Just Plodding Along

Today was supposed to be a twenty miler. I made it 13.2 miles before calling it due to lightening and having the hubs come pick me up at the gas station I ran to for cover. The mounting bitchy feeling of hating running as rain poured down and soaked everything might have also contributed to the run being cut short. But I like to think it was mostly due to safety. This feels like the millionth long run done in rain and the bazillionth run done in rain lately. Have I angered the running gods or something? I seriously feel like I am being punished. This was the first time though that I felt a bit scared due to the lightening and just the amount of rain coming down that made it hard to see. Of course now it is sunny out.....so that is awesome. Luckily I have another 20 miler and a 22 miler to redeem myself. Tomorrow is the Columbus Road Runners 5K so perhaps I can add some miles on to that as well if I feel so inclined. I have already run 49 miles this week so.... .  I also thin...

When I woke up at 4 a.m. to fit in 16 miles before having to be at work at 9 a.m. and it was pouring I should have just taken it as a sign and gone back to bed but when your coach expects  you to run (I have a coach now, did I not tell you, more on that later) you just kind of suck it up and run. Under pressure. Well after obsessively checking the weather and waiting for it to let up. Phone app said I should be fine. I was not fine...... In my genius little brain a t-shirt and shorts seemed the best bet. That way if it did rain not a lot of clothing to get wet and weigh me down. You know what happens to shorts when they get soaking wet during mile 1, an insane amount of chaffing for the next 15 miles. Good thing it was raining because my thigh chaffing very well might have started a forest fire. Oh god it hurts so bad. So the weather app can suck it. It rained off and on the whole way. Well until the last five miles where it just pretty much poured and thundered and l...

Yesterday I ran 22 miles.  It went really well and was a huge confidence booster. I used it as a sort of dress rehersal for the marathon- wearing the outfit I want to wear, the shoes, trying to fuel the way I am going to fuel.  I ran with a great group of people (hello running in groups is 100% more fun for long runs then running alone- I should have been running in groups sooner). The woman in charge had stashed coolers along the route with water and had her daughter bike around with a magical backpack full of fuel and water. They are my new favorite people. I got to run through areas I had not been through before so that was awesome. I met lots of new people and got to chat with them about races and running= so much fun! I also tried my new favorite thing If you have not tried these go buy one in vanilla flavor right now. It is magic. I am going to buy a case of them for the marathon and then try not to eat them until I am actually running the marathon. I was excited ...

After long runs - you know runs 15 miles or longer - I think about how many more miles a marathon is and I am just like and then I think about how my hamstrings are tight, my feet are sore, my upper body is tired, my abs have given up- basically I have turned into a giant ball of whiny pain and then begin thinking marathons are just too much but then I read about the ultra adventures of Yo Momma Runs ,  Fast Corey and 50 Marathon in 50 States  and I am all an ultra seems like a great idea. Just maybe not this ultra  that my friend warned me about which is her way of saying 'I know you are crazy so just a heads up this is off limits'. But seriously I want to do an ultra one day and I found this one near family so I am thinking next year maybe I can convince them to be my crew or at least come pick me up and carry me to bed. And if you could throw me in the shower too at some point that would be great, thanks. So I need a 'Bean wants to be stronger so she...

The last two weekends I have used these half marathons as part of my 20 mile long runs.After polling you - my awesome readers- who recommended running the extra seven miles before the race I decided that was the best course of action. Though I had to come to the terms with I would be starting each race tired, because seven miles is not really a stroll in the park, this worked out brilliantly because when the race was over I was done, medal and snacks in hand. I would recommend this method to anyone who is intimidated like I was of the long run for marathon training.  By this point seven miles is not a huge deal - meaning seven miles does not scare me.....as much as twenty miles. PROS of the Long Run/ Half Marathon Combo: Course support means not having to run with all the stuff needed to keep you going for that many miles Cheering volunteers and spectators- they are always good motivation/ distraction to keep your butt in motion You get a medal at the end. Twenty ...

