tell me...??? ;) So I got an hour and 15 minute late start on my run, I couldn't find my running shoes, so I had to wear my old ones and it was so much damn hotter to run @ 6:25 than at 5:40! I decided to make today a super short run since I was heading out so late. I will make up the difference tomorrow. Hey- at least I got out there! Especially since I've been pissing & moaning, constantly whining about my lack of running, and my lack of DESIRE to run. I REALLY do want to feel like running is important to me, and I DID feel that way at one point, but I feel dread at the thought of Ragnar looming ahead. It's like a giant, dark cloud. Don't get me wrong, I really want to do it...I would regret NOT doing it and I think we are going to have an absolute blast, but I'm scared. I'm scared I'm going to let my team down cause I'm the big, weak link...I'm scared I'm not going to be able to finish it....so many to name! UGH!! I need to shake this. I just wish it wasn't so hard for me....but on the other hand, I guess if it wasn't so hard, I wouldn't feel like I was accomplishing something ;) So I will continue on, one day to the next...and I will continue to do so until Ragnar. Then I will explore my options: to continue to run or not? I LOVE doing our little running events throughout the year and I DO owe Alex a race in Park City ;) Maybe once I get through the next 94 (!) days, I will KNOW I can do it and my mind will be in a better place......let me just hold on to that pipe dream for now.

99 days to go...

We are officially only 99 days away from Ragnar...and my running has not improved much. In fact, I think I may have taken a huge leap backward :/
I'm not sure what my problem has been the past couple of weeks, but I'm just not feeling it like I was. Running is so damn hard for my body that I get all discouraged and frustrated cause I want to run 10 miles, but 4 miles just about does me in. I did a 3 miler this morning for the first time in what feels like a lifetime. It was not pretty, but I did it. I am starting from the bottom of the training scale and trying to slowly work my way up again. When I ran 4.5 miles a few weeks ago, I felt awesome and energized...but when I got home from 3 miles this morning, I thought I was going to have a stroke! I was sweating like a pig, my contacts were dried to my eyeballs and my heart was racing. What the hell is wrong with me? I've had this little twinge in my knees when I'm half way into my run so now I think I need to start taking glucosamine...I'm slowly turning into my mother {my knees, my hips, etc!} LOL! *sigh* I should be grateful that I'm able to run and at least I'm getting out there...that's half the battle! Tomorrow's a new day and I will start again....

I've lost my groove

Running has lost it's thrill & excitement for me. What a bummer. All that mojo I had a couple of weeks ago has gone away someplace and I can't seem to find it. I don't wake up excited to tackle my run anymore and that freaks me the f* out! I didn't even go 2 miles today without stopping twice and decided that I didn't even want to finish the damn run and walked home......yes, WALKED. My neck was killing me and that's all I could focus on. My mental motivation is at an all time low, my physical ability to run is at an all time low, my spirit to do this is at it's lowest yet...and I can't even take a break because then it's even worse when I start up again! Yikes! I'm lost. I was up to running over 4 miles, which is GREAT for me, but I'm back at square one. Like I'm brand new to this and I'm really mad, pissed, frustrated, confused & perplexed about it. I really don't know what to do.

3 & a half months to go....

...but who's counting, right? I feel like I have been losing my motivation & determination to run this damn thing, and today's run (if you can even call it that!) showed it! I was just not feeling it mentally or physically this morning. This was probably one of my worst runs I've had since I started. I'm going too long in between days that I run and it's getting me down in the worst way. It's been so hard between working, kids home all day, dinner, cleaning, kid's activities, etc that I feel my drive is slowly going away. I cut my run short today cause I mentally beat myself up out there that I just did not enjoy it. It took me 25 minutes to run 2.15 miles and I had enough. I have to step up my game and try again tomorrow. As my friend Casey always says: sometimes you have to just keep on keeping on.

That's all I have some days....

Running after vacation ends

I have been a fat, lazy ass the past week. John & I took the kids to the beach for a long weekend and I didn't do one bit of exercise, running, nothing! Unless laying on the beach looking for young, hot surfers counts as exercise. I did boogie board the last day there, so I will take that as a workout ;) We got back home super late Monday night & I got back to the gym yesterday. I only did it to attempt to lose the 3 pounds and poochy stomach I had gained while stuffing my face with unhealthy food for several days. I ran 2 miles & thought I would die. Running after indulging on vacation for 5 days is NOT an easy task! I was a hot mess. I am attempting to get back on track with my running again. I got up early this morning to head out, but not before I slather every inch of exposed skin with SPF 55 sunscreen. I think I found an old lady wrinkle running down the middle of my chest, so I am freaking out! All this sun CAN'T be good, right?

