Just Plodding Along

This weekends runs were less than perfect but at least I got to be outside. Saturday was an easy three that got more complicated when I gained a buddy. A stray dog that at first I thought was trying to run up and nip at me was actually just wanting to be my friend. The dog ran with me all 2.5 miles and then tried to come home with me. After calling the PD and the vet, taking the dog to the vet to get chip scanned and coming up empty I had to relinquish the dog over to the community service officer. I felt so bad handing it over but with two dogs of my own I couldn't keep it at our house. I hope her people found her. Sunday the weather was not horrible but not great. It was 25 degrees out and cloudy so I went for it. The plan was to run a mile on the road and then hit the bike trail which is snowy so I needed to bring my yak traks with me. Well I got to the bike path and guess what was not in my hand- the yak traks. Epic fail. I decided to just go with it. 9 miles on the s...

I have stolen this quiz from Behold the Turtle who stole it from Jogging on Coffee . I thought it was too fun to pass up plus with no races I feel like I am short on things to blog about. This is the longest I have gone without racing since starting this blog. I am living vicariously through everyone else and wishing I was racing with them. Fuel: Shot Bloks, GU, Energy Chews, Candy or Other?   GU- vanilla flavored or death. Okay maybe it is not that dramatic but vanilla is  my favorite. I also like Swedish fish because they are the best candy known to man. Race Length: 5k, 10k, 1/2 Marathon, Marathon, Ultra or Other?  To those of you who are new to the blog gotta say the half marathon is my favorite length distance. Though this year is the year of the marathon and I want to do an Ultra someday. And short distances are nice because well, they are shorter. So I like running.... Workout Bottoms: Skirts, Running Shorts, Capris, Pants or Other? I like to r...

One of my favorite presents I got this year is my Believe I Am Journal. Not only does it have space to keep track of runs and races but also has sections to help you figure out what your goals are for the year and what you want to get out of training.  It also encourages a more well rounded approach and encourages laying out goals in other areas of your life. Apparently I am supposed to have a life outside of running..... Huh. Aside from realizing that perhaps I need a hobby besides running, writing in this journal has made me realize I want two things from my running: 1) I want to get faster- long term big, BIG, dream: I want a BQ and then want to get into Boston and run Boston. 2) I want to get better at long runs, more comfortable with distances beyond 13.1. Big, BIG dream: do an ultra Obviously these are tied together. There can be no BQ without running marathons and marathons are long, ultras even longer. Along with the faster part and aside from BQing I ...

I feel really good about my training last week. Here is what happened: Monday- Rest Tuesday- 3 miles in 30:14 and half hour of yoga Wednesday- 6 miles in 59 minutes plus strength training. Squats, lunges and my useless arms tried to lift a weight Thursday- Rest with half hour of yoga Friday- 6 miles in 59 minutes Saturday- (schedule switch due to weather) 9 miles on trails in 1:33:12 Sunday- 3 miles in 30:12/ hour of yoga My shins are feeling a bit tender so I have been icing more than usual which means actually icing because there is nothing harder than icing when it is cold outside. Well taking an ice bath would be harder but that is not even an option. No thank you. I am thinking it may have something to do with so much time on the treadmill. I have also been doing hip exercises after every run and my hips have been feeling good. This coming week I have an 11 mile LSD on the schedule. Little nervous about that. 9 seemed super hard. Adding two more miles onto that. Ahhhhhh....

This weekend I had to switch my runs around. On the schedule: 3 miles for Sat/ 9 for Sun. Actual: 9 miles Sat and 3 miles Sun. Due to weather- Saturday a balmy 46 degrees. Sunday- 18 degrees. Is it just me or does switching your running schedule kind of bug you? I did it to avoid another 9 mile mental test on the treadmill but after a six mile run on Friday this 9 miler was tough. But the good thing was I headed to the Forest Preserve to run on the trails. I love running on trails. Being outside and running along the river is a lot of fun. Even when it is cold, windy and slightly frozen it is still fun. The only thing that is a bit frustrating is that I have to slow down a bit. For some reason this frustrates me. I know that running on trails is harder and yet I still want to go at the same speed. I need to learn how to relax a little bit. Trail evidence The best part about the weekend trail exploration is the fact that I have found the perfect place for my long runs for mar...

Well the 'must own all the running things' addiction reared its ugly head again. Though I had been wanting the chevron or candy strip running skirt when I saw this one on sale for $26 I had to order it. I love it! I can't wait to race in it this spring. This will have to hold me over until the other two go on sale. My general running attire rule is I buy nothing full price. Speaking of sales....... I bought some Brooks that were on sale on Zappos. The awesome bloggers over at Behold the Turtle and My Heart's Conten t had good things to say about Brooks so I am excited to give them a whirl.  Plus they are super fun colors. Have you scored any good running deals lately? 

