Journey to Boston

Average pace 10:17

Average pace 10:13.  Felt pretty good.  Ankles very sore after this run.

Worst run EVER!  26mph hour winds the entire time.  I cried.  Supposed to do 18 miles but I cut it short.  11:31 pace averaged despite the wind. 

slow and painful on the path.

Treadmill

Average pace 10:29

Treadmill.  Root canal day :(

Beautiful day.  45 degrees.  Ran to the school with 1 mile out and back on Natzches.  It really felt good and I didn't feel like I was running anywhere near as fast as my splits said I was.  The last 4 miles were pretty rough-lots of uphill and running into 14 mph winds.  Delighted with my time.  Started a new book "Run for your Life" by James Patterson.

My average pace was 9:51 which is the fastest I've run in a really long time.  Very exciting!

6 miles on the treadmill at Lifetime.  Miles 1-3 were a slower warmup.  Mile 4 at a 10min pace.  Miles 5 and 6 I ran at a 8:30 pace for .25 miles and then a slower (11.5 mph) pace for .25 miles. 

On the treadmill after school today.  Finished in 28:32 - that includes my minute walking breaks at every mile. 

Ran with Jason after he did a 60 mile bike ride.  It was warm and windy and I didn't hydrate very well before leaving.  Averaged a 10:42 mph pace

Treadmill.  44 minutes

Cold and rainy!  40 degrees at start of race.  Way too many runners on the course so my goal was out the window within the first 4 miles.  It didn't thin out until about mile 5 when the 10k runners left the course to head back to the finish.  More hilly than I thought.  Wouldn't do this race again if trying to get a PR.  Organization was ok but they just had too many runners to support the location.  Gear check was a nightmare.

I think I have lost my mojo!  I am in 'SUPER STRESS MODE' due to finals week.  I can't think about doing anything except getting ready for my practical exam tomorrow and my theory final on Monday.  I did go to a cycle class yesterday morning so I haven't totally fallen off the wagon. I'm off to hang some IV bags and practice NG tube placement.  I'll get back on track but it might not be until after next Monday.

Back on the wagon again!  I haven't run since my 1/2 marathon.  Not the plan but it just worked out that I had 3 finals the week after my race and I was so stressed that I just had to let something go - unfortunately it was my running.

I had my last final yesterday and feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders!  I ran on the treadmill today and had to stop and walk half way through because one of my classmates texted me that grades were up.  I HAD to walk and log into my grade account to verify that I survived.  I am now 1/2 way through nursing school!  Wow!

Anyhoo, I ran between a 9-9:30 pace and it felt great.  Glad to be back at it and logging miles.

Now I'm regretting the 9 days I took off.  I ran 8 today and by mile 3 I was ready to be done.  I had to slow it down a lot for the last 3 because my legs were so sore from yesterdays run and I think my lungs shrunk during my hiatus.  Ugh.  Thank goodness Grandma's marathon is still 5+ weeks out.  I've got to get my act together.

Maybe I'll just walk Grandma's Marathon.  I'm having a hard time getting back into my running.  Perhaps I need to decrease my mileage and do some 2-a-days for awhile.  Didn't hydrate well yesterday and paid for it on my run today.  I was dying at 7.5 miles and would have swallowed some pond water if not for the cows that were standing close by. 

Average pace 11:12

Splits: 9:47, 10:03, 10:45, 10:17, 9:58, 10:20, 12:06, 11:56, 12:15, 14:23

Unleashed dogs are the bane of my running existence.  I really like dogs just not when I'm running.  My first split was hampered by me walking slowly past a large, growling, black standard poodle.  Other than that today was a much better run than yesterday.  48 degrees at the start and no wind.

Average pace: 10:28

Splits: 11:34, 9:51, 10:06, 10:22, 10:45, 10:30, 4:38

Today was one of those runs that had me fighting for each and every mile.  I knew within the first mile that it was going to be tough.  I thought, 'just get out there, far enough away from home that you'll have no choice but to turn around and finish'.  I did finish but there was an awful lot of walking today.  It was a beautiful day to be outside so it wasn't a total wash.  My calves and shins took forever to warm up today and I couldn't seem to get into my breathing.  Thank goodness for tomorrow!

Avg pace: 12:03  Total time: 2:51:44

Splits: 10:01, 10:54, 11:09, 11:54, 12:31, 11:19, 10:41, 11:09, 12:34, 11:58, 12:18, 13:30, 13:57, 13:49, 3:52

Last run before we head to Texas for Ironman Texas.  Glad I'm not the one competing because I would be puking.  Jason is pretty nervous but holding it together. 

My Garmin died during my run and I think it may really be dead.  It's more than 8 years old and we've had a good run together - so I have no idea my pace or total time.

Going to try to sqeeze in a few runs in Texas even if it's just on the hotel treadmill - need to keep my legs moving.

Run on the treadmill at the hotel in Houston.

Outside in The Woodlands, TX

Sicker than a dog but I thought a short run might make me feel better.  It did for awhile.  I'm starting to stress about Grandma's marathon.  I haven't gotten in any long (over 16 mile) runs due to my crazy schedule or like this week being sick. 

Treadmill and very slow!

Finally feel like I have some energy again and enjoyed a great run today.  I had a bunch of blood work done last week.  My SED rate is high and my Rheumatoid factor is on the high end of normal so I have some inflammation issues going one but not sure why yet.  Maybe that's just my baseline.  Going back in a few weeks for more tests.  Could have just been some strange virus too that zapped my energy and made my joints feel like they were on fire.

