MCM Mama Runs

I "ran" 17 miles today. I feel like I'm using that term rather loosely. It took me 3:09:41 to finish, which is an average pace of 11:10 (if you remove my 6ish minute potty break/bottle refill, it works out to 10:50 average). It was so humid today that the first 12 miles felt like I was moving through water. I ran (with a bit of walking each mile after mile 8) the first 12. Then I stopped at the high school, where my dad was coaching his soccer team. I used the bathroom, replace my gatorade bottle on my belt, refilled my water bottle, and drank about 8 ounces of gatorade from another bottle I had in his car. The next two miles were great, as I was rehydrated and it was sprinkling lightly and nicely windy. By mile 15, though, the rain … [Read more...]

So, I guess not every run can be a good one. Today, 30 seconds into my run, my Garmin beeped "low battery". I figured, no big deal, it usually lasts an hour after that and I was only doing 4 miles. At about three quarters of a mile, it died. I started my stop watch (yes, I wear the G and a watch. I'm a geek.) I had been doing a little faster than a 10 minute pace, so I figured I'd just run another 32 minutes and it would be at least four miles. When I got home, I used mapmyrun and realized it was BARELY 4 miles and it took me at least 40 minutes. Oh well. It was one of the more humid runs I've had in a while (77% humidity) and pretty warm and sunny and I wasn't pushing myself because I have the 17 mile run on Friday.I'm already … [Read more...]

I apparently should run my races in Wisconsin. I've been really running well here. Not sure if it's because it's cooler out or there are fewer hills or what, but I've been having some nice runs. Today was an 8 mile run. I did the same loop I did earlier in the visit, but in the opposite direction. I think it was harder that way. There are some steep, short hills coming the original direction, but when you reverse it, there are a lot of long, slow inclines. You can't just power up those LOL. I finished the run in 1:18:37, which is an average of a 9:50 pace again.After my run, I decided to do a version of the "ice bath" that everyone is recommending these days. I jumped into my parents' above ground pool. It wasn't quite as cold as … [Read more...]

I ran four fast miles this morning. I finished in 35:43, (9:23, 8:57, 8:52, 8:31). I've been really taking it easy as far as speed goes lately and have been pretty unhappy with my times because of that. Higdon recommends not really doing speed work while training for your first marathon, so I've done very few runs that included intervals or really pushing myself to run fast. That's been working for me from an endurance standpoint. I'm able to add the miles I've needed to and I've been right at the edge of pushing my body too hard, but so far have not crossed the line. I've managed to finish all of the required miles and I've never been so sore that I had trouble on my short runs after a long run.Mentally, though, I've been finding … [Read more...]

I did 11 miles this morning. It's amazing when 11 sounds like an "easy" run. LOL. I had to do them by myself as dad tripped and bruised his toe yesterday. :o( We had planned that he would join me for the last four as he's not been training, but I managed to do it by myself. (BTW, that's my dad in the picture with me on the sidebar) I managed to do the 11 miles in 1:50:06. Go me!It's really weird running in this small town though. A river and the railroad tracks wind through the town and I must have crossed both at least 5 times. Instead of homeless people and other runners, I saw lots of dog walkers, people sitting on their front porches smoking, and even one woman who appeared to breaking in her military shoes. She was wearing … [Read more...]

you go visit your parents' house and, in addition to the toothbrush, contact solution and other toiletries you keep there, you find a Gu, running clothes, and three! pairs of running shoes.Yesterday, dad and I went out for an awesome 7 mile run. I finished in 1:08:48, which is an average of a 9:50 pace and I could have gone faster. My last mile I did in 9:15! I love running with my dad and I love running in Wisconsin as there are a lot fewer hills LOL. I also love "map my run" as I went on and found a 7 mile loop that someone in their small town had already done. Conveniently, it came within a half mile of my parents' house, so we used that for our run yesterday. Now I just need to find a way to do 17 miles next week (I'm leaning … [Read more...]

I REALLY needed a break today. The boys started fighting the minute they woke up and Jones' swim instructor didn't show up for his 8 am class. By 9:30 am, I'd had it. The sitter arrived at 2:30 and I headed out for an easy 4 mile run. I didn't even take Garmin along. I started the timer on my watch, but I really just ran what felt good and didn't think worry about it. Despite a couple of LONG stop lights and a call from Beer Geek in the middle of the run, I finished in 39:15. If I had to guess, I'd say that 37-38 minutes of actual movement would be more accurate.To answer a couple of questions from yesterday's comments, I got two new pairs of Mizuno Wave Rider 11's in the mail. I heart them. I ran in the blue pair today and it was … [Read more...]

My legs were starting to get tight by the end of the 15 miles, so I thought I'd be pretty sore today. While there is a bit of soreness there and I think I'd be really uncomfortable if I ran, I'm actually not in bad shape. We took the kids to the county fair yesterday, which was a pretty good walk from our house. I think that helped keep me from tightening up. I also walked a fair amount today with friends. It just amazes me that when I ran the Army 10 miler, my legs tightened up so much on the half mile back to my car that I thought I wasn't going to make it (and then I had to get home and prepare for 23 kids to come to Jones' birthday party LOL) and now I can run 15 miles and just be a bit sore. I've come a long ways. (Pun … [Read more...]

Nancy set up this nice virtual race on a date that I couldn't resist. I like cool numbers. I have one kid whose birthday is a binary palindrome and Beer Geek's birthday is in the pattern 123123 (he'd not be pleased with me sharing the actual date LOL). What can I say, I'm a geek that way, so I had to get in on this run.Unfortunately, I had a rest day on the schedule for the 8th and a 15 miler scheduled for the 9th. With Beer Geek traveling, there was no way to change it. Luckily, Nancy is nice that way and allowed for flexibility.Saturday morning started as a sunny, cool, breezy day. Not at all what one would expect in the south in August. It was absolutely perfect for running. I, on the other hand, was hit with the trifecta of … [Read more...]

Yesterday I had an awesome four mile run. I wasn't in the mood to do it, but Jess managed to run in the heat, so felt like I needed to get out there. The temperature was actually reasonable here and there was a nice breeze. I wore my garmin, but only used it for mileage and to check in at each mile. The plan was to take it nice and easy after my horrible seven mile run the day before. My speed? 9:36, 9;17,9:08;8:49. That was a nice surprise. The only mile that I "pushed it" was the last one when I realized I was heading for progressively faster miles.Tomorrow I have a 15 mile run (part of which will be my 08-08-08 8 miler for Nancy's virtual race). The weather is supposed to be perfect. Unfortunately, I have the kids' head cold … [Read more...]

The sitter got here around 2:30 this afternoon and I headed out for a 7 mile run. It was warm and humid, but not as bad as some days. I had my fuel belt, but I discovered right before my run that I was out of "ade", so I packed water and some shot blocks, figuring they'd take care of me. I'm tired of running in my neighborhood, so I headed about a half mile away to another neighborhood. The first mile or two went fine and then I headed onto a shady path through the woods. I don't usually run places like that because I run by myself. It actually went fine. I only saw one weirdo, but there were county workers nearby doing something, so he didn't make me nervous. At about the three mile point, I ate one of the blocks and drank some … [Read more...]