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!!

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!

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!

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. =)

Brutal!

Well, my dear running mate is in Idaho spending the holidays with family, so I'm on my own this week and next. I was hoping to run with Heather a couple days last week, but she was sick. We may be able to this coming week, though. Being that we just got a brand new baby, this week I've been doing some afternoon running. Ugh. Not my thing. It's hard getting up in the morning sometimes, but it sure as heck beats running in the afternoon. I think my performance is only at like 75% of what it would be in the a.m.

At any rate, I ran 4 miles on Monday and Wednesday, and Friday was starting to feel like I might be fighting off the cold that 4 out of our 5 kids have right now. I figured if I was going to get a long run in this week, I better get it done. I really haven't run by myself in months...the 4-milers were doable, but much less enjoyable without someone to talk to. But, I brought my MP3 player, and it wasn't too bad. Yesterday I planned 7.1 miles. Not really a "long" run compared to some of our other runs, but considering I was going by myself, I didn't want to be too ambitious. So, I got my water belt ready, grabbed my MP3 player, and Chris dropped me off at my aunt and uncle's house in Rocklin. When I was about to start my run, though, I realized my MP3 was out of juice. Not good planning on my part. So, the next 7.1 miles were left alone to me and my thoughts as I literally chased my own shadow for what seemed like miles upon miles.

It was only in the 40s when I ran, but it was sunny. The first few miles I felt great. I had a fabulous downhill part between miles 1 and 2, and then it was pretty flat with a few small hills the rest of the way. At about mile 5, though, the muscle in my inner thigh/groin began to get aggravated. I can't remember if I've mentioned it on here before or not, but for the last month or so, any time I get above about 4 miles, this muscle starts hurting. I'm not sure what it is, but I hope it gets better soon.

The last few miles were seriously brutal. I couldn't think of anything to think of besides the anguish I was in, and was tempted to just start having a conversation with myself out loud just so I could get my mind off things. I kept thinking about how there is NO way I'll get through a half-marathon on my own...I barely got through 7 yesterday! What the heck am I going to do?! The race is only a month away...I'm gonna need to figure something out. Maybe if I would have had my MP3 it wouldn't have been quite so bad...

At any rate, I did end up making it home. My knees were burning a bit last night, but I'm recovered today. And whatever muscle that is in my inner thigh is back to being normal again. I am hoping to do 9 miles next Saturday...we'll see if I can mentally get myself there. =)

Catching Up...

Well, after a wonderful trip to Disneyland last weekend, it was back to the grind this week. I ran 5 miles with Amber last Saturday (was supposed to do 10), and then just did 4 miles on Monday at the hotel. I missed Tuesday's run since we were driving back from L.A., but was back in the running (pun intended) on Thursday.

Today we did a really nice 10.6-mile run up in Lincoln. We started at about 6:30 a.m., and it was just starting to get light outside. The moon was especially bright because of it's location, so that gave us some added illumination. The first 7 miles or so were good...nothing eventful. I tried out my new knee supports, hoping I would notice a big improvement. But alas, mile 8 hits, and my knees say, "ENOUGH!"

I'm not sure what to do about that...I know it's just overuse. After I get home from a long run, I can normally barely walk. But, after I stretch and take a shower, usually within an hour or so, my knees feel pretty normal. Some days I'll have some residual pain throughout the day, but it's nothing chronic yet. Maybe I should talk to a doctor to see what I can do? Maybe Amber's dad would have some advice since he's a regular marathoner. I don't want to quit at this point. I'm too close to the finish line! But I also don't want to push my body too much. It's just so darn frustrating to be mentally motivated and ready to go, but to be held back by physical ailments. I guess I should be happy it's nothing worse. I mean, it really could be MUCH worse.

At any rate, the run was good. I misjudged the amount of time we had left toward the end. I thought we had about 2.5 miles left, but it took *forever*, and every time we came over a hill, I thought for sure the end would be in sight. When I got home, I checked my route, and realized the last leg was almost 4 miles, not 2.5. Whoops. Sorry, Amber.

We had two pit bulls come running at us about 1/2 way through our run. I was scared out of my pants, but Amber didn't seem phased by them at all! They ended up being nice doggies, and ran with us for a good couple miles. Wonder if they ever found their way back home...

It was supposed to be raining and windy this morning, but I woke up to clear skies, and we had great weather for our whole run! Very chilly, but no wind or rain! Here's a pic:


Only 7 more weeks until race day!

Ho Hum...

Today was one of those mornings where I asked myself, "Why am I doing this to myself??"
Got to bed at 9:00 (yay!), fell asleep quickly and slept DEEP until 1:45 when I woke up to Boy #2 crying because he had a pee pee accident in bed. By the time I got him and the bedding changed, I was wide awake. Not good. All I could think about was that I only had 3 more hours until I needed to get out of bed to run. I pretty much laid awake for the rest of the night, woken a couple other times by Boy #1 and Girl #1.

Other womanly issues awaited me bright and early, and it was a morning that if I would have had Amber's cell phone number, I may have called to cancel. Maybe I shouldn't get that number from her after all...I had no way out of my run since I didn't want to call her house and wake her family up. I had to buck up and suffer through it. My knees are still having issues from yesterday's 5-miler at the gym. Have I ever mentioned how running 5 miles on a treadmill is pretty much like running 10 miles outside? Maybe worse? I know, I shouldn't complain. I mean, I'm lucky that I can go to the gym and get a break from the kids while I zone out watching Regis and Kelly. But really, were we meant to run endless amounts of time without getting anywhere? Seems like some kind of weird conspiracy to me...

I feel better now that I'm showered and am drinking a cup of coffee. I only drink it on the days I run, and boy do I look forward to it. There's something about sitting down and drinking a warm cup o' joe after a run outside in the cold...

On a side note, I'm considering still running the Davis Stampede 1/2 marathon in February without Amber. I feel terrible, because I don't want to do it without her, but I'm worried my knees may not make it until May running long runs every week for 6 months. At least if I do the one in February, I can taper off for a month or so, and then gradually work back up for the event in May. I'm looking for someone to run it with me, though...I'm scared to do it by myself! I need someone to talk to so I can keep my mind off of the miles I run.