Day 277 - Big Runs

Thankfully, "runs" in this context is not referring to you know what! So to catch up since my last post... the next Saturday, May 26th, I went out at a crazy time of night with my girlfriends to run a Midnight 5K. It was the same weekend as the father's and son's outing, so I had to take my little Kai with me. My other friend was in the same predicament as I and so we both stuffed our poor, sleepy little darlings into the jogger while we ran around the old runway at the airport. 

What surprised me the most about this run was that not at all did it feel like 3 miles!! I was thinking we were about halfway through when the finish line came into sight just around the bend. So that was a lovely feeling!

 

Since we had only run the 3 miles that Saturday, we got together and ran 8 miles in Hurricane out by the Church orchard on Memorial Day, May 28th. I barely survived the last little leg of that run due to some intense pains in my stomach that were telling me I needed to poop, and NOW. 

And then, so begins my run of only running my big runs on Saturdays. On June 2nd, with my two friends who are running the half marathon with me, we woke up super early and drove up to Zion National Park. We took the shuttle up as far as it goes and then got out and ran the 8 miles down the hill back to the visitor's center where we were parked. Now that was an incredibly beautiful run! Simply amazing! And although I was very slow, I did run that whole 8 miles without stopping to walk! I was very proud of myself that day. 

On Wednesday, June 11th, I headed up to girls camp with my ward as I was called to be the ward camp director just a month earlier. Our stake property is up by Kolob Reservoir. Everyone packs up early Saturday morning and leaves. Because I knew it would be the only way to get my run in that week, I brought my running shoes and woke up early that morning (June 16th.) I had someone drive me to where the dirt road meets up with pavement, just below the reservoir, and I started running down the mountain. At around six miles our ward drove past me and cheered me on. And I had a ride waiting for me at the 9 mile mark. That was also a really beautiful run, but some of the downhill was pretty killer. 

The next Saturday, June 23rd, we were back east in Michigan visiting with John's sister and her family (and all the rest of his family since everyone came out there). The occasion was for our nephew's baptism. So on Friday I got on Google maps and mapped out a 10 mile route that made a big loop around the house. It was a really beautiful neighborhood with walking paths to the side of every road. Tons of green trees, lots of humidity, rolling hills... John came out with me so I wouldn't be alone, but he was riding a bike. And very slowly I must add, for I was running like a slug. I finished that 10 miles and was proud of completing a double digit run. I did not run the whole time, and was pretty darn slow by the end of it, but I completed it, and that's what this whole thing is about for me. 

I was back home the next weekend, but still feeling wiped out from that 10 miler. I had no desire or motivation to run at all, so I skipped out the next Saturday. But I felt bad about it, so I made sure to go out running on Monday. I got up early in the morning on July 2nd and ran about 4.5 miles. And then, last Saturday, July 7th, I got together with my girlfriends again. We drove about as high up and as far out as we could and still be in Hurricane, parked the car, and then ran home. To make the run be 10 miles, we were supposed to run another mile around the neighborhood across the street from our house. My friends did it, but I was basically running behind them the whole time at my snail pace, and by the time I hit about mile 8, I was dead. So I finished up with only doing just over 9 miles and was totally fine with that. 

So now, here we are. The day before my half marathon!!! I'm having a hard time believing it's already here. Remember those posts where I couldn't even fathom running 13 miles!? Well, now it's here, and I still can't. haha... just kidding. I am feeling a little anxious. I'm hoping that will translate into extra energy for the race in the morning. My little boy has been sick with strep throat all week and my husband just came down with it yesterday, so I am desperately trying to fight off sickness. I'm glad to say, so far so good. Last night my lymph nodes were feeling swollen, but I put on some Wintercrest and this morning I'm feeling fabulous. Today will be full of gargling salt water, drinking herbal tea, lots of vitamin C and prayer! We're leaving around 4:30 to go enjoy our girls night out up in Bryce Canyon and tomorrow morning at 6am... you know where I'll be!

Day 227 - A World of a Difference

Rather than being my nemesis, poop actually was an answer to prayer this morning. 


I ran 6 miles on April 21st and then I spent the next three weeks only running once a week: my long run on Saturdays. I did another 6 miles on April 28th and then did 7 miles (my longest ever, like in my life) on May 5th with my mom, sister, cousin & aunt. Hats off to them on that run though. While all of them have been running, none had really been running more than 3 miles. So here I come along for a visit, needing to get a big 7 miler in, and ask if anyone wants to join me and they all jumped in. I kept thinking that if I were in their situation and someone, even someone I loved dearly, said, "Hey! Wanna go run 7 miles with me?" I would say, "Nope, I sure don't!" So I was so proud of them all and grateful for them being willing to go the distance with me. It was a great morning together. (And it also occurred to me that it was the first time that my mom, sister and I had ever worked out together, so that was pretty cool too.) 

