Just Plodding Along

Last week I finally got a long run in. Started way, way, waaayyy too early and did six miles before I met up with my half marathon training group which meets at 6 a.m. So yeah too freakin early. Art installation by UTEP. Early morning rainbow.  There is something kind of magic about being out and about while the rest of the world sleeps. Empty streets and silence. You know what is more magical? My nice warm and comfortable bed. But the marathon scares me so long runs at the crack of dawn must happen.  I think doing my long run this way was the smartest thing I have done in awhile. The last twelve miles were awesome because I got to run with some of my favorite people and they made the miles fly by. Mentally so much easier than rolling along by myself. Now for everyone who had to hear me complain about being tired and sore the miles may not have flown by as quickly. Downtown El Paso as scene from my sloooowww run up the back side of Scenic Drive. No big deal...

So just realized my first fall marathon (I am signed up for three cause I am an idiot who can't stop registering for races) is only 28 days away. Solid. Let's review. The last long run I did which was 14 miles was July 18th. And then a week later I went through the great tendinitis scare of 2015 thinking for an entire weekend (I still feel like I should be able to sue someone for emotional distress on that one)  that my tendon was torn. Only to find out that it was just a really wicked case of tendinitis.  Took about four weeks off to recover. Went and did a relay which was totally fun but wiped me out cause I am now old and staying up for pretty much two days straight when I am usually in bed by 9 p.m. every night takes me a week to recover from. Sad. And then last week I went to do a long run but over slept and only got 9 miles in. It is still pretty much a non-stop inferno here and if you are not out the door by 6 a.m. for a long run you are too late. Okay ...

I ran three miles yesterday. Okay I ran/walked three miles yesterday. It was hot. I am out of shape. Only been three weeks of no running but oh lordy that run was tougher than I expected. Like it totally sucked. But the good news is my foot no longer hurts and the insoles seem to be working so now the hard work of building back up before my fall marathons begin....... This should be interesting.

It is always weird after a marathon. I am always a little lost. One because I like to take several days off after. Some people can just jump right back into it but I am too injury prone for that. So this gives me a weird amount of time to get into trouble. I mean I could cross train I guess but instead I just eat a lot and catch up on books and TV and act like my legs don't work. So after training for weeks and weeks, in the rain, at 5a.m. with the singular focus on this one race when it is over it feels a little empty.  Luckily I won't be lost for too long because one I have another marathon coming up on the 23rd. With Albany I was all set to go out and run hard and excited to see what I could do. With Publix I am all set to go out and have a great time running with friends up and down the hills of Atlanta. No real goal with that one....well to finish. It is still 26.2 very long miles. And it is time to start training for the Smoky Mountain Relay . My excitement level fo...

This morning I was motivated to go for broke and go for sixteen instead of ten miles. Not gonna lie. These were tough, hot and sweaty miles. But ever since I read Hungry Runner Girl's post We can do hard things  I have done a lot of thinking about my upcoming marathons and have decided to adopt her mantra as my own. I CAN DO HARD THINGS. Ever since getting injured and not being able to run for an extended period of time I have had a lot of self doubt about my ability to complete my upcoming marathons. After mile 12 the run got tough, it was hot, humid, I ran out of water, my shorts were so sweat soaked they were trying to come off, a gnat flew in my eye- oh the drama- but I stayed strong and finished. Self doubt is gone- today's run proved to myself that I am tough and I can do hard things and I will be able to run these marathons. Thanks Hungry Runner Girl for motivating me! Since we are telling the truth I must confess that  I got home made these and ate half the pan (...

We have done some hard core eatery exploring since we got here. This place is a pharmacy and a lunch counter where you can get the scramble dog- apparently a Columbus original. It is a Chili dog with pickles and oyster crackers. The dad in-law had it and said it was not bad. I had a banana and peanut butter sandwich. They asked if I wanted mayonnaise on it. I opted out- what is that about? Why would that go on a pb and banana sandwich? We also have visited this place For D's graduation It is pretty good and they have fried goat cheese so we will be back. We have found a new breakfast place Pancakes, omelets and coffee. What more could you need. They have some sweet potato pancakes on the menu I am trying next time we go. This is a long way of saying that tonight we had salad for dinner. All about balance people. Marathon update: Both are back on and training is going well. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it stays that way.

Yesterday morning I killed my second ten miler of the weekend. These two days of running were a big confidence boost for me. While they are not super long runs relative to marathon training, this week in running has gone well and I am hopeful the marathons will not kill me.  Speaking of marathons- my cousins ran the Kauai marathon this weekend and totally killed it. Way to go guys!!!! We followed up the Saturday of all Saturdays with a Sunday in Warm Springs. I had heard of Warm Springs through reading Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent where he stops to look at FDR's Little White House. But D and I had other plans. We rolled into town and were lured into a restaurant that advertised Cold Beer but then had none and we felt too awkward to just get up and leave so we ordered fried stuff because that is what was on the menu.  After eating and washing everything down with sweet tea because that is what you do in the South I made us stop by this stand to get peaches and...

This morning I over slept so couldn't meet up with the Saturday run group at 6a.m. I was super bummed because at the end of the Saturday run they make pancakes. And you all know how I feel about pancakes. But when I finally did make it out of bed I was able to get it together enough to run ten miles in an hour and 42 minutes. So excited. The run felt really good even though it was so hot and humid.  I ran along the Riverwalk again because that is the only place I know where to run so far and will be content to run here until I get bored. Though it is so pretty that may be awhile.  I came across this sign about four miles into the run. Ummm what....  I asked another runner if they have ever seen alligators around and they said no but to stay out of the water. Uh will do. I was a little jumpy after seeing three of those signs.  After getting back home I walked around a bit to try to stop sweating and then realized that that was probably not going ...

I have run 51 miles this week. Holy crap. No wonder I am tired. This Hanson program really sticks it to you with high mileage. And the fact that this is the first week in a while I was able to do all the workouts is probably what resulted in a three hour nap yesterday. That amount of napping really eats into your day especially when it goes nap, wake up eat dinner, go to bed. Or maybe that is just the perfect Saturday. 14 of this weeks miles were on the Des Plaines River trail this morning. I suited up in my favorite running skirt, shoes and hydration pack for what I imagined would be a super sweat fest. I was not wrong. So putting ice cubes and ice water in your hydration pack is the best thing ever. Keeps you cooler longer and is just so much more refreshing then warm water. I am slow to catch on. For once being unable to get up and get moving with any sort of speed paid off. The trail doesn't open until 6:30 so when I rolled up at 6:22 there was some waiting involved unti...