Anyways, I tried to get outside by 5:40ish to avoid as much of the heat as possible, but didn't leave until 15 minutes later. I had mapped out a 4.6 mile course last night that I was attempting today. SCORE! I did it!! It felt so good to be running, with my lungs on fire and my breathing all loud & ragged....it just felt great to be moving like that again! It was hot. And my first half of the run was uphill, but I enjoyed it so that I could enjoy the downhill part that much more. But it felt l-o-n-g and I felt like I was running in slow motion. I had to take a very short walk break just to regroup my thoughts and concentrate on how fast {...or slow...} I needed to be moving. All in all, it was a good run. I did have to take 3 walk breaks, so short & insignificant that I almost don't want to mention them, but I would feel like I was "cheating" if I didn't say anything ;) My calves are throbbing like crazy right now & I definitely feel a strain in my knees & ankles. I think I will stay at 4 and a half miles for the next week or 2, at a slow & easy pace {uhhhh, my normal pace} then try to build up my speed after I can "easily" do my 4.5 miles. *sigh* It's a work in progress.

No fun

So I've been a slacker since Friday. I had a crazy, busy weekend with Emma's dance recital & dance commitments we made, so I feel like I've been nonstop. My mind has been in La-La Land the past couple of days and I been feeling out of sorts. Not motivated to get out there. I was set to go running yesterday morning, but when my alarm rang, I just could not get myself out of bed...so I didn't. I had every intentions on running last night, but that went out the window as soon as the kids went to bed. I was drained. I DID set my alarm for 5:15 this morning, but totally slept through the damn thing! John & I went to the gym and I decided that I should probably run on the treadmill. Yikes...no fun at all! I love how easy it is for my body to run a few miles. I DON'T love how damn boring the treadmill is! I feel like I run so much slower and a few miles takes SO much longer! It's no wonder hamsters have a life-span of only a couple of years...they're so bored running on their damn wheel, going nowhere, that I bet they PRAY for a short life! How miserable. I literally could not run if I had to run on the treadmill day in and day out. It was pure torture. If it wasn't for the effervescent goodness of my nuun drink {it's like a party in my mouth!}, I would have hurled myself in front of the feet of the person running next to me, in hopes that I would be trampled to death just so I could be out of my misery ;) That will teach me to sleep in when I should be up & out the door. I do have to say though, when I don't run for a few days, I sure miss it. I feel good that I was at least able to run today. You can bet that I won't sleep through another alarm though :)

Damn dog

What a frustrating morning already! I have come to enjoy the mornings I get to wake up at 5:15 and go for a run. It's mentally cleansing for me. This morning was not one of those times. As I'm sitting here, I'm already forming a headache, I'm not in a great frame of mind...and I have a hugely long day ahead of me. John & I started bickering the second we got up for something I can't even remember {I know...it was THAT important!}, so he decided not to run with me cause he hated my guts [and I hated his}, then I being the dumb ass that I am, had the BRIGHT idea to take our fat-ass, overweight 60 pound pitt-bull on a run instead! WTF? Anyone who knows me AT ALL knows that although I own 2 dogs, I'm not a dog lover. These dogs are a part of our household simply because I have kids {and a husband}. I prefer my dogs to have a life-span of less than 10 years {3 years, ideally}...BUT I do like them because they're my dogs. I know better than to take my stupid dog for a walk...let alone a run: she does NOT listen to me at all. So as we start on our run, Jerk-Face {not her real name} is ALL over the effin' place. She's sniffing here & there for the first half mile until I can get to a street where there's no dogs. She does somewhat OK until I get back on the side streets closer to my house. There are dogs going ballistic all over the damn place! And Jack-Ass is yanking my arm out of it socket to try to crash through people's fences to get to the other dogs. This is all not even 3 miles into my run! OK and get this: every damn morning when I run by myself, I might see a rabbit...as in ONE rabbit. Today? I saw probably no less than 3,459 of those little bastards all over the place! And you know why? Because I had my damn dog with me who attempted to chase every single one she saw. I was so pissed by this point that I cut my run short and walked my dog home, praying a train would appear out of nowhere so I could push her in front of it. So I only got 3.75 miles in today, with maybe 3.25 of that a run...a broken up run. That will be the last time Dummy comes with me. I feel frustrated and not at all energized or accomplished. I'm going back to bed :/