Today was long run day. 18 miles on the schedule. 18 miles done. 15 miles in the rain. 3 miles on the treadmill. Things I learned today during the 3 hours I spent slogging through the rain and cursing the weather. 1) Running for multiple months on my nice, cushy treadmill has led to me being a wimp. Running on concrete is hard. 2) A marathon is a very, very long ways. It doesn't really sink in until I realize how sore I am after 18 and a marathon is another 8 more miles- ahhhhhhhhhhh. Any idea I had about finishing around four hours- um no don't think so. I will be happy to finish in under 5 hours. 3) New marathon goals- Don't die, don't poop yourself, don't puke. Good to have goals- aim high. 4) Running in the rain kinda sucks and makes me look like hell- more so than usual after a long run. 5) My new hydration pack is awesome What happens when you come home and change real fast to jump on the treadmill to finish your run- stuff everywhere Froz...

This weekend I decided to throw caution to the wind and push it to test my fitness. I feel like training has been going well. Even though most of it has been on the treadmill, so far so good. Saturday I started with a ten minute mile pace warm-up for half a mile.Then got to work running at an average 8:43 pace. A pace I hardly ever hit unless it is during a race. I was pretty spent after but felt good. Sunday when I got up my legs were tired but I thought hey this is happening Snow, snow, snow so let's see what we can do inside. I decided to do a ten mile progressive run that went a little something like this: Mile 1- 10:31- easy peasy Mile 2- 10:20- oh yeah I got this no problem Mile 3- 10:10- I am gonna rock these 10 miles on a treadmill- I am the treadmill queen Mile 4- 10:00- Comfortable at this pace, maybe too comfortable Mile 5- 9:50- kickin it up a notch oh yeah Mile 6- 9:40- huh this notch is kind of hard Mile 7- 9:30- what the heck bring on the pain ...

So I got over myself and went for a 16 mile run which I totally killed. I ran it faster than I thought I would and felt pretty good until the last two miles. I realized as I get tired I start to curl up in a little ball of pain and probably look a cross between Quasimodo and an injured water buffalo that is dressed in compression gear and wearing a sweat encrusted visor. ProCompression and Aspaeris shorts, what would I do without you?  So really what I am saying is as the run goes on I only get prettier. I had to keep reminding myself to straighten up. Apparently I need to do some core work and upper body strength training so I can keep myself upright as I get more and more tired. I can only imagine what happens at mile 18. Do I hit the ground and start crawling??? Regardless of the water buffalo situation I ran 16 miles which is a freakin long way for me and did not die. So that is awesome. I have a love/hate relationship with long runs.  I love them wh...

On the schedule: 16 miles Reality: Sleeping in, ate a cinnamon roll, sipped coffee and knew there was no way in H, E double hockey sticks I was going for a run today. Yesterday's run sucked. But usually I can move on pretty quickly but for whatever reason I am not into it. My hip hurts, my ankle is slightly swollen and I have a bad attitude about the whole thing = running sucks. The idea of one mile is too much let alone anything in double digits. I need a rest. ohh shove it Long story short: no long run this week (unless you count yesterday's 10 which I totally do). Instead I got D out of bed to go walking with me. Ahhhhh marriage. We hit up a new bike bath for some bonding time with nature at a leisurely pace. Max loves nature Plan for this coming week: Mon: X-train- find a bike or a weight and use it Tue: 4 miles/ yoga Wed: 8 miles Thurs: Rest/ yoga Fri: 7mi Sat: 4 mi Sunday: Try number 2 for 16 miles I am sure by Tuesday's run...

