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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Tapering...

Well, only 9 days until my race! We ran about 7.5 last Saturday, and just did 4 miles Tuesday and today. Saturday we're doing 5...then I'm doing one more 4-miler on Tuesday, and then taking it easy until race day! This morning's run felt great. I'm totally excited for the race...hoping for great weather. And wondering who in my family will actually write me notes for the beginning of each mile. (They each have one mile dedicated to them--except for Chris, he gets all the evens--and I will pray for them during their mile.) I asked that they each write a *short* note to me to read at the beginning of each mile. I will have them pinned to my shirt, and will just pull it off as I go. We'll see who actually does it. So far, just my sister and mom have sent me theirs. Amber is taking the first mile, and I know she won't flake on me. =)

Sooo...that's about it for now. I see a glimmer of hope at the end of our weekday runs...there is starting to be sunlight on the horizon by the time we're done!!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Holy Batman! We ran 12.3 miles!

I found out yesterday that my 1/2 marathon's date was changed from Feb. 1st to Feb. 8th. I guess that's good since it gives me one more week to prepare...and now my in-laws will be able to watch a few of the kids so Chris can come cheer me on at the finish line!

Today we ran a 12.3-mile route around Loomis and Granite Bay. I wasn't feeling as chipper this week, but did pretty good until about mile 9 or 10. My groin muscle was really aggravated, but my knees actually did pretty well. I seriously felt like the last 2 miles were *torture*! If Amber wouldn't have been there, I probably would have wimped out and walked the rest of the way. I'm glad she was there, though.

My groin muscle still hurts, but definitely not near as badly as before. My knees actually feel it a bit more now. Weird.

In other news, I canceled my gym membership last week. It's just not as convenient for me to go anymore with 5 kids to cart around. I guess the plus side is that I won't have to smell Mr. Putrid anymore...
I bought a Pilates video and Jillian's (from Biggest Loser) 30-day shred video, but haven't gotten in the mail yet. Hopefully I'll start those after my race.

I still can't believe I actually ran TWELVE point THREE miles today! How the heck did this non-athletic girl get to this point??? Did I mention yet that my resting heart rate has gone from 79 (in September) to 56 in 4 months?! How crazy is that? Who would have known how hard my little heart was working all that time! I'm just so thankful that my body has held up with my running so far...even with the aches and pains and occasional thoughts of keeling over, it has been well worth it. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed I can make it a few more weeks and complete my race. I'm tapering for the next 2 weeks, so I'm not anticipating any craziness, but you just never know!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

11.3!!

Well, it's been about a month since we did a "long" run. Our last long one was 10.6...since then I haven't done more than 7. It's only 3 weeks until the race, so I wanted to do 11 today, 12 next week, and then taper for 2 weeks until the race on Feb. 1st. I was worried about how the run would go today. It would either go really well since my knees have had a nice break, or be really tough since it's been so long since our last long run. I decided that I really wanted to take 1-minute walk breaks every 4-5 miles and see if that helped my knees.

I felt *awesome* for the first 6 miles or so...I think it's because I ate a great breakfast before I left...a banana, a handful of blueberries and a spoonful of peanut butter. I was seriously feeling *good*! After that, my knees started to hurt a bit, and that darned groin muscle started to bother me. We took 1-minute walk breaks at miles 5, 8 and 10. The last mile was killing me, but as soon as I got home, I stretched really good, took an Ibuprofen and massaged some Bengay on my knees. After a bowl of Frosted Shredded Wheat, a cup of coffee and a shower, I seriously felt incredible. I don't know if I've ever felt that good after a long run. I mean, I don't want to go out and run another 10 miles or anything, but I feel great! I feel so encouraged...I'm hoping that I can plunk out a 12-miler next week with such success. I still don't know if my positive outcome was due to the fact that I hadn't been pushing my knees too much this past month, or if it was from taking walk breaks. Probably a combination of both. Either way, I'm definitely going to try that method again next week.

I'm nervous about the race, but after today, at least I feel like I can do it!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Spontaneous run...

Today I had to take my car in to get its oil changed. I decided since it would take about an hour, I would wear my running clothes and get a 3-4 mile run in while I waited. It was raining today, and when I got there, I found out my tires needed to be replaced. So, it would be 2 hours instead of 1. Chris mapped out a 6-mile route for me, and off I went. It was only a light drizzle when I left, but it *poured* after about the first mile or so. The rain was coming in sideways! I was freezing, but it felt good...I think the mileage ended up being around 5.5, but it was more than I had originally planned for! I love when I get an extra run in when I'm not expecting it. =)