29 days to go - 16 weeks of training

I can't believe we have done 16 weeks of training! That is amazing to me how far we have come and I am kinda sad to see that it will be over soon. I have had the most rewarding experience of my life. I have challenged myself personally. I have raised money for such an unbelievable cause and I am just so happy I good bust!

Today I ran 8 miles today with Stacy again. Looks like she may end up running Whiterock with me in Deb's place. I found out on Friday that Debra is out for the season. It was a "significant stress fracture"...now she is done with running for good she says. It breaks my heart for her since she and I worked so hard to make it this far only to have her dream taken away with only 4 weeks to go. She is still in good spirits, but I am sure it was very disappointing for her. I know it would have really devastated me to out because of an injury. These things happen I guess and so we just have to move on...but you better believe she will be there cheering for us on race day!! I ran my 8 miles in 1:41 today...that is 7 minutes faster than the last 8 mile run. I came in happy with my arms held high and my girl Deb was there! She came to see everybody. That just made my day :)

Daily mantra:
Do whatever it takes

Daily miles:
8

31 days to go - Run around the hood

I had to get my 4 mile run in before it got dark. I set out to run the neighborhood by my mom's house. It is a nice route...not too many hills...except the one BIG hill by my house. I ran pretty good. My hip starts hurting towards the end of the week....but it loosened up pretty good after the first mile. After the 2nd mile, it was down hill from there :) Pretty good time after all...I ended up running 50:40...not too shabby.

Daily mantra:
Just keep swimming :)

Daily miles:
4

32 days to run - Long, dark run

Tonight was a 6 mile run. My regular running buddy Deborah has not been here for a few days, she has had major swelling in her foot. She is going in for an MRI. I am hoping for the best that it's not a stress fracture. She was supposed to run the half marathon with me. We have been great pace partners and I would be sad if she can't run anymore. Anyway, I ended up running with Cassie tonight. We had a good run, lots of good chats and it was pretty uneventful. My Ipod decided to stop working correctly. I let Roy borrow it right before my run and he ended up getting it all sweaty...apparently sweat is not a friend to the new Ipod Shuffle headphones. I had to call tech support and they fedexed me a new pair...woo hoo!

Daily mantra:
Just run

Daily miles:
6

33 days to go - Another night, another run!

Woo hoo! Tonight I did my personal best time for 4 miles! I ran it in 49:52. That is 12:29 pace!!! I have to thank Stacy for that one...she is a wee bit quicker than me and I had to keep up with her or be left in the dark. I felt great! It is so nice to run and feel good and not be winded or feel like you want to die. I remember when training first started and I could barely do 2 miles. It is such a good feeling! Oh happy day :)

Daily mantra:
I am speed

Daily miles:
4

36 days to go - A dozen miles to go

This was a different kind of Saturday morning run. First of all I didn't have the support of all my teammates there to cheer me on. Secondly, I was in Oklahoma and not at our usual stomping grounds. Thirdly, I was going to have to run 12 miles ALL alone. All things that could really get you intimidated. I drove a route by our cabin that was a loop around the camp sites by the river. It was beautiful and on a one way street. I ran in the opposite direction towards the cars...so I could run in the road until anyone came. Well...most people were sleeping or making breakfast so cars were not an issue at all. It was slightly misty outside...the temperature was about 60 and the sun was behind clouds. I started out with my jacket on, but like usual I dumped it at the cabin at mile 1. That was my loop...it ended at the cabin every time. I was worried I would lose count of my laps, I came up with a clever idea to keep track of them. Every mile/lap I would pick up a leaf that I thought was interesting and I would drop it on my jacket that I had laid out on the ground. It was pretty neat, I would be in a full run and a leaf would catch my eye and I would stop and grab it. Partly I did this for Dylan. He and I collected leaves for a school project and he had to leave the school before they could use his leaves...he was kinda sad about it. What better way to mark my run and make my kid's day?! I have a lot of really cool leaves...all kinds...all shapes, colors and sizes. Around mile 10, Dylan was outside playing with his wagon and called me all excited when he saw me...he was my little cheering section. It was so endearing :)

Well, I had the best run I have had yet...to date...period! Maybe it was the majestic scenery that just took your breath away and made you embrace being outside at 6:30am. Maybe it was the fact that the air was so crisp, the smells of camp fires burning with the fall leaves rustling along the road and the squirrels scampering from tree to tree...looking up at the road ahead and wishing it would never end. THAT never happens on my runs. I highly recommend running in Beaver's Bend...I think it was very therapeutic. It was so peaceful and it made me feel so energized. So much that I actually ran an extra half mile or so just to make sure I did my 12 miles...later we realized it was about 12.7 miles. After showering and having breakfast, I told Roy to grab the kids and the wagon because I wanted to take pictures of my run so I could share them with everyone. So...I essentially did a victory lap and walked another mile with the kids and took some pictures for me. I felt great after the run...no complaints...except my right foot kinda hurts a little now. But, overall...I am so proud of myself for coming this far and even more so for doing it all alone.

Here are some pictures of my route:




Daily mantra:
Be at one with nature more often

Daily miles:
13.6 - HECK YEAH!!!!