4 miles

I did it! I was a little stressed last night thinking about how long it would take me to run 4 miles...surely foreseeing over an hour. Good to know it only took me about 48 minutes. Not great, but far exceeding what I thought my slow ass was capable of! It didn't help that the wind was blowing against me all the way back, so I felt like I was running extra slow. Not fun! I need to remember not to map runs that are one long continuous stretch of almost a mile & a half. Meaning, I ran one straight line for over a mile, and it felt like it was 6 miles...it was worse coming back! It is so much better for me {mentally} to have little stretches of side streets thrown in to break up the monotony. I did use my ipod today, which I'm not sure if I actually enjoyed it or not, but I guess it gave me something else to focus on besides my own breathing. I wanted so badly to cut my run short. My knees started hurting, which only started right after I did the mud run, my calves were hurting, but I was not PHYSICALLY unable to keep going. Once again, that's where my mental blocks come in. But I knew if I just walked home, I'd be really pissed all day, so I finished up and was not dying as I came into the house. Score! So happy I made it, and SUPER happy to be done for the day.
Note to self: May need new running hat. Noticed my shadow as I was running and saw that my head looked slightly cone-shaped. Damn hat. It IS the hat.....right?

Yay!

I seriously was not going to get up this morning. My alarm, once again, annoyed me @ 5:15am. But I was feeling like crap: my calves hurt, my head hurt, I slept crappy, my hip hurt....how OLD am I? Geez. John finally got up and said he was going to run because he was already awake, so there was NO WAY in hell I was going to let him do a run while I laid in bed!! ;)
We headed up the hill that we live on...the hill from hell that defeats me every single time. Well I conquered that bad boy today! I ran every single step of my 3.27 mile run! Woot woot! Gotta celebrate the small victories, right?! And it was hot, but I welcomed it instead of fighting it. I found that when I focused on each little milestone along the way {run to the pole, then run to the sign, get to that small rock...}, I am able to get through every pain in my calf, every voice in my head that tells me to stop....instead of looking all the way down the road and think "holy crap, I still have to run all the way there!" I felt fantastic! I think by this weekend I will be ready to kick my mileage up a notch....actually, I don't think I will give myself a choice. I HAVE to up my mileage...and I can do it! :)

Lame :(

Friday night, half of our Ragnar team had our first team meeting. We were trying to come up with a name, which by the way, we didn't agree to one. My husband & another husband wanted the team name : "Poker in the front, Liquor in the back"...funny, but not sure how I feel being a chick and having to wear that on my shirt. I thought "Tortoises and Hares" would be cute, with the fast runners dressed up as rabbits, and slow pokes (uh, ME) dressed up like turtles. So cute! So that was as far as we got that night.


Today was supposed to be my 5 mile run......let me rephrase that: today I was going to ATTEMPT a 5 mile run. I'm lame. 2 of my kids each had a birthday party to go to, then my hubby wanted to go shopping. Soooooooo, here I am, sitting here at 8:30pm feeling guilty cause I just couldn't get my ass out the door today. And in all honesty, my calves are feeling really tight, so maybe I should take that as a sign and just rest them another day ;)
I will try again tomorrow. Each day is a new beginning...or something like that, right?

I am AWESOME!

LOL! I didn't do anything spectacular, but my run this morning felt great! I am really using this internal self-talk to get myself through a run when I just want to quit. Have you ever noticed that 5:30am comes really quick? John didn't look like he was ready to get out of bed anytime soon, but when I couldn't fall back asleep {thanks to my very tiny bladder} I decided to go ahead with the run before it got too hot. It helps for me to keep in mind that I am training for Ragnar...11 other people are counting on me to do my part, so it's only fair I try my best every chance I get. When I forget that, I find that I'm likely to deny running when I'm not feeling up to it {which is often}.