The next weekend I was again out of town but still completed my run by dragging my husband along with me on his roller blades while I ran another 7 miles. I still hadn't been running during the weeks and the next week I didn't run at all, including my big run on Saturday. (That was last Saturday.) So I had to pull myself up by the bootstraps and jump in again full throttle. So Monday I determined to run. I was supposed to do 4.5 miles, but began at 10:30am, which, as I learned, is a horrible time to run in Southern Utah in May. The sun and heat completely drained me of my energy and I only ran half the time and had to cut my route short by .5 a mile. On Tuesday I was just supposed to walk for 3 miles. Thinking that a walk wouldn't be that bad in the heat of the day, I started that one at 2:30pm. I was wrong. It was just as bad, if not worse. And I accidentally threw in an extra loop on my walk around the neighborhood, so ended up going 3.6 miles. I knew there was no way I could survive another run with the sun beating down on me, or the heat, which meant that as much as I am not a morning person, I would have to be up around 5am to get my run in before my husband went to work. That was the only way. So I spent the rest of the day Tuesday preparing myself mentally for that and said a prayer before going to bed asking God to please help me get up in the morning to do my run. 


Well, come my alarm clock this morning and what do I do? I don't snooze, rather I simply turn it off and go back to sleep. Then about thirty minutes later I was awakened by some rather intense pains indicating that I had to get up out of bed and poop. And thanks to the mental preparation I did the day before of running at the butt crack of dawn, I decided to just stay up, change my clothes and get out there on my run. Interesting how prayers are answered, eh? It made a world of a difference running before the sun came up. The temperature was 72 degrees. I ran with music and no stroller. I finished my 4.5 miles at my best pace ever: 12.8. And all before the sun came up. It's been a really awesome morning since my run, having breakfast, reading, showering, actually getting dressed and ready for the day and blogging! And the kids just woke up a half hour ago. Self, please remember that running that early in the morning is a really great experience and has wonderful repercussions for the rest of the day!!


Oh yeah, and by the way... I am officially registered for the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon!!

Day 194 - Still At It

In spite of my lack of blog posts, I am still running! Now, is that amazing, or what?

Back at the end January and into the beginning of February there was about a three week period where I didn't run at all. I would have been completely done for were it not for my angel friend who registered for our next race. Initially, we had planned to run the Sweetheart 10K on February 11th, but it turned out it wasn't going on this year. So we found another race, the Dogtown, that was a half marathon, 9K, and 5K on February 25th. We both registered for the 9K (which is about 5.6 miles). I started running again, but then came down with a cold and didn't go for another week. I was in no way prepared to run the 9K, so I changed my race to the 5K. On race day, we ran the first mile together before going our separate ways, me finishing up the 5K, and her the 9K. We both got awesome massages from our friend, a chiropractor, who was a sponsor of the race.

At some point in February I also heard of another 5K coming up called Run For Ben that was organized in order to raise money in support of a family whose husband and father (about my age) was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) in 2010. I was so inspired by their journey that there was no question in my mind that I would run to support them. (see their blog here.) That race was on March 24th, and both of us ran it again. It was in the exact location and route of the 5K I ran in February, and I definitely could notice a difference in my own endurance level on the route. Every little run was making a difference!

At this point in my training, I became infused with a renewed determination to see this goal out to the finish line. On Monday after the Run for Ben, I ran my scheduled 3.5 miles. This was really a breakthrough run for me on a number of levels. First of all, it was the first time that I had run a scheduled "long" run on a Monday after having run a race the previous Saturday. I was proud of myself for that. It was also a major success for me because I ran the entire time without stopping! The factors that I believe made that possible were:

1. Running after the sun went down
2. Running alongside the stroller while John pushed it on his rollerblades, rather than having to push it myself (that's a difference of 50 pounds of kid flesh!)
3. Having music to run to

That run felt so good. I was amazed that halfway through my run, when I usually start talking myself into walking because I'm so tired, I actually felt a burst of energy! I felt so good, and wasn't even winded when I finished up. It was a wonderful experience.

I was really motivated to do all my training that week and was off to a great start. Tuesday I went for a 2 mile walk up and down these insane hills on the street behind our house. Wednesday I did a 3 mile run. I realized during that run that running really makes me have to poop. It's not such a great feeling. I ran past the houses of quite a few friends and was so tempted to stop and use their restroom, but I just couldn't bring myself to knock on their door and say, "Excuse me, but can I POOP in your bathroom and then leave?" On Thursday, I even did my yoga workout. I didn't do my 40 minute walk on Friday though. We went up to Enterprise that night and Saturday I was scheduled to do a 5 mile run. The plan was to do it after the second General Conference session around 4pm. John was planning on coming with me again (on roller blades, of course.) The time came and it just so happened that it was cRaZy windy outside, but I was determined to just do it. So out we went. We even had a nephew who wanted to come with us on his little scooter. We ran out on a single road 2.5 miles with the wind blowing along with us. Once we turned around though, it was insanely difficult to run against that wind. John and our nephew were picked up between 3 and 3.5 miles and I kept on running. Even without music, I was determined to finish. And what motivated me, especially while running against that wind, was imagining myself proudly saying, "I completed 5 miles and I ran every step of the way!" And, I did it. I looked up the wind speed when I got home... 31 mph. It really was a phenomenal week.