38 days to go - And off she goes

I love days like this! I mapped out a different 4 mile run with a few less hills and I am happy for it! I found that I was running a lot quicker than I usually do...I got to my first mile marker at 12:00 and then made it to my 2nd marker at 25:00...which was pretty good. I ran the 3-4 miles and reallized that I was way ahead of my usual time for 4 miles. That can't be...my best time yet is 51 minutes for 4 miles...and I ended up with 45 minutes. Really??? There had to be NO way that was right. I went on a run that Roy had mapped out on Log your run and he used the Out and Back feature...Which is supposed to calculate going to that point and coming back...that should be the same miles both ways...right?! Well...evidently...upon re-examination of the route...I knew I couldn't have run THAT fast...when I remapped it and traced the route all the way there and then traced it back, it was only 3.6 miles. So bah hum bug...not the stellar time after all. Oh well...one cool thing I did do was power through my killer hill by my house. I can NEVER run the whole hill without dying...well I ran the whole dang thing without skipping a beat! I just powered through it and did my mind over matter hoodoo voodoo and made the hill disappear! Boo Yah!

Daily mantra:
Hills, Smhills!

Daily miles:
4

39 days to go - Beautiful and partly hot

Had to fit in my run while the lids were in school this afternoon. It was a gorgeous sun filled day, unlike the Seattle rain that we were having. I started my run around 11am and it felled nice outside, but after about 2 miles I was HOT....burning up...HOT! I started getting side stitches...I have never had that pain before...clearly that was a new one for me. Not a FAN!!! I think I was drinking too much water and ran too close to eating my breakfast. I just couldn't make the pain stopped, so I walked a little more than usual...a LOT more than usual. I probably walked majority of the last mile. Time to go online and Google side stitches to see what that's all about. I can't have that happen again. Oh well...all runs are not created equal. Some days are spectacular and other days not so much. Today was about a 4 on the scale of runs. Meh...

Daily mantra:
If in doubt, Google it

Daily miles:
4

40 Days to go - Full moon ahead

Tonight I had a full moon lighting my way, cool wind on my face and I was ready to run. It was not as dark as usual because of the moon, so that made running a little easier. I ran with Cassie, Stacy and Angie. We were all having pretty good runs. I think of the 4 mile runs now as a cake walk for me. I can't believe I am to that point that a 4 mile run is a short, easy run! Who would have thought that day would come?! Running a night doesn't really bother me, you just have to be careful because some cars really don't give a flip about pedestrians crossing. That was proven tonight when this yahoo clearly didn't want to top while we were crossing and I had throw my arm up and pull the STOP hand on him all the whilst I was shielding Cassie with my "Mom" arm! I didn't even realize I had done that until she said something. It made me laugh...and think of a Carrot Top prop I saw once. Anyhoo, my goal was 51 minutes and I did it! Whoo hoo! Always great to hit your goals :)

Daily mantra:
Don't mess with my Mom arm!

Daily miles:
4

43 days to go - Lots of "whine" in grapevine!

It was all team training in Grapevine...which happens to be about 35 minutes from my house. We were all supposed to meet up at 7am. We were driving there with plenty of time, but unfortunately for us...Mapquest is not our friend!!! We ended up turning on the wrong Hwy 26 exit and finally got there at 7:20...so the whole purpose of us going there...completely MOOT!!! Yes, it was a very disappointing start of the day to finally arrive at the very moment that everyone was doing the "go team" huddle and off they all went. So yay me...I got to run my LONG 10 mile run all by myself! I know...poor me...I had to keep reminding myself...why am I here again??? Oh yeah, to raise money for people that have cancer...they have to fight the fight all by themselves too! So suck it up and run girl!!! I actually stayed steady with my running, I ran when I was supposed to and walked when I supposed to and I stayed motivated, hydrated and gelled. Once I passed the 6 mile turn around (that was clearly marked TURN around) I kept running until I got to the lake. Then there was a sign that I thought was a hair pin turn sign ( I know...I need to go back to sign 101 class) so I preceeded to make a nice circle around the lake turn around...which added about .4 miles. Luckily it was a circle and dropped me back to where I was when the sign appeared. I eventually realized that it was a turn around sign...could have been a tad bit more clear...considering I am still a rookie runner and am not familiar with following directional signage on my routes. I finally got to the start of the jogging path and their was a lady that was supposed to inform me that my 2 additional miles were straight ahead on the path, however she was already engaged in a conversation and I waited for a minute or two for her to speak up, but alas, I ran back to base and asked them...which added more distance too. Where the heck am I supposed to go? They said I had to run back to wear the trail was and go the grapes and back. Oh enough already! Well, I ran to the grapes and passed them until I reached the 10 mile turn around sign and ran back to base. They awarded me with lots of praise and pancakes...so I had to quickly turn that frown upside down and realized that it wasn't an awful experience after all! Yes, it wasn't ideal, but it will make me tougher. I started the day whining and ended the morning feeling great!

Daily mantra:
Run baby run!!!

Daily miles:
10.4 or so

46 days to go - Ooh it's windy!

Tonight was a very dark 6 mile run! There were only 4 of us that were doing 6 miles this particular night. Two of us were in a get er done mood and two of us were not so much. So Barb and I ran and Lannie and Deb walked more than they ran (which I must note is perfectly OK, everyone has a bad running day now and again). We didn't run a stellar time or anything, but it was nice to catch up and chat while we ran. The last mile of our run the wind picked up. It was like gale force winds blowing on our side...would have been super if it was blowing at our backs. No such luck of THAT happening!

Daily mantra:
Learn to love running

Daily miles:
6