I thought I might wake up on Sunday a ball of hurt after my 10k but instead I woke up and felt fine so decided to go on a long run. I ran 15 miles. That is the longest run I have done in a very long time. I went slow, fueled properly and ran into no problems. I had enough energy left to run the last mile in 10:08. This morning I woke up a semi-ball of hurt but not too bad. Hmmmm perhaps I am getting better at this long run thing. The only issue is water. I need a better hydration system. My handheld is just too small. I ran by my car around mile 12 to refill but running by the car and stopping at the car are kind of torture when you have multiple miles left to cover. Mental weakness I guess. Last weeks workouts: Wed: 8 miles Thurs: 4 miles Sat: 10k Sunday: 15 miles This weeks workouts: Tues: 4mi Wed: 8mi Thurs: x-train Fri: 7mi Sat: 4 mi Sun: 16mi I was able to do this long run in part to not racing again until October. Why not till October? Because I won't be showin...

Sunday was my first long run in our new state. I headed to the bike bath and ran 4 miles North into Wisconsin turned around and ran 4 miles back to my car, restocked with a cliff shot and water and ran 3 miles South through Illinois and then back to the car. Gotta be honest, Wisconsin is prettier. 14 miles is the longest run I have done in  a looooooonnnnnnnngggggggg time and man I felt it. It took me 2:40 to get that thing done and the last few miles would be better defined as run/walk. And my stomach was in revolt the whole time. I have no idea why....okay maybe because I was nervous about starting a new job. I can't believe next Monday I will be racing 13.1 (and by racing I mean trying to run harder than usual, throwing a fit at mile 10 per usual and having an excuse to stuff my face at brunch, oh and a medal, sweet, sweet glorious medal). I also can't believe that 12 more miles (oh don't forget the .2), so 12.2 more miles = a marathon. Do I really want to do that? It ...

   After years and years of no internet at our new house in Illinois we are back online. Man I am addicted to easy access to all things web based. Thank goodness D had the foresight to buy me a smartphone for our anniversary so I could twitter stalk and read blogs in tiny version on my phone otherwise I may have gone crazy. We made it to Illinois in five days after stopping for a day at my parents’ house. So Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois all look the same. I became increasingly cranky on the trip as did the dogs who I am pretty sure by the third day of driving were giving us the mental bird every time they looked at us for cramming them in a tiny space for multiple days. Everyone was happy to arrive at our destination which turns out to be beautiful, tree lined and super close to a huge park and running trail that extends to and through Wisconsin and through most of Illinois. I ran to Wisconsin on Thursday during my 8 mile run. Now that is just fun to say, ‘I ran to...

Before I regale you with the tale of how I had the worst long run in the history of running on Saturday lets review the fun things in life.  First I won a Foot Rubz from Lisa over at  Yo Momma Runs . She is one of my favorite bloggers so winning something from her was pretty dang exciting. And then she was all cute and put a note in with the Foot Rubz and I was like 'see I knew we are BFFs for life'. Totally made my day to get a fun package in the mail and Foot Rubz = amazing. Love it. Thank you Lisa for having the awesome giveaway and thank you random number generator for picking me.   Second of all got a fun card in the mail from the family congratulating me on new job, moving, etc.with a quote on the front I love so thought would share. I gotta admit I am a little nervous about packing up all our stuff, moving cross country and landing in a new place and starting a new job. But when I think about it as an adventure I get more excited and less nerv...

Week in Review: Mon.: apparently this was my last rest day EVER (ever being the next 60 or so days). Wish I could have seen into the future I would have skipped the 20 min dog walk and just laid around soaking it up. Tues: 4 miles in 42:30 and an hour of zumba Wed: 6 miles of hills in 1:08 and America's birthday. Also the day that #RWStreakExtreme kicked off. Day 1 for me, day forever and a half for Jac . Thurs: 1 mile in 9:36 with some weights and bands strength training. I almost killed my hamstrings on accident. Apparently weighted deadlifts after sprinting = stupid and will also result in you taking a seat real fast. Fri: 6 miles in one hour. It was supposed to be easy but then at some point I realized I could run the six miles in an hour or less and making that time goal became my obsession. Done & done so much for slow & easy. Sat: 3 miles in 31:11 and an hour of yoga Sun: 11 miles in 1:53. I was 99% sure this run was gonna be a crapper when I woke up but went ...