The next week, my family spent with us for their spring break and I only went out once with my mom. We only did 2 miles and I was horrible at it because it was right after we stuffed our bellies with dinner. We hiked Upper Emerald Pools at Zion National Park on Saturday, so I didn't do my long run either.

The week after that I did a 4 mile run on Monday and Wednesday and then woke up extra early to meet my friends out on Sand Hollow Road to do our 6 mile run. Yes, that's right. SIX miles. That's a 10K length! It was a beautiful morning and I am happy to say that I completed that six miles, running all but the last .5 mile.

That brings us to this week, and I went out with a friend on both Monday and Wednesday. We ran 3.6 miles and then 4 miles. I'm running with this friend who is showing her serious colors too. She's intended to do the half marathon with us from the start of all this, but has yet to do any races with us. It's nice running with her because we go when both of our kids are at Joy School. And there really are plenty of days that I would most likely talk myself out of running if it weren't for her saying "let's go!" We've got another 6 miler scheduled for tomorrow and I'm not necessarily looking forward to it, but I am really glad to have friends running with me!

At this point in my training, I'm really proud that I'm still at it for one! For two, I'm proud that I've started running these longer runs without stopping. It's proof to me that my body really is getting used to this running thing. My number one goal is completion. I'm not concerned about my pace, I'm focused on completing the half marathon. (And speaking of pace, I'm staying pretty consistent at around 13.5 minute miles... not too exciting.)

Day 88 - 2 Days in a Row!

Is this a first!?!?? I don't know. But I am pretty stinkin' proud of myself that I went running AGAIN today... 2 days in a row! Woo hoo! According to my adjusted schedule, I am supposed to run 2 miles today and do strength training. I just finished running the 2 miles and it took me 25 minutes of running. I stopped in the middle of my run to drop something off at a friend's house, so it wasn't 2 miles nonstop, but that's okay. I'm still feeling pretty pleased with myself. :)

Day 87 - Adjustment

Well, it's kind of pathetic that it's been 22 days since my last post and in that time I've only gone running 3 times. My training schedule says I should have gone 15 times. :S Oh well. 3 is better than 0!! (not much, but still...)

Okay, so day 69 was a Saturday. I was up in Salt Lake visiting my family the weekend before Christmas. My mom has been running too, so I thought it would be fun to go with her. But when it came down to it, I REALLY did not want to go out in that frigid frigid cold, nasty, smoggy weather. So I decided not to. But then, after running an errand on Saturday morning, when I walked in the house first thing my mom said to me was, "want to go for a run?" grrrr. No, I didn't. But I did have a window of time and I had brought my running clothes. I really didn't have an excuse. So we went to Liberty Park and went around the loop two times. In between a walking warmup, bathroom break and cool down walk, we ran around the loop a full time without stopping. The whole thing took us around 55 minutes, 20 minutes longer than I had planned on running. When we finished and I realized I had ran a lot longer than was on my schedule that day, I said, "so you're telling me I ran longer than I had to!?" But of course, as always, it did feel good. Mapping it out later on www.mappedometer.com/ I found we had run about 3 miles.

Day 72 I got a text from a friend that said "anyone want to go running tonight around 6?" I texted back, "I'll go." Note that I said I will go, not that I wanted to go. I must admit, I was super grumpy just before going because my husband had spit my dinner out in the sink because he thought it tasted moldy. And it was fa REEEZ ing outside. Nonetheless, I bundled up and went over to her house. I made it no secret that I didn't want to go, but said, "I've gotten myself this far..." She didn't want to go either, but got dressed and the two of us went out to brave the cold. Thankfully I had a warm headband I had left at her house that she gave me because I wore it over my face the whole time so just my eyes were peeking out. It was so cold!!! We walked 5, ran 25 and walked 5. And it felt good to have done it.

Then came Christmas and New Years and I did not so much as put on a tennis shoe.

On Monday, day 85, my 5K running partner posted this on Facebook: "Totally ran 4.3 miles today. I'm feeling pretty stoked." And yet again, here she is inspiring me to stick this out. Last night I realized I'm pretty behind in my training. She's up to 4 miles and the most I've done was 3 and that was only once, and I didn't run the whole time. I also calculated that there's only 5 weeks until I'm supposed to run a 10K. 6.2 miles. GULP. So, I decided to make some adjustments to my training schedule from now until then in hopes to get me ready.

I'm proud to say that I went out with my kids today and completed 3.5 miles in 55 minutes. I walked for 7 minutes, then began running and was ready to die after 22 minutes. So I completed the rest of the route with a combination of running and walking. And I've decided that I'm totally okay with that. I am totally cool with not running for long stretches at a time. I will still try to push myself farther than I feel like going (and I definitely did that today), but I won't feel bad if I need to walk a little bit every now and then. If I were to do the 10K at my pace today I estimate it would take me 1 hour and 37 minutes. So if I can finish it in less than that amount of time then I will be a happy camper, knowing that I've made progress!

Oh and P.S. I must say that the 66 degree weather I ran in today is the kind of January I'm talking about!!!