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...]

Not my running standards. I ran a nice 4 miler on the treadmill today in 35:36.However, I am apparently lowering my personal appearance standards (and some might say my personal hygiene LOL). Today we dropped Jones at art camp for an hour and a half. Shoo went down for a nap relatively quickly, leaving me with 45 minutes to run four miles and clean up so we could pick up Jones. I had no problem getting the run done, but between getting ready and the actual running, I was left with about 7 minutes to clean up and get Shoo out the door. Needless to say, I was still sweating when we headed out, so even though I changed out of my actual running clothes, I ended up looking like I'd just run in what I was wearing. I'm a pretty casual … [Read more...]

I've been worrying for a few weeks now about this week. Beer Geek goes out of town later in the week and Jones is only in an art class for an hour and a half a day. This leaves very little time (with drop off, pickup, drive time) to get Shoo down for a nap, much less actually run during said nap. I was pretty convinced this was the week that I'd miss a run or two.Surprisingly, I seem to have worked it out. I'll run four miles tomorrow when Beer Geek comes home from work. Then I've hired the neighbor's college age son to watch the boys for a couple of hours on Wednesday and Thursday, so I can get in a 7 miler and a four miler, respectively. If all goes well, I plan to hire him next week as well so I can run and to take us to the … [Read more...]

This morning when I headed out at 6:30am, it was around 70 degrees, cloudy, and barely sprinkling. Absolutely perfect running weather. A little cooler would not have been a problem, but I was quite happy with the lack of sunniness.I ran 14 miles in 2:27:26 ish, so an average of 10:32 per mile. When you take out the 2 minute bathroom stop, it works out to about 10:22 per mile. I ran mile 10 at a faster pace and did the last mile in 9:32. Obviously I am quite pleased with the pace.The run itself was an adventure. Being a mom, I know all the playgrounds and I know which ones have bathrooms. So, I planned my route around a stop at the 8 mile point at a playground that I knew had a potty and water fountain. (I also passed said … [Read more...]

101 miles run in July = my highest number ever in a month40 pushups = the number of pushups I did yesterday as part of the challenge. Real pushups even, but I did have the 90 second breaks in between.13 days until we head back to my parents = breaks for me and going running with dad will surely improve my mental state10 hours = the number of hours that Shoo slept last night IN A ROW, so I'm not exhausted today.Tomorow I need to run 14 miles. That's my longest run EVER. And it's going to be hot. The plan is to take an extra bottle full of water and plan to run past a water fountain. I'm also planning to run very slowly for at least the first 10 miles.When I get back from my parents house at the end of August, my miles will start … [Read more...]

Before I got on the treadmill today, I was in a horrid mood. Shoo slept horribly again last night, I think because he was overtired from not napping for four days. Jones woke me out of a sound sleep at 8, so obviously I didn't hit the treadmill this morning. It's that witchy time of the month and I've always gotten wicked PMS, although running has helped that quite a bit. Then the boys spent the morning fighting, even though we met up with friends at a park and then brought back one of Jones' friends for a while before camp.By the time I dropped Jones off at ice skating camp (the kid can really skate now - after just three days WOW!), I was ready to scream. I made Shoo lay down on his bed with me because I needed a break just as badly … [Read more...]

I need to go to bed. I've been tired all day (thanks to a 2 or more hour hang out with Shoo around 4am), but I had almost zero kid free time all day and right now, quiet trumps sleep. I had a really good, but very hot, run yesterday. I did 7 miles in 1:10:21. That was with walking a small part of every mile. I ran at two in the afternoon, when it was hot, humid, and sunny and was still able to finish the last mile at a 9:59 pace. I guess my body is finally adapting to the weather. I was going to try running on the treadmill in the morning, but I'd have had to get up by 6:30 to do 7 miles before the kids get up and I'm just not that motivated. Thankfully, a friend offered to come over with her kids and watch Shoo while I ran. Today … [Read more...]

Today marks the beginning of Week 7 of training. I ran 4 miles in 36:50 on the treadmill today. Not a bad time since I got on the treadmill five minutes after I rolled out of bed. It looks like most of my runs may be on the treadmill this week. I'm still trying to figure that out. I may run tomorrow morning or I may wait until Wednesday.I'm getting to the point in training where my runs will start affecting our family life. I've always run 3 or 4 days during the week and a longer run on the weekend, but the length of the runs are starting to not fit in the time I have. I can do 4 miles when Beer Geek comes home and still get dinner on the table, etc and have the kids in bed on time. If I need to run 7 miles, I can't do that. We … [Read more...]

Yesterday I hit 503 miles for the year. Thanks to the marathon training, I should manage 1000 total this year. Since all the "cool kids" are doing it, I've been doing the 100 pushups work out. (Want some variety in your pushups? Check out all these versions!) I just finished week 2 and was only able to do 10 pushups (yeah, upper body strength, not so much). So today I did day 1 of week 2 again, but at the second level. I think that I'm going to be hurting tomorrow. And, because Marcy thinks it's a cool idea LOL, I'm thinking of doing Quadrathon's weight loss challenge. I don't have a lot to lose, maybe 5-8 pounds, but I've found that as my running has increased, my eating is getting out of control. I may not win any of the cool swag, … [Read more...]

You know your perception has changed when you don't really think of a 9 mile run as a "long" run. As I was heading out the door, Beer Geek asked when I would be back. My response? "About an hour and a half, I'm doing 9 miles". His response "Oh, a short run today. Ok". LOLIt was a really good run. I made myself go really slow for the first three miles (about 10:28 each), sped a little for the next three (about 10) and then "raced" the last three: 9:46, 9:27, 9:47. I sprinted a couple of stop lights in the 8th mile that brought that one a little lower than the others. All in all, a very good run. … [Read more...]