I feel like mentally, things are getting better for me. I find that I'm actually looking forward to my run time, maybe not the run itself, but I don't DREAD it as much as I used to. It's time I'm actually ALONE. Just me. No one needing something from me or demanding that I watch them as they do something I've already seen 5996 times, dammit! I've stopped using my ipod since I normally run by myself & don't want someone sneaking up behind me to fondle me or stab me in the head, if you know what I mean ;)

John got up to run with me today, but OH.MY.GOD! I love this man...God knows I do, but holy shit...he's like a frikkin' chick! When I get up to go running, I'm up & out of the house in 15 minutes TOPS. But no, everything is an event with him. Going to the bathroom is an 18 minute ordeal, then he wants to drink a cup of coffee, then he's watching "Millionaire Yachts" on the travel channel. Then he's making a toast/peanut butter meal that he has to enjoy, while perusing the yachts...good GOD! I finally told him I was leaving. Mind you, I had been up for 20-something minutes by this point, dressed & ready to go.....He forgets that running is really hard for me, so I don't want to run when the sun is at it's highest, where he can run 6 miles in the heat of the day & is fine. I hate him. And see...it's 10 after 7:00. I've been home for 25 minutes & he's nowhere to be found.
Ok, thank you for listening to my rant. I'm good now. I have an hour long massage lined up in 2 hours, so I'm going to start my morning. Have a great day!
PS- guess who JUST walked in the house ;)

Back in the zone!

There's officially only 4 and a half months left of training before Ragnar!

You know what I wish? I wish I were one of those runners who could go out and do my 12 mile run everyday...and if I only happen to log 10 miles, I would consider it a bad day. *sigh* I got back into my training today after taking off since Thursday. I tell ya, when my alarm rang at 5:15, I was pissed. I thought I turned it off {and was prepared to go back to sleep}, but the snooze buzzer rang 10 minutes later and suddenly I was wide awake. I got dressed, brushed my teeth, ate a banana and did some light stretching...then I was off. It was kinda nice. I saw a little bunny hop across the road and for some reason that made me happy. I guess if I was going to get up and running {literally} so damn early, I had better see some freakin' wildlife! Then I saw another idiot like myself going for his morning run and I thought "why in the HELL would someone choose to go for a jog at 5:45 in the morning?" Seriously. Why would we?

Today was a pretty good run day. Only did my 3 miles {not yet ready for 4}, but my first half was awesome. I did it with no problems at all. I think the way back from a run always messes with me. I start to think "oh my God, I have to run all the way back!" but honestly, I worked super hard on my mental thoughts and for the first time ever, I {internally} talked my way through the entire run home....and I didn't even want to puke until I stopped moving ;)

That's when I laid myself down on my cool tile, thankful for the peace & quiet in my house until I was able to regroup myself. Now I think I will brew some coffee and watch my tivo'd Bachlorette from last night :)

My run is done & out of the way for today...and I feel awesome!!

Triathlon

NO...not me!!

I thought I'd brag a little about my awesome kids! My 2 sons (ages 11 & 5) competed in a kids triathlon this morning & it was one of the cutest things I had ever seen! They both swam 50 meters, did a 2 mile bike ride & ran 1/2 a mile. So adorable!! My 11 year old took 3rd place in the boys division in his age group and my 5 year old took 2nd in his division (they obviously got their athletic skills from their dad!). I had such a fun time watching them and I couldn't be prouder! I'm already looking forward to next year :)


Good job to all the kids who participated! Awesome job!

Day 3: OUCH!

5:40am sure comes early! Thank God for the snooze button! But hubby & I got up were out of the house by 6:05 for our 3 mile run {ok, I can't lie...I only went 2.75 miles today. Booooooo!}. I knew right off the bat something was wrong, cause John did not smoke my ass in the first mile, and normally he's just a little speck by the time I get around the first corner. It was not a great day in terms of how my body feels....run wise, it wasn't too bad.

I have to learn to accept that I'm no longer 25, no matter what my mind thinks. My BODY definitely does not feel like it's 25. I think I will have to spread my runs {jogs, whatev.} out a little bit. Running everyday does NOT feel good. My calves are in burning agony, my hips hurt, my periformis muscle hurts, my shins hurt....so, so badly. I will take a break tomorrow & hopefully that will give my body a small, glorious break then try again on Friday. If I feel good on Friday, then I know an everyday run is just too much and the following week I will go every other day. All in all, on a scale from 1 to 10, I'd rank today's run a 5. I pushed a little harder than I normally do, but hopefully with some recovery, I will do better. I am SO happy today's run is out of the way and I can now focus on my kid's last day of school!! I'm now off to limp my way into the shower. Enjoy your day!