This weekend we got to take the family on a big adventure to the big city. We rode the train into the city. After and hour and a half and 22 stops we arrived in the Windy City.   We hit some key spots  Magnificent Mile  Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop  Millennium Park  We of course had to stop at the Bean  We walked by the Bank of America Theater where The Book of Mormon is playing. I want to see it so bad but it is sooooooooooo expensive for tickets. Well maybe if I win the lotto. Overall a super fun day. We walked so many miles. We also stopped for deep dish pizza for refueling. This week I did really well sticking to my training plan even with family visiting. Not gonna lie when I hit the treadmill for my 9 mile LSD on the treadmill (due to iced over roads) it took all my will power not to jump off after 3 miles to go have fun with the family. But I stuck with and am glad I did because it was one...

Family visiting is the perfect excuse to head to the Jelly Belly factory up the way a bit. The most magical place in the world.   You can take a tour around the facility- which is actually just a distribution center. I feel comfortable knowing there is a large quantity of jelly beans within a ten mile radius of my house. We got to ride a train. A tiny train. Jelly Belly art The best part of the tour was the end where we got a free bag. It lasted about a minute. This weekend's runs have been fueled by Jelly Belly. Nine miles tomorrow which might be in sleet but will not lack carbs. 

First thing- family is here to visit for the weekend so I am pretty excited to hang with them and do fun stuff! Second thing- I have somehow magically (okay it wasn't magic it was nice run blogger Falon  who was kind enough to invite me) hooked up with an amazing group of run bloggers who are planning to do the Chicago marathon. The general idea is to coordinate lodging, eating,  and expo and geek out on running and races and medals I hope and carb load- lots of carb loading please. I am about to lose my mind with excitement. I was excited about the Chicago marathon before.....now- oh my gosh, freak out. It is going to be so much fun. So if you are thinking of doing the Chicago marathon let me know because you do not want to miss this fun! Third thing- with above mentioned family we celebrated a late Christmas and I scored pretty big. Believe I am journal  I have heard great things about this running journal and can not wait to get some goals down and start track...

Lately me and the treadmill have been bonding nonstop. Last week all runs except for Saturday were on the treadmill. 19 miles going nowhere. If you had asked me a year ago if I would be BFFs for life, for life people, with my treadmill, I would be shocked that I even owned one. And not just because it is the most expensive thing beside my car that I have ever purchased. BFFs for life- or at least until warm weather returns and then see ya next winter. I hated treadmills. Treadmills are torture. Treadmills are boring. One made up word says it all - dreadmill. But it is cold and dark in the winter and I am a big baby but love running. Treadmill you are the answer. One of my twitter peeps asked 'how do you run so many miles on the treadmill' or some version of this question. And I forgot to answer most likely because something shiny distracted me. So here is what works for me. And I realize that the longest run I have done on a treadmill is 8 miles. I read several bl...

Well so far so good. This year's training is going well. All six days of it. Monday - Rest day Tuesday 3 miles in 31:22 and strength training Wednesday 3 hilly miles in 31:30 Thursday - rest day with a side of yoga and abs Friday 5 miles in 50:05 and strength training Saturday 3 easy miles in 30:12 Sunday 8 long slow distance miles on the treadmill in 1:22:30 followed by an hour of yoga Bam all runs in plus cross training. Round of applause please Okay okay I realize it has only been a week into the year. But I like to celebrate every little accomplishment. I found this sweet training paces site to calculate how fast I should be running my runs. Trying to train smarter. These are the paces I should be hitting if I want to run a 1:54 half. Seems reasonable. Easy Run 10:00 per mile Tempo Run 8:21 per mile Maximum Oxygen 7:32 per mile Speed Form 6:58 per mile Long Run 10:00 - 11:16 per mile Yasso 800s 3:52 per 800 meters  Why 1:54- uh I...

This has been registered for. It is on the day of a twenty mile marathon training run. Tricky very tricky. Perhaps the easiest 20 miler since the first 13 will be supported, or maybe the middle 13, or the last 13...what ever I decide to do there will be 13 miles that result in a medal. Win!

2012  has been amazing. Regular Life D & I kicked school out of our lives  We both became part of the employed masses = Yay jobs We moved from Arizona to Illinois  D &  I celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss Visited some awesome places- Chicago, California, Sedona, Colorado to name a few Running Life I ran 1031. 5 miles I ran 18 half marathons So much loot I achieved two big goals A half marathon under two hours Ran 1000 miles this year.  I PR'd in a 5K and 10K - well I haven't run these distances in years so we will say PR (high school aged awesomeness does not count). I registered for my second marathon. I ran one in 2006 but it went kind of not awesome so looking forward to redemption 2013. Hello Wisconsin marathon- I come to dominate. Well hello there 2013. I have big plans for you. Regular Life Keep working hard at my job Save some sweet cash Figure out the house situation in IL- buy or keep renting E...