Heavy run?

I have never heard the term before, but I think we coined a new one. Heavy run...tonight we were all running and it seemed like we had lead in our feet. Maybe it was something in the air. My heart rate stayed lower than it usually is for all my runs and I felt like I was really struggling to eek out 4 measly miles. Why is that? My foot felt better today. I bought a handy little band that is like an ace bandage that goes around the arch of my foot. It really seems to help so far so good. I also bought some little cushy gel things that go in my shoes to soften the force of my heel strikes...since I guess I strike the ground with them. So my feet were all taken care of...but now I have a new ache for the week. My dang left calf started aching when we did heel training last week, now I hope that is not going to be a regular thing. At least the weather is starting to cool down...it is fall after all...perfect for running. So fingers crossed that I have no more heavy runs...just smooth, gazelle-like, perfect stride, happy runs from here on out!

Date: 09/28/2010 7:08 PM
Type: Run (Interval run)
Distance: 4.01 miles
Time: 0 hr 50 min 27 secs
Average pace: 12:35 min/miles
Calories: 576

Lannie's Ladies

Our usual Saturday long run day was different this week, I ran a 5k instead and did my long run on Sunday. Every year for the last 3 years I have participated in the Ovarian Cancer Awareness 5k run/walk in honor of my friend Lannie. Lannie is an Ovarian Cancer survivor and the first year we did the event was just a few months after she got her clean bill of health. It was surreal knowing that we could have lost a dear friend, so we rallied the troops, a.k.a Co Co Moms and banded together to run in her honor. Well, in my case, walk in her honor. That was 3 years ago. This time I RAN it and with my best 5k time to date. Unfortunately it was a dreary, rainy day for the event. Not that rain bothers me to run, but it was the 10th Anniversary of the event and the ceremonies and dedications were cut short, all the vendors packed up and pretty up the event ended because of the weather. I really wanted to hear from the man who helped found the event; it was in honor of his beloved wife Linda, who passed away from her fight with Ovarian Cancer. He was grief stricken and wanted to do something to raise awareness, so that maybe others wouldn't have to lose their "Linda" too. He was a very inspiring man and I was hoping that the event would have been a huge success to further bring awareness to this much needed cause. Cancer in all its forms is an ugly, serpent that slips in and destroys everything it touches. I pray, hope and run so that some day this dark creature won't ever have to rear its head again. I was just happy to be there to share in a positive story about my friend Lannie and her journey that ended with a happy ending. She has the most amazing little boy that is incredibly lucky to have such a brave mother that fought cancer and WON! Love you Lannie! I will continue to run with you year after year.


Please take a minute to go to the National Coalition of Ovarian Cancer website. It could just save your life. http://www.ovarian.org/symptoms.php

Here are some other stories...http://www.dfwovarian.org/personal_stories.html

Date: 09/25/2010 35:41 AM
Distance: 3.1 miles
Time: 0 hr 35 min 41 secs
Average pace: 11:31 min/miles
Calories: 458

Long run - no fun!

Ok...so maybe I should not have partaken in a few rather large glasses of red wine the night before a scheduled 14 mile run. I actually felt pretty good to start off with, aside from a mild headache. The temperature was absolutely perfect for a long run, the wind was a little much though. It was nice when it was at my back, but running into it was a challenge today. My stride felt good, I had a good pace going for the first 5 miles. My heart rate was good. Overall, it was a good run. After I rounded my 7 mile mark, then my 8 mile mark, my foot started to ache a bit...but I kept going. Once I got to 9...it was a full on throb...throb, throb, throb. I guess I just couldn't take it anymore. I cut my run short and walked it it the rest of the way home. Now I am icing it and will take some Ibuprofen for it. I guess I am going to have to stop pretending and admit that I have the dang Plantar Fasciitis. All I can do is stretch it, wear night splints and hope for the best. Why, oh why, does something that is good for your mind and spirit have to be so rough on your body?

Distance: 10.6 miles
Time: 2 hr 25 min 21 secs
Average pace: 13:43 min/miles
Calories: 1407

2010 ING NYC Marathon on November 7

Looking for another fall event to run? Want a new cause to be a part of? The Fresh Air Fund is looking for runners and sponsors to join their Fresh Air Fund-Racers team for the NYC Marathon on November 7th. This is a great way to participate in NYC's premier race while helping Fresh Air Fund children.

Check out the website for more details :http://freshair.org/racers

Over the past four years as a NY Road Runners charity partner for the NYC Half-Marathon, their 325 Fund-Racers have raised close to $400,000 for The Fresh Air Fund!

Hill repeats

Tuesday night's training called for hill repeats. Yep, we just did hills last Tuesday...but we only had one team member come out that night because of rainy weather. Roy and I had to fill in for the coaches tonight, they had a meeting...so Roy was our faithful leader to demonstrate the proper techniques to run hills. We did 7 repeats for a total of 3.20 miles. To elaborate on what we do, essentially you just run up the hill while you shorten your stride so your feet move faster than they normally do, get to the light post, turn around and go down again. Repeat...7 times. Anybody that has run in Stonebridge will appreciate the need to know the proper way to conquer the hills. I scoff at my little McKinney mountains all the time on my training runs. Hills, Smhills!

Daily miles: 3.2...counts double for hill training ;)

Daily mantra: I love hills, I love hills!

Good runs, bad runs

I will start with the bad and end with the good.