Running in Utah!  I'm here for my niece's graduation.  Did a nice, slow 10 miles today outside with the ELEVATION!  Good golly - I need an iron lung to run out here.  It was a beautiful morning!

Very tired legs after yesterdays run.  Took it nice and slow.

Better than nothing run today.

Slow 10 miles today. Grandma's Marathon is a week and a half away and I am not ready. I'm going to do it but my goal will simply be to just finish. School finals, a lot of travel and a funky virus that kicked my butt for a week have really interfered with my training. I'm planning to run 10 tomorrow and on Friday and will hope that 3 10's will be compensate for not having done a 20. I've done enough marathons to know that I can finish; I had just hoped back in April that I'd be in a much better place to finish than I am now. Live and learn.

10 miles. 1:52:54. Average pace: 11:17

Splits: 10:57, 11:04, 10:50, 11:09, 10:32, 12:36, 10:21, 11:19, 11:21, 12:41

Maybe I'm just a plodder.  Another slow 10 miles.  My legs were pretty tired from yesterday.  One of these days I'm going to start running like I stole something...

Total time: 1:54:00  Average pace: 11:24

Splits: 10:10, 10:33, 10:48, 11:14, 12:17, 12:12, 11:19, 11:34, 12:09, 11:40

I think there is a lot of benefit mentally for me to run on tired legs.  Today was my best run of the 3 10's I did this week.  Granted, it was my best by 11 seconds but still my best.  Today was I was much more consistent than yesterday and only walked at my mile marks/water breaks.  I need to work on getting rid of those but I rely on them so much mentally right now.  Less wind today made it more enoyable.  Yesterday it was so windy that it was blowing my earbuds out of my ears - Sheesh!

Total time: 1:52:06  Average pace: 11:13

Splits: 10:54, 11:08, 11:45, 11:14, 11:25, 11:20, 11:22, 11:07, 11:06, 10:41

3 easy miles.  Marathon week!  Keeping the mileage low and easy this week.

Speed work on the treadmill today.  I feel like I always run better after doing speedwork.  Hope it helps out in the race on Saturday.

treadmill

outside.

My sister and I drove up to Duluth, MN on Friday to pick up my race packet.  We wandered through the expo for awhile before heading north towards Two Harbors to check out the Splitrock Lighthouse (very cool by the way).  We stayed south of Duluth in Carlton, MN.  It's about 20 minutes away from Duluth but it was the only hotel I could find that didn't require a 2-night stay minimum.  Being that I only live 3 hours from Duluth I didn't want to stick around for an extra night after the race.  Did not sleep well the night before but I knew I wouldn't so I wasn't upset by the fact that I didn't.

Race morning my sister dropped me off at another hotel 15 minutes away to catch the shuttle bus up to the start of the race.  Grandma's is a point to point race.  I chatted with a runner from Iowa who was hoping to qualify for Boston that day (she did!) - she was super nervous!

I got to the start of the race at 6:15, giving me an hour and a half to kill before race time.  Just enough time to stand in line twice at the port-o-lets...and who doesn't love standing in line for that!  The weather was gorgeous - sunny and mid 50's.  I dropped off my gear bag and found a place to wait for the start towards the back of the pack.  My goals for the day were to run easy, keep a smile on my face, and keep my posture strong. 

I got a little teary eyed during the anthem and the fly-over.  I love the beginning of marathons.  The energy was great!  For most of the race the mile markers came up pretty darn quick and I will never complain about that.  I walked for a minute at every mile split with just a few extra minutes on a couple of extra miles.  The bottoms of my feet really began to hurt at about 20 miles.  I wish I could get past that pain.  My sister was waiting for me at mile 25 and I got a little emotional when I saw her.  It was so fun to have her out there cheering for me!  The last mile was a blast - wall to wall people and lots of finishers who stuck around to cheer for us slower runners. 

The entire race is really well organized.  They had water every 2 miles until about mile 17 and then every mile after that.  They had LOTS of water, powerade and then water again.  Each station also had ice and ice cold sponges which I took advantage of.  There isn't a ton of spectator action for the first 8 miles or so due to the location.  It can be difficult to get into the area due to traffic.  After mile 8 though, the fan/spectator support is pretty constant and it's down right solid for the last 10 miles.  It was a little hillier than I remember but not bad, only walked up 1 hill.

It started to pour as soon as I got my t-shirt and medal.  I did some stretching and got my chocolate milk and bagels and then found my sister. 

It was overall a great experience.  I had a great time running and look forward to setting some new goals for the remainder of this summer. 

Back on the wagon today...or the treadmill.  Felt so good to stretch my legs and run again.  56 minutes:  walking, incline and running between 10 min and 9:13 pace.

4 miles of interval work after an hour of hot vinyasa yoga.  I love yoga but I also feel like the more uncoordinated wimp in yoga class.

Gads!  Shin splints.  My 7 miles involved about 4 miles of walking. 

Worked on banishing some serious demons today.  Got in the water at Lake Wissota in WI and did some swimming.  It wasn't pretty, but it's a good start!

Not much, but it was pain free!  Came home and spent about as much time stretching as I did running those 2 miles.  Hoping my foot/ankle pain was just a 'I need rest' thing and not something more long term.

Although I felt fine running yesterday, about 6 pm last night I locked up.  I could hardley walk this morning.  Once I got moving I've been ok but any time I'm not moving for more than 10 minutes I locke up again.  I opted for a 4 mile walk today instead of any running.  My hips, IT band and right arch are a mess right now.  The walking felt good and loosened everything up but now I'm super tight again.

walked again today.  just trying to keep my legs from getting to stiff.  Bugger!

More walking but added in a little bit of running.  My legs felt good until about an hour ago and are now super stiff!