Day 2: Ugh

Today's run walk sucked!! My original plan as of last night right before bed, was to get up @ 5:45am and head out for a 3 mile run before the sun came up. That didn't happen. By 9:30am, I was so not in the right frame of mind to run that I simply gave up half way. Here's what I have learned from today:

1. I, personally, should never eat peanut butter before a run. I've done it before & wanted to vomit it up during my last 5K, and I did it again today & still wanted to vomit it up.

2. Never, and I repeat...NEVER run @ 10am in June if you live in Vegas. Holy crap. I thought my husband was going to have to scrape me off the asphalt.

3. If you DO decide to run @ 10am in June in Vegas, have the smarts to at least take your 5 y/o kid along with you on their bike, so that you can use your child to take walk breaks while you push their bike up the hill.

4. Take extra water.

5. Good-inner voice never wins in my head while running uphill. I need to find a way to kill that damn BAD-inner voice.

6. I will never, ever make fun of my stupid dog when after a long run or walk, she comes home and plops her fat ass on our cold tile. I understand now.

Day 1: Pretty good

My body woke me up this morning at 4am. WTH? I could not fall back asleep try as I might, so I finally dragged myself out of bed at 5am, looked around on Facebook for a bit (it's boring at 5am, by the way...all the normal people are still sleeping), tried to lay down again but my bedroom smelled like sewage (alright, who had gas?!) so I decided it was now or never.......go for the damn run! I said I would start today, so I had better get my butt in gear before I change my mind. Got my water, my hat, chap-stick on (with SPF for my delicate kissers!), and my ipod. Crap! Freakin' ipod is dead! Damn it, now I'm mad! What ever. I'm going to use this time by myself to reflect on life's beauty. Uhhh, riiiiight. I'm using this time to concentrate on my ragged breathing so I don't give myself an aneurysm while I'm running up the hill that I live on. I don't know if I have mentioned this in any of my 2 previous posts, but I hate running. It's stupid! So, on my run, I'm thinking about all the articles I've been reading on "pushing past your mental roadblocks", I thought about my husband running up the hill the last time we did it.....he ran up it like a stupid gazelle, like it was so easy. I'd shoot that smug gazelle and make it into a coat if I could! My GOOD-inner voice was saying "Come on! You can do it! Just run to the stop sign, not much longer! You're so great! You got this!" My BAD-inner voice said to "F off! This sucks!" I let the bad side win for a bit, then I had a change of mindset and was able to run probably 2.90 miles...walked about .10 of it but in tiny increments. Only allowed myself about 10 steps of walking then would force my body to push through. Then I let myself into my house & collapsed onto my couch in a run-induced coma for 11 minutes, grateful no one in my family was up yet to witness this pathetic display of gratitude to be done with today's run. Where the hell is my "runner's high"???!?

All in all, this run was SO much better this time around then the last time I did the same route. It was blistering hot at 6:27am, so I guess I should try 6:00am next time (tomorrow?) Hopefully my calves are OK in the morning. Hubby was sleeping when I went for my run so I didn't get to tape the shins {crossing my fingers!}. I think I will stick with 3 miles this whole week, then shoot to go for 4 next week. Whatever. I can't go farther then I'm comfortable with, but maybe if hubby runs with me, I will feel more motivated to go longer...as long as he doesn't do that easy stride, smug face gazelle look! :)

PS- Happy Birthday to my beautiful "baby" girl, who is 7 today! I Love you!!