Thursday is my medium long run day. The day that I will do tempo or speed work. Usually 7 miles does not kill me or make me hate running. Usually I can get through it, muster up my energy and make it happen. This day was not that day. I had probably one of my worst runs that I can remember for a training run. This day made me feel so incredibly small and self-defeated. I really wanted to cry this day. I walked more than I ran and wanted desperately to just be done and home so I could drink some ice cold water. Every house I passed that had a hose in front became like a sick temptress taunting me to take a drink from it or hose myself down. Sure, the homeowners may not be pleased to see some girl that looks dazed and confused in their yard hosing herself down. I know, that is kind of a funny mental picture if you think about it long enough. I made it through the run with not the worst time in the world...but with my spirit feeling low and demoralized. I knew there would be better run days ahead and to let it go. Did I mention that is was about 83 degrees and SUNNY?

Saturday was going to be a 12 miler. 6 with the team and 6 after by myself. The start of the day was with a quick look at the weather...71 degrees...100% humidity. Nice! I remained optimistic...days with the team are so much better than days without. After some announcements and team pep talks, we had a mission moment. The mission moment is when someone that has a connection to the cause shares their story with the team. Today it was from a lady named Suzanne. She started talking about her 7 children...yes...7! She told us about how the week she was giving birth to one child, she discovered that another, Philip, had Leukemia. This was March 2008. He will be treated with chemo for 3 years, this is standard for children with cancer. He was also given high doses of steroids that have caused his hip bone to start degenerating...this is an unfortunate side effect of the treatment. This means that he is not allowed to run, play at recess and do all the normal things that 5 year old boys like to do. This breaks my heart...I know how my 5 year old LOVES to run and play...if he couldn't...that would be so sad for him. This little guy, this resiliant little boy was in the parking lot behind the team as Suzanne spoke to everyone. Guess what he was doing? Running around, playing with his siblings. That made us all smile a bit. I know I am going off subject...I think my point was that this child was enduring some unspeakable treatments and hard times...but still being a happy boy about it. If he can do that, I can run 12 miles and not be in agony.

I made up my mind that I was going to have a great run that day...and I did. With my fellow teammates by my side, I ran 6 miles, then looped back in to drop them off and headed out for 6 more by myself. That 6 felt GOOD....it felt KICK ASS actually. I had more times on my Garmin in the 9 minute per mile range than I did in the 10-11 range. That was not my normal MO at all. You know what though? It FELT good!!! I felt good running faster...it almost felt like I got a new running stride that I had not known before. Like it was buried deep within me and it burst out and wanted to make me run faster than ever before. My heart rate wasn't too high either, I was able to maintain a good average and finished around my last half marathon pace. I finished my run, happy and feeling like I had conquered some demons that I had been battling earlier in the week.

Some runs make you fight like hell for air, other runs just let you find your stride and enjoy the wind blowing on your face. I wonder what my next run day will be?

Daily mantra:
It's going to be a good day

I think I have an illness

Well...not literally, but I have come to the conclusion that I can't run unless I know I am training for my next event. Since August last year, I have run a 5k, 3 half marathons and a BRUTAL 15K. Not bad for a first time runner....but now, I have kicked it up a notch and have literally filled up my calendar with races that I will do! Here is my schedule of events for the next few months...

September 25th - Break the Silence Ovarian Awareness 5K
October 10th - Tyler Rose Half Marathon
November 14th - Rock N Roll San Antonio Full Marathon
December 5th - White Rock Half Marathon
January 30th - Chevron Houston Half Marathon
February 20th - Livestrong Austin Half Marathon

I am exhausted just typing that list out! Am I too ambitious to sign up for all these races or just plain crazy? Time will only tell. All I can say for certain is that I am officially a runner and I don't want to stop!!!

Hills are fun!

Tonight we actually had a Tuesday training. Despite mother nature putting a damper on training for the last two weeks with lightning and tornadoes...we decided even though the sky was ominous and it was raining A LOT...to not call training. I am glad we did...as soon as 7 rolled around, the temperature cooled and it was actually nice outside. We did 2 miles of hill training...which consisted of running up and down the same hill about 4 times. They tell me that 2 miles of hills is really equivalent to 4 miles. I am going to go with 4 miles of running tonight and I am sticking to it!

I got my mojo back

I am training for my first full marathon and I have been having doubts lately about my ability to do so. It has taken me awhile to recover from the last event I did, which was called "Too Hot to Handle"...it really was. I walked away from that 15K with a few things; disappointment, discouragement, really cool tech shirt and a great photo of myself taken by the photographer of the event. I was illustrating perfectly why it was named what it was...my picture was of me with my hands up walking through the sprinkles. I was not far from the back of the back, but I really didn't care at that point. I was done trying to run, I was tired, I was hot, I was over it.




I guess my point of telling that story is that after that day, my runs haven't been all that great. They haven't brought me joy, they haven't been great pace, my heart rate is all crazy high and I am just all over the place with my speed.

Today, however, I think marks the end of my running slump. The temperature this morning was about 74 and it was dark and raining. After rigging my Ipod, Macgiver style, to be waterproof with a ziploc and some tape, I set out to run 7 miles. I wasn't all that optimistic that my run was going to be all that, but I started out with the rain beating down on me and I felt this freeing feeling. I felt like a kid inside...I made up my mind that I was just going to run and have fun with it! I ended up running my 7 miles at almost the same pace that I did my best half marathon in. I was elated...I got my mojo back!!!

My feet feel great too...I just got some new running shoes on Saturday and I hadn't broken them in yet...I broke them in today and they made me run FAST. No lie, my shoes made me run faster! I know, maybe I should be a spokesperson for Mizuno Wave Inspire 6...wink, wink...Mizuno people.

Today was a GREAT day, it was good for my spirit and good for my soul. Run baby run!!!

Daily Mantra:
Just don't die Ipod, don't die!!!

Miles:
7