Anxious

I have not run since Saturday's Mud Run. I'm dying to get out there and see how far I can push myself, but I'm patiently waiting until Monday to get back to running so that I can give my shins & calves time to rest. They don't feel as horrible as they have in the past, thanks to the KT tape that I used! I'm trying to trick my mind into enjoying the runs that I do by reading articles on how to push past mental roadblocks. My friend, Michelle, recently told me that she's been reading those articles that I've been posting on my Facebook and she said that they have really helped her mindset as she's running, so that makes me feel positive & motivated. Mind over matter, right? ;)

I'm anxious to get started on my Ragnar Relay training program also. I think If I can build my running up to 7 or 8 miles in a single run before October, I will feel so much more confident! They have 2 training programs laid out: one is for Novice runners (me!) and one for intermediates. I wish there was one that has the 2 combined. Novice seems a little bit TOO easy & the other one seems a bit too hard. Maybe I should stick to the easier one for a couple of weeks then move myself up if I feel ready. We'll see how that goes. As for my relay run, I am Runner 11 out of 12. This is what my course looks like:

3.6 miles *Easy / 6.7 miles *Hard /4 miles *Moderate = 14.3 miles

My middle run freaks me out, but I'm staying positive {talk to me when I start the training on Monday!} So in the meantime, we are trying to come up with a team name, and costume ideas. I'm thankful for Michelle being the team captain, since she's so on top of everything....I think this will be a fun process. Stay tuned to see what Monday brings me! :)

Beginning of a journey:

Bear with me...I have a point to this. It may take me a bit to get to it, but I promise that I DO have a reason for this blog, and it's not just to hear (see) myself talk.

I'm not a runner. Seriously. What I am is a 37 year old mom to 4 kids (ages 5 to 14), a wife, an office manager, a taxi driver of sorts to my gaggle of kids....but not a runner. My husband is the one who likes to run. He has done a few full & half marathons, and does them with no problems at all. I have always told him that the only way you could get me to run is if someone was chasing me with a butcher knife....and even then, it's questionable if I'd hustle it or lay down and take my stabbings. ;) Well. Something has changed. Maybe I'm going through a funny, early mid-life crisis. Back in January, one of my friends mentioned that a Make-A-Wish 5K was coming up in February so I got a crazy idea that it would be "fun" to run it. Me. I had never run 1 mile, let alone 3.1 miles......so why would I think that would be fun? I asked a couple of friends if they would be willing to do it too, and they agreed. So now all I had to do, is find out if I was able to run the distance. Well, time came & went and I did it. My back hurt, my hips hurt, my legs hurt and I didn't have fun doing it, but I finished it and my time was better than I expected. My time was not great in terms of time for people who run, but it was great for me & my first run ever. So since February, I did another 5K in March (with slightly better time) and this past weekend I did a Mud Run, which I sucked at, but had fun AFTER the fact (and I mean, when it was over!).

Now here's the funny part of this whole thing....as much as I SUCK at running, I think about it all the time! Before I go to bed at night I think of ways I can force myself to enjoy the act of it as I'm doing it, I think of doing trail runs, I read any article I can about running, I use mapmyrun.com constantly.....but seriously, I just plain suck at it. My chest hurts, my legs can't seem to propel me faster or harder, my mind plays tricks on my psyche & I just hate doing it. I think. Maybe I need to find my groove. How do I do that? I don't have a clue. What I DO know is that for now, I have gotten myself into a big, giant predicament. You will not guess what I have agreed to do! In fact, not only have I agreed to do, I was the big dummy who brought it to my husband's attention, then mentioned it to a friend: I have agreed to do the Ragnar Relay with 11 other team-mates. What? A 190 mile relay race that will take place in Las Vegas in October. Of 2010. This year. What the hell? What was I thinking?! I know this may not seem like such a big deal to a lot of people, and it may seem a little ridiculous, but it's a HUGE deal to me.
Hence, my blog. Or i could call it "my running diary". My purpose (I told you I'd have one!) of this is to document my journey from start to finish...from Wimpy Runner to ______? Decent runner? Good runner? I don't know. I guess I will find out. I don't know where this road will take me, if I will reach my desire to run faster, better, stronger or if I will simply plod along, flailing around like a jackass on my relay & 5K's, but I know that I have committed to do something that is beyond my comprehension of what "normal" should be, but I will do it. Along my way, I think (I hope!) that keeping a journal (this blog, duh) of my training, feelings, my highs & lows (there will be plenty, I'm sure)I will come to understand what it will take me to break free of my mental limitations & road-blocks and get me to the next level. Or I will die trying.



This is my 1st 5K (Make A Wish), with 2 of my friends / February 2010:


Springs Preserve 5K / March 2010:


Mad Mud Run